Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck

This place was the mecca of shrimp trucks! After today I was not completely satisfied and ended up eating again afterwards! Lol.
Too oily, alot of garlic and I hate mushy rice! Plate for $ 13.00 your plate better be on point! Gonna try the Kahuku location before writing them off completely.
I always come with my husband and daughter and if I’m gonna spend $ 30-​$ 40 from a food truck, my expectations are high, of course!
Located in Haleiwa town. Now they have tons of food trucks I don’t eat anything else besides Giovannis. Parking is hard to find and you may have to wait. Alot of chickens and tables are dirty.

Tasty. Shells are on the shrimp. I understand this makes it much faster to cook/​prepare. But this means less garlic/​sauce on the shrimp itself, it gets thrown out with the shell. Regardless, very tasty.
Make sure to get garlic on the rice.
Still free soda with Unilocal checkin.
Hot sauce is meh (tastes like tobasco)
I would return here!

Initially, I planned on writing off Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck on our list, just because I’d hear stories of epic wait-​times and lines, two of my least favorite things in the world. We ended up driving past it, however, right when they opened, so it was kismet that had us happily chomping away on garlic shrimp a little while later.
THE OVERVIEW.
+ The truck is in it’s own little area (with shaded seating!), next to a variety of food trucks and shacks
+ Getting there early helps beat the line (it’s about 20 minutes for each dish to come out)
+ The shrimp scampi is legit — tons of flavor, and a lot going on!
+ Free sodas with Unilocal check-​in
~ Cash only (but I think there’s a nearby ATM)
I definitely preferred this to other shrimp trucks I tried during our trip. I wouldn’t necessarily wait in line for more than 10 – 15 minutes for it, but if you drive by and it’s not too bad, it’s worth checking out!

Gio’s is easily found off Kam Highway right across the street from McDonalds. There is plenty of parking in the private lot but during busy times you will have to be patient. Gio’s is in the middle area between the rest of the food truck in the lot. There are plenty of benches with umbrellas and trees to protect you from the elements. There is usually a line but it moves quick.
Their staple item is the Shrimp Scampi and recommend this dish especially for anyone that is unsure what to get and/​or it’s your first time here. You get two scoops of rice with 12 Shrimps marinated in olive oil, garlic and lemon butter. The shrimp is fresh, tender and very flavorful. The shrimp come with the shell cut down the middle so it is easy to take apart. You’ll need a fork or spoon in one hand while using your other hand to peel the shrimp.
I also tried the Hot & Spicy Shrimp. You get two scoops of rice with 12 Shrimps marinated in hot red sauce. I cannot handle spicy food and prefer the Scampi. The Hot & Spicy was definitely spice and had a good kick.
If you are in the area and hungry for some flavorful shrimp then come by and give Gio’s a try. I have tried many of the other shrimp trucks but always find myself coming back here for more.

Took a trip to North Shore for the beach and for the shrimp! We stopped by and ordered the shrimp scampi and the hot and spicy. They ran out of macaroni salad… so sad.
The shrimp were pretty big and the scampi sauce is a blend of garlic, oil, lemon and butter. I loved eating it with the soft, and almost gooey rice. Now the hot and spicy had a warning, «very hot and no refunds». I love spicy food but this was to the next level. I had to peel it and wipe off the spicy sauce because I couldn’t handle it. So be warned!

Top notch food. The prawns are large, not the wimpy ones you find in fried food. 12 full-​bodied prawns worth the $ 13. Squeezing the lemon on the shrimp provides a good, acidic contrast to the melted butter and minced garlic. Sure, there are flies outside, but if you’re complaining about that go eat inside otherwise suck it up.
Word of advice. Go early 11 – 11:30 to avoid a line.

Tried their famous lemon and garlic shrimp. It was good but the rice was mushy. Service was fast and friendly but i do not consider this the best on the island. See my review for other shrimp plates while in the North Shore. Just a-​ok in my book.

