Island Vintage Shave Ice

Grabbed some shave ice at Island Vintage Shave Ice while strolling Waikiki. The shave ice itself was good—fluffy and flavorful, definitely solid quality. The shop's pretty large with nice indoor and outdoor seating options, which is a plus when you want to sit and enjoy instead of walking with it. Service was friendly, but it took a bit longer to get our order compared to some of the quicker spots around. They load up on custard more than other places I've tried—to each their own, but I usually come mostly for the ice, so it felt a little heavy on that. Their mochi is homemade, which is cool, but the pieces are pretty big. I prefer smaller bites that mix in easier. One thing that bugged me: no boards or TVs showing the menu up front, so you're standing there flipping through a handheld one while deciding. Would make the line move smoother if they had it displayed overhead. Overall, it was good and worth trying if you're in the area, but not my go-to on the Waikiki strip—plenty of other shave ice options that hit my preferences better.

We came here on Thanksgiving looking for acai after a morning at the beach. The acai was good not the best we have had. It had fresh berries, local peanut butter and honey which was yummy. The acai was icy not creamy and a little too much apple juice flavor for our liking.

The Hawaiian Rainbow is the BEST shaved ice I’ve ever had. Insanely good. The mochi is delicious and fresh, and the fruit syrups are made from real fruit.

Went there twice—it’s very close to the hotel where I stayed. I was impressed with the shave ice flavors, especially Coconut Island and Hawaii Rainbow. I also ordered a jasmine honey boba drink, but it was just okay. The boba tasted old and a bit bumpy, and the lady wasn’t friendly. They also didn’t fill the cup fully when I asked for no ice.

We ended up going to this Shave Ice place 3 times during our 6 day stay. We kept returning because everything was so good. We tried the Heavenly Lilikoi, the Rainbow, and the Tropical Mango shave ice. Our favorite was the Heavenly Lilikoi (see photo). Each shave ice was large enough so 2 people could share.