Help with good eats in Oahu

[ultimate4g63]

Hello,

My fiancee and I will be in Oahu October 2-7. Our first time to Hawaii so we're really excited.

I need some suggestions for some great places to eat. More specifically, dinner places.

We'd like to take in as much traditional Hawaiian cuisine as we can during our short stay. Not so much interest in touristy stuff (we do have some, like Leonards, that we plan to visit).

We'll be staying in Waikiki, but will have a car rental so driving around the island is not a problem. Would prefer not to have to search high and low for parking though.

From other threads, we've decided to visit a few places already:

- Alan Wong's Restaurant for dinner (already have a reservation)
- Helena's Hawaiian for lunch
- Romy's Shrimp Truck for lunch (can anyone suggest something else to do up on the north shore?)
- Nobu for dinner (have a reservation, but not sure if we will be keeping it)

We typically eat dinner 6-8PM, and have noticed that many of the popular greasy spoon places are only open until around 5 or 7PM. We'll probably visit these places for lunch. What we're missing is more dinner options. We LOVE seafood, and are hoping that the seafood is fantastic in Hawaii. Can anyone suggest a good seafood restaurant? Even better if it's prepared in a traditional Hawaiian way. VERY good sushi would also be nice. We have Nobu listed, but I'm wondering if it's more of a fusion than true Sushi.

Any help would be appreciated!

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Alan Wong's Restaurant
1857 S King St Fl 3, Honolulu, HI 96826

[Beach Chick]

Happy hours at Hula Grill, Duke's are excellent..some of the best calamari for $6 regular $12 with wonderful $4 mai tai's..
2 for 1 coupon for breakfast at Moose's on Lewer's..decent breakfast
Not much of a Roy's fan in the mainland but in O'ahu, its one of the best in Waikiki..love Diva the GM.
I agree that TS restaurants are great spots for lunch or happy hour..not so much for dinner.
Giovanni's Shrimp truck in North Shore is my fave for their sticky garlic shrimp that is so good over 2 scoops.

[Bill Hunt]

For memorable dinners, here is my personal list:

Alan Wong's - New Hawai`ian fare from one of the best ever, and possibly at its best
Chef Mavro's - along with AW and some others, a founder of New Hawai`ian cuisine, with a great track record. Not sure if the "Classics Menu" will still be running, but he is offering some of his ultimate dishes in a tasting menu - the Salt-crusted Onaga is NOT to be missed.
La Mer - the "big splurge." Classic French meets Hawai`ian, and in a wonderful way. Though there are ocean-view tables, I would opt for one overlooking House Without a Key, and the live performances in the pool/courtyard below. You might wish to dine a bit early, so check show times. Gentlemen should wear jackets, but that is no longer enforced, though nice attire is strongly recommended.

We also enjoy Mariposa, at the Neiman-Marcus in Ala Moana, and on Friday nights, it is ideal for watching the fireworks from the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Wine list has gotten better (like it once was), and the food, while not as innovative as the above, is very, very good, at a lower price-point. October, al fresco dining should be excellent.

We just did all of those last week, and though there was one dish here, or another there, all were great, and well worth the $. Note: these are some of the higher-end spots, so if you want a down-scale dinner, I would not look to any.

Enjoy,

Hunt

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Alan Wong's Restaurant
1857 S King St Fl 3, Honolulu, HI 96826

Chef Mavro restaurant
1969 South King Street, Honolulu, HI 96826

La Mer
2199 Kalia Rd, Honolulu, HI 96815

Mariposa
1450 Ala Moana Blvd # 2101, Honolulu, HI

[crazyspice]

We are looking forward to trying the many great recommendations from the posters. We have arrived and so has APEC. I wish that was on our radar before we booked this trip. So many road closures to navigate.

We originally had our Brunch reservation for 11:30 at Orchids. Since we will not be "allowed" to leave the resort before 10:30 at the earliest, we moved our reservation back to 1:30. Brunch ends at 2:30 so I hope we will not fall victim to the "end of Brunch" breakdown. I am not at all familiar with Orchids and I am not being critical. I have been looking forward to going since I booked this reservation back in June.

We did have lunch today at Duke's. It was a fun lunch spot. I had the grilled Mahi Mahi Tacos and my husband had the BBQ Kalua pork sandwich with the waffle fries. Both were very good! I had a Mai Tai (okay 2, but in my defense I have never had one before!)

We have 9 days to explore and enjoy our visit to paradise. It is great to be here.