Famous and hyped up but for good reasons. Their shrimp scampi ($ 13) is super garlicy and flavorful! I love garlic so they really can’t go wrong with this one. I enjoyed the garlic pieces they put onto the two rice balls too. I was not a fan of how oily their plate is though! I had to tilt my plate so all the pool of oil can travel its way to the other side while I eat from the other side of my plate. I was not a fan of all the flies either, they were pretty annoying but can’t really do much about it.
Anyways, $ 13 for a tasty plate of 12 garlic shrimps with 2 rice balls and a slice of lemon. A good meal to get on the way to Shark’s Cove!

After everyone from all over the place telling me I had to try Giovanni’s…I had to right? It must mean something!
So those of you who are following me or reads my reviews, this eating excursion is also after my Shark Cage excursion from this morning, but after Matsumoto and a good 3 hour layout on Waimea beach. Everything I wanted to do was all in one location! It’s a sign!
The line was definitely long, but I don’t know if it’s worth the wait. I mean don’t get me wrong, it was delicious, but I don’t think I would do it again or meaning wait in a long line. I think it was close to 45mins to an hour for a food truck! I think it’s my first!
If you have time to kill and absolutely love garlic shrimp do it.
$ 13 for 12 shrimps and two scoops of rice. You think you don’t need it, but it helps balances the crazy garlic flavor! =) We ordered a side of mac, not bad either. Quite peppery.

13 dollars for the Shrimp Scampi (6 – 8 pieces of shrimp) and rice sounds a bit absurd but…
The hype is real.
P. S. — I love how the default photo for this truck is a hot dog lololol

Not sure what all the hype is about. this just reminds me of the Boiling Crab back home in California with the shrimp devained and stir fried.
What I Ordered
— Shrimp Scampi with Hot Sauce on the side
Plump shrimp cooked in a simple, super garlicky, butter sauce. HORRIBLE environment to eat in. Flies EVERYWHERE. We had to swat them away throughout our whole meal. Definitely not a fan and would not come back. $ 13 for 12 shrimps, two scoops of rice, million of flies and a long wait? No thanks.

Garlic shrimp scampi!!! You can’t go wrong so trust all the reviews and wait in that long line with the crappy parking because it will all be worth it before you know it!

Overhyped
Shrimp scampi ³⁄₅: The shrimp quality is amazing. Super fresh with a nice texture. The sauce however is greasy and bland. I didn’t know what I was expecting but maybe not oily shrimp with overly mild garlic flavor. Disappointing.
Mac salad ²⁄₅: the noodles where al debate but again the sauce was bland and boring.

Thanks for offering the half half option. The line does get long so try and come earlier later. I didn’t have to wait more than 5 minutes after ordering. $ 6 for 6 shrimps — plenty for one.
The original scampi sauce is the winner for me filled with that garlicky goodness.
I can now understand why they list no refund. It’s painfully spicy. Interesting for the experience but couldn’t enjoy more than 3 bites.
I had Macky’s about 3 years ago so can’t really fairly compare. All I can say is that I enjoyed Giovanni’s scampi.

Just like Matsumoto’s, we pulled up to the lot with open minds and the idea that this place MIGHT be overrated and over-​hyped. In my opinion, the shrimp was pretty damn good. We ordered the half orders of shrimp that came with rice — we wanted to try all the flavors we had so we got the half order of the original (2x), half order of lemon & butter and half order of spicy — each at $ 6.50 per order. I appreciated that they had this option for those that a) can’t eat 12 shrimps and/​or b) want to try all the flavors without breaking the bank.
Naturally, the original was my FAVORITE. The garlic and butter were ON POINT and the lemon they provided you with with each order came pretty handy to keep the dish fresh. The shrimp was easy to peel and they do de-​vein those babies, too (super plus)! We also got a side of mac salad (PASS on this, super bland) and a garlic hot dog with a bun (boyfriend wasn’t too please w/​this, and was sad he didn’t get it with rice instead).
Parking is pretty easy, line moves quickly, and seating is plentiful with a sink to wash your shrimp hands with. I personally really enjoyed this place and recommend their garlic and butter shrimp, everything else is just extra.

