Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken

I had this chicken in 2019 and couldn’t have stopped thinking about it since. And when we tried it again in 2026, it was as good as the fist time. Just perfectly wood charcoal roasted chicken, with a touch of Hawaiian seasoning. The chicken is so crisp and juicy, it’s honestly magical. And it makes my entire trip here in Oahu. Als, Get the side of secret sauce, but skip the slaw - it’s too floppy and watery. Wasn’t as enjoyable.

You can’t get more authentic Hawaiian than Ray’s. The chicken was amazingly flavourful, crispy and just the right amount of smoke. On its own the chicken was delicious but gets kicked up a notch with Grandma’s shoyu. $15 for a plate was a good deal. Pineapple slaw was ok. Prepare to wait. But it’s worth it.

They are in Haleiwa only on Sat/Sun. I looked at their website and found they are at 130 Mango Street Wahiawa, HI 96786 on Tues/Thurs, and so happy that fits in to my north coast travel plan. The chicken is so great and delicious. Even the breast meat is tender.

Chicken was from a rotisserie in the parking lot. Fairly quick from time of order to getting it . Chicken was really moist and pineapple coleslaw a nice side . No real atmosphere because your standing in the parking lot waiting to get your food. No place provided to eat so be prepared to go somewhere else to eat.

Tasty rotisserie chicken, 15 min wait and in the shade. Got one whole chicken, with coleslaw and grandma’s sauce. Pineapple coleslaw and chicken was bomb! You can skip the sauce, as chicken is tasty enough. Portion is rather small for a whole chicken, good for 2-3 people. Came here in the weekend and plenty of parking lot available. Overall great spot!

Amazing huli huli chicken with pineapple slaws. Meat is very juicy. The only caveat is there’s no place to consume the food outdoors.

This place was delicious! The huli huli chicken was sooooo good and fresh. Wished we ordered more!

I give this chicken place 100%. This place had some of the best chicken I've ever had in my entire life. One of the things you will find here is an ungodly amount of flies and if that bothers you do not stop. But if you're willing to take the risk and eat some of the best chicken you will ever eat your entire lifetime. This is the place you want to be. I cannot recommend it enough. The employees were super nice and the food was killer. Please note there is no dine-in option nor is there picnic tables to be utilized. Whatever you purchase will need to be taken off grounds or in your car.

Phenomenal!Ray you need more servers . It took more than 30 min.One person cutting chicken . One person at the register. One person preparing the boxes to go.

A little shop hidden on the side of the road. We stopped towards the end of the day and they were cleaning up. They had a large area for their BBQ chickens and they were efficient. Smelled awesome when we pulled in. They made us a half a chicken, cut it up into nice sizes and a side order of 2 scoops of rice. The chicken was flavorful and not dry - not even the white meat! My wife isn't a huge chicken fan and kept talking about it. We had left over rice and chicken and made fried rice with eggs the next morning!

No can beat huli huli chicken!! Always a staple when going to the North Shore. Lines can get long but chicken is always moist and flavorful..

For starters this place is good. Just be sure you can wait a bit. The line can be long. I waited about 10 min in line and another 30+ min to receive the food. The plates are fresh and super hotttt, so just be careful. We like to grab our food and park at the beach and eat. So delicious.

We were driving through Haleiwa to grab acai bowls, the smells of the chicken cooking drew us in and we couldn't help but to grab some chicken. I lucked out because the lines were not too long and I was able to get my chicken within 10 minutes. The line got longer and the wait seemed to be getting longer as well. It was amazing!! The crispiness of the skin and the smokiness. Chicken was so tender! Don't forget to grab the pineapple coleslaw.

My sister has been living on Oahu for 13 years now and I can't believe out of all the times I've visited, I've never tried huli huli chicken from anywhere. Well, I finally got to try it on this trip. We came by on a Sunday at 11 and there was no line. We were doing our own North Shore food crawl, so we got half a chicken to share with everyone. The chicken was so tender and flavorful - even the white meat. Even my niece, who doesn't really eat chicken, liked it. It's also kind of fun watching them cook all the chicken. I'm so happy to have found this place and will definitely be back for my next visit to the island.

For anyone that hasn't been to Oahu before, this truck is located in 'north shore' which, as you might guess, is on the northern section of the island. So, if you are without a car and staying in Honolulu/Waikiki area, you will be quite far. However, if you did rent a car, Ray's is a great stop while making your way around the island (I recommend going East then North from Waikiki). Make sure you check their hours and location as they may be in a different area depending on the day of the week! Hard to miss them as they're set up with a tarp tent and a mobile rotisserie (great for pictures). I recommend getting half a chicken for 1-2 people; if you like it, you can always get more since a whole chicken seemed to be exactly 2x the price. The sauce tasted like it was just straight shoyu which was way too salty for the already-salty chicken. They took digital payments when I was here!

