Hula Dog

Alright, so, HULA DOG!
I’ve heard about this place by a few people, it’s been on some type of foodie channel on T.V., & it’s a «Hawaii» themed hot dog joint… Um, O-​K! That’s interesting! Right? Well. I’m finally here to try you, Hula Dog! You somewhat famous, movie star of a Hawaiian themed hot dog making gem, you!(:
So what IS a hula dog? It’s basically a special baked bun with a «puka», or «hole» in it with interesting Hawaii inspired flavor condiments like lilikoi mustard and pineapple relish to name a few!
How does the ordering process of a Hula Dog work? Well first you choose what kind of bin you want (white, wheat, or bacon taro), then you choose between a polish hotdog or veggie dog, then choose what kind of Hula Dog roasted garlic lemon sauce to add (original, jalapeño, chili pepper or habanero), then what flavor relish you want (mango, pineapple, star fruit, papaya, coconut, or banana), & lastly you choose which flavor mustard you want (tangy lilikoi or sweet guava). & BAM! You have yourself a HULA DOG!
I got the bacon taro bun (awesomeness), polish dog, original (no heat) roasted garlic lemon sauce, papaya relish, & guava mustard & MAN was that buggah Ono! I’m telling you! I’m not a big hot dog eater, but for a Hula Dog I’m game! If you’re in the area close to a hula dog & craving a hotdog; This is a pretty interesting, but good choice!

I really wanted to try this place but the one man (actually one woman) show behind the counter made it unbearably painful to give this place a chance.
I was #2 in a two person line on a very slow Sunday afternoon. Customer #1 stood at the counter politely waiting to be acknowledged. The lady at the counter, after casually finishing her texting session, without even placing her phone down decided to acknowledge the customer.
He placed his order and she slowly (and it appeared reluctantly) began making his order. Painfully slowly she made his order. I could practically hear her thought process: «Ok, I get a bun… Where are da buns… dare dey are. Oh, look, Auntie jus ahnsered my tex… what did she say. Dat’s punny… lemme say sumptin punny too. Ooops, da buns, I porgot where are da buns again? Oh dare dey are.» You get the picture.
At any rate, the line behind me grew… and Miss Smartphone didn’t seem to want to pick up the pace (or put down her phone). So I decided I’d just do what any sane person would do when he/​she wants a hot dog that will hit the spot and I went to Costco.
(Full disclosure: While at Costco, in addition to my hotdog and coke, I could not resist choking down a slice of pizza as well. Mostly due to lack of will power but there was a small element of «revenge» involved. Take that Hula Dog! I will double my salt and fat intake without any help from you!)

I knew hula dog as puka dog back when I first visited Honolulu in 2010. Back then it was so good we went twice within a few days.
Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to the memory I had. The hula dog and puka dog logos are very similar so we recognized it, but asked why the change of name. Apparently the owners were husband and wife who had separated and thus hula dog was born.
The menu is the mostly same as I had remembered. Choice of bun: white wheat or bacon taro (the bacon taro is a new addition to me). Choice of ‘dog’: Polish or veggie. Toppings: original, jalapeño, chili pepper, or habanero sauce; mango, pineapple, papaya, banana, star fruit or coconut relish; and finally lilikoi or guava mustard. Our combo: Polish with original sauce, mango relish, and guava mustard on the bacon taro bun.
The bread wasn’t as toasty as it should’ve been. This might have been due to lack of execution. The unique method of heating the bun on the metal rod should produce a beautiful crisp but not burnt bun on the outer edge and inner edge. Our bread was barely warm. The next issue was that the hot dog seemed to have shrunk. So we ended up feeling like we were eating a lot of just bread. The sauces were probably the only thing that matched my original memory of puka dog. Can I get that mango relish in a jar to go please?! If I had a do-​over, I would choose the lilikoi mustard because the guava was on the sweet side and seemed to dominate over the relish.
Maybe I overhyped my own memory of puka dog? Or maybe hula dog just wasn’t the same. Either way, it was a let down to me.

