8 Fat Fat 8 (Oahu)

8 Fat Fat 8 is a neighborhood dive bar in Honolulu that's popular for local-style Chinese food. Think crispy gau gee, ong choy, cake noodles, ginger chicken...all the good stuff. Casual, no frills, tasty spot (plus a pool table and darts) and free parking ^_^

I've been wanting to visit 8 Fat Fat 8 for ages and finally went a few weeks ago. Justin and Luke were in town so we got together for dinner with Noelle. Four people and a LOT of dishes. We were a hungry bunch.

I've been reading Kirk's blog for over 20 years now (how the years go by!) and love the posts on his visits to 8 Fat Fat 8...had all these dishes bookmarked from his blog ^_^

8 Fat Fat 8 (officially called 8 Fat Fat 8 Bar & Grille) is on Beretania Street and they've been open since 1986! It is currently run by the second generation of owners. You've probably seen their bright signage while driving...

...look familiar? It's right across the street from Times and Epi-Ya, near the corner of Beretania Street and Keeaumoku Street.

I wanted so many things on this menu...and happily we ordered plenty of it! Take a close look at the menu, it's fun to read. You can get a full pound of bacon (listed under more meaty pupus). And Vienna Sausage is offered (ate a lot of this as a kid) cooked with black pepper or shoyu-sugar.

Head they have great poke, we will have to come back to try that next time. All this is great bar food, but also great local Chinese food.

We started with the regular crispy gau gee (must order) and...

...the spicy gau gee! I don't think I've seen spicy gau gee on a menu before. It was good to try (and pretty spicy with chopped chilies mixed into the filling), but the regular will always be my favorite kind of gau gee. Crisp fried skins, packed with plenty of juicy pork. And a good dipping sauce.

We also had other pupu type dishes like the fried gizzards. Hot and crunchy! We don't cook with gizzards that often, but when I do, I usually braise them. Having them deep fried was a treat heheh.

Our server said he likes fried gizzards with this seasoning blend and generously shared it with us. A great combo.

We also had crunchy fried chicken skins ^_^

The fried dishes were balanced with stir fried lettuce. This was the first plate we finished and we finished it fast. Garlicky and savory (and I'm sure lots of other good things), delicious.

We also had cold ginger chicken (the ginger scallion sauce was also very nice spooned over the fried chicken skins). They also have cold ginger tofu on the menu which I want to try next time.

And edamame with garlic sauce. How come edamame made at home never tastes as good as restaurant edamame!

This is the Fat Fat Special Chicken, complete with that golden crispy fried skin and salt and pepper to dip. It's like fried chicken without any batter. We ordered this chicken in two forms. We got it as-is...

...and we also had it with cake noodles. This order is Noelle's go-to: cake noodles with the special chicken and ong choy with ham har. You can see the cake noodle pieces peeking out the sides of the plate. Nice cut squares, pan fried crunchy and gravy all over. Love it.

Also appreciate just how generous they were with the ong choy. We'll be back soon again! ^_^

8 Fat Fat 8 Bar & Grille: Tips

• Free parking lot right next to the restaurant. It's to the left of the restaurant entrance when you come from Beretania Street. There's also plenty of street parking if the lot is full.
• They offer lunch plate specials Monday-Friday from 11am-3pm. Above is a picture of the menu I took (August 2026). Sign me up for the chicken katsu and gau gee combo!
• Favorite dishes: cake noodles, gau gee, ong choy, special chicken, stir fried lettuce.

8 Fat Fat 8 Bar & Grille: Info

• Address: 1327 S Beretania St., Honolulu, HI 96814
• Hours: Monday-Thursday: 11am-midnight. Friday-Sunday: 2pm-1am.
• Website: 8fatfat8hawaii.com
• Phone: (808) 596-2779