[Bill Hunt]

We also encountered the APEC refurb. of most of Honolulu. Everything was "under construction," and we had to deal with it all. When we asked, everyone said, "oh, it's all about APEC."

Have not dined at Duke"s, but it gets some good reviews here. Gotta' give them a try, but will wait until AFTER APEC.

Hunt

[KaimukiMan]

the construction was nothing compared to this week. sections of ala moana blvd and kapiolani are closed. the freeway was closed this morning, may be this afternoon, its it is absolutely insane. so glad i don't have to commute. people are getting to their offices by 6am to get to work on time. And the President doesn't arrive till sometime today. I can just see the Air Force One flight plan conflict with the blue angel's fly over at pearl harbor conflict with some motorcade.... makes planning thanksgiving dinner a cakewalk.

[Bill Hunt]

Wow, glad that we missed THAT! A few cones, and steel plates, are one thing, but this sounds like much, much worse.

Hunt

[scottca075]

Orchids will maintain their quality from the opening to well after closing.

We like Duke's Barfoot Bar for lunch and Happy Hour, ditto for any TS Restaurant, but we are underwhelmed at dinner. It isn't bad at dinner, I just feel at the same price point there are better choices.

Be sure you get to the House Without a Key at some point too.

[flylice2x]

Here are some of Kaimukiman's recs from previous posts...

Town

Fresh Catch Seafood

Sugoi's Plate Lunch

Young's Fish Market

Ono's Hawaiian Foods

Kakaako Kitchen

Nico's Seafood

Jameson's by the Sea, Haleiwa

Liliha Bakery, can be a long wait sometimes

Bob's Giant BBQ - very local

For Diner

Hiroshi's (go early, sit at the bar, get the discount)

Alan Wong's (fine dining, but sit at the counter and talk...check Hunt's postings on this)

Murphy's Bar & Grill

Side Street Inn

Goma Ichi Ramen

Duc's Bistro Downtown

Duke's Waikiki

Longhi's, sit at the bar and talk - not my fave, but popular

Morton's 'power hour' was quite popular for a while, not sure now

Instead of Dinner

Sunset on the Terrace at the Halekulani w/ Drinks & Apps, Hula/Hawaiian Music

For Snacks

Royal Kitchen Manapua (Hawaii style dim sum)

Leonards Malasadas (Portuguese Donuts-no hole, i prefer the unfilled/original)

Waiola Store Shave Ice, either location, this is no sno-cone

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Duc's Bistro
1188 Maunakea St, Honolulu, HI 96817

Alan Wong's Restaurant
1857 S King St Fl 3, Honolulu, HI 96826

Kakaako Kitchen
1200 Ala Moana Blvd # 135, Honolulu, HI

Side Street Inn
1225 Hopaka St, Honolulu, HI

Waiola Store
2135 Waiola St, Honolulu, HI 96826

Murphy's Bar & Grill
2 Merchant St, Honolulu, HI 96813

Jameson's by the Sea
77-6452 Alii Dr, Kailua Kona, HI 96740

Longhi's
888 Front St Ste H, Lahaina, HI 96761

Goma Ichi Ramen
631 Keeaumoku St, Honolulu, HI 96814

Royal Kitchen
Chinatown Cultural Plz, Honolulu, HI 96813

Halekulani
2199 Kalia Rd, Honolulu, HI 96815

Young's Fish Market
1286 Kalani St, Honolulu, HI 96817

[singleguychef]

I think Morimoto would be better than Nobu. Both have the same approach but Morimoto has a few more creative dishes, I feel. You can go for lunch, more relaxing.

[zippyh]

Wifey and I ate at Nobu last week and enjoyed it quite a bit. We went more for the fusion dishes but they have plenty of traditional dishes if you prefer.

It's on the expensive side so beware, especially if you go wild with the sushi.
They validate parking at the Parc hotel too.

I've noticed that people in Hawaii tend to eat dinner earlier. Or at least the fellow tourists do. We were seated about 7:30 and the place was about 2/3 full on Friday night. However a lot of tables finished soon after we were seated.

[scottca075]

Head over to Kaimuki and look into Town, Salt Kitchen and Tasting Bar, 12 Ave Grill, 3660 on the Rise, and Ninniku-Ya Garlic Restaurant.

There is also Orchids at the Halekulani, the Hau Tree Lanai, Apartment 3, Libby Manapua, Boulevard Saimin, Ramen Nakamura, Yotteko-ya,Pho 777 Vietnamese Restaurant, Green Papaya and Mitch's.

For sushi I'd look at Sushi Izakaya Gaku, Yohei Sushi Restaurant or Imanas Tei Restaurant.