The most amazing rotisserie chicken ever !!! I went back and got a whole! lol. I notice reviewer said Costco is better what an idiot lol not even close. Can't wait to visit again it'll be my first lunch spot im coming hot with multiple orders whole. Only thing is you'll got do something about the flys tho it's insane a lot people won't like that lol

Very juicy good chicken! A little difficult to eat out there and very smoky in the parking lot, but definitely worth a stop. Make sure to use the sauce!

When in North Shore, you won't miss Ray's on the side of the street cooking up some chicken. Their set-up is all outside underneath some tarp which gives it a very local vibe. We ordered our food and they told us to come back in 15 minutes to get it and they were spot-on with their timing. You can watch the whole cooking process from when the chickens get prepped all the way to them putting in your to go box. The chicken was soft and delicious plus the coleslaw really helps round it all out. We also got a side of Grandma's sauce (vinegar, chili pepper, shoyu) to dip the chicken in. Although I enjoyed the flavor together, the combination was a bit too salty. Parts of the chicken were moist while some other parts were a bit dry. But for the price and quality of the food, Ray's is definitely worth a stop. You can't find a better value-to-quality ratio for your money in North Shore.

Located in Haleiwa on Kamehameha Hwy. There is no parking lot next to it. There is parking at various places a short walk away. I posted a photo of the current prices as of 5/1/2023. Basically half chicken $7.50 and whole $15. You can see it all cooking in front of you and coming off the spit. It was very good and its worthwhile to get Grandmas sauce, yes its an extra dollar but might as well test it out. It can be busy and take some time but for some good local chicken its worthwhile.

Rays Chicken should be open everyday! The flavor and tenderness of the food was mouthwatering! Whenever we return to the North Shore we will make this a must have spot! I'm not big on coleslaw but the added pineapple gave it a nice pair with the chicken.

This chicken was AMAZING! We truly enjoyed this chicken. They seasoned it really well. It's a go to place! It's an outdoor pit so not really a lot of places to sit, and it can get very crowded but definitely worth the wait. We walked over to Jorge's Mexican spot to grab a happy hour margarita to pass the time. Service was really nice you can tell they were working really hard to get the orders out. The only thing I noticed were the number of flies. Flies are expected with outdoor pits but they seemed to have more than I was expecting but not enough for me to doc a point. Overall, a must stop!

HULI HULI. Means turning in Hawaiian. Rotisserie but the best flavor and combo of sauces and spices with a vinegar dipping sauce. SO TENDER. Chicken came out quick at 10:30 AM. Just a street stall so don't expect too much. No tables, just a parking lot so eat in ur car or bring it to a beach! Delicious.

Ray's is in Hale'iwa under a canopy with the chicken spits roasting over a trailer box of coals. You would think that you were at a county fair or farmer's market. The smoky coal-fueled aroma is unmistakable and seeps its way into the chicken meat. We ate some right away and it's incredibly tender, juicy and delicioius - not in-your-face delicious because they don't put any kind of heavy rub or spices and I'm sure they don't brine the chicken. It's just a good old-fashioned spit roast. The smoke on the palate keeps even for leftovers, but the chicken meat can dry up if you decide to keep for later. You can ask for Whole Chicken or Half Chicken, then can add on rice scoops and/or pineapple cole slaw, which was pretty basic, except for a few pineapple mini wedges mixed in. Overall, great value, and fun for visitors to see how they prepare and cook all the chickens at the same time. I would definitely come back and try 'Grandma's Sauce', which I forgot to get samples for. Next time - that's all...

$16 for whole chicken 3/2024. Pretty authentic flavor - but salty. Da'best is still the Big Island or Hana. But seems like Ray's is the closest on Oahu.

Costco chicken is better. I don't get the hype. No flavor and the wait time is ridiculous. Can't believe I bought into it.

This will always be my GO TO Huli huli chicken spot family owned, beautiful service, fast to get orders out! The pineapple coleslaw is the best coleslaw. Perfect sweet and refreshing.

Spit roasting chickens outdoors over a bed of coals, Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken makes some of the best chicken I've had. The chicken is made fresh throughout the day until 4 pm when they put out their fire and sell off what remains. Both times I've been, I shared the half chicken plate with another person. It comes with rice, a delicious coleslaw and "grandmother's sauce" (a tart dipping soy sauce). At $12 a plate, it's hard to beat, especially when the chicken is so moist and flavorful.

