Waikiki restaurants
 

My boyfriend and I will be going to Oahu this fall, staying in Waikiki. Can anyone recommend any restaurants that are NOT exactly touristy, not chains, and maybe off the beaten path? (And hey, if they're not that expensive, that's a plus!) Thanks.

Any particular kind of food? Within Waikiki (walkable), I like Sam Choy's Diamond Head for Hawaiian. I also like the Hawaiian buffet at the Parc Cafe. Neither of these places have seemed too touristy to me, nor are they cheap but I think they offer a good value. A good cheap place that I found on my last trip is Cha Cha Cha which serves "Caribe Mex" food. It's a small restaurant on Seaside that you could easily walk past and not notice but serves pretty darn good food for the price.

John Dominis' is close by (a short cab ride if you don't have a car). Excellent seafood and also has steaks. It is everything you are looking for, but it isn't inexpensive. Figure $125-150 for dinner for two if you have drinks and dessert. Expensive, but well worth it. Make a reservation for about 1/2 hour before sunset and be sure to get a table by the windows so you can see Diamond Head and the surfers.

Thank you both for your suggestions, we will have to check these places out. Patty, to answer your question, my favorite types of food are any type of Asian (Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, whatever!) and Mexican/Caribbean/S. American (which makes Cha Cha Chas sound good!), boyfriend will eat just about anything!

Our favorite out of the way spot is Michele's. It is located in the Colony Surf Hotel (which is down past the Honolulu Zoo). If someone hadn't turned us on to this we would have never found it. It is on the expensive side, but atmosphere, service, etc... are worth it. I have dreams of their Grand Marnier Soufflé!

Pyramids is awesome food with bellydancing!

Teddy's Burgers
Cha Cha Cha
Sheraton Moana Surfrider has good outdoor dining.
Marabella
Waiola Tea Room
Volcano Joe's
Maui Tacos
Jose's
Phucket Thai
La Bamba
Down to Earth health food store deli
Antonio's New York Pizzeria
4210 Wai'alae Ave.
Olive Tree
Haliewa Joe's in Kaneohe
Gee A Deli
Cisco's Cantina
Zia's
Banditos
Cafe Sistina
Auntie Pastos

Duke's - GREAT breakfast buffet for $10 - the BEST bargain in all of Waikiki!

Genki Sushi - a GREAT locals place for sushi - VERY good and cheap, too.

you should try the Hanohano room in the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.Dinner at the Hanohano Room is a many-splendored thing. To begin with, it's 30 floors up, more lofty than most bird's-eye views. One side of the dining room looks toward Diamond Head, past the curvy Waikiki beachline. The other side offers a fabulous sunset view

Fantastic (if alittle pricey !)

Islandmom, thanks for all the great ideas. I did want to go to Duke's...being a surfer, I have an affinity for Duke :). Also Genki's sounds great. I'm going to have to look a lot of these places up!

If you like surfing you will love Duke's Canoe Club, a treasure trove of surfing memorabilia, on a hallowed patch of sand. Food's surprisingly good. View's spectacular. Tourists abound (almost as many of them as ABC stores in the vicinity). For a preview, see tsrestaurants.com.

Try Beachwalk a street in and off Derussy park. There are several cute small restaurants in a row, nice atmospheres, reasonable prices. I had a great Italian meal at Arancino (just white wine, caesar salad, spaghetti & meatballs, but man were they good). Next door two similar style small restaurants - one a sushi bar/asian grill, the other specializing in homemade noodles. I guess you might call them tourist, since that's who was eating there. But they are mellow, not that hyper-tourist deal.

Across the street don't miss the funky fresh fruit store called Henry's Place. Bowls of to-go ready pineapple, papaya, or melon for $3.50.

To my eye, the short stretch of Beachwalk (between Kalia Road and Kalakaua Ave) was surprisingly off-the-beaten path though right in the heart of things! Totally different feel then walking thru the mainstream, highrise hotel lobbies on Waikiki just one block away.

I have not been to Oahu in years. I often wonder if the places that used to be our favorites are even still there.

Eggs and Things, I think, across from the Ilikai? Great orange pancakes. It was so popular it would always have a line out front to get into the tiny place. Kings Chinese for Moo shoo pork. There used to be a cute bamboo hut hotel next to the Ilikai where you could sit by a pool and look out on the ocean and they had great Mahi mahi burgers (one of my favorite things in life). Then we used to drive to a Coco's type coffee shop to get linguica and eggs. Yum. And yes, the top fav on Oahu, Michele's. We used to go there for brunch. Had the most fabulous opakapaka ever. Still have dreams about it. Pink, tender and covered in a buerre blanc sauce. Awesome.

And how about Horatios for Burnt cream for dessert. Is that still there?

And then there is always Roys. And Roys does not dissappoint, IMO. Fab food.

I am wondering if any of these places are still there, except for Michelles of course.