North Shore's Best Shrimp Stands

By Kristen Nemoto Jay on 09/15/2015, updated on 09/18/2017

Oahu's North Shore feeds its visitors with an array of sweet and savory shrimp stands

©Kristen Nemoto

First time travelers to the North Shore of Oahu may not know the ropes as well as locals or seasoned vacationers, but word of mouth seems to travel fast – especially if it tastes delicious.

Forget waiting for the monstrous waves of the winter season or having to sip and chomp away at a melting shave ice cone, shrimp trucks – along North Shore’s Kamehameha Highway – are in forever abundance and ready to be smeared across your mouths and Instragram accounts.

With a load of shrimp trucks and stands to choose from, we’ve gathered up our top choices for best crustacean.

Just after the Polynesian Cultural Center, Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck welcomes you in to the small town of Kahuku. You can’t miss it. The white multi-windowed “truck” is covered in every sharpie pen imaginable from fans wanting to leave their mark, literally. Try the cult-favorite garlic butter plate.

Romy’s Kahuku Prawns and Shrimp is the red shack on the right that’s flanked by tarp-covered dining tents. Known also for their butter garlic shrimp, Romy’s has it’s own special take with a soy sauce flavoring on the side that diners use to dip their peeled shrimp in and pour onto their pile of white (or brown) rice.

Less than a mile down from Romy’s, you’ll come across Fumi’s Kahuku Shrimp Truck. Their lunch plates come with a side salad and a bright yellow pineapple wedge. They also sell live shrimp if you want to try and make your own scampi meal.

Over the tip of Oahu’s North Shore and down to the chic beach town of Haleiwa, folks flock to Mackey’s Sweet Shrimp Truck for it’s unique Southeast Asian inspired flavorings. It has a hint of fish sauce, smothered with a nicely charred garlic punch. There’s also a side salad and pineapple wedge to compliment the meal.