New Waikiki restaurant serves up Filipino, Italian and fusion creations

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A new restaurant in the Kalakauan building in Waikiki is serving up affordable Hawaiian, Filipino, American and Italian comfort food.

The former Rock Island Cafe retro diner is now home to HI Shack, owned by food entrepreneurs Glory and Ed Escal. Chef Glory Escal and marketing director Dustin Deniz joined HNN’s Sunrise to showcase some of their crowd favorites and food fusions, including their seafood squid ink pasta, creamy crab and lobster pasta, adobo loco moco and more.

Glory is also known for her signature lobster rolls, ube pancakes, smashburgers and lechon kawali, which draws fans from across the island.

The Escals started with a food stall in 2007 and now run the new restaurant, a food truck at the Ohana Hale Marketplace, a stall at the Royal Hawaiian Center food court, and a take-out location on Lemon Road near the Honolulu Zoo.

With the Honolulu Marathon coming up, HI Shack is offering carb-load specials for runners, including pasta dishes and a free stack of pancakes with any order during breakfast or brunch.

Glory says her long-term vision is to consolidate into one strong hub where she can maintain tight quality control, keep service consistent, and build a loyal following around a single “home base.”

HI Shack is BYOB for now and will partially validate customer parking at the nearby Waikiki Monarch Hotel.

HI Shack is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and is located at 1911 Kalakaua Ave. Call (808) 341-7542 or follow on Instagram at @hi.shack.