Watering Holes, page 1
Mai Tai Bar. Ala Moana S.C. 947-2900. 11am-1am daily. Parking in center lot. Prices: $$. Map. Located on the top floor of Ala Moana Center at the Ho’okipa Lounge, this spacious, breezy, open-air bar is the center of attraction up there. Comfortable sofas fill the area while live entertainment is featured seven days a week, twice daily from 4pm-7pm and 9:30pm-12:30am. Margarita’s, mai tai’s, martini’s, lava flow’s, and bar-tea’s flow freely with pupu’s of poke, garlic-bread bruschetta, popcorn shrimp, and spinach/artichoke dip. It can get really crowded after dinner, often to the point of standing room only, but daytimes and early evenings are much more relaxed and comfortable.
| Mai Tai Bar, atop the Ala Moana Shopping Center, is a happening place to to at Happy Hour or any hour! |
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Lewers Lounge. 2199 Kalia Rd. at the Halekulani Hotel in Waikiki. 923-2311. 7:30pm-1am nightly. Parking at hotel. Prices: $$ - only pupu menu! Map. This ultra-chic lounge, located in the most highly regarded hotel on the island, is upscale all the way, with its luxurious décor and ambience. Lewers Lounge was awarded one of the best bars in America by Esquire Magazine, and is overseen by nationally renowned mixologist Dale DeGroff. A grand piano and live jazz every night of the week is the perfect accompaniment to a sophisticated night out, where you can also enjoy a lavish dinner at the other upscale restaurants in the hotel, such as Orchids or La Mer, as well as enjoy hula right on the beach at House Without a Key. If you want elegance, you’ll find everything you need at the Halekulani Hotel.
Yard House. 226 Lewer’s St. in the Embassy Suites Hotel at the Waikiki Beach Walk. 923-9273. 11am-1am Sunday-Thursday, 11am-2am Friday and Saturday. Parking at hotel. Prices: $$. Map. With over 130 beers on tap, and a high-tech system that checks for contamination and sediment build-up in the inter-state freeway of malt-carrying lines, the Yard House brings the art of beer to a completely different level! They have every hoppy dream you can ever think of, with glasses a half-yard tall, sampler’s with 5 or 6 different small-portioned servings, beer floats (yup, with vanilla ice cream!), and even mixed beers, featuring combinations of different selections that, I’m assuming, have been paired by beer mixologists. Yeah, I made up that word. The food menu is also quite large and very good, with soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, pizza, pasta, fish ‘n chips, hotdogs, and much more. The artichoke/crab/lobster dip is a best seller and is an excellent appetizer choice. The mixed mushroom wraps are also a winner, with several different types of sauteed ‘shrooms placed inside of a large, crispy won ton bowl, alongside 3 different sauces. You can ask for more lettuce wraps for this dish, as well as more chips. Get ready for a wait during peak lunch or dinner hours, and an excitable atmosphere where you may need to shout to be heard!
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Formaggio has one of the best versions of Caprese on the island. |
Formaggio. A Closer Look. Two locations: 2919 Kapiolani Blvd. at the Market City S.C. in Kaimuki (map shown), 739-7719, Monday-Thursday 5pm-12am, Friday and Saturday 5pm-2am, Sunday closed; and 305 Hahani st. in Kailua, 263-2632, Sunday 11am-11pm, Monday-Thursday 11:30am-11pm, Saturday and Sunday 11:30am-1am. Prices: $$$$. Map. Formaggio’s is your classic wine bar. You'll find a large variety of cheeses, panini’s, salads, pizza's, and fabulous meals worthy of a great evening, such as a meaty braised short rib, escargot in puff pastry, paprika-grilled ahi, pesto and pancetta pizza, garlic steak bordelaise, and much more. Both spots are beautifully appointed and trendy, with the Market City location being more of an adult type of atmosphere and more centering on wine, while Kailua is a little more family-friendly, with a hugely-expanded menu of delicious culinary offerings for both lunch and dinner.
| Amuse Wine Bars' self-serve towers come with 1 oz. pours - a super-fun way to sample a bunch of different wines. Of course, double or triple-up pours, if you so choose! |
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Amuse. A Closer Look (part of Stage Restaurant page) 1250 Kapiolani Blvd. at the Honolulu Design Center near the Ala Moana S.C. 237-5428. 5pm-10:30pm nightly. Parking in center lot. Prices: $$ - only pupu menu! Map. The Honolulu Design Center is one of the newest hot spots on the island, with a very stylish furniture store that you must pass through on your way to two other equally posh venues, which include Amuse and also the Pacific Rim restaurant Stage. Amuse is actually an upscale, self-serve wine bar, where you purchase a special debit card, armed with whatever dollar amount you choose to purchase, to access the circular pouring stations, each of which feature many different bottles of wines to choose from. With each pour containing only single-ounce-pours (although you can double or triple-up if you choose!), you'll be able to sample across the spectrum! It's a fun and novel experience you won’t find anywhere else on the island. There's also a small pupu menu with such items as a Snake River Valley Wagyu beef burger, a house pizza, and an assortment of cheeses, along with several classy desserts like the goat cheese apple tart and a bittersweet chocolate pate.
