Hotel cocktail bar
House Without a Key at the Halekulani in Waikiki Honolulu pours sunset cocktails under a 130-year-old kiawe tree with Hawaiian entertainment, the signature mai tai a Charlie Chan reference.
Signature drink: Mai Tai
Food: Hawaiian small plates
Tip: Sunset hula starts 17:30. Bar tables walk-in only; the Kawehewehe blue curacao cocktail is the new house move.
Jazz cocktail lounge
Lewers Lounge at the Halekulani in Waikiki Honolulu is the seven-nights-a-week jazz cocktail bar where Hawaiian-grown ingredients meet Chet Baker and Ella Fitzgerald named cocktails.
Signature drink: Smoke Rings (Sam Cooke)
Food: Lewers burger, poke chips
Tip: Live light jazz Tuesday to Saturday 20:30 to midnight; Sunday and Monday 20:00 to 22:30. Smart casual.
Tiki bar
La Mariana Sailing Club on Sand Island in Honolulu is the city's last original tiki bar, opened in 1957 with carved tikis from the Sheraton Kon Tiki Room and Trader Vic's pufferfish lamps.
Signature drink: Mai Tai
Food: Surf-and-turf, pupus
Tip: Tuesday to Saturday 11:00 to 20:00. Tucked behind warehouses on Sand Island; bring a sweater for the lagoon breeze.
Cafe and cocktail bar
The Manifest in Chinatown Honolulu is the dual cafe-and-cocktail bar with the state's largest whiskey selection, serving Waialua-grown coffee by day and live music by night since 2009.
Signature drink: Hawaii's largest whiskey selection
Food: Toast bar, sandwiches
Tip: Tuesday 10:00 to 22:00, Wednesday and Thursday to midnight, Friday and Saturday to 02:00. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Tiki bar
Skull and Crown Trading Co. in Chinatown Honolulu is the modern tiki bar on Hotel Street, with fresh-juice cocktails and a deeper-than-typical rum list inside the Encore building.
Signature drink: Modern tiki cocktails
Food: Polynesian small plates
Tip: Tuesday to Saturday 17:00 to 23:00. Closed Sunday and Monday; book ahead on Resy for weekends.
Beach bar
The Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian in Waikiki Honolulu pours the canonical Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai daily, the drink first served on hotel grounds in 1953 from Trader Vic's recipe.
Signature drink: Royal Hawaiian Mai Tai
Food: Bar bites, poke
Tip: Daily 11:00 to 23:00, live music 18:00 to 22:00. The Ali'i Mai Tai is the upgrade; oceanfront tables turn at 19:00.