The 14 Best Restaurants On The Waikiki Waterfront
No feeling in the world beats the bliss of watching a spectacular ocean sunset and enjoying the delights of a waterfront-served meal. You can find this feeling in beachside restaurants in Southern California. Or you can take it up a notch and visit the iconic Waikiki beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hawaii is what dreams are made of, with its turquoise waters, green mountain slopes that crash into the ocean, white sands, and towering palm trees.
With its tropical climate, an abundance of exotic fruit and fresh vegetables, farms, and fresh seafood, Hawaii is also a foodie's paradise. Just think of the iconic poke bowl, a staple of Hawaiian eating long before becoming popular throughout the rest of the world. You can find even the traditional carb-filled Hawaiian plate lunch in less carb-focused versions, such as loco moco or Kalua pig. So, if you find yourself on the Waikiki beach looking for a restaurant to match the views, we've rounded up the best restaurants on the Waikiki waterfront.
House Without A Key
House Without A Key offers a dining experience that captures the essence of Waikiki beauty and relaxation. It is one of the several restaurants in the Halekulani resort and one of the most sought-after restaurants in Oahu. The newly-renovated terrace overlooks the ocean and the Diamond Head crater and lies in front of the resort's historic Kiawe tree. Every night, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the restaurant offers live Hawaiian music and a dance performance.
The restaurant is well-known for the cocktails it serves, and its famous coconut cake is featured as a chef recommendation and an Instagram favorite. Light, fluffy, and subtly flavored with coconut, the cake consists of a soft sponge cake, coconut custard, and coconut whipped cream layered into perfection. Most of the cocktails are rum-based, flavored with exotic local fruit, such as passion fruit, pineapple, and guava, and have names that recall bliss and relaxation (the Halekulani Sunset cocktail comes to mind). The open bar Earl's offers even a Coconut Cake Martini cocktail as an ode to the restaurant's famous coconut cake. Other items on the menu include poke bowls, shrimp cocktails, and lemongrass-flavored chicken wings. If there was ever a perfect way to enjoy a Hawaiian sunset, House Without A Key is close to creating it.
Orchids
Halekulani's second restaurant, Orchids, has the same stunning views as House Without A Key but concentrates more on Mediterranean-inspired dishes. Acclaimed for the fresh fish and fresh seafood selection, Orchids also offers pasta (the shrimp ravioli is very appreciated), veal chop, and prime rib. The setting has a great view of the ocean and the Diamond Heart, and the restaurant's decorations are mainly white orchids befitting its name.
With reservations made a month in advance, Orchids restaurant is famous for its Sunday brunch buffet. It offers a great selection of sushi, sashimi, poke, crab legs, salads, carved meats and roasted veggies, an omelet station, and a dessert area. A la carte options include Mediterranean-inspired seafood salad, lobster bisque, lobster tagliatelle, asparagus prawn risotto, and the chef-recommended lasagnette. The chef's specialty has fazzoletti pasta (wide strips of fresh pasta), prawns, scallops, and avocado, and it has a lightly spiced, fresh, zingy taste. In addition, the menu offers a New York striploin, tenderloin filet, and veal scaloppini for those who enjoy meat. As part of Halekulani resort, Orchids also features signature cocktails and coconut cake.
La Mer
A Five Diamond restaurant in Hawaii, La Mer is a fine dining venue with a French-inspired menu. It is an elegant restaurant with a dress code and is part of the Halekulani resort, situated right on Waikiki beach. La Mer features neoclassic French cuisine, courtesy of executive chef Alexandre Trancher, who integrates Hawaiian cuisine into classical French dishes. With stunning ocean views and memorable sunsets, La Mer has classical decorations, with lots of natural elements and flowers, and also subtly integrates Hawaiian beauty.
The restaurant offers an eight-course degustation menu or a four-course meal and wine pairings. The degustation menu includes an amuse bouche, foie gras de canard, lobster, fish courses, meat courses, cheeses, and desserts. The menu is dynamic and varies in terms of ingredients and combinations. However, one constant is the original combination of ingredients and the subtle hint of French cuisine in every dish. For example, duck foie gras is a very appreciated ingredient in the La Mer menu, used both as an amuse bouche and as a main course ingredient. Some examples of original combinations are the duck foie gras amuse bouche, served with a Kahlua and coconut geleé, and the fillet of beef with foie gras.
