Lemona

Lemona is off the beaten path of the main strip on Waikiki but when you find this hidden gem you will love it. I’ve had a lot of Shave Ice by the time I visited this place and this place is solid.
The owner was so friendly and nice and took the time to explain the different flavors. Finally I settled for something simple and that was the strawberry and condensed milk. It was pretty good! But the syrup was too sweet for me. You can tell it was all homemade (syrup and condensed milk) so it gave it a special taste.
This is a must try if you are ever in Waikiki!

Went here based on the other reviews and it did not disappoint. Everything about this place is perfection. The store itself is so lovely and clean and he women who own/​work there are wonderful. Had the lilikoi with condensed milk and it was definitely the best shave ice Ive ever had. Truly amazing. Their syrups and condensed milk are all organic and homemade and their is no comparing the taste to the other shave ice places. When in Honolulu/​Waikiki it is a must visit if you want excellent shave ice.

5 Stars for a reason! Fresh, all natural and seasonal fruit syrups and toppings. Finely shaved ice and generous portions. Super nice husband and wife team. Best Shave Ice in Waikiki!
Found it on the Thrillist «Best of Honolulu» list. (It is located behind the Courtyard Marriott on Kuhio/​accepts credit cards)

The staff is so nice and OMG the shave ice is TO DIE FOR !!! First time and I LOVE IT. If your looking for something to cool you down this IS the Place to go ! I guarantee you won’t regret it! I love in Hawaii an this is the best shave ice I ever had. The best part is its all natural real flavoring and no fake syrups. If you love condensed milk they also make there own mmmmmmm:

Wonderful place! Shaved ice is such a nice treat and I really enjoyed it. Had the green tea selection with strawberries on top and it is so unique and special.

Thank you Unilocal for guiding us to this place. After having highly rated shaved ice a couple days before that turned out to be filled with artificial flavored and who knows what else, we decided to go in search of shaved ice with organic ingredients and real fruit. We figured it must exist with Unilocal’s help, we were guided to Lemona. We were not disappointed. Everything is made in-​house, even the condensed milk. The consistency of the ice was perfect, the servings were generous, and the quality of ingredients was evident in every incredible bite. I had the papaya, my husband had the strawberry. Both were incredible. If I’m going to have a treat, I don’t want to feel miserable afterwards. The one downside is the location, a bit two far from the beach. Even so, next time I’m back in Hawaii, I have a feeling I’ll find my way back. This place left me dreaming about my next trip.

Delicious fresh fruit and refined shaved ice! Tried the papaya and pineapple flavor. Totally coming again.

The best place for naturally flavored shave ice.
Hubby and I had matcha green tea with homemade azuki beans and mango flavored shave ice with mangoes on top. Highly addictive!
The natural and fresh taste made Lemona become our favorite place for shave ice.
Staff is very friendly ^^

Myers Lemon shaved ice was super yummy.
Matcha Green Tea with Condensed Milk and Azuki Beans my mom got was the real thing. Strawberry with Condensed Milk was the Taste of Childhood! Just like Ichigo Milk Candy. It’s a cute place with comfy furniture. Two sets of regular locals were there along with Japanese Tourists who learned about Lemona in a guidebook or on TVI.

It’s shaved ice! Made from fresh fruits and the condense milk is homemade too .
I stumbled upon this place cause I was staying across the street so I decided to try it out. The cashier was extremely friendly ! She explained to us how the shaved ice and its toppings etc work .
So our desert came out pretty fast too. Upon the first bite I could tell the strawberries were FRESHHH.
My cousin got the mango one and omg. It was so soft and sweet. It was delicious !! I will definitely be back. The staff and the shaved ice was delicious!

This might be my new favorite shave ice place. It’s a hidden gem in Waikiki. Where have you been all my life?
My coworker mentioned this place to me. She said her friends are raving about this joint. And they are right. Delightful shave ice in a cute little shop decorated with lemons and fruits. I ordered the mango and it was topped with fresh mango fruit and organic condensed milk. Not the canned goodness. LOL! Each bite was a spoon of sweet cold ice. The mango fruit gave it extra fruitiness. Ooohhhhh… On hot muggy day, it is the place to go.