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Libby Manapua Shop
410 Kalihi St, Honolulu, HI 96819

Yohei Sushi Restaurant
1111 Dillingham Blvd Ste E1A, Honolulu, HI 96817

Imanas Tei Restaurant
2626 S King St, Honolulu, HI 96826

Hau Tree Lanai Restaurant
2863 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815

Boulevard Saimin
1425 Dillingham Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96817

Green Papaya
1518 Makaloa St Ste A, Honolulu, HI 96814

Ninniku-Ya Garlic Restaurant
3196 Waialae Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816

Ramen Nakamura
2141 Kalakaua Ave # 1, Honolulu, HI 96815

Sushi Izakaya Gaku
1329 S King St, Honolulu, HI 96814

Halekulani
2199 Kalia Rd, Honolulu, HI 96815

[ultimate4g63]

Thanks, guys.

Decided to make reservations at Town and also Sasabune. Both sounded awesome, and offered reservations so those aided in my decision making.

Think I've got most dinners figured out now. Can anyone offer up some great lunch options?

Thanks again.

[russkar]

Town will not be in the same league with your other choices (we normally only go to Town for lunch which is ok). Azure , 3660, Plumeria or Michel's would be much better.
Lunch @ Nico's is an experience. Go early or after lunch, it's very busy. Restaurant Epic is also good for lunch. If you just want a great Hamburger go to Wolfgang's for their special $10- it's a deal.

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Restaurant Epic
, Honolulu, HI 96813

[scottca075]

I think all of these places are also open at lunch, Orchids at the Halekulani, the Hau Tree Lanai, Libby Manapua, Boulevard Saimin, Ramen Nakamura, Yotteko-ya, Pho 777 Vietnamese Restaurant, Green Papaya, Mitch's and I would also throw in the House Without a Key, the food court at Shirokiya and the Royal Garden for dim sum.

Some are actually better for lunch than dinner and what ever you decide I would not miss the House Without a Key for sunset cocktails or the Banyan Court (Moana Hotel) at sunset either.

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Shirokiya
1450 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96814

[macaraca]

For lunch I would recommend Jimbo's on S. King St. for the homemade soba noodles and lots of other really good noodle and soup dishes...far better than Boulevard Saimin with the day-glo tempura and tired broth. At one time they were very good, or maybe my tastes have changed....

Nico's at Pier 38 for really fresh fish and healthy sides, served on styrofoam, but still delicious, and right on the fishing pier.

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Jimbo Restaurant
1936 S King St Ste 103, Honolulu, HI 96826

Boulevard Saimin
1425 Dillingham Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96817

[Bill Hunt]

Sorry that I did not read the full thread, prior to responding with my "fine-dining" list.

For lunch, I will second (or third?) Town.

We have also enjoyed lunch at the Kahala Resort, though the exact restaurant's name escapes me at this moment.

Enjoy,

Hunt

[Bill Hunt]

We have only done Orchids for the Sunday Brunch and for regular breakfasts. However, in our recent stay at the Halekulani, we were tempted by several trusted employees to do dinner at Orchids, and especially at "table number one." Next trip, we will definitely try them, maybe replacing Mariposa, which is very good, but not at that "ultimate level."

As for Hau Tree Lanai, we have had quite a few great meals there, and the sunsets are not to be missed. Some complain that it is a "tourist restaurant," but that has never been our impression, even when crowded. They have just always come through with very good food, and flawless service in an ideal setting.

Hunt

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Mariposa
1450 Ala Moana Blvd # 2101, Honolulu, HI

Hau Tree Lanai Restaurant
2863 Kalakaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815

Halekulani
2199 Kalia Rd, Honolulu, HI 96815

[russkar]

Sasabune, Mitch's, Izakaya Gaku, Sushi ii would be good choices for Serious Sushi.

As far as up-scale dining goes we really like Le Bistro (S), Azure (S), Michel's, A/W, Suntory and Yakiniku Hiroshi (waikiki). (S) denotes very fresh fish.

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Yakiniku Hiroshi
339 Royal Hawaiian Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815

Suntory Restaurant
2233 Kalakaua Ave Ste 307, Honolulu, HI 96815

Le Bistro
5730 Kalanianaole Hwy, Honolulu, HI 96821

[akq]

For sushi, I LOVED Imanas Tei on my last trip. It was so good, we went back for a second dinner there and still talk about it. We had the best hamachi sashimi I've ever tasted there. YUM.

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Imanas Tei Restaurant
2626 S King St, Honolulu, HI 96826