Azure Restaurant
A fine dining restaurant that offers a four-course dinner menu and a wine pairings option, Azure is well known for vegetarian options, fresh products, and seafood dishes. Located close to the Waikiki beach, within the Royal Hawaiian hotel, Azure restaurant has stunning views overlooking the ocean and Diamond Head. The interior setting gives off a natural, relaxed vibe, while the terrace offers an authentic Hawaiian location with green mountain slopes in the background. Sunsets are spectacular on the deck, with the twilight, the Diamond Head, and the waves.
As diverse and dynamic as the menu is, the most appreciated dishes are the seafood and fish-based ones. The seared ahi is a customer favorite, along with the seafood salad. Other menu highlights include a beet salad with red and gold beets, orange, goat cheese, fennel orange marmalade, and Nordic tuille, poached scallops with a lemon confit and red peppers, the poached heart of palm with red peppers and coconut milk, seared tofu, short ribs with cauliflower, and a citrus olive cake or a honu tart as dessert.
Hula Grill
Hula Grill Waikiki is an excellent spot for a meal, overlooking the Waikiki beach and offering a wide selection of fresh seafood. The restaurant caters to American, Hawaiian, and Polynesian cuisines, and serves local, line-caught fresh fish and Oahu-grown products. A casual setting with spectacular views of Diamond Head, Hula Grill offers different types of menus, from breakfast to brunch, lunch, dinner, and early eats options. Making a reservation is recommended if you want to avoid long waiting lines, as the restaurant is sought-after. The interior style matches the spectacular exterior, with wooden decorations and traditional Hawaiian patterns, creating a relaxing and exotic ambiance.
Hula Grill is best known for the Hula Pie, a traditional Hawaiian dessert made with a chocolate cookie crust, macadamia nut ice cream, hot fudge, toasted macadamia nuts, and whipped cream. The restaurant also serves a liquid version of the famous Hula pie, called Hula pie shake. Other appreciated dishes from the restaurant's menu are the seafood omelet (from the breakfast menu), the fish tacos, the crab wontons, the loco moco, and the breakfast pancakes. The fresh fish and seafood selections are very generous, with crab-topped macadamia nut Mahi Mahi and shrimp pasta carbonara highlighting the menu.
Beachhouse at the Moana
Set in a Victorian building that houses an oceanfront resort on the Waikiki beach, Beachhouse at the Moana restaurant is a place where Hawaiian natural beauty meets classical elegance. The restaurant has indoor dining areas with large windows overlooking the Pacific and outdoor covered patios. The highlight of the outdoor spaces is the Banyan tree in the garden. The ocean in the background makes for a truly magnificent sight. The architecture and the neutral tones used in the restaurant make it all about the view so that you can enjoy the beauty of the landscape no matter where you are seated. The restaurant has a dress code that excludes beach attire and tank tops.
The Beachhouse at the Moana menu includes American and Hawaiian dishes and seafood, with spectacular steaks and short ribs. The two pre-fixed menu options have either three or four courses. The courses include appetizers, such as the Caesar salad and the seafood chowder, entrees, and desserts. The Kalbi braised short rib is a customer's favorite among the entrees. It comes accompanied by risotto and served with soy glaze, pickled raisins, braised kale, roasted cauliflower, and wasabi pea gremolata.
Shor at Hyatt Regency Waikiki
Located in the Hyatt Regency hotel and overlooking Waikiki beach, Shor offers an open-air breakfast and dining space with spectacular ocean views. Most of the tables are on the terrace, so there's a good chance you will have a seat with access to the beautiful views and a bit of energy from the Waikiki Street vibe.
The restaurant offers a breakfast buffet with eggs, breakfast meats, hash browns, omelet and egg stations, noodles and rice, miso soup, and a waffle station. The breakfast menu highlights the variety of fresh local fruits, which are truly delicious. The dinner menu includes seafood and fish dishes, but also meat dishes. The most appreciated fish dish is the ahi poke coconut. It is an appetizer in a halved island coconut filled with spicy or shoyu ahi tuna and served with taro chips. Another highlight in the restaurant's fish menu is the catch of the day, acquired daily at Honolulu's fish auction. The restaurant's Lava Flow cocktail is also very appreciated, with its creamy coconut-banana-strawberry combination.
