Vegan
American
Take-out
Vietnamese

A family-owned restaurant that serves a variety of dishes from pasta, burgers and sandwiches to Vietnamese entrees and noodle soups, rice dishes with mock meats. Opened fall-2010. Reported fully vegan August 2021. Open Mon-Tue 10:30am-2:30pm, Mon-Sun 5:00pm-9:00pm, Thu-Sun 10:30am-2:30pm. Hours may vary; call ahead.


Venue map for Simple Joy
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129 Reviews

First Review by beve_luna

Mathcore

Points +32

Vegan
19 Jan 2025

My to go place when i visit Oahu

The title say it all. Their food is the bomb 💣 just go and enjoy

elinorcita

Points +42

Vegan
19 Jan 2025

Literally eat here weekly

Simple Joy is my #1 vegan spot on the island. The clay pot is my husband’s favorite dish but it can make you sweat on a warm day! Every appetizer is work trying—even my kids like them all. The Asian dishes are excellent, we have never ordered any of the western dishes because my kids love all the noodles and rice options here. My personal favorite is the lemongrass tofu — it comes with cold kimchi and holy heck you gotta try this: one bite lemongrass tofu and then stuff some kimchi in your mouth, taste it all together. It’s amazing!!

Updated from previous review on 2025-01-19

Pros: Taste, Price, Variety

Smmay1313

Points +72

Vegan
18 Jan 2025

Friendly family run and tasty

We came here on recommendation of Happy Cow and boy are we glad we did! Be sure to order the banana leaf salad and the pumpkin soup. The soy protein they use is amazing. And the staff is friendly and helpful. A wonderful place to eat

Pros: Food, Staff, Banana leaf salad

GoHerOwnWay

Points +1982

Vegan
12 Jan 2025

Amazing Asian food!! 🍱

Such a great restaurant 🔥 so many different options and awesome flavours.

We got the tofu stew, the teriyaki kebabs and the lemon grass Hawaiiana. It was so delicious and flavourful I was really impressed.

Only downsides were that the teriyaki kebab didn’t taste like teriyaki but it was still really tasty. The tofu stew was a lot sweeter than I expected but again still delicious. And it’s a little expensive but still would go back for more.

Awesome places. Please stay open 🌟 #Veganuary

vegetaristan

Points +64

Vegan
17 Dec 2024

Nice food and drinks!

Loved the wonton soup! Mapo tofu was a bit spicy but nice! Delicious sugar cane drink.

Updated from previous review on 2024-12-17

CarlosR

Points +16

Vegan
08 Oct 2024

Options

I understand the other reviews. The menu has a lot of options. But that was a good thing. A friend joined me who isn't vegan, and with a huge selection, it made it easier to explore more delicacies. The food was delicious, and the portions weren't small sizes.

RasaFournier

Points +117

Vegan
19 Aug 2024

So many delicious options

This is often our go to lunch spot because it has so many different dishes available, from Asian to Italian. They have vegan ice tea, and their banana flower salad is absolutely a must on my list. I often crave it and I've been known to order 2 at once just to get my fill. Their fake fish is some of the best on the island. Their tempura is so good, especially the chunks of mushroom. Their bean curd rolls are unusual and delicious, except that they're rarely available because apparently it's a specialized dish that takes a long time to make, so I'm not sure if they run out quickly or they just don't make it most days.
Unfortunately, they keep raising their prices a bit too steeply.

Updated from previous review on 2018-11-12

Pros: Extensive menu, Can accommodate large parties

Cons: Expensive

RasmusHansen

Points +139

Vegetarian
15 Aug 2024

Joyfully recommendation

Great food. Large menu that I would love to try more of.
Despite the host struggling with English, communication went just fine with finger pointing and smiles. And I even got pointers lessons in how the food traditionally is enjoyed.

Pros: Menu, Service

YoshiYoshi

Points +85

Vegan
17 May 2024

Best in our Hawaii Trip

The place was simply decorated but was clean and cool. We ordered Pho, pad Thai and Thai tea. All excellent. We'll definitely come back if we get a chance.

Pros: Great food, Reasonable Cost for Hawaii

KaceyMorgan

Points +68

Vegan
30 Apr 2024

Incredible Service, Would Try Again

If we are here long enough, I would go back. Is it the best Asian food I’ve ever had, no. but the staff was incredibly attentive, and the food was good overall. Pad Thai does not taste like pad Thai, but it was good.

Kate9791

Points +1449

Vegan
29 Apr 2024

One of my favorites!

I swoon for the Banana Flower Salad.
(The rest of the food is phenomenal too.)

Small, understated restaurant, but it’s never been busy when I’m in. Always always been an excellent lunch here!

Pros: Lots of GF, Dedicated parking lot

Cons: Closed once - I call first now.

KeithTharp

Points +978

Vegan
28 Apr 2024

One of my favorite spots on Oahu!

