The hour is well past 10 p.m. on Sunday, but inside the dining room at Zippy's restaurant near the corner of Rainbow and Badura, things are just heating up.
The sparsely furnished branch of the fabled Hawaiian coffee shop chain brims with happy diners, birthday parties, extended family gatherings with six tables shoved together, and romantic dates in corner booths. It’s all going down, and if you've just wandered in, hopefully you’re not in a major hurry, because you may find yourself waiting for a table, even as the hour creeps closer to midnight.
The first mainland location of the Aloha State icon—since 1966 a trusted, familiar and beloved source for big bowls of chili and saimin, plates of teriyaki and spam and Chicken Katsu—didn’t land here in the desert by accident. In fact, if you ask the tens of thousands of Hawaiians making their home in the region, this relatively new addition to the dining scene should have been here years ago.
Often warmly referred to as the “Ninth Island” by streams of visitors and the tens of thousands of expats from the Aloha State that have been settling here for a more affordable way of life for decades now, the depth and breadth of the Hawaiian food scene here in Vegas isn’t one of the primary reasons most people visit—until, that is, they find out what they’ve been missing.
Wherever you are in the valley, you're never too far from a quality plate lunch that’ll take you straight back to your last visit to the island: solid, comforting meals, inevitably served with short-grain rice and at least one if not two scoops of mac salad are nearly as easy to find in Vegas and environs as happy hour drink specials and penny slots.
Hungry for a side trip to the islands? These restaurants are the short hop you needed in Hawaii’s favorite extra island.
Pacific Island Taste
Your first plate of traditionally cooked kalua pork is something you’ll remember forever, and while there’s no in-ground oven at this East Sahara mom and pop, they manage to deliver something awfully close to smoky perfection. Everything here is about as good as it comes in the time zone. For breakfast, order yourself a Loco Moco, a hamburger steak topped with fried eggs and rich gravy; on weekends, lead off with malasadas, that Portuguese fried dough staple long ago adopted by Hawaiians.
Unko Frank's Hawaiian Barbecue
A Southwest Vegas strip mall is never going to be confused with the scenic coastline that draws people from around the world to Oahu's North Shore, but this deceptively humble restaurant turns out some intensely good garlic shrimp—the preferred truck lunch for beachcombers and surfers in the region. Things can get intensely local here, food-wise — if Spam musubi is too been-there done-that for you, try the hot dog musubi, made with a Redondo frank (the preferred choice in the islands) dipped in teriyaki sauce on a bed of rice, all wrapped up neatly in nori (seaweed).
This vintage, ride-or-die casino coffee shop is tucked into The California Hotel & Casino, a Downtown favorite that makes no secret of its intentions to attract as many retirees from the islands (and nearby) as possible. This counter joint—located across the hallway from a Lappert's Ice Cream and a shop almost exclusively dedicated to selling li hing mui-dusted snacks—is where you come for giant plates of comforting classics. Expect lengthy lines at mealtimes and a sell-out situation for popular dishes like the teriyaki steak and spicy Korean chicken.
Grinds 2 Da Max
Shaking things up has become almost the norm at a string of area Hawaiian food trucks in recent years—and Vegas appears to love it, as more and more of the mobile operations settle into brick-and-mortar locations. This one's been doing things differently for some time now. Katsu plates ribboned with wasabi aioli come with your choice of potato crab salad (instead of the usual mac) or mixed greens and a generous portion of spicy, homemade kimchee. Here's as good a place as any to try squid luau, a deep dive local favorite made with taro leaves and coconut milk.
Poke Market by Chef Michael
Hawaii-raised Michael Nguyen has gone back to his roots with his new Poke Market in Uncommons, in the burgeoning southwest neighborhood near Durango Casino & Resort. Nguyen knows his way around a fish: he’s worked in the kitchens of Joël Robuchon, Restaurant Guy Savoy, and is currently the chef de cuisine at Aqua Seafood & Caviar Restaurant at Resorts World Las Vegas. Dine on faultlessly fresh taegu salmon with gochujang, oishi ahi tuna with oyster sauce and furikake or “Da Knock Out” spicy tuna, as well as Spam musubi, inari bombs and more. You can even buy it by the pound with a few scoops of rice and share.