First stall off Lewers is for this venue. Otherwise good luck with finding street parking. Had the strawberry shave ice with homemade condensed milk. Yum! Will be back to try the coffee and seasonal fruit selections.

One of the best shave ice ice had on the island. ALL the syrups are made from 100% fruit so there will be seasonal specials. So far, I’ve tried the Meyers lemon, pineapple, mango, cantaloupe, lychee, blueberry, green tea/​azuki… Gotta be honest, each one I ate was Ono in its own way. Mango was soo sweet and the green tea was just like Japan! But my favorites have got to be the lemon (w/​a little of condensed milk) and the pineapple! Just the thing for a hot day in Hawaii:)

This has got to be the best shaved ice I have ever had… Maybe even better than Ululanis in Maui. It’s a small shop hard to find and difficult Peking but once u get inside and indulge in your shave ice treat it’s so worth the effort. The place is clean cute, bright and welcoming. The workers were very friendly helpful and explained the quality of their ingredients. Small menu items but the flavors are TRUE to taste especially the green tea! If your a green tea lover this is the ultimate green tea shave ice you will ever have. Once it melts in the bowl it becomes a fresh brewed iced green tea. I love it so much I can’t wait to come back tomorrow! Hopefully they can add mochi to their add ins. But otherwise it’s still super delicious and refreshing!

Yummy strawberry shave ice and 100%
#KonaCofee shave ice with condensed milk!
All natural ingredients and super refreshing treat on a hot day.
#LemonaHawaii

It’s not like Hawaii doesn’t have a ton of shave ice spots, but what Lemona has that many other spot don’t are syrups made from real fruits! They’ve only been open a few months now, but I think they’re going to do well!
Parking:
Street. Don’t get me started on trying to find some of this very limited commodity in Waikiki. Basically, if you’re already in Waikiki, make sure to walk over & stop by, but if you’re not, then good luck finding some parking.
Location:
If I hadn’t had someone literally walk me right up to the building, I’m not sure that I would’ve found the place. It’s on the right hand side of Lewers St. if you’re headed towards the Ala Wai, and it’s in a cute little yellowish beige 2-​storey building w/​white trim (you have to walk down a drive way to get to the front door).
Flavors:
Since they make all the fruit syrups from real fruits, sometimes things are going to be seasonal, like pear or mango, and sadly not always available. They source most of their fruits locally (and are always looking for new local sources if you have a lead on one). In addition to the fruit flavors, they have Japanese matcha, azuki, Kona coffee, & for an upcharge, you can have them add azuki beans or fresh fruits & condensed milk!
Ones I’ve tried:
Pear — seasonal; subtle flavor, light sweetness
Meyer Lemon — pretty tart, so you should get it w/​condensed milk to kinda balance that out
Papaya — papaya flavor is light but good; i’d probably get it w/​condensed milk next time
100% Kona Coffee — made from the real stuff & kinda reminded me of coffee w/​milk & sugar; it’s pretty sweet
Matcha w/​azuki — My FAVE of the things I’ve had thus far! They make the syrup from the real matcha powder that they use in tea ceremonies & it tastes great w/​azuki!
They give you a pretty healthy pile of shave ice in each order. If it ends up being too much for you to eat at once, they also have plastic cups and straws so you can take the rest w/​you! Some flavors melt down into some delicious smoothies/​juices! And the Kona Coffee ends up kind of like an iced coffee or frappé.
Pricing:
Prices start at $ 6.50 for most of the fruit flavors, with upcharges for toppings like azuki ($ 1) or fresh fruits & condensed milk ($ 0.75). It sounds pretty expensive for some shave ice, but there’s a lot of it and you don’t have to worry about what the syrups are actually made of. I’d say one order is at least 3 – 4 cups of shave ice (after being doused in syrup).
Overall:
I’d love to go back when lilikoi season starts up! I don’t eat shave ice often (because of all the sugar), but I really like that they use local fruits, and make everything in house. I probably won’t be going unless I’m already in Waikiki, but it’ll definitely be my first choice over other ones in that area!

