Hawaiian restaurants in Hawaii
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Rainbow Drive-in
If nothing else, it's refreshing to have a president who appreciates plate lunches and shave ice. President Obama has enjoyed plate lunches at Waikiki's Rainbow Drive-In
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Roy's
Chef Roy Yamaguchi's namesake restaurants are sometimes referred to as the Spago of the islands. The O'ahu-born enterprise was an early innovator of Hawaiian Regional Cuisine, which emphasizes fresh local ingredients and blends European, Asian and Polynesian flavors. Today, Roy's restaurants have populated the islands and mainland, but this Hawai'i Kai location, east of Waikiki, is one of the originals.
A more centrally located restaurant is slotted for the new Waikiki Beach Walk (corner of Kalia Rd and Lewers St).
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Aloha Mixed Plate
Hands down, the best place on Maui to enjoy a Hawaiian-style meal in a beachside setting. Go local with the Hawaiian plate lunch brimming with kalua (traditional method of cooking in an underground pit) pig, lomilomi salmon (minced, salted salmon, diced tomato and green onion) and other taste treats. And then there are the award-winning coconut prawns - order them as a pupu (snack or appetizer) or as part of a mixed plate, but do try them.
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Sam Choy's Breakfast, Lunch & Crab
Its menu offers huge portions of local specialties, such as fried noodles or loco moco (three hamburger patties and more, buried in gravy) for breakfast, along with mainland staples such as bacon and eggs, and fresh crab. The food is great, a high-quality change from overpriced hotel fare. The on-site Big Aloha Brewery pours some of the best microbrews in town.
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I'O
For Lahaina's best waterfront fine dining, stop searching. I'O features nouveau Hawaii cuisine using organic, farm-fresh ingredients and a bounty of just-caught seafood.
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Ono Hawaiian Food
A legendary destination for traditional Hawaiian dishes and local grinds - get a combo plate, but don't miss the kalua pig.
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Haili's Hawaiian Food
Locals shoehorn themselves in for heaping plates of kalua pig, lomilomi salmon and laulau (meat wrapped in ti leaves and steamed) served with scoops of poi or rice.
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Helena's Hawaiian Food
Wedged between a radiator shop and the highway, this humble Honolulu institution dates back to 1946. The menu is mostly à la carte dishes, some smoky and salty, others sweet or spicy. You start with poi (fermented taro) or rice, then add a couple of small plates of lomilomi (minced and salted, with tomato and green onion) salmon, briny shortribs or kalua pig, and you've got a mini-luau for under $10.
In 2000 this modest storefront restaurant joined Honolulu's bigwigs when it was honored with a James Beard award. The restaurant is now run by Helen's grandson, Craig Katsuyoshi.
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Bamboo
Bamboo is excellent value, so relax and get your tab started, which will be easy after you've had one of the bar's killer mai tais! Dinner here on a Friday or Saturday night, when down-home Hawaiian music (try to catch John Keawe) and hula are in full swing, may well be one of your best dining experiences on the island.
Friendly waitstaff bustle around in T-shirts, proving that there's no dress code here. Fresh, local food with vibrant flavor is the focus, and the menu's most exotic flavors are pulled off with ease. Reservations are recommended.
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Alan Wong's Pineapple Room
Though Honolulu foodies may disagree, we prefer this dressed-down cafe inside a high-end department store to Alan Wong's eponymous dining room on King St. All the star chef's classics are made here in an open exhibition kitchen, plus the menu shows off some haute twists on island comfort food like the kalua-pig BLT sandwich and loco moco (rice, fried egg and hamburger patty) made with kiawe-grilled North Shore beef burgers. Desserts are killer, especially the five-sorbet sampler with knock-out pairings of fresh fruit and sweets.
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Hali'imaile General Store
Owner-chef Bev Gannon was one of the original forces behind the Hawaii Regional Cuisine movement and a steady flow of in-the-know diners beat a track to this tiny village to feast on her inspired creations. Even lunch is a treat with blackened 'ahi wraps and ginger-chili duck tostadas, but the real heavy hitters come out at dinner. The atmospheric setting, with its high ceilings and plantation-era decor, is nearly as interesting as the food.
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Aromas
You'll forget the tourist-mall setting inside the casually chic dining room of Aromas, a Pacific-Mediterranean bistro that bridges 'local' and 'gourmet' cuisine. Lunch salads, like the papaya and cashew-chicken salad, make a meal. Start dinner with the 'Poketian,' layered 'ahi poke (cubed raw yellowfin tuna mixed with shoyu, sesame oil, salt and chili pepper), crab, shrimp and rice in a martini glass.