We stop by Ray's Chicken when we pass through Haleiwa Town and the line is short, which is seldom. You can't miss them, just follow the smoke and the wonderful smells. We stopped by on a Sunday at lunch and the line was short so we picked up a half chicken with Cole slaw to take home for dinner. My wife and I shared a half chicken for dinner that costed us just $7.50, of course we are not big eaters. The chicken was just as delicious as ever and we will again return when the lines are short. Usually the line is too deep for me to wait.

I always think about ray's kiawe when I crave rotisserie chicken. The juicy flavors and perfect char are what makes this chicken stand out from the rest. I highly recommend ordering a couple whole chickens to take back home. Don't forget the pineapple slaw and the dipping sauce for the chicken. If you want to eat it right then and there, order the chicken plate-- it comes with rice and the pineapple slaw.

Seeing a chicken pit and smelling it from afar piqued our interest and decided to try this chicken. Unfortunately, we are not satisfied with it. It was really salty even for my taste. Like, sea water level salty. It's a shame because the chicken was cooked well. It was juicy and tender. I had to tell my wife to stop eating it because she had history of kidney stones and the amount of salt might trigger it.

Certainly the best chicken on the Island ! Always a treat specially when mainland visitors come ONO !

Can't believe my first time here and realizing how much I've missed out! Seriously does taste as good as the photo looks. We waited about 20-30 min as we watched the chicken getting roasted. They pulled off a batch of chicken and cut it. Received super hot and after waiting for the chicken and having to smell the delicious smoky goodness, I was ready to eat! The line started getting ridiculously long, lots of tourists too. So great to see all the support. It's a good thing to be able to get huli huli chicken and not have to wait for a carnival like in the old days. Mister and I took our plate lunch that includes rice, chicken, sauce, cole slaw, and traveled not too far down the road parked at the boat harbor and scarfed our delicious food! The chicken was tender, juicy and very flavorful. Sort of wish the skin was a little rendered and crispy, but we absolutely enjoyed it still. Rice cooked perfectly, and the slaw added a nice sort of sweet touch as a side. As for the sauce, I didn't use any of it since the chicken tasted good as is. Check this place out!!! but be prepared to wait, long line and freshly cooked. All worth it!

Fucking amazing! DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS CHICKEN! so glad we had the windows down because the smell guided us! So so so flavorful and juicy! There was a huge line and 30 minute wait for chicken and I can say it is well worth the wait!!!! Don't miss this roadside stop, it's legit!

This outdoor spot along the side of the road was a gem. They have the chickens rotating for you to see them get broiled and you can smell the smoke. Super juicy chicken and seasoned well. For around $6 for half a chicken I was left very satisfied with my decision to stop by!

This place is well known on the island for there famous chicken. I would definitely go here more often but I live on the other side of the island from this place so I only stop by when I'm on this side of the island.

Hands down the BEST chicken. We love ordering in advance because the wait time is long. We've also ordered there ignoring the wait time because it is that good. We normally get a full chicken and a plate lunch chicken which comes with chicken, rice, coleslaw, and their dipping sauce It's always cooked to perfection. Staff is nice as well. Absolutely love it here.

Chicken is great, service is great, ambience? it's an outdoor takeout only. Always stop by this place whenever I am in the area.

Half chicken plate $13 good deal!! Chicken is tasty and the slaw is refreshing!! The sauce taste so good with chicken.

Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken has become somewhat of a must stop (for tourists) along with Matsumoto Shave Ice and Giovanni's Shrimp Truck when you go to Hale'iwa. I've had the latter two, but never Ray's. Why? I'm not sure myself, but I finally made it, so let's see what the fuss is all about. This Ray's is only open on the weekends located in Hale'iwa, right next to Malama Market with plenty of parking in a dirt lot. You can watch the chickens rotating over the hot Kiawe coals. $12.50 for a whole chicken, $7 half, $9 for two scoops of rice with a half chicken. Also has Coleslaw, drinks, and grandma's sauce. Since we're here, I might as well get a chicken for the family. We ordered 3 whole chickens. They can chop it for you as well, but I'm really big pieces. Also got a small cup of Grandma's Sauce. The aroma of the chicken was amazing in the car, and the drive home was too long! The first bite was.....super salty. I guess it was a heavy hand on that specific part of the chicken because the rest of the chicken was....also salty, but not overbearing. You definitely get the smoky, sweet kiawe charcoal taste. Other than that, it was decent and unique. You won't find it like this at many places. The chicken was slow cooked, so the breast portion was on the dry side, but the bones were very tasty. As for Grandma's Sauce....the ingredients lists soy sauce, vinegar, and chili pepper. This sauce was more soy sauce, meaning added more saltiness to the already salty chicken, but I did like the subtle spiciness and twang. Overall, similar to Giovanni's Shrimp truck and Matsumoto's Shave Ice, Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken isn't the greatest or all that good, but tourists seem to love it since it's unique to them. I have family friends who visit Hawaii every year, before Covid, and they always go to these places. For me, and maybe most tourists, once is enough. Service was friendly. Be prepared to wait for your chicken if it's busy!