Vino. 500 Ala Moana Blvd. at Restaurant Row near Downtown Honolulu. 524-8466. Dinner Wednesday-Saturday only. Parking in center lot. Prices: $$$. Map. Vino is a creation of the DK Kodama family of restaurants, and is the right avenue to display the talents of master sommelier Chuck Furuya, who pairs all the wines and is often around to chat up the guests and provide expertise in a warm, intelligent, and good-natured manner. Though the smaller, tapa-style dishes are great, there is not too much selection, as wine-tasting takes center stage. There are 2 ounce sample pourings for those who love the experience of new offerings, and there are often wine tasting events featuring international big-name sommeliers that lure the educated wine culture in droves. Call for info.
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With over 100 varieties, Rum Fire has the largest collection of rum in the US of A, but don't forget the great food, as well! |
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Rum Fire. 2255 Kalakaua Ave. at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel. 866-952-3473. From 4pm daily, late-night till 12pm Sunday-Thursday, late-night till 2am Friday and Saturday (food service till 10:45pm). Parking at hotel. Prices: $$. Map. This very hip scene is made for the ultra-chic crowd, with an ultra-modern décor that hits you hard as soon as you see the unusual entrance-way and continues until you hit your seats, which could be next to the elaborately lit and decorated bar or downstairs close to the fire pits. Don’t worry if you don’t have a Mohawk or a super-model girlfriend – it’s casual enough, even for average Joe’s like me. The drinks are expensive, though, with all the fancy names and wildly-shaped glasses you might expect to see. The food menu includes tapas as well as whole dinner plates, salads, and desserts. There are garlic pomme frites (did you say fries?…), island sashimi, sizzling crab cakes, kalua pig quesadillas, and Sczechuan peppercorn filet mignon, to name a few.
Bar 35. 35 N. Hotel St. in Downtown Honolulu. 537-3535. 4pm-2am nightly. Parking in municipal lots nearby or on street (no cars allowed on hotel st!). Prices: $$. Map. This new, hip spot is part of the wave of artsy venues trying to establish themselves in downtown Honolulu, chipping away at the hold that prostitution, drugs, and homeless populations had over the area. The bar is off to a good start, seeing good crowds despite the fact that the only food they serve is pizza! You won’t mind, though, as they are one-of-a-kind creations that Chef Francesco Valentini created in his special kitchen lab – how about a Bombay Decadence, made of house-cooked tandoori chicken, Indian spinach puree, house-made tomato sauce, and mozzarella cheese? No? A Cantonese Kiss or La Dolce Vita, then? The list doesn’t end there, either. Besides the fashionable-sounding fare, there are also over 100 different bottled beers to keep things interesting, and the red brick walls, sleek leather couches, and minimal lighting provide an ambience reminiscent of a San Francisco jazz club. Get out and support the artsy crowds in their bid to take over the streets!
Side Street Inn. 1225 Hopaka St. near Ala Moana S.C. 591-0253. Lunch Monday-Friday, dinner nightly, late-night till 12:30am nightly. Valet or street parking. Prices: $$. Map. This local-boy place set on a little side street near the Ala Moana Shopping Center has gained quite the reputation around here and even across the ocean, showing up in magazines as far away as Japan and Australia! Celebrity chefs like Russel Siu, Alan Wong, and Roy Yamaguchi all show up regularly for the local-style comfort foods of chef Colin Nishida, who whips up generous portions of his specialty pork chops, fried rice, garlic edamame, spicy chicken wings, and much, much more. Don’t come expecting Pacific Rim flair and foo-foo, just come with large appetites and an appreciation for honest-to-goodness, home-style foods. If it works for the star chefs, it surely works for me!
Chart House. 1765 Ala Moana Blvd.at the Ilikai Marina in Waikiki. 941-6669. Lunch, dinner daily, late night till 2am nightly. Parking in Hotel lot or in public parking oceanside of restaurant. Prices: $$. Map. Since 1969 this waterfront restaurant in Waikiki, facing the Ala Wai Boat Harbor, has been serving both locals and tourists alike. Though it is without the white-sand shoreline views, the food, nightly entertainment, and lively atmosphere is worthy of any Waikiki watering hole. The décor is on the older side but well-kept, and it is a bit dark so you won’t notice anyway, especially since you’ll probably want to have a few drinks, too. The appetizer menu is not bad at all, with different sampler platters like the seafood spectacular (lobster sashimi, steamed scallops, jumbo shrimp, and king crab), the hot sampler (chicken wings, fried zucchini, calamari, and oysters Rockefeller), and the cold sampler (ahi sashimi, shrimp cocktail, tofu poke, and oysters on the half-shell). Otherwise, there are many other smaller, drink-friendly pupu items as well as a large lunch and dinner menu.
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