Waikiki is full of hidden gems and Lemona is the latest one that Ive stumbled upon. Tucked away on Lewers Street between Kuhio and Ala Wai is Lemona, a new Mom & Pops Shave Ice Shop. I went looking for them recently with a friend and had a refreshing afternoon sampling a few flavors.
Instead of artificial syrup and coloring, they make all their syrups from scratch and use fresh fruit and organic homemade condensed milk for most of their shave ice creations. Its a nice healthy alternative take on one of Hawaiis most beloved treats.
I first tried their Lemon Shave Ice made with fresh Meyer Lemons from the Big Island. Honestly at first bite, this one was a bit too tart for me. The owners did add in some of their homemade organic condensed milk and this cut some of the tartness down. However if you like lemons, you will probably love this shave ice. If you have more of a sweet tooth, dont order this one.
Next, I tried their Papaya Shave Ice. Its topped with fresh Papaya from Hawaii and the syrup is also made with fresh papaya as well. I thought this was a perfect blend of sweetness and flavor and found this one to be quite refreshing!
I finished the visit by sampling their Matcha Green Tea and Azuki Bean with Condensed Milk Shave Ice. This one was simply amazing! They use ceremonial grade matcha powder and the flavor of the green tea is well balanced. The azuki beans come from Hokkaido and they cook and prepare the azuki in the store, a real treat! I could eat this everyday!
I will also definitely be back to try their Kona Coffee and Strawberry Shave Ice in the future. Those are their other popular flavors. Since they use seasonal fruits, the owners said to expect new flavors in the future. And the owners are also super friendly and enjoy talking to you.
You can find parking along the Ala Wai or metered parking behind Genius Lounge off of Kuhio. Lemona is worth the trek into Waikiki!

This place is truly a hidden gem on Lewers. It’s such a cute lil place with very friendly staff. All their syrups are home made too! They have different flavors like Kona coffee, matcha, or Meyers Lemon. We had the strawberry with condensed milk and it was pretty good! Also because it was Valentines day we got free kit kats! That was so sweet of them!

Another great shave ice shop making homemade all natural syrups from fresh seasonal fruit. They had very creative flavors such as pear and pomegranate, and the usual suspects like strawberry, pineapple and green tea. The flavor and softness of the shave ice was spot on.
The only downfall I see is the price. At about 7.50ea it’s a little steep but they are located in Waikiki, so I can understand the higher prices. I also think they only have one size, which is huge so you may want to share.
They are a family run business and very nice. Each of them came by to thank us for stopping be and asked how we liked it. Go get some!

Three of us went to Lemona because we heard there was a shave ice place with all natural homemade syrups. It’s a new shave ice place on Lewers Street. We were in Waikiki and decided to check it out. It wasn’t hard to find & we found street parking.
Bottom line. This was the best shave ice I’ve had in my entire life and I’m from Hawaii and I’m not that young either (so I’ve tried all the other shave ice places)!
The place is really sunny, cute and cozy. You just want to sit down and take your time savoring the best, softest shave ice ever.
The owners make the syrups from fresh ingredients. I’ve only had the Malolo type syrups in the past and now I’ll never go back to that!
So, it’s Christmas week and I’ve been eating a lot of sweets and the last thing I needed was more sweets. But the Lemona shave ice was light, refreshing and not crazy sweet like regular shave ice places. There are chunks of fresh fruit on top as well. You can get it with condensed milk and azuki beans too. Even the green tea is made with an exclusive high quality tea from Japan.
I’m embarrassed to say that I got 2 shaved ices because they were so yummy. I figured I needed to try as many favors as possible with my buddies, who also tried several flavors.
What was amazing was the texture of the shave ice. It was so fine and soft that it didn’t harden up and freezes together like it does at other places where you take your wooden spoon and poke at it as you’re trying to eat it.
If I could, I’d give this place 6 stars. All other shave ice places seriously pale in comparison to this place.
I’m a fan!