Love the bacon taro w/​polish sausage, original, mango relish and lilikoi mustard! Sometimes it’s a hit or miss on whether they put enough sauce though :/
Their lemonades are good – a little overly sweet, but hits the spot when I’m craving sugary stuff.

Hula Dog Experience 12÷20÷15
I don’t usually write reviews… but i feel that i needed to make one for this place…
Seeing this place on TV a couple times, and on one of my favorite shows «No Reservations». i went and tried this place for the first time. Yay…
Ordered a Standard HULA DOG:
— Polish Dog
— Jalapeño Sauce
— Pineapple Relish
— Lilikoi Mustard
— On a Bacon Taro Bun
… first disappointment came in the service.
Ordered my Hula Dog. (place was not busy at the time). Lady even took down my name. And she told me to wait to be called when my order is ready…
Waited and watched 4 customers come and order their Hula Dogs and Lemonade at the register… And they received their order very quick. Also… again… a fresh lemonade.
So standing there in front of the Hula Dog establishment for over 15 minutes… waiting and waiting and waiting…
Finally… i go up to the register and ask about my order…
And…the lady at the register doesnt even remember my order… yay…
… Now she finally begins to make my order.
I watch as she grabs a bun… fills it with sauces that are sitting on the counter. (warm fruit sauces… yay…)
i notice she puts the sauces in… and i guarantee the sauce is just going to fill the bottom of the hollowed out hot dog taro bun…
She grabs a «polish hot dog»… throw it in… and tops the hot dog off with more sauce… great…
… about 25 minutes after i ordered… i finally received my so called «HULA DOG»
Woohoo…
upon eating…
first bite…
very sweet sauces… and the polish dog pretty much over powers the entire thing. Great… Tastes like eating a regular old polish dog… but wait… its a $ 7 polish dog…
Sadly im just eating the hot dog cause im hungry now…
i get to the bottom of the HULA DOG… and its just disgusting.
honestly i would have just thrown it away at this point… but i was sadly… me hungry.
Probably one of the most overpriced hot dogs ive ever had in my life… Being that it had «unique island flavor sauces» and a «unique bun»… i still think this was a total waste of hard earned money.
i would rather just go to Costco or Sams Club and buy a cheap hot dog… put as much toppings as i want for $ 1.50 (mind that i get a free drink as well).
$ 7.00+ with tax for a HULA DOG… ill pass… and they still buy their Polish Dog and Veggie Dog’s… so even more so… what a waste of hard earned money.
Just buy your own store bought hot dogs… buy a pack of Taro Buns… your favorite mustard… and youll be fine… you wont be missing anything here
Im sadly let down by this place.
But i hope you enjoyed my non-​bias realistic review.
Mahalo for reading my rant.
Aloha

I’m a fan of Hula Dogs bacon taro roll. Man if I could just buy the bread I would stuff my breakfast in there and hey maybe dinner too. That bacon taro roll is phenomenal. I had Hula Dog before up at north shore. I loved it. I tried out this location that is closer to my home when I had a friend in town and it wasn’t as good as north shore. The polish sausage seemed over cooked. The starfruit relish was still good and lilikoi mustard too. My friend loved her hula dog. She agreed on the meat being overlooked too. Maybe just a one time thing here. I would come back.
It’s located in the Ward shopping center (the part that’s across from the movie theater and Buca di Beppo around the middle inside area). Very convenient, parking isn’t usually too terrible and it’s FREE. Can’t beat free parking in Hawaii.

Hula Dog is the fraternal twin of Puka Dog on Kauai. Most of the menu is identical except for some exceptions: Bacon taro bun and the guava mustard are the items that I know are different from Puka Dog. Hula Dog is owned by the wife and Puka Dog is owned by the ex-husband…Drama.
The location at Ward Warehouse is pretty dead, but that makes it quicker for me to get my hotdog on. I honestly didn’t know it was here until I was already checking in at a different restaurant. So I ate a hotdog for dessert after my poke bowl at Pa’ina lol.
I love the concept of these hot dogs with the tropical relish flavors and mustards. Love the garlic sauce. When the sweet roll is toasted from the hot spear the results are amazing. When we came I had the Polish sausage in regular white bread with original garlic lemon sauce, mango relish, guava mustard. I think I like the Lilikoi mustard more for that tangy taste. The Mango relish is always my go-​to flavor. The garlic sauce is basically mayo. NOMS. I love mayo sauces! When the woman toasted my bread she didn’t toast it as long as I was used to so I didn’t get the crisp toast on the inside. Hot dog was still good but I wish my bun was more toasted. Maybe the hot poker used to toast the buns was turned off since there was nobody in front of us in line.
There is nothing like Hula/​Puka Dog and I wish we had these on the mainland.

