Foodland Farms Ala Moana is an all-inclusive local food experience on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. It has stations selling spectacular poke, prepared foods, local snacks, wine, flowers and foodie souvenirs. It’s an affordable place to eat or pick up groceries and quick bites for the room, the plane or the beach.
Highlights
- Budget-friendly food find, offering restaurant-quality poke, local treats and ready-to-eat meals at grocery store prices.
- More than a grocery store, it’s a local food hall experience with a famous poke counter, hot food bar, wine shop, flower market and hidden speakeasy.
- Join the free Maika‘i rewards program, look for Shaka Deals and orange local-product tags and ask for a sample before you buy to save money while sampling some of Oahu’s best flavors.
If you are visiting Oahu and staying in Waikiki, Foodland Farms Ala Moana is my #1 recommendation. Foodland Farms Ala Moana is the flagship location of Hawaii’s beloved local grocery chain, founded in 1948. It is inside Ala Moana Center, a giant mall. It’s a grocery store, tropical flower shop, local food hall, poke gem, wine bar, souvenir stop and the salt and vinegar chicken wings that are mouth-watering.
Plan to spend at least 2 hours here (we were there for 3 hours). Sampling is encouraged and there is a lot to taste and see.
How to Plan Your Visit
Foodland Farms is easier to enjoy if you do not treat it like a normal grocery stop. Join the free Maika‘i membership at the register before you shop. The membership gives instant discounts on marked items. Maika‘i is Foodland Farms’ own brand of products that you will find for everything from pasta to wine and its quality rivals more well-known brands. Look for Shaka Deals, which rotate daily. Orange tags throughout the store mark locally sourced products.
Here is the order I would follow:
- Start at the poke counter and taste before you buy
- Walk the hot bar and try the salt and vinegar wings
- Stop at the bakery case and try the butter mochi and homemade doughnuts
- Visit the flower shop
- Explore R. Field Wine Company bourbon collection and local wine
- Enjoy Happy Hour at The Bar for a wine flight and charcuterie
- End at Eleven speakeasy with a craft cocktail or mocktail. (make a reservation)
The Poke Counter Is the Whole Reason to Go
Foodland’s poke counter is the star of Foodland Farms. The selection spans dozens of varieties, including classic ahi, spicy salmon, furikake, shoyu, garlic and limu. The fish is strikingly fresh and colorful.
The classic ahi was as good as any restaurant poke I have had in Hawaii, but at a fraction of the price. I also tried the jalapeño poke and it had just the right kick, with heat that built slowly without overpowering the fish.
This is one of the easiest ways to eat well on Oahu without overspending. Get a poke bowl, add fruit or snacks, and take it back to your hotel or to the beach.
The Salt and Vinegar Wings Are the Hot Bar Standout
I have told everyone about the salt and vinegar chicken wings. They hit every nerve ending in the best possible way: sharp, salty, crispy and completely addictive.
The Foodland hot bar is packed with trays of fried chicken and wings in multiple flavors, but the salt and vinegar wings were the ones I bought to snack on on the plane ride home.
What to Buy at Foodland Farms Ala Moana
Foodland Farms is one of the best places on Oahu to shop for local snacks, prepared foods and edible souvenirs. We loaded up on Maika‘i lilikoi butter and guava butter, Noms and ube macadamia nuts. Just like at home,
SheBuysTravel Tip: Look for the orange tags to find locally made and locally sourced products, and deals.
- Poke bowls
- Salt and vinegar chicken wings
- Lilikoi butter
- Guava butter
- Butter mochi
- Malasadas
- Ube snacks and sweets
- Noms snacks
- Fresh fruit
- Maika‘i wines
- Local chips and cookies
- Aloha bags
- Palaka-print Foodland Farms merchandise
- Beach and hotel-room snacks
The Bakery Case: Butter Mochi, Malasadas and Homemade Doughnuts
The bakery case is stacked with pastries, sweets and local treats, including malasadas and butter mochi.
Butter mochi was new to me. It is a Japanese-Hawaiian confection made with glutinous rice flour. A worker noticed our curiosity and offered us a sample. A little goes a long way; it is dense, chewy and sweet, somewhere between a brownie and a rice cake in texture. That is the kind of small travel moment I love.
A friend had given me guava malasadas a few years ago, so I was looking forward to trying those. And who can really pass up a homemade doughnut? Both were delicious.
R. Field Wine Company and Cigars
R. Field Wine Company is Foodland Farms’ premium specialty wine and spirits department, and it feels like its own shop inside the store.
The trophy case stops everyone. When I visited, the glass case included bottles with serious prices, including:
- WhistlePig Boss Hog XII Straight Rye Whiskey
- Weller Millennium from Buffalo Trace
- The Last Drop 27-year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
- The Last Drop Signature Blend
- The Last Drop 55-year Single Malt Scotch
- The Last Drop 22-year Japanese Blended Malt
- Gordon & MacPhail Speyside Macallan 1991
The bottle that stopped me: The Last Drop 27-year Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, priced at $9,800 when I visited.
That is the kind of detail that makes Foodland Farms memorable even if you are only looking.
Next to the spirits area is a full walk-in cigar humidor, with brands including Macanudo, AVO, Ashton, Flor Fina and Montecristo. Another “I did not expect this here” moment in a store full of them.
