Pacific Garlic Shrimp

Unexpectedly tried this place out since it was two blocks from our hotel and was pleasantly surprised at the taste of the shrimps. After reading the multiple reviews on Unilocal,I was somewhat hesitant on trying this place out, but seeing that we were limited on time during our visit and craving garlic shrimp, we decided to give this place a try. Overall, the flavor and taste of the shrimp was really good, I would say it’s just as good as Giovanni’s at North Shore. Will definitely give this place a try again the next time we visit.

Definitely would not recommend to anyone. Was expecting delicious food but I got mushy rice, the chicken tasted like it was microwaved and the shrimp had absolutely no flavor.

Wow, what a disappointment. Shrimp are half the size in north shore, garlic taste is watered down and the chicken taste like the microwaveable from Costco. Also, to get the combination of shrimp and chicken, you will be charged an extra dollar but you will get 9 pieces instead of 10. Doesn’t make sense. Avoid.

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Pacific Garlic Shrimp is a small stand pop-​up style right in front of the Pacific Beach Hotel. I can’t help myself every time I leave the hotel in the late afternoon. The aroma of the garlic shrimp drags my feet back to its stand. It opens from WED-​SUN in the later afternoon.
I couldn’t wait till the next few days to go to North Shore. I gave in and tried out the garlic shrimp dish here. The shrimp size was a bit smaller than Giovanni or Romy’s Kahuku in North Shore, but it was fairly tasty, on a saltier side.
I’m not sure if it’s the best garlic shrimp as they advertised it, but it was fairly good for Waikiki Beach, as if you can’t get to North Shore, this would do it.
I prefer the mini-​plate, because everything in Hawaii seems so big and large. You woldn’t want to look prego in your bitsy tiny bikini, do you?

Great shrimp. Very tasty and service was fast. Could smell the awesome garlic shrimp flavor from a block away. We were looking for a sit down restaurant and just could walk past without trying. I almost went for a second plate lol.

Yummy quick stop before hitting the beach. Limited menu but that’s what makes it perfect.

It was hard to miss the big tent outside of the Pacific Beach Hotel that boasts «BEST GARLIC SHRIMP.» When a business sets an expectation like that, most of the time, I’m willing to give it a try. Well, that and the fact that I rarely pass up an opportunity to eat garlic shrimp.
The garlic shrimp stand is run by the Pacific Beach Hotel and pops up on Wednesdays thru Sundays. I got there during prime lunch hours and the line was long but it moved quickly. I had read in earlier reviews that the wait time was over 30 minutes. Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long in line and they were cooking the shrimp in bulk so there was a bunch of shrimp ready by the time it was my turn in line.
The regular garlic shrimp plate came with a generous serving of jumbo shrimp covered in their garlic white wine butter sauce (they have an open kitchen right under the tent so I saw what they were putting in the frying pan) over rice and a side of salad with ranch dressing. The shrimp was good but definitely not the best. I think what Pacific Garlic Shrimp has over the Kahuku garlic shrimp trucks on the North Shore is that they are right across the street from the beach so you can enjoy your meal with an awesome view of Waikiki beach. In fact, I think that the whole opportunity to have a good garlic shrimp meal near the beautiful ocean makes the experience that much better.
In addition to the shrimp, they also serve chicken wings and their famous croissada (a cross between a malasada and a croissant). They have a punch card available for return customers and they accept credit cards. Prices are pretty comparable to the Kahuku shrimp trucks and they also have mini plates available. Like I said, their garlic shrimp good, not the best, but when you’re not willing or don’t have the time to drive to the North Shore, this should hit the spot!

For us it was the best garlic shrimp on Oahu. We tried Giovanni’s and few other places around the island but none of them were as good as this one. I noticed that depending on the shift some chefs are using more garlic than the others. This is when you smell it from far. This is the time to go. Yammy.

I was skeptical of the small stand set up to the side of a hotel. No way could this be as good as North Shore shrimp. I am happy to say I was wrong. The shrimp definitely transported me to the North Shore. The shrimp had a deep garlic taste with the butter giving the prefect accent. The shrimp decent size and were fresh tasting. Our Garlic Shrimp craving was fully satisfied.
For 10 shrimp with rice and a side salad it was $ 13. The rice was filled with the great juice and garlic from the shrimp which made it super delicious. The salad came with ranch dressing although only romaine lettuce it was pretty good. We ordered and we quickly were on our way as the keep the shrimp cooking for the many customers who rove by. The have a small seating area but we took it back to the hotel to enjoy the other items we got.
We did a side by side comparison to the 12 piece Garlic Shrimp we got from the Blue Ocean Food Truck. Sadly for Blue Ocean the result was severely tilted in Pacific Shrimps favor. The shrimp from Blue Ocean had a slight after taste and no deep garlic flavor. We paid more at Blue Ocean and have learned our lesson on Garlic Shrimp in Waikiki — go with Pacific Garlic Shrimp! Will gladly return to Pacific for more of their yummy Garlic Shrimp.