This is quickly turning into a go-​to spot for a bite before a movie at Ward Theater. It’s quick, cheap (for Hawaii), and, most importantly, delicious. Bacon taro buns? Are you kidding me?! Lililkoi mustard? The answer is always yes! And pineapple relish? Now you’re just gilding the lily. So seriously, the thing that makes this place unique is that the dogs fit vertically into the bun, which is closed at the bottom. After you choose your pepper sauce (mild, medium or hot), fruit relish (pineapple and star fruit, among others) and mustard (lililkoi or guava), you discover that each bite gets better and better as gravity works on the toppings.
Taste tip: Save room for a few macarons from Petit Café right next door. Take ‘em to go, to the movie or later at home. You can thank me later.

Tell me why this is the first time I’ve had Hula Dogs?!! This thing is amazeballs. I’m not a fan of hotdogs but this gourmet hotdog is so gooood. Located in Ward Center by Dairy Queen lies this hole in the wall little place that serves these bomb hotdogs. Menu is simple…
There’s 5 steps to think about when you order your hot dog.
— Pick your bread: Bacon Taro is Delish!
— Pick your sausage: I got the veggie style hot dog
— Pick your lemon sauces: There’s 4 levels of spices. I got the Habanero, volcano hot which I might add is not hot at all! I don’t think I tasted the spice as I expected to.
— Pick your relishes: I tried the banana relish
— Pick your mustards: I got the Guava mustard because I wanted it sweet vs tangy.
I’ll never look at an ordinary hot dog the same. I like the tropical twist on hula dogs versus amercian hot dogs. They toast the hot dog in the bun which makes it way better on sweet bun as well for more flavor. I wasn’t able to depict each flavoring I got but it was a good mix to the hot dog. I’ll definitely come back for more and try other spices. It’s gourmet so expect to spend a little more than your average hot dogs. My veggie dog came out to $ 7 but so worth it as it was very filling.
I showed my hawaii ID but didn’t get a kamaaina discount. Possibly because I didn’t mention it. I wish I had seen Unilocal before ordering. But that won’t be my last visit, that’s for sure.

My husband and I stumbled upon this cute little spot by accident. They have a sign outside stating that Anthony Bourdain visited, so I had to try it! There is a menu with steps for you to follow in order to get your dog. I love getting the Bacon taro bread, polish sausage, jalapeño sauce, and lilikoi mustard! It is beyond amazing. I really love that the Sausage is inside the roll as well as all the sauces and nothing squeezes out of the bottom and it doesn’t fall apart. It is one of the best «hot dog» places I have been to. Every time we are in the area we stop and get a hula dog! The fresh squeezed lemonade is really good too. There are some tables and chairs outside so you can sit and eat while people watching. I definitely recommend trying a hula dog if you are walking around the Ward Warehouse. You will not be disappointed!

Fresh squeezed lemonade made while you watch! You choose from pineapple, strawberry, li hing mui and original flavors, and the amount of sweetening. It’s typically a heaping teaspoon of sugar, the crystals so big you can crunch on it while slurping thirstily.
This place is also known for their Hula dogs, a polish sausage hotdog or a veggie hot dog. Sorry I can’t review as I haven’t tried either yet. I much prefer the lemonades!

