11 splurge places in Honolulu, editor-picked. Tasting menus and the full big-night-out treatment in Honolulu. All Honolulu food.
11 places
Order Smoked ahi cigars and the roasted bone marrow with three salts.
Senia in Honolulu Chinatown is the modern Hawaiian tasting room that Anthony Rush and Chris Kajioka opened in 2016, now Rush-led since 2021 with stages.
Order The full 30-plus course omakase; the otoro nigiri and aged Maui bonito are signatures.
Sushi Sho Hawaii is chef Keiji Nakazawa's 16-seat edomae omakase counter at The Ritz-Carlton Residences Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, with a 30-plus course.
Order The five-course tasting with the local-fish course and Hawaiian beef.
Mugen Waikiki is the Forbes Five-Star room inside ESPACIO with a 34-seat dining room, designed in consultation with Alan Wong, anchoring fine dining.
Order The eight-course menu degustation with the bouillabaisse course.
La Mer at Halekulani is Hawaii's longest-running AAA Five Diamond restaurant, French fine dining at the Halekulani in Waikiki Honolulu under executive chef.
Order The daily pasta and a wedge salad with house bacon to start.
Fete Hawaii is chef Robynne Maii's farm-to-table room in Chinatown Honolulu, awarded the 2022 James Beard for Best Chef Northwest and Pacific on first.
Order There is no menu, only omakase. Trust the counter; the Hawaiian fish sequence is the point.
Sushi Sasabune in Ala Moana Honolulu is the omakase-only sushi counter chef Seiji Kumagawa opened in 1996, building its Hawaii-mae style around as much local.
Order Mochi-crusted local fish; pastry chef Michelle's caramel miso baby cake to finish.
MW Restaurant is the Ala Moana Honolulu fine-dining room of husband-and-wife chefs Wade Ueoka and Michelle Karr-Ueoka, open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday.
Order Misoyaki butterfish and the warm dark chocolate souffle to finish.
Roy's Hawaii Kai is where Roy Yamaguchi launched Hawaiian Regional Cuisine in 1988, still the flagship fine dining room of the chain on the Honolulu side.
Order The grand staircase prix fixe with the local-catch course.
53 By The Sea opened in Kakaako Honolulu in 2012 with a grand staircase, oceanfront windows out to Diamond Head and a Pacific Rim menu of local fish.
Order The wok-charred ahi and the Hawaiian opihi shooters on the half shell.
Merriman's Honolulu is Peter Merriman's first Oahu outpost, opened at Ward Village in 2017 from the chef who co-founded Hawaiian Regional Cuisine in 1991.
Order The triple-seared Japanese A5 wagyu with yuzu kosho, and the truffle pommes puree side.
Stripsteak Waikiki is Michael Mina's modern American steakhouse in Honolulu's International Market Place, with prime Angus, American wagyu and Japanese A5.
Nothing matches.
