The 20 Best Restaurants in Waikīkī, Hawaiʻi
Arden Waikiki The best meals by the beach in Honolulu’s famed Waikīkī, according to a longtime local food writer Despite the fact Waikīkī is home to Oahu’s most famous beach — two miles of white sand where there’s never a bad view of Diamond Head or the sunset over the warm, clear blue water — it’s tempting for locals to leave the area to the tourists. But avoiding the area means missing out on some of the best places to eat on the island, which draw plenty of us residents for a bite. Even with constant new development, Waikīkī is also the most walkable neighborhood in Honolulu, a city that at times feels aggressively anti-pedestrian. Couple that with the oceanfront location, which provides easy access to the beach and food at all times, and you get a dining destination that’s hard to pass up. Most of the best dining in the area — and Honolulu generally — continues to be Japanese, and you’ll find it at a range of price points, from the takeout counter at Maguro Brothers to Sushi Sho’s $350 omakase. Recent boutique hotels that revive a midcentury version of Waikīkī, including Heyday, offer new fun spots to drink and dine. And I’d suggest leaving behind the sunlight briefly to check out the revamped food court in the basement of Waikiki Shopping Plaza, which helps diversify the dining scene with newcomers like HK Cafe, a Hong Kong-styled cafe. In this latest refresh, we’ve revamped our write-ups to include even more relevant info for diners, including a rough range of pricing for each destination — ranging from $ for quick, inexpensive meals with dishes largely under $10, to $$$$ for places where entrees exceed $30. Martha Cheng is a writer and editor based in Honolulu and has been writing about Hawai‘i for almost two decades.
The best meals by the beach in Honolulu’s famed Waikīkī, according to a longtime local food writer
Despite the fact Waikīkī is home to Oahu’s most famous beach — two miles of white sand where there’s never a bad view of Diamond Head or the sunset over the warm, clear blue water — it’s tempting for locals to leave the area to the tourists. But avoiding the area means missing out on some of the best places to eat on the island, which draw plenty of us residents for a bite. Even with constant new development, Waikīkī is also the most walkable neighborhood in Honolulu, a city that at times feels aggressively anti-pedestrian. Couple that with the oceanfront location, which provides easy access to the beach and food at all times, and you get a dining destination that’s hard to pass up.
Most of the best dining in the area — and Honolulu generally — continues to be Japanese, and you’ll find it at a range of price points, from the takeout counter at Maguro Brothers to Sushi Sho’s $350 omakase. Recent boutique hotels that revive a midcentury version of Waikīkī, including Heyday, offer new fun spots to drink and dine. And I’d suggest leaving behind the sunlight briefly to check out the revamped food court in the basement of Waikiki Shopping Plaza, which helps diversify the dining scene with newcomers like HK Cafe, a Hong Kong-styled cafe.
In this latest refresh, we’ve revamped our write-ups to include even more relevant info for diners, including a rough range of pricing for each destination — ranging from $ for quick, inexpensive meals with dishes largely under $10, to $$$$ for places where entrees exceed $30.
Martha Cheng is a writer and editor based in Honolulu and has been writing about Hawai‘i for almost two decades.
