What Happened to Opal Thai Food After Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?
Current status
As of September 2026, Opal Thai Food has closed — confirmed via honolulumagazine.com, November 16, 2017.
Last verified
What the source shows: Honolulu Magazine reported the Haleiwa location's 2017 closure and relocation to Chinatown, and a September 2026 Yelp listing shows that successor Chinatown location also permanently closed.
- Season / episode Season 15, Episode 10
- Original air date
- Address 197 Kamehameha Highway, Haleiwa, HI 96712
Address
197 Kamehameha Highway, Haleiwa, HI 96712
We have not geocoded this record yet, so it is not on the map.
What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured Opal Thai Food's North Shore Thai cooking on the episode "All Family, All the Time," which aired 2012-10-22, according to the show's own episode archive. Opal Thai Food began on Kamehameha Highway in Haleiwa on Oahu's North Shore. Honolulu Magazine reported on 2017-11-16 that the Haleiwa location closed and its owners relocated the restaurant to Smith Street in Honolulu's Chinatown, taking over a space vacated by Scratch Kitchen & Bake Shop. A Yelp listing for that Chinatown address, updated September 2026, marks the successor location as permanently closed as well, with more than 700 reviews on file, so no location currently operates under the Opal Thai name.
On the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives episode 'Crazy for Chicken' (aired 2014-04-18), Guy Fieri visited Opal Thai Food on Oahu's North Shore in Haleiwa. According to DinersDriveInsDivesLocations.com, Fieri sampled the restaurant's garlic chicken, highlighted through a Thai Glazed Garlic Chicken Wings dish built on a heavy garlic marinade. Opal Thai began as a food truck run by chef-owner Opal before growing into a family-run, sit-down restaurant serving Thai dishes made with local Hawaiian ingredients. The segment framed the stop as a North Shore spot blending Thai flavor traditions with Hawaiian produce for a casual, counter-order crowd.
Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
- Season / episode
- Season 15, Episode 10
- Original air date
- Episode title
- All Family, All the Time
- What was featured
- North Shore Thai cooking at a Haleiwa food stand
- Role
- Featured restaurant
- Name on the broadcast
- Opal Thai Food
- Season / episode
- Season 19, Episode 14
- Original air date
- Episode title
- Crazy for Chicken
- What was featured
- garlic chicken and Thai Glazed Garlic Chicken Wings
- Role
- Featured restaurant
- Name on the broadcast
- Opal Thai Food
Frequently asked questions
Is Opal Thai Food still open in 2026?
As of September 2026, Opal Thai Food has closed — confirmed via honolulumagazine.com, November 16, 2017.
What happened to Opal Thai Food after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured Opal Thai Food's North Shore Thai cooking on the episode "All Family, All the Time," which aired 2012-10-22, according to the show's own episode archive. As of September 2026, Opal Thai Food has closed — confirmed via honolulumagazine.com, November 16, 2017.
Is Opal Thai Food permanently closed?
As of September 2026, Opal Thai Food has closed — confirmed via honolulumagazine.com, November 16, 2017. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.
Where is Opal Thai Food located?
197 Kamehameha Highway, Haleiwa, HI 96712. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.
What season and episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured Opal Thai Food?
Season 15, Episode 10 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, first aired October 22, 2012. The episode is titled “All Family, All the Time”.
What do reviews say since Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?
A Yelp listing for that Chinatown address, updated September 2026, marks the successor location as permanently closed as well, with more than 700 reviews on file, so no location currently operates under the Opal Thai name. We summarise what dated sources report; we do not publish our own rating.
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Visit info
- Address
- 197 Kamehameha Highway, Haleiwa, HI 96712
- Venue type
- restaurant
- Official website
- None found
- State hub
- TV restaurants in Hawaii
Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources
- honolulumagazine.com — https://www.honolulumagazine.com/haleiwas-opal-thai-is-now-in-chinatown/
- Yelp — https://www.yelp.com/biz/opal-thai-honolulu
- dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com — https://www.dinersdriveinsdiveslocations.com/opal-thai-food-hawaii.html
- flavortownusa.com — https://www.flavortownusa.com/locations/601/opal-thai-food
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Record ddd-0557 · last verified .