Set the mood, share the plates
Spanish and Italian on one menu, which sounds like a compromise and is not. Rigo took Honolulu Magazine's Hale Aina award for best new restaurant in 2020, running wood-fired pizza and paella alongside fresh spaghetti from Onda Pasta, the city's own Roman pasta maker. Order the paella if there are enough of you to justify it.
A 1976 steakhouse that never modernized, on purpose. Hy Aisenstat and designer Arthur Fishman built the Kuhio Avenue room in dark wood and bookshelves under a Tiffany stained-glass ceiling, and the prime steaks are still broiled over Hawaiian kiawe in the middle of the dining room. Order a steak and sit where you can watch the fire.
Ward Village's go-to local kitchen. A wood-fired menu, craft beer, and a lively atmosphere that captures the new energy of Kakaako.
A tiny poke window in Kaimuki with a devoted following. Fresh-cut ahi, made-to-order, no fuss — just consistently excellent poke.
A drinks counter near Ala Moana with barely a dozen reviews behind it and a spotless score among them. New, small and still undiscovered. Ask for whatever they are pouring that day.
A locally owned counter tucked into a Waikiki lower level, built on acai and waffles made to order. Nothing carries fillers or added juice, there is a small superfoods bar for building your own bowl, and the walls are covered in photographs of regulars. Get an acai bowl and a waffle to split.
A bookstore front with a speakeasy hidden behind it. Travis Sasaki, once co-owner of Bas Books, designed the room to feel like a private club and opened in December 2024 in the old 3660 on the Rise space; the shelves out front are genuine out-of-print Hawaiiana, not props. Ask for the Private Collection at the counter — the password is please.
Twenty years as a Hawaii public school teacher, then a poke counter. Chris grew up in Central Oahu fishing and diving the North Shore, and opened here in 2018 to sell Hawaiian-style poke built on that same water. Get the spicy ahi.
An Aiea cafe running Portuguese tarts and house-fried gyoza off one counter. Chelsea runs the room, which is cat-themed and unembarrassed about it, and the portions land well past what the price suggests. Get the house fried gyoza, with a Portuguese tart after.
Tiny, beloved ice cream shop in Moiliili with an almost cult-like following. Unusual flavors made in small batches — the taro and haupia are perennial hits.
Korean BBQ technique aimed squarely at Hawaiian flavors. Chef Kale cooks from Hawaiian, Japanese and Chinese roots — his Luau Soup crosses luau stew with seaweed soup, lau kalo and wagyu in one bowl — and the table grill runs Kagoshima A5. Try the Luau Soup before you touch the grill.
A coffee nerd's room in the middle of downtown. Drip Studio pours single origins from small independent roasters, DAK among them, dials in every pour over, and cares about the ceramic it lands in. Order a pour over and take the bar seat.
A female-owned coffee stand built around house-made syrups. The list runs further than most on Kapahulu — local honey matcha, honey cinnamon latte, mint ginger lemonade — and the baristas are the reason people come back. Go for the local honey matcha.
A family-run curry counter of about seven tables, with free refills of the curry itself. Jugem does one thing — Japanese curry — at portions that outrun the price, and the curry pan is deep-fried bread stuffed with curry and cheese. Get the chicken katsu curry.
An ice cream shop that is also a surf and skate shop, which in Kailua tracks. Jo and Kyle Wai Lin moved over from the Bay Area and opened in November 2024, churning sixteen flavors in Kailua on seasonal local ingredients, with affogatos pulled on Tradition Coffee Roasters espresso. Get the matcha soft serve — it runs deep without turning bitter.
Twenty years of cutting fish, still done in front of you. Rosa Kim runs this King Street counter with her daughter Soonie, building the poke and sushi bowls to order and making the kimchee in house. Get a poke bowl and watch it come together.
A cat café with serious desserts in Liliha. Hang out with resident cats over some of the most photogenic soft serve and parfaits in the city.
A small coffee room on Queen Street in Kakaako. No gimmick attached — just a carefully made cup on a block that is mostly offices and scaffolding. Go for a straight espresso drink.
A shave ice window on Waialae Avenue that almost nobody has written about. The handful of people who have found it rate it near perfect. Go for the shave ice.
A poke shack in Kakaako keeping it simple and doing it right. The ahi is cut thick and the house sauce has a devoted following.
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