Bali Oceanfront
A restaurant in the Rainbow Tower of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Bali Oceanfront is another venue that offers the chance of oceanside dining. The restaurant sources food from local fishermen, farmers, and ranchers. The interior is decorated in neutral and earthy tones, highlighting the garden's spectacular views filled with palm trees and the ocean.
At Bali Oceanfront, you can have breakfast or dinner. From the breakfast menu, the traditional Hawaiian loco moco offers a mix of beef, fried rice with pork, sunny side eggs, and onion demi-glace. Eggs Benedict, omelets, waffles, and yogurts are also available. The star of the dinner menu is the butter-topped filet mignon, served with roasted garlic and shallots. Other popular dishes include seafood cioppino (with clams, shrimp, calamari, mussels, fennel tomato broth, and grilled herb crostini), ahi poke (served with Okinawan sweet potato chips), and goose point oysters (served with horseradish cocktail sauce and lemon wedges). The island catch, served as fritto misto or sautéed, represents an entrée. Desert options include the Lilikoi Crème Brulée, mango cheesecake, tropical fruit shortbread, and a triple chocolate crunch cake.
Pesca
Pesca Waikiki is a seafood restaurant located at the top of the Ilikai Hotel, occupying the 29th and 30th floors. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus that feature fresh seafood and fish from local and international sources. Pesca is an elegant venue with a contemporary vibe and luxurious accents and also features semi-private dining rooms, a wedding chapel, a bridal salon, and a lounge. Situated on the top floors of the building, the restaurant has some truly magnificent views of the mountains and the ocean.
The highlight of the menu is the rich seafood and fish selection. The most outstanding dishes are the breakfast salmon Benedict dish, seafood loco moco, and a gluten-free fish and waffles dish made with sweet waffles, fried white fish, and bacon syrup. The dinner menu features an awe-inspiring selection of fish and seafood. A raw seafood bar lets you customize your order, choosing from sashimi, oysters, lobster, jumbo shrimp, crab meat, and sea urchin. The star of the appetizers is the grilled octopus, served with vinaigrette toasted salad and roasted potato. Freshly caught whole fish is flown daily from Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Mainland U.S., New Zealand, and Japan. The fish is served grilled, in sea salt, or acqua pazza style, and is deboned at the table.
Morimoto Asia
Morimoto is an Asian-themed restaurant headed by chef Masaharu Morimoto, combining Western and traditional Asian ingredients. Located in the Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach, Morimoto Asia restaurant offers a unique dining experience thanks to the stunning ocean views and the glass-encased exhibition kitchen. The menu presents the chef's interpretation of iconic Asian flavors inspired by his travels to China, Korea, Japan, and Thailand.
The restaurant's menu features several very appreciated dishes. The appetizer menu stands out with the tuna pizza, the sticky ribs, and the fish carpaccio. The tuna pizza has a thin crispy tortilla crust, fresh raw tuna, anchovy aioli, tomato, jalapeño, tabasco, and micro cilantro. The fish carpaccio is seared in hot oil, has yuzu soy, ginger, chive, and micro cilantro, and the sticky ribs are covered in sweet hoisin chili and flavored with cilantro and chive. The star of the meat menu is the roast duck, hand-carved and served with flour tortilla, sweet apricot chili, and hoisin miso. The absolute highlight of the menu is the chocolate sphere dessert, a spectacular dish that belongs to cooking shows. Just as the name says, it is a chocolate sphere filled with chocolate ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate ganache and served flambéed, which means that the flame melts the chocolate and mixes the ingredients inside for a heavenly bite.
Michel's
Located within the Colony Surf hotel, Michel's is a fine dining restaurant opened in 1962 by Michel Martin, a well-known restaurateur. The restaurant offers a classic European menu with French influences, adapted to Hawaiian products and services. The most original aspect of Michel's is the table-side service, with signature dishes such as the lobster bisque and the apple banana flambé. The view at Michel's is genuinely scenic, as you can find the restaurant on the quiet end of Kalakaua Avenue near Diamond Head. The classical indoor decorations remain low-key, while the open terrace offers a stunning view of the ocean, which is particularly spectacular at sunset.