Le principe du hot-​dog est là, les saveurs sont en revanche locales!
Type de pain, saucisse viande ou végétarienne, relish aux diverses saveurs exotiques, sauces plus ou moins piquantes selon les goûts, tout est à choix.
Et tout est fait maison, la limonade également!
N’hésitez pas à vous y arrêter.
Lors de notre passage, la serveuse était francophone. :)

Hula Dog is located in Ward Warehouse on the right of Pa’ina Café. I was super excited when I heard Hula Dogs opened up here. I never had the opportunity to try it when it was open in Waikiki, so of course I made sure to come down and check this place out.
Unilocal TIP: Show your ID to get a 10% Kamaaina discount~
How to order:
STEP 1 — Choose your bread (white, wheat, taro bacon)
STEP 2 — Choose your dog (polish or veggie)
STEP 3 — Choose your lemon sauce (original, jalapeño, chili pepper, habanero)
STEP 4 — Choose your relish (mango, papaya, starfruit, pineapple, banana, coconut)
STEP 5 — Choose your mustard (lilikoi or guava)
Overall I liked my dog! However I feel like there was too much bun or not enough dog lol.

Celebrated National Hot Dog Day at Hula Dog, a cute take out window selling unique bun-​stuffed hot dogs. What really sets Hula Dog apart are their custom buns and sauces. The fresh buns, white, wheat, or taro-​bacon, are skewed on a hot iron to create a hole for the hot dog. Your choice of Garlic Lemon Sauce, Tropical Relish, and Mustard are then squirted into the hole and then your hot dog, veggie or polish, is inserted. The end result is a nice chewy bun, a lot of sweet sauce and a savory hot dog. The Habanero Garlic Lemon Sauce wasn’t hot for me, and all the relishes and both mustards are sweet. Just be wary of the last bites, since the sauces are pushed down to the bottom, you’ve gotta practice hot dog management or it can get messy at the end.

1. Bacon taro bread — Bomb!
2. Polish Sausage — Awesome!
3. Jalapeño sauce — 2 thumbs up!
4. Mango Relish — Yummy!
5. Lilikoi Mustard — Tangy!
Plus, freshly squeezed Guava Lemonade… EXCELLENT!
Must come back to try other options!

Delicious. They take credit cards and are located in a little corner nook near the middle of the shopping area. There is a little sign on the sidewalk that says this place was on Anthony Boundain and No Reservations TV show. I had never had a Hawaiian style hula dog before. The bun doesn’t have a slit on the side like your typical hot dog bun. It has a hole in the middle and is otherwise closed all the way around. You can totally customize it the way you want it. There are several decisions you will need to make to satisfy your palate. If you don’t like to make decisions, get over yourself because you will need to commit here.
Step 1. Choose your bun. I had no idea what I was doing so I asked the grey haired man at the register which was the best and what was his recommendation. He was so nice and helpful and said Bacon Taro was the best because it’s slightly salty from the bacon and slightly sweet from the Taro. There was only 1 bun left so I took it even though it was a purple bun and I’d never had a purple bun before.
Step 2. Choose your sausage. You have the option of veggie or polish sausage. I chose meat, baby.
3. Spicy level. I chose mild because I was feeling scared that day. It’s my first time!
4. You get your choice of relish and I chose mango because it just sounded awesome.
5. You choose your mustard, lilikoi or guava. They were out of mustard that evening and I don’t like mustard so maybe it’s better that way. I would’ve chosen lilikoi though because all things lilikoi are ahhhmazinggg.
The little grey haired man at the register is so helpful and nice. I absolutely love him. I got the kamaaina discount because I’m so local-​looking and he assumed I was but I felt so guilty afterwards I went back the next day and threw $ 1 in the little basket. You have no idea how guilty I was feeling. It seriously kept tugging at my spirit the entire day/​night. Anyhow enough about my guilty conscience and back to the hot dogs at hand. They also sell other juice, sweets and snack items in this glass counter display case.
It was delish. I had no idea how this unique hot dog would taste and could not even guess what to expect with this plethora of flavors to choose from but I loved it. It tasted exactly like an island hot dog would taste. Like an island party in my mouth and all the cool good-​looking fruits and meats and buns were invited. Does that make sense? Well neither did my hot dog but it was amazing and worked out anyway.