This is a stand selling some delicious roast chicken at very affordable prices. My friends and I came here on Saturday around 2 pm, and there wasn't too much of a wait to order. The four of us decided to share a whole chicken for $12.50, which seemed very reasonable. We also ordered two scoops of rice for an additional $2. The main problem with this place is that they don't offer any seating, not even benches. They suggested we take the food down to the beach to eat, but we also ordered some smoothies from the cafe across the parking lot and they let us eat their in their patio. The chicken was very well flavored and not too dry. None of us were super hungry and we were also trying to save room for Matsumoto's afterwards, so a whole chicken was the perfect amount for the four of us to split.

After making the trek to Haleiwa for shave ice we came across this gem. If the bright yellow letters and tour buses don't catch your attention the stream of smoke and smell of kiawe broiled chicken will. Park on a patch of dirt, grass, or at the farmers market next door. This location takes cash and cards. We ordered a whole chicken and side of sauce. This outdoor rotisserie style chicken is smoked to perfection, flavorful, tender, juicy, and worth the wait. No bathrooms, tables, or designated seating area.

LEGENDARY CHICKEN! "Taste so good, make you wanna slap yo mama". I just finished a long run and needed some protein. I smelled the hulihuli from the road. Ate 1-1/2 chicken with rice. I wish I ordered more. I'll give my left nut for another bite. Definitely coming back for more next weekend! Oh and the prices are super reasonable

Chicken was juicy and flavorful with whatever marinade they used. High recommend!! Not over seasoned to where the natural chicken flavor can shine!

Hard to get to just because certain locations are open on specific days and they are open until they sell out or 4:30pm in Haleiwa. Since I finally was able to be here on the correct day and time we had to wait a while as it is so popular. The wait really wasn't that bad once you were in the tent. Overall pricing for everything was super good as a plate is $12, a whole chicken is $14, and a half chicken is $7.50. My bf and I both ordered our own plates and thank goodness we did because we quickly devoured it all. First I'll mention the delicious pineapple coleslaw as it was wet and sweet. Grandma's sauce was good but didn't necessarily feel the kick of a spicy flavor, really just was soy sauce and vinegar which is always good. The rice was freshly cooked which is always appreciated! The chicken itself was good but the chicken skin was delicious! Perfectly crisp and salty with a little bit of spice. I wish the flavor would deep into the actual chicken a little more but the chicken was cooked well and devoured easily. Definitely is more of a once in a while place but good overall.

Wow... this as an example experience to never forget. We waited awhile for our food but several other people did too...... yep it's just that busy! However, it's worth waiting for. To my understanding this food truck only is here on Yelp he North Shore of the island on Saturday during certain hours. If you in Hawaii on Oahu island, check it out or ask the locals if they know where the truck will be. They serve several different areas on different days. Aloha!

Always taste good whenever we visit, no hit or miss. There's a line and wait but its worth it.

This place is not easy to find online unless you do some additional Googling for huli huli chicken. I recommended my son to another huli huli chicken place called Mike's huli chicken as that was the only result that kept surfacing in my search. We've had fresh huli huli chicken before in Kauai and it was awesome, so really wanted the same experience. My son told me that Mike's huli chicken was cold and was served from a food truck with no BBQ pit in sight, so that was enough for me to search for the real deal. Ray's Kiawe Broiled Chicken was the one I found, and it delivered. Call them first to make sure they are open or you maybe disappointed. They are very busy and may run out of chicken so go early. When you arrive on site, you'll see the smoke and smell the chicken roasting and it's was awesome. The system they had in place was very efficient, someone takes your order and you are given a receipt number. There's a crew of 2 placing and taking chicken off the grill, one person pulling the roasted chicken off the spit for another person to chop them in half. A staff of 3 then prepares the final packaging for each customer and calls out their number. You may need to wait 20-30 mins for your order if it's busy as the chicken is literally packaged as soon as they come off the spit, but it is so worth it. It's piping hot, juicy and flavourful. Ray's has the best chicken on the island that I know of and I wish my son could have experience the real deal.

