Restaurant recommendations in Honolulu

[markeb]

DW and I will be in Honolulu in about a month for a non-cruise vacation. We're staying in Waikiki (Marriott's Laylow on points). We've been to Hawaii a number of times, but it's been 20 years for her, and my last trip was a layover coming home from the Philippines in 2014. Typically we mostly just look for something to eat, but we enjoy a nicer meal when we can. I'm retired Army, so in the past we've stayed at the Hale Koa and eaten there a number of times (they at least had some decent and affordable places to eat). And we'll wander by while we're there (their beachside bar makes a killer mai tai with a view of the sunset in December).

 

I'm looking for ideas for a couple of "nicer" meals while we're there. We're not currently planning to pack anything for a fancy meal, but I've been in Hawaii in December and there will be long pants and jackets in the bag! I saw a recommendation in another thread for House Without a Key at the Halekulani, which looks interesting. Also interested in Senia over by Chinatown (largely from Somebody Feed Phil, but it looks nice and has good reviews). She'd like to find a good Thai place. Waikiki or an easy Uber. I doubt I could get her into a poke place...

 

Love some suggestions. Game for most things. She's not a big sushi/octopus/squid person. I like good sushi. Korean/Korean fusion is also interesting. Definitely no mainland chains (other than for a quick bite while out and about). We almost certainly need to try to get reservations now for that week! Fortunately we've gladly had Marriott burgers on Christmas day in the past!

 

Thanks!

[KeepCalmBearOn]

For "nicer" meals my top two recommendations are Orchids at Halekulani (cocktails at The House Without A Key first) and Michel's at the Colony Surf. Senia is great for locals who want elevated dining, but the setting at Orchids and Michel's pushes them ahead.

 

For Japanese (sushi for you, conventional Japanese for her) look at Imanas Tei and Sushi Izakaya Gaku.

 

For Korean, look at O'Kim's and Sura Hawaii.

 

For Thai, look at Noi Thai (2020 Hale ‘Aina Award Winner Gold Medal) and Sala Thai.

 

For just good local food, Hawaiian plate lunch, look at Young's Fishmarket, St. Louis Deli and Haili's Hawaiian Foods. For manapua (Hawaiian sized char siu bao) look at Royal Kitchen and Chun Wah Kam Noodle Factory. Royal also has great saimin soup.

 

For poke, you don't need to get her into a poke place, Waikiki is full of great take out places like Maguro Spot, Poke Fix and Five Star Poke. Practically next store to Mahuro Spot is Me Bar-B-Que, an amazing Korean take out place.

[princeton123211]

2 hours ago, scottca075 said:

For "nicer" meals my top two recommendations are Orchids at Halekulani (cocktails at The House Without A Key first) and Michel's at the Colony Surf. Senia is great for locals who want elevated dining, but the setting at Orchids and Michel's pushes them ahead.

Seconding this. The Orchids/House Without a Key is one of our favorite one/two punches. The only thing I would add is that I also enjoy an after dinner cocktail at Lewers Lounge (also at Halekulani) for some live jazz. 

[markeb]

Thanks! Looking at the pictures, I'm pretty sure I've eaten at Orchids for a group dinner for some meeting/event I was at! We just need to pick a night (and check sunset times...).

 

We're there for a week, so I may still look at Senia. When you're talking about the setting for Orchids and Michel's you're talking about the beachfront location? That is a beautiful setting!

 

We've got some work to do to figure out what we want to do while we're there! From reading through the thread, some things are more complicated than they used to be, so we need to figure out if we're doing anything that we should reserve early. We've been to the Arizona more than once, same for the Missouri (I'd actually looked at having a promotion ceremony on the surrender deck, but my number came up a month too late!). We're thinking rent a car one day and head out of Waikiki and around at least part of the island. This is really supposed to be a relaxing week, not a go-go-go trip!

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, markeb said:

We're there for a week, so I may still look at Senia. When you're talking about the setting for Orchids and Michel's you're talking about the beachfront location? That is a beautiful setting!

 

More than merely oceanfront. There are many of those.