Palaka Print, Aloha Bags and Local Souvenirs
Palaka prints, often described as Hawaii’s original plaid, are made from a durable check fabric associated with plantation workers, ranch work and paniolo, or Hawaiian cowboys. We found it on napkins, bags and other Foodland goods. Seeing it on Foodland’s branded goods gives the store a rooted, local feel that is very different from generic souvenir shopping.
Foodland also carries Aloha bags, which originated in Hawaii. Fans wait for new prints and they come in a variety of bags: from fanny packs to large beach bags. They pack flat and weigh almost nothing, so they make fantastic souvenirs.
The Bar at R. Field: Girl Dinner in a Grocery Store
The Bar at R. Field sits right in the middle of the market, and it is lovely and lively.
We ordered a charcuterie board and a flight of wines. Proper girl dinner, in a grocery store.
The board had salami, prosciutto, olives, caperberries, whole grain mustard, candied spiced nuts, dried figs, cheeses and flatbread crackers. We ate Ginger Shoyu Ahi Poke, Smoked Ahi Spread & Lavosh, Hamachi Crudo, Beef Carpaccio, pizza and Steak Frites.
Another customer told us the onion soup was the best he had ever eaten (and he looked like an expert). I did not try it, but I loved that he was passionate enough to tell us.
Don’t Skip the Flower Shop
The floral section inside Foodland Farms Ala Moana is spectacular.
The arrangements looked like they belonged in a resort lobby: red anthuriums, birds of paradise, orchids, protea, ginger and big tropical greenery. One arrangement I photographed was priced at $69.99 and looked like a full tropical production.
Even if you do not buy flowers, stop and look. It is one of those small sensory moments that makes the whole trip feel more like Hawaii.
Eleven: The Cocktail Bar Inside Foodland Farms
Eleven, a speakeasy inside Foodland Farms Ala Moana, deserves its own visit.
The name pays homage to Foodland’s original Ala Moana Center store, which opened in 1959 as the chain’s eleventh location. It is tucked behind opaque glass walls on the Pi‘ikoi Street side of the store. It is easy to walk right by if you do not know where to look.
To find it, walk past the registers into the marketplace and look near the bakery and charcuterie station.
Eleven launched as a whiskey bar, and whiskey is still the soul of the place. The fun is in how you order: choose your spirit, then choose your “treatment.”
Your options may include:
- Smoked
- Soured
- Stirred
- Effervescent
I chose a Baker’s bourbon, smoked. Baker’s is a small-batch Kentucky straight bourbon, rich and warm, and the smoke made the drink feel like an experience before the first sip. Somehow the presentation enhanced the delicious warm mesquite aroma of the cocktail.
The bar also reaches beyond whiskey. You will find creative cocktails with tea, Kona coffee, cacao, tomato water, jasmine gin and zero-proof options. The bartenders work with fresh juices, house-made bitters and thoughtful garnishes.
The small plates are worth ordering too. The bacon fat popcorn with toasted parmesan and sage was exactly the right snack with my smoked bourbon cocktail. The hamachi carpaccio and sake-cured salmon were also wroth ordering.
SheBuysTravel tip: Eleven is no longer a hidden gem. Make a reservation. Seating is limited and it books up.
FAQs About Foodland Farms Ala Moana
100% yes! It’s kind of an all-inclusive local food experience because it has so many different stations. If you like spectacular poke, prepared foods, local snacks, wine, flowers or edible souvenirs, then you will love it. It’s not expensive to eat there, you can pick up groceries and quick bites for the room, the plane or the beach and there are a lot of choices.
Start with poke, salt and vinegar chicken wings, lilikoi butter, guava butter, butter mochi, ube snacks, fresh fruit, Maika‘i wine, Aloha bags and anything with an orange tag marking it as local.
Yes. Foodland Farms is known for its poke; the poke counter is one of the main reasons to visit. The selection includes classic ahi, spicy salmon, shoyu, garlic, furikake, limu and other varieties. Sampling is encouraged; taste before you buy.
Plan on at least two hours if you want to browse the market, try poke, look at local products, visit the flower shop and explore R. Field. Add more time if you plan to sit at The Bar or have a reservation at Eleven. We spent 3 hours shopping and sipping wine. We went back to experience Eleven.
Foodland Farms Ala Moana is located inside Ala Moana Center, which is close to Waikiki Beach, at 1450 Ala Moana Blvd in Honolulu. It is about 2 miles from where we stayed at the Sheraton Waikiki, which is right on the beach. There was plenty of free parking available at the Ala Moana center.
Yes. Foodland Farms Ala Moana has The Bar at R. Field inside the market, where you can order wine, beer, charcuterie and small plates. Eleven, a speakeasy inside the store, is also worth booking.
Eleven is a speakeasy tucked inside Foodland Farms Ala Moana. It started as a whiskey bar and still has a strong whiskey focus, but the menu includes creative cocktails, zero-proof options and small plates. Make a reservation if you want to go.
Yes. Foodland Farms is a strong stop for edible and practical souvenirs, including lilikoi butter, guava butter, ube snacks, butter mochi, Aloha bags and palaka-print Foodland merchandise.
Yes. Between the poke counter, hot bar, prepared foods, bakery, The Bar at R. Field and Eleven, you can absolutely eat a full meal at Foodland Farms Ala Moana. You can also build an easy hotel-room dinner or beach picnic from the market.
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