Da Sugar Mill - Fort Shafter

This is one of our favorite top 3 restaurants on the island.Initially found them at the KCC Farmers market, the fried snapper fish, rice and macaroni hit the spot after hiking Diamond Head. My wife loves seafood but very picky about it and loved it, so while in Waikiki we even ordered some to our hotel. Hopefully next time we are in Oahu we can stop by their restaurant.

Saw this place on Food Fiend on YouTube. Misty was so right! The owners were awesome! I got 4 fried fish plates, butterfish, taape, akule and another fish that I forgot the name of. They were all so ono. This is the only place I know of that makes deep fried fish. It was si crispy that I could eat the entire fish!

I've been meaning to try this place and finally made it there. I was curious about the different fish available and wanted something with more meat and less bones. The chef/owner suggested the To'au which is a type of snapper and invasive species that damages the coral reef so might as well eat them! The fish was fried and had a nice light seasoning to it which added flavor. The fish itself was on the meatier side and did not have that many bones. It was descaled so you can eat the skin. On the side it comes with a scoop of rice which was moist and not dry. The mac salad was simple and creamy. The only bad thing was the chili pepper water as it had almost no flavor or spicy heat to it. I even drank it directly to see if I was missing something. Perhaps I got a bad batch or it was watered down by mistake. It did come with a packet of shoyu (soy sauce) so I used that instead. The pastele stew also came with rice and macaroni salad. The stew had nice chunks of meat and olives. It was very tomato-forward in taste. It was good to try two different types of dishes to have a contrast.

My son I grab some ono grub from here all the time. The food is very flavorful and just enough to fill your belly. I'm not big on spicy and they make sure that I can eat their food without sizzling my taste buds. The place is small but don't let that fool you. The owners have a big heart, are very nice, and the service is not only good they're fast (meaning you don't have to wait so long for the food to come out it's fully cooked to perfection). The great thing about them is that for first-timers, if you order online ONLY, you can get a 20% discount off your purchase. Keep in mind this is ONLINE ONLY and can't be used in person or over the phone. Trust me the chef owner are very accommodating, and very easy-going in the true Aloha fashion from way back in the day. Stop by and grab a bite if you're in the area.

It’s so difficult to start a new restaurant in the middle of a pandemic but when I read about Da Sugar Mill in an article by Honolulu Magazine I was so impressed and inspired. I knew I had to add this to my places to visit! Having come from the mainland I have no reference to old style plantation cooking but the owners Lawrence and Nigel were so friendly and helpful to describe the different types of fried fish available. I ended up getting the menpachi as I was told it was popular. It was very soft but still firm flesh with good flavor. I will definitely go back and highly recommend to others!