Anthony Bourdain once encouraged Hawaii television personality Lanai Tabura to tell the stories behind the island’s foods. The food truck Tabura later created with his chef brother, Adam, and friend Shawn Felipe won a national television competition. Now their Aloha Plate concept is preparing to open a permanent restaurant inside Honolulu Airport.
Travelers can expect a takeout menu featuring bento boxes, sandwiches, and local comfort food in Terminal 2, with opening reports pointing to the next several weeks.
We’ve been critical of Honolulu Airport’s dining situation for years, and wrote about it in our visit to the $300 million Mauka Concourse. During that visit, Dunkin’ was closed, the restaurant choices didn’t appeal to us, and we ended up walking back toward the older Terminal 1 area for Starbucks food. By 6 p.m., only Starbucks and Burger King were still open there, despite many evening flights ahead. Aloha Plate is planned for Terminal 2, so it won’t solve that particular concourse problem, but it could give departing passengers another option worth considering.
Before the airport, there was Anthony Bourdain.
Lanai Tabura appeared with Bourdain during the 2008 Hawaii episode of No Reservations, joining him at a backyard gathering in Kalihi that celebrated the islands’ diverse food traditions. Tabura later recalled Bourdain’s encouragement to share the history behind Hawaii’s cooking, including the different cultures that shaped it. That interest has remained part of Tabura’s television career, including Cooking Hawaiian Style. We’ve previously written about Anthony Bourdain’s affection for Hawaii, especially his appreciation for places and dishes far removed from the usual visitor experience.
In 2013, Tabura, Adam, and Felipe competed against seven other teams in Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race, selling Hawaii-style food as they traveled across the mainland. One dish that helped get Aloha Plate onto the show was a braised beef loco moco based on the Tabura brothers’ mother’s recipe. That victory earned them $50,000 and a truck, and the business continued with food festivals, an expansion to Kamakura, Japan, in 2021, and a relaunch of its food truck on Oahu in 2022.
What travelers will actually find at Aloha Plate.
The new restaurant won’t be a food truck parked outside the terminal. HMSHost, which operates airport food concessions, describes a permanent takeout operation serving local-style food and designed for passengers on the go. A development-version state airport dining directory places Aloha Plate at the D Gates in Terminal 2, although the announcement has not confirmed the exact storefront location.
The concept sounds useful for travelers heading to the mainland, particularly those who want something more substantial than a packaged snack but don’t have time for a sit-down restaurant. A ready-to-go bento could also be convenient for a longer flight, provided service is quick enough to work around boarding schedules.
We haven’t seen the actual airport menu. There’s no confirmation that Aloha Plate’s original braised beef loco moco, poke, or other food-truck favorites will be offered at HNL, and no published prices or operating hours, so stand by for those. The details will determine whether the restaurant becomes a practical alternative to the familiar airport chains, especially for passengers departing later in the evening.
The opening date remains somewhat confusing, with reports indicating sometime by mid-December. Neither the date nor the hours have been officially confirmed, and the restaurant is arriving later than the original mid-2026 timetable Hawaii transportation officials previously suggested.
The founders’ exact ownership interests and day-to-day involvement at HMS Host’s HNL location haven’t been disclosed, including how closely Adam Tabura will oversee the airport menu. The arrangement is consistent with the broader concessions program, which pairs recognizable Hawaii names with an established international airport operator.
Honolulu Airport’s restaurant changes are finally taking shape.
We covered Aloha Plate in September when HMSHost formally announced major dining changes coming to Hawaii airports. Alan Wong’s and The Lei-Over are also planned for Terminal 2, while On the Fly by MW Restaurant is headed to Terminal 1. Aloha Plate was already on the list then, but the approaching opening gives travelers something more specific to look forward to than yet another announcement from Hawaii DOT about future restaurants.
Waialua Bar & Cafe opened in Honolulu’s Terminal 1 in December 2025, offering sandwiches, pastries, and a full bar. These new venues have yet to announce confirmed opening dates, while the broader concessions program includes additional restaurants at Lihue and Kahului and is scheduled through the end of 2027.
Which dining option are you most looking forward to and what other restaurant would you like to see at HNL?
Photo credit: Aloha Plate / Chef Adam Tabura
By Rob and Jeff, Beat of Hawaii.
Some of Hawaii’s most meaningful parts are the ones visitors walk right past without knowing they are there. We’ve spent nearly 20 years finding them firsthand for BOH as full-time Hawaii residents reporting on travel, culture, and island life, and telling you what they mean for your trip. Join us →
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