Customizable deliciousness.
Tried Hula Dogs a while back in Waikiki and saw this location during our shopping excursion at Ward Warehouse today. Stopped by for a quick lunch.
The Location.
The cute shack is located between Pa’ina Café and T&C. A few tables outside of the shack and ample parking at Ward Warehouse. Perfect area for a quick lunch.
The Service.
Quick and speedy.
The Food.
Customizable, so be prepared to make some choices. I had the bacon taro bun (a must), polish dog, chili pepper (hot), star fruit relish, and Liliko’i mustard. YUM on YUM!!! I’m usually not a fan of sweet and savory but I really enjoyed my selection of toppings. The bacon taro bun has little chunks of bacon which add a little crunch to your bun, yum. The spice level of the chili pepper was perfect for me, maybe could’ve done the next level of heat. The sweetness of the star fruit relish really paired nicely with the tanginess of the Liliko’i mustard.
Overall.
To the locals, don’t forget to ask about the Kamaaina rate. $ 6.31 with tax for a cheap, quick and tasty meal!

Heard so many good things about Hula Dog and it was okay. I was really good at first but half way through it, it’s a bit much. The relishes and sauces becomes too much and it’s just like a puddle at the end becomes disgusting. I love how they toast the buns so it’s crispy inside. I had the taro bacon polish dog with mango relish and lilikoi mustard.
I would suggest they tone it down on the sauces.
Order a lilikoi lemonade to wash it all down. Super refreshing!

There used to be a Hula Dog in Waikiki where I first tried it but it closed. I was glad to see it reopened in Ward Warehouse. It’s a unique hot dog place and I think it was on tv either on the travel or food network. It costed me $ 7 for my hot dog.
So first of all, what makes this place different is you have this big bun that they make a hole in with a really hot metal stick so it gets the bread toasty in the middle. You can choose white, wheat or taro bacon bread. I tried ten taro bacon which was good but I didn’t taste any bacon. Also it’s a lot of bread in comparison to the hot dog.
You can choose Polish or Veggie. I chose Polish but I wish they had a regular hot dog. the Polish was good. It was juicy and luckily not too spicy.
Then you choose a roasted garlic lemon sauce based on intensity: original (no heat), jalapeño (mild), chili pepper (hot), habanero (volcano hot). The lady said the original doesn’t have any flavor so I chose mild which had no spice in my opinion. And for a Korean, know I can’t handle spice.
Then you get to choose a relish: mango, papaya, star fruit, pineapple, banana or coconut. I tried star fruit which was ok. I like the pineapple and coconut one that I tried before. They’re all a bit sweet which makes this hot dog interesting. I’m used to savory flavors on my dog.
Lastly you choose mustard: guava (sweet) or lilikoi (tangy). Since there was so much sweetness, I tried lilikoi. Overall, the flavors went well together. It was interesting for me to have a sweet hot dog and in such a big bun. It’s a great snack and I definitely recommend people should try it.

Taro Bacon roll toasted on the inside, lean veggie dog, and an array of toppings, great price point for the simplicity yet originality, hula dog is an island original. Super delicious and unique, come here at least once in a lifetime to experience the original hula dog.
New location in Ward Center allows you to avoid the insane parking and crowds in Waikiki.

Hula Dog opened today at the Old Ward Warehouse! If you’re looking for some yummy hot dogs, baked goods, coffees, or shave ice, this is the place to go!
Hula Dogs: ⁵⁄₅!
You can choose between
Bread: white, wheat, bacon taro
Sausage: polish or veggie
Roasted lemon sauces: original, jalapeño, chili pepper, habanero
Relish: mango, papaya, star fruit, pineapple, banana, coconut
Mustard: lilikoi, guava
I got the veggie dog with chili pepper, pineapple relish, and lilikoi mustard. It is so delicious and was a mouthful of flavour variety! Their secret sauces really sum up how delicious they are.
Baked Goods/​Shave ice: ⁶⁄₅
A variety of Macarons, tiramisu, baguettes, and more! They also have shaved ice and hula fruity pops, which are made of 100% natural fruits!
Location is where The Patisserie used to be in the Old Ward Warehouse. The hula dogs are pretty pricey, $ 6 – 7 but you will not be disappointed. They also offer 10% for kamaaina :)