8 Fat Fat 8 (Oahu) - Onolicious Hawaiʻi

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 (complete with pool table and darts) and free parking ^_^

Lots of food on the table at 8 Fat Fat 8.

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.

Note: I've been reading Kirk's blog for over 20 years now and really enjoy the posts on his visits to 8 Fat Fat 8 ^_^

8 Fat Fat 8 (officially called 8 Fat Fat 8 Bar & Grille) is on Beretania Street and they've been open since 1986! 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 ever 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 often, but when I do, I usually braise them. Having them deep fried was a treat heheh.

8 Fat Fat 8 fried gizzards with special seasoning.

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. Devoured by all. This was the first plate we finished and we finished it fast. Garlicky and savory (and I'm sure lots of other good things), so delicious.

We also had cold ginger chicken (the ginger scallion sauce was so good spooned over the fried chicken skins)...

...and garlic edamame.

This is the Fat Fat Special Chicken, so good with that crispy fried skin and salt and pepper to dip. We ordered this chicken in two forms. We got it as-is...

8 Fat Fat 8 cake noodle with special chicken and ong choy with ham har.

...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.