Disclaimer: Hawaii visitor review (bc if I lived here, I probably wouldn’t be as critical, but I have limited amount of meals I can fit in while visiting: P)
Really. Good. There are two of these trucks. We had already stopped and got full orders at Fumi’s couple hours before coming here. Not hungry but wanted to try this to compare since everyone raves about it. I was excited to see they sell half plates! Def full plate for a meal, but the half option is nice for a snack. 6 shrimps with rice for $ 6.50. There were only 3 options and we got the shrimp scampi. The quality of the shrimp was good! The garlic was on the lighter side than Fumi’s and it was sautéed so texture is harder to eat than Fumi’s having it sit in the butter sauce. But overall, the shrimps were delicious! I’d say a tad better than Fumi’s. Not too far from here is also wow wow lemonade. Also tasty! And good to grab both for a meal/​snack!

If you like shrimp… if you like Kickin Crab… Boiling Crab… are a shrimp lover… you HAVE got to try this. Garlic shrimp in Hawaii beats EVERYTHING! If you ask anyone who’s been to Hawaii, I’m sure they’ll tell you to head up to the North Shore and stop by this food truck. It will seriously not disappoint!
There are other food trucks in the same area so if you wanna try something else, there’s also other options! I do have to admit that the truck was hard to spot at first because it didn’t have a huge sign that read ‘Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck’ or something. But for future visitors and myself, it’s the truck that’s covered in tons of graffiti! There are seats/​tables with umbrellas that you can eat your food on. Gotta shoo away some of the flies every now and then though.
I think I remember getting the shrimp scampi and it was loaded with garlic. mmmmm! It came with macaroni salad and rice and had sooo much flavor. I seriously need to stop writing this review because I’m getting sad that it’s so far away and I can’t have it :(

Out of all the North Shore shrimp trucks galore, which do we pick? Solution: pick the most ghetto, run down, health code violating truck with slashed tires and graffiti scribbled all over it. Well a truck looking this run down MUST BE GOOD, if they are still in business and cranking out 4 Unilocal star garlic shrimp!
Giovanni’s must’ve been around a long time, before the food truck trend, for a truck to accumulate this much graffiti love on its exterior. It’s not a moving food truck, and it even looks like the truck has grown into the trees, shrubbery, and dirt of its spot.
I had the shrimp scampi; the garlic shrimp was beautifully cooked and drowned in butter and garlic fit for Paula Deen. The shrimp was cooked enough where it could be eaten with the shell on. Why peel the shell and lose all the sauce on it! I felt the macaroni salad was quite plain and bland. A little salt and pepper could’ve gone a long way.
I do think it was quite expensive ($ 6.50 for 6 pieces of shrimp — half plate), basically a $ 1 per average size shrimp. I do wish I tried other garlic shrimp trucks to compare Giovanni’s too, but I feel Giovanni’s has been a long time favorite among tourists AND locals.

The original Giovanni’s Shrimp, WOOOOT!
Fresh shrimp, sauteed in heaps of garlic and butter, and skin so crisp you can eat the shrimp with the skin on. Served with a couple scoops of rice, and even more garlic and butter sauce. The SHRIMP SCAMPI was definitely delicious but it was also a very heavy meal. I’d say it lives up to the hype, but I probably cannot finish a whole plate by myself.
I also tried the SPICY SHRIMP– oh man. this was super spicy, and I can usually handle spicy. The spicy sauce had a tangy flavor to it, like the tangyness found in buffalo wings sauce. Not sure I’m a fan, since the spiciness made it difficult to enjoy.
The only downside of eating here is that there are TONs of flies everywhere, so keep your eyes and hands ready to shoo away any of these annoying flies.

Delicious shrimp and rice.
The truck itself is a little tough to spot in the open lot as the truck has been there since the 90’s and the Giovanni’s written across the truck has faded away. But just look for the long line of folks and you’ll be sure to quickly spot it. Surprisingly, the line moves quickly and you’ll be in and out with your order in no time.
I got the shrimp scampi with hot sauce on the side. The shrimp were large and deveined which made it convenient to eat. You get an extra plate for the shells but since it was deep fried, I went ahead and ate the whole thing. The garlic sauce on the rice was delicious. Make sure your date also has some as you’ll leave with some potent garlic breath.
Overall, portion size was really good for the price and the food was awesome. I’d definitely go back.