The menu is a six-course pre-fixe dinner, where customers can choose from various dishes. The house's specialty, the lobster bisque, takes 48 hours to prepare, using Maine lobsters, a red snapper bone broth, and rice. It is finished table-side with cognac-flambeed lobster meat. In a true French-cuisine fashion, Michel's appetizers include escargots Bourgogne (French snails in herbed-garlic butter). For the entrée, the seafood assortment is a very appreciated dish. It consists of oysters, blackened ahi, lobster tail, and baby abalone. The peppercorn-encrusted steak, flamed in Jack Daniels whiskey, is a very popular entrée. Finally, the cherries jubilee dessert brings big fresh cherries marinated in cognac and amaretto, flambeed with vanilla ice cream, and topped with chocolate shavings.
Lulu's Waikiki
Lulu's Waikiki is a cozy restaurant located directly across Waikiki beach, with a retro atmosphere, an open-air dining room, and, of course, the spectacular panorama of Waikiki beach and the Diamond Head crater. Lulu's is a casual restaurant with a specific island vibe, which translates as good service for the customers, who can relax and enjoy the view and the food. The menu offers many gluten-free options, fresh fruit, and cocktails.
With an array of burgers, breakfast options, pupus, and steaks, the menu at Lulu's emphasizes fresh ingredients and simple food. The restaurant is well-known for its loco moco, which comes as a Lulu moco, a unique twist on the traditional loco moco; note that it's available only on the breakfast and lunch menu, but you can get a classic loco moco at dinner. The Lulu moco consists of wagyu beef, eggs, kalua pork, a special gravy made by the restaurant, grilled onions, green onion, and white rice. On the other hand, the loco moco has only wagyu beef, no pork, and the rest of the usual loco moco ingredients. Another well-reviewed lunch dish is the fish and chips, made with tempura battered white fish and tartar sauce.
Plumeria Beach House
Plumeria Beach House is an open-air, all-day dining restaurant within the Kahala resort on the Waikiki beach. The restaurant offers a magnificent view of the ocean and a wonderful garden with a relaxing atmosphere, specially created to enhance the leisurely feeling of island living. The venue is casual and accepts resort wear with T-shirts and shorts.
The menu at Plumeria Beach House has two original product types, which are highly appreciated. First, the curry lunch buffet is available on Wednesdays from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. There are three main courses, all curry varieties. There is Japanese vegetable curry, Indian beef rogan josh, and Thai seafood curry, and the seafood curry is the most appreciated variety. It's a coconut-based green curry with onions, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, cilantro, kaffir lime leaves, and fresh chilis. It contains Hawaiian catch, shrimp, scallops, mussels, Japanese eggplant, peppers, and mushrooms, and it's served with Thai sticky rice with green papaya salad, roasted peanuts, and shallots. The second Plumeria menu option that is very appreciated is the seafood dinner buffet, available on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. It includes sashimi, sushi, shrimp and wasabi cocktail, assorted seafood, butterfish, and steamed white crab.
Duke's Waikiki
Duke's Waikiki is another beachfront venue set close to the Waikiki beach, which offers the same breathtaking oceanfront views and the iconic background of the Diamond Head crater. Named after a legendary Hawaiian swimmer and surfer Duke Kahanamoku, the restaurant tries to recreate the free-spirited vibe recalling island living. Duke's is a true relaxation oasis with natural, bamboo-themed decorations, palm trees, and lush vegetation, featuring inspired location names like the Barefoot bar.
The restaurant has two special menus, which customers appreciate. First, the Taco Tuesday menu stars the Baja fish tacos. The fish tacos consist of two blonde ale battered fish tacos, cabbage, tomatillo aioli, pico de gallo, chips, and salsa. The restaurant also offers chipotle chicken tacos and kalua pork tacos alongside nachos, quesadillas, and dips. The second sought-after menu option is the prime rib buffet, available on Thursdays. From this assortment of dishes, customers favor the macadamia nut-crusted fresh catch, served with lemon caper butter, and the slow-roasted ranch prime rib served with creamy horseradish.