Eating out

Seed oil free restaurants in Hawaii

Short answer

19 places in Hawaii are reported to cook without seed oils: 15 cook with animal fats or fruit oils — beef tallow, lard, duck fat, ghee, butter, olive, avocado or coconut oil, 3 fry in peanut oil, 1 report being seed-oil free without naming a fat. Each entry reflects what the venue has been reported to use rather than an inspection, so call ahead before you rely on it.

Cities in Hawaii

Elsewhere in Hawaii

Towns with fewer than 3 venues do not get their own page, so their entries are listed here.

  • ‘Aiwi Waffles

    640 Ulukahiki St, Kailua, HI

    butteravocado oilcoconut oil

  • Da Shark Shack

    75-5699 Alii Dr, A, Kailua Kona, HI

    butter

  • Da Whip Sando Shop

    73-5619 Kauhola St, Kailua-Kona, HI

    beef tallowlardbutterolive oilavocado oil

  • Duck Fat Food Truck

    1983 Kilauea Ave, Hilo, HI

    duck fat

  • Gill's Lanai

    54-3866 Akoni Pule Hwy, Kapaau, HI

    beef tallowgheebuttercoconut oil

  • Giovanni's Shrimp Truck

    66-472 Kamehameha Highway, Haleiwa, HI

    olive oil

  • Holey Grail Donuts

    5-5100 Kuhio Hwy, Hanalei, HI

    coconut oil

  • Holey Grail Donuts

    4-1543 Kuhio Hwy, Kapaʻa, HI

    coconut oil

  • Jam Pot

    65-1158 Mamalahoa Hwy, Waimea, HI

    olive oilavocado oilcoconut oil

  • Racha Thai Waimea

    1185 Mamalahoa Highway, Kamuela, HI

    olive oil

  • Waimea Coffee Company

    65-1279 Kawaihae Rd, Waimea, HI

    gheebutterolive oilcoconut oil

Frying in peanut oil

Peanut is a legume rather than a seed, so peanut-oil fryers appear on most seed-oil-free lists. The oil is still roughly a third linoleic acid, and opinion in the seed-oil-free community is genuinely split on it — which is why these venues are counted separately here rather than folded into the number above.

  • Five Guys

    91-5431 Kapolei Pkwy, Kapolei, HI

    peanut oilchain

  • Five Guys

    95-1249 Meheula Pkwy #210, Mililani, HI

    peanut oilchain

  • Five Guys - Pearl Ridge Center

    98-1005 Moanalua Rd, Aiea, HI

    peanut oilchain

Reported seed-oil free, fat not named

These venues are listed as avoiding seed oils without the source naming what they cook with instead. Worth a call rather than an assumption.

  • The Booch Bar

    110 Keawe St, Hilo, HI

    reported seed-oil free

What to ask before you order

A kitchen can change supplier without changing its menu, and a venue that roasts in tallow may still fry in something else. Four questions settle it in about ten seconds:

  • What do you fry in? — the fryer is where the volume is, and it is often a different fat from the grill.
  • Is the dressing or sauce made in house? — bought-in dressings and mayo are almost always canola or soybean.
  • Are the buns or tortillas baked here? — bakery goods are a common hidden source.
  • Do you cook the vegetables in butter or oil? — the answer is frequently a blend.

How to read this list. Each entry reflects what the venue has been reported to cook with. It is not a certification, nobody has inspected these kitchens on your behalf, and menus and suppliers change — treat it as a shortlist to call, not a guarantee. The four questions above are worth asking even when a place is listed here.

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