A must visit. Not a proper restaurant but more of a food stall. Open only from Wednesday to Sunday, its popular among the locals and tourists alike, flavorful food. As a warning, the shrimp has its shell, so be shore to remove it lest you gag on it.

The trucks are so much better and cheaper for better quality! This shrimp was not memorable.

I was leaving from an event at the Pacific Beach Hotel on a Sunday afternoon and the smell of the garlic shrimp from this tent was really good. It was just like the garlic shrimp from the shrimp trucks on the North Shore. I decided to give it a try because it was priced the same as the North Shore shrimp trucks, $ 13. The plate came with 10 pieces of garlic shrimp over 2 scoops of rice (half the box) and a leafy salad with dressing (other half of the box). For looks, the shrimp did not look like Giovanni’s, Fumi’s or Macky’s and the taste wasn’t there. The shrimp could have used more seasoning and less oil. Towards the end of the meal, the oil just soaked up into the rice and got gross.
There is not much parking around here. If you’re not already in the area, the best thing to do is park at the Honolulu Zoo or Kapiolani Park and walk over. The parking rate at the Pacific Beach Hotel might end up costing more than your meal. The wait time for the food was less than 5 minutes. The people who paid after me got their plates the same time as me. My guess is they already have shrimp cooking in the pans. There is outdoor seating on the side that’s covered and you can eat there if you’re not taking your plate to go.

This place really does have the best garlic shrimp! We went here first then went to North Shore the following day and we were pretty disappointed. Should have listed to the advertising on their canopy! HAHA! Good thing our time was not completely wasted going to north shore because we had plans to go shark cage diving.
Price is worth it. We paid the same amount or even a little bit more for north shore garlic shrimp only to be disappointed.

My boyfriend and I vacationed in Hawaii this summer and this was our first food stop when we arrived in Oahu. We were walking down Waikiki to check out all the shops when we smelled the delicious garlic shrimp cooking from a block away. We decided to get two small orders of the garlic shrimp with rice and salad. It took around 15 minutes to order and receive the food which wasn’t bad at all. The shrimp tasted very fresh and so good with all the delicious garlic sauce. I would definitely recommend Pacific Garlic Shrimp if you’re in Waikiki looking for a light snack or a full meal. I wish I could go back for some more!

Fresh shrimp in the island of Waikiki and I must say it was delicious. I’m from the gulf coast and I know good shrimp, this place was legit. I had the chicken wings and shrimp plate it was about 14 bucks and the drinks were 8, a little on the pricey side but delicious nonetheless. We took our food to go and walked across the street to eat right next to the beach. The food was good and the view was pretty good too. I highly recommend this place if you are strolling down the beach.

They call themselves «the best garlic shrimp» on the island and they are right. Don’t waste your time driving down to north shore for some Giovanni’s garlic shrimp food truck.

1 star for the amazing smell of the garlic that unfortunately drew me to this joint. Language barrier or not, cracking a smile and saying thank you can be done by anyone– this did not happen to me. By the time I got up to the register my large plate of shrimp was forgotten. «$ 13!» I pay «next!» Where’s my food? I wait another minute as they rush to put my plate together after giving orders to others that were behind me in line. The shrimp: all garlic, no seasoning. desperately needed lemon and salt. desperately. Also the full shell was on the shrimp, not just on the tail but entirely covering the shrimp. Annoying. I would not come back, even if I was a local. Just terrible service and mediocre shrimp. Don’t fall for the wonderful aroma folks, it’s not worth the $ 13 – 17.

We waited for about 30 min in line on a Thursday night. We thought it was going to be great since there was lots of people here everyday, and it smelt very good.
Well lets start with the good– the price, $ 13 dollars gets you an honest portion of garlic shrimp, rice and salad. With $ 7 dollars you can get a mini version.
Now the not so good– the garlic shrimp was shrimp with a light taste of garlic, but not delicious, the rice was that type of sticky ball rice, and the salad was drenched in a Cesar type like dressing (no options to choose from just came like that). We will probably not go there again, especially with a long line. Its kind of disorganized and no receipts or numbers were given.

Why drive to North Shore when you can get yummy Garlic Shrimp in Waikiki? Just across from the beautiful Waikiki Beach, the Pacific Beach Hotel offers the plate lunch that you would get addicted! Totally recommended!

Their shrimp plate is mediocre. I felt it lacked flavor, specifically garlic. However, they do give you a good portion for the price.