 

Michel's is frequently in the conversation for "most romantic restaurants in the world" and they have impeccable service.

 

At Orchids, it is the iconic view of Diamond Head, the music wafting across the lawn from HWAK, flawless food and delivery.

[markeb]

What's dress like? Do I need (or feel more appropriate in) a sport coat?

 

We may do drinks at House Without a Key one night and dinner at Michel's. Looks like we can still get reservations!

[princeton123211]

27 minutes ago, markeb said:

What's dress like? Do I need (or feel more appropriate in) a sport coat?

No jacket-- in Orchid's slacks are appropriate (technically I think you can wear Bermuda shorts but at dinner not many do) but otherwise a collared or aloha shirt. House Without a Key is hotel bar casual. Lewers Lounge used to have a more stringent dress code but they have relaxed it to be in line with Orchids. 

 

I honestly can't think of anywhere in Hawaii we've been over the years that required a sport coat. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

La Mer at Halekulani requires a coat, long sleeved dress shirt or Aloha shirt, and slacks. At Orchids I usually do wear a coat in the evening and dress slacks, because I always have.

 

Oahu is the only island I take long pants to.

[tuffyiscruisin]

Definitely recommend House without a key.  We went there for dinner earlier this month while in port on our cruise. The Mai tais in particular are fantastic and the meal was awesome in particular the coconut cake was next level

[shiner6]

On 12/2/2022 at 12:13 AM, tuffyiscruisin said:

Definitely recommend House without a key.  We went there for dinner earlier this month while in port on our cruise. The Mai tais in particular are fantastic and the meal was awesome in particular the coconut cake was next level

I made reservations for afternoon after visiting Pearl Harbor/ Can you tell me if dress is more casual for afternoons?  

Edited December 23, 2022 by shiner6

[princeton123211]

6 hours ago, shiner6 said:

I made reservations for afternoon after visiting Pearl Harbor/ Can you tell me if dress is more casual for afternoons?  

The dress at House Without a Key is always resort casual-- doesn't matter the time of day. They have no specific dress code. Folks there will run the spectrum from casual to a bit more dressed up if they are going to other restaurants at Halekulani that have more formal requirements like Orchids or Lewers Lounge. 

[markeb]

Though I'd close the loop. We're home from Honolulu.

 

As is almost inevitable, we only hit a couple of restaurant recommendations. I'd made reservations for Michel's before flying over and had a wonderful meal. Word of advice to other travelers: make reservations early, and book dinner early (with caveats)! We normally eat later, and took an 8:30 slot. The sunset was a little before 6:00, so it was dark at Michel's. My wife had a great view of Honolulu lit up, and we still enjoyed dinner. The caveat from our waiter is they you trade ambience for scenery early. Their busiest times are early dining around sunset, and the place can apparently get packed, and noisy (and probably our wonderful open window view would have been full of people crowding over to take sunset photos...). They offer a tasting menu, but we went ala carte. I had their lobster bisque and lamb chops. She had French onion soup and salmon. Both were excellent. They have an extensive by the bottle wine list; the by the glass was good, and the server's recommendations were good. 

 

Turns out we were only a block from Noi Thai. I could have eaten every meal there, but I wouldn't have fit in the seat on the plane home! It looks like nothing on the outside. It's on the third floor of the Royal Hawaiian Center. Navigate through the lines of people waiting to be seated at the Cheesecake Factory on the first floor, up two escalators, and there they are. We made reservations (OpenTable) the day before, which was a good plan. I had their Thai basil chicken (ground chicken with spices and basil with steamed rice) and she had their pineapple fried rice, which is served in a carved out pineapple boat. Both were incredible, and I'd highly recommend them to anyone!

 

Beyond that, hitting a lot of other places proved optimistic! We did grab pizza and beer at Maui Brewing Company (good pizza and beer, but they don't brew beer there) and Waikiki Brewing Company (not as good pizza, good beer brewed onsite). Caught our sunsets beachside at the Hale Koa's bar on Fort Derussy, so we didn't make House Without a Key. Next trip...

 

Had a great time! Landed in Dulles to 29 degrees F...