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Hualalai Grille by Alan Wong
Nicknamed the '19th Hole', the Hualalai Grille, under the direction of celebrity chef Alan Wong, features signature dishes like the 'New Wave' Opihi Shooter appetizer - a tall glass of local limpets in spicy tomato water, fennel basil and ume shiso (Japanese plum) essences. Plus, you'll find creative fish mains and intriguing Hawaii-style versions of American classics. Reservations are recommended.
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Hukilau Lanai
Locals rarely frequent touristy resort restaurants, but Hukilau Lanai is an exception. Here, find Hawaiian Regional Cuisine in a casually elegant setting. Standouts include fish preparations, feta-and-sweet-potato ravioli and 'ahi poke nachos. If you're an early-bird diner, the tasting menu pairs six courses with five wines (around US$40; food only around US$28) from 17:00 to 18:00.
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Top of Waikiki
Once a hallmark of progress, the revolving restaurant was first introduced at a world's fair in the 1960s but it has since become a relic of simpler times. Rotating at about one revolution per hour, this tower-top restaurant absorbs a 360-degree view from mountain to sea and back again. There's food involved too (sunset dinner around US$14), but the novelty is the slow-motion sit-and-spin.
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Oceanarium Restaurant
Dine with the fishes at this hotel restaurant and aquarium: weekend brunch buffet from US$21, dinner buffet around US$34. The dining room wraps around a three-story aquarium brimming with colorful tropical fish and more pensive sharks and rays. The occupants of the tank are only for decoration, not for consumption. Divers feed the tropical fish at noon, 13:00, 18:30 and 20:00.
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O
Kuhio Grille
Locals needing a fix of traditional Hawaiian comfort food gather at the family-run Kuhio Grille. Its specialty is the filling 1lb laulau - various meats wrapped in taro leaves and steamed. However, all the Hawaiian favorites are here, such as poi, lomilomi, kalua pig, haupia and loco moco. It's behind Prince Kuhio Plaza.
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Caffé Coco
At this casually romantic hideaway, Coco chefs have created a winning fusion menu with staples such as the tofu-veggie peanut wrap, and Moroccan-spiced 'ahi (yellowfin tuna) with banana chutney and a curried purple-sweet-potato samosa. Sinful desserts and quality coffees are irresistible finales. Beware of voracious mosquitoes (protect your ankles!).
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Duke's Canoe Club
By common consent, Duke's is the most popular beachfront restaurant in Waikiki, located beachside at the Outrigger Waikiki hotel. Named in honour of a local surfing legend, the open air restaurant caters to a constant stream of locals and visitors alike, and features live Hawaiian music afternoons and evenings. The breakfast and lunch buffets are a bargain.
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Orchid's
Orchid's breakfast buffet around US$45. The Sunday brunch buffet is a grand spread that includes sashimi, sushi, prime rib, smoked salmon, roast suckling pig, an array of salads and fruits, and a rich dessert bar. It's a pampering treat, with a fine ocean view, orchid sprays on the tables, and a soothing flute and harp duo. Reservations recommended.
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Roy's Po'ipu Bar & Grill
Roy's, poster child of Hawaii Regional Cuisine, is suited to risk-averse foodies. Signature dishes such as pesto-steamed whitefish with cilantro-ginger-peanut oil and grilled shrimp with smoked tomato beurre blanc (classic French butter sauce) nicely blend local ingredients with gourmet preparations. Brace for long waits and loud crowds.
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Chai's Island Bistro
This chef-driven restaurant draws accolades for both its food and presentation but what really makes it a one-of-a-kind experience is the music - some of the best in the islands - that accompanies dinner. The upmarket Pacific Rim cuisine, with such specialties as wok-seared lobster and brandy-glazed Mongolian lamb, is well worth a visit anyway.
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Duke's Canoe Club
Yes, Duke's is an oceanside, open-air dining cliché. But if you want that tropical ambience, this is one of the best Eastside places to find it. The flavorful food won't disappoint. Start with savory appetizers like spicy sugarcane shrimp or crab wontons and don't miss the seven-spiced 'ahi with papaya-mustard vinaigrette.
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Hana Hou Restaurant
In pidgin the name means 'do it again,' and sure enough, people come back again and again for the backyard barbecue served at picnic tables. You can go Hawaiian with poi, kalua pork and laulau (bundles of pork or beef with salted fish that are wrapped in leaves and steamed) or sit down to burgers and beer.
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Ferraro's
No other place in Wailea even comes close to this breezy restaurant for atmospheric seaside dining. Lunch strays into fun selections, like kalua pig quesadillas with mango poi, while dinner gets more serious, offering a solidly Italian menu with wood-fired bruscetta, lobster risotto and wonderful pesto dishes.
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