Simple Joy Vegetarian in Honolulu is a gem! It might just be the best vegan food on Oahu, and it's easily one of my favorite vegan restaurants. The Banana Flower salad is a fantastic starter, and I personally love #42 The Spring Roll Noodle and #24 Joy Noodle Soup, though honestly, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. The staff is incredibly friendly and the food is not only delicious but also beautifully presented. Thank you, Simple Joy, for being such a delightful vegan restaurant!

tardigrade

Points +32

Vegan
29 Mar 2024

Very nice

Tons of options. Everyone in the family found something and they all loved their food. Nice portions, too!

Pros: Lots of options, Friendly

marieroberts

Points +1548

Vegan
13 Feb 2024

It was pretty good

We had Asian salad, summer rolls, curry noodle and pho soup- everything was fresh and delicious.

Pros: All vegan

Cons: Strong bleach smell inside restaurant

Jessica_Marie

Points +416

Vegan
03 Feb 2024

Huge menu

If you're looking for a menu that will have something for everyone (Curry? French fries? Avocado smoothie? Spaghetti with red sauce?) - this is the place. If you're wanting atmosphere or someone a bit more upscale, not so much. I had the Pad Thai and it was boring and greasy. The fresh rolls were good.

Updated from previous review on 2024-02-03

Pros: Lots of options

mecarly1

Points +203

Vegan
03 Feb 2024

Reminds me of Loving Hut

Menu reminds me of Loving Hut. Plus they have pasta and sandwiches, though I am not sure how they are. However, the food I did try was great. Very extensive menu.

Misanthropia

Points +2827

Vegan
07 Jan 2024

Tasty vegan food and plenty options

Mostly Asian inspired options, but also some Western/European dishes such as pasta. I had the Seafood pasta, the similarity to actual seafood was a bit creepy but the taste was good. Also the staff is very friendly and forthcoming, he mixed up a part of our order and gave us a dish for free. Definitely one of the best options in Honolulu for vegans

TwoRabbits

Points +319

Vegan
10 Dec 2023

Tasty Asian options

As an appetizer we got the fried summer rolls - which I would skip next time as portion was small. We got the lemongrass noodle soup and veggie fried rice. We enjoyed both the entrees as they were a nice size and the flavor was there.

The menu was very large like close to 100 different items. Can be hard to choose with a menu that large especially since you’re only going to order a dish or two!

Pros: Helpful staff

Cons: Large menu

spiderho!!

Points +47

Vegan
26 Sep 2023

Yummmmm!

Perfect vegan food. The chow fun was great!!

Pros: Sauce was good for chow fun.

Breides

Points +66

Vegan
06 Sep 2023

Grrat choice!

The food was delicious for a reasonable price!

Catdogtor🐾

Points +496

Vegan
23 Aug 2023

Seriously adorable💙

Super quaint little hole-in-the-wall spot. Menu is extensive and has plenty of variety to please everyone. I had the “Kung Pow Wow,” which was good, and the potstickers which were even better. Definitely worth the stop😄

Updated from previous review on 2023-08-23

InadvertentlyVegan

Points +986

Vegan
19 Aug 2023

What a great little family restaurant

This a a simple place, with simple decor but family run, we were had a good time, the old lady serving worked her [censored] off as it was surprisingly busy with just her doing front of house, it think her daughter was in the kitchen.

It’s called vegetarian but everything is vegan just think they can’t be bothered to change the name.

Huge menu, so much to choose from

Trying to remember what we had
Pot stickers, Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs, Lemongrass Tofu, Pad Thai (maybe) we had noodles but not sure it was Pad Thai and Mixed veggies. A few things come with rice so we didn’t need extra

I think we had a Bannana Blossom Salad with lions mane mushrooms maybe, it was great, highly recommend it.

Updated from previous review on 2023-08-19

Pros: Easy street parking, Lovely people, Huge menu of choice

Cons: Slightly seedy part of town but maybe not

Harmoniclight

Points +44

Vegan
14 Aug 2023

Amazing crispy thick cut fries !! MMmm smoothie

Amazing smoothie (berry) and epic large cut thick fries with ketchup and I am a fry aficionado😄friendly service as well !

Pros: Crispy nice fries !, Friendly service , Nice smoothies

doublewire

Points +38

Vegan
06 Jul 2023

Quaint, homey, huge menu!

Was amazed at the selection here! Not just Vietnamese food but also Thai, Western, and more. The banh xeo and banh mi were delicious. Nice to eat off real dishes, a bit hard to find at a casual eatery in Hawaii!

Updated from previous review on 2023-07-06

kmramki

Points +70

Vegan
29 Jun 2023

Hole in the wall you'll love

Simple place, delicious meal

Pros: Delicious meal , Great variety, like Soondubu

AprilJoyce

Points +282

Vegan
05 Jun 2023

Simply Joyful

We had a great experience. The owner let me leave my bag while I picked up my friend from the airport on my motorcycle. We came back, ate & they allowed us both to charge our phones. The food was delicious. I had a banana flower salad, and spring rolls. My friend had potstickers and bahn mi. The food was yummy and priced very reasonably.

Pros: Service, Price, Food

Freya812

Points +70

Vegan
22 Feb 2023

Vegan Loco Moco!

Very convenient to downtown Honolulu. Was able to try a local favorite Loco Moco. So good! Very extensive menu.




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