We went here on a weekend afternoon after seeing this place couple of times when we were driving around Haleiwa town. The huge bbq site with full chickens on a stick rolling over fire definitely draws your attention. We took a half chicken plate. It comes with half chicken, one scoop rice, pineapple cole slaw, and soy sauce. The chicken was perfectly grilled with crispy skin and juicy meat. Meat inside was little bland for my taste. Overall, we enjoyed our meal here and definitely recommended when you are in the area.

Asked my husband to turn around when the rotating spits caught my eye. I had to know what it was. There among all of the roasting chickens were several adorable young men selling chicken as fast as they could cut and box it. This chicken is delicious! I even bought their spice packet to take home. Looking around we noticed that almost all of their customers were locals. That told us everything we needed to know. And the meals we purchased had so much food in them we struggled to finish. Dessert was fresh fruit from the market next door. So good. So glad we tried them. A hidden gem!

I hope you like flies... because this location is full of them. Homeless people too... It's just not a very appetizing location. Also, sometimes they put hot chicken in a closed container which basically ensures the skin won't be crispy. So I hope that was enough negativity for you, because everything else in this review will be all superlatives... BEST ROAST CHICKEN ON THE PLANET I think I have at least 100 reviews of JUST roast chicken. I... know... roast... chicken... We eat roast chicken at least (at least) once a week- and have for years. THIS IS THE BEST ROAST CHICKEN ON THE PLANET We went twice... it's a 30 minute drive each way. We pull over in a parking lot and the two of us eat the whole chicken in about 15 minutes, right on the spot. Grandma's sauce and all. Get the damn chicken if you go to the island. But yeah- hope you like flies.

Juicy, very flavorful, generously portioned rotisserie chicken at a reasonable price. You'll have to find a place to sit since the shop is just a tent in a parking lot with a rotisserie grill on the side, but the meal is perfect for taking to any of the beautiful local beach parks anyway so it works out. The slightly (but not too) sweet pineapple slaw complements the savory chicken excellently. For me, this was perfect roadside local grindz for a daytrip to the North Shore.

Delicious succulent chicken. Crispy skin and perfectly cooked moist meat. Cheap price yet nice quality food. Love this find in a parking lot. Check the schedule as they are not there everyday. I didn't get to try the coleslaw. The plate lunch comes with 2 scoops of rice and half a chicken. Grandma's sauce is separately charged and it's a slightly sour soy sauce with a hint of sriracha. Highly recommended the super yummy chicken. There may be a wait but it's worth it!

They're only at this location on saturdays and Sundays from 9:30-3 or until sold out? Check out their insta for other locations. Set up is in the parking lot of Malama market. We got there a little after 9 and had to wait 20 minutes because someone already placed a huge order before us. There was a long line by 9:30! Go early! We loved the huli huli chicken in Kauai so had to Give this a try. The seasoning on these roasted chickens ... omg what is it ??? So flavorful without being too salty. The entire chicken is so tender. Drooling just thinking about it. If you happen to be in the area, get it. You won't regret it.

Freaking delicious. Simple and done right. Juicy, flavorful chicken, with crispy skin. Dare I say, the most tasty coleslaw I've ever had. Seriously reasonable prices and friendly service. I hope to be back again one day!

Never disappointed with their chicken!! We bought it for our picnic & everyone loved them. Don't forget to order their sauce too. The line is always long but definitely worth it. You could also call ahead so don't have to wait too long.

This place had a long line. The service was quick, all things considered. It was neat to see the way they broil whole chickens. The chicken was good, the rice was, well rice. The star of the show? The pineapple coleslaw. The sauce they have is nice on the rice and chicken. I recommend you give this place a try! My only complaint is they didn't give me any napkins. Napkins are needed as you caveman your way through the chicken.

Yes, it's that good. Rotisserie chicken at its finest! I don't know how they do it but the whole chicken is so flavorful. The thick chicken breast is super moist and delicious. Having this chicken with some hot rice was the perfect way to end our visit to Waimea Valley. For years I had this place bookmarked and just never visited because you just assume it's rotisserie chicken, not too exciting but I was wrong. Do yourself a solid and come get this chicken. I didn't really enjoy the pineapple coleslaw but try it out. The grandmas sauce is a combination of vinegar, sugar and shoyu from what I taste but not certain. The chicken dipped in that sauce gives it that acidic kick, yummmm! For covid safety it's not that great as people do tend to huddle up waiting under the little awning for shade, it's all outside so you feel safe regardless. Everyone was wearing a mask when we were there.