10 Best Restaurants in Leeward and Central Oahu, Oahu

Airy and modern, this hip, lively bar and restaurant overlooks the Wai Kai wave pool for fantastic views of Oahu’s south shore, including Diamond Head, Honolulu, and Waikiki. The Hawaii-centric menu includes pizzas, salads, sandwiches, and a range of entrées, from a roasted veggie bowl and fish tacos to braised short rib loco moco (a comfort classic with white rice, meat such as a hamburger patty, fried eggs, and gravy); a dessert favorite is the strawberry guava parfait.

Chef Michael Mina, a James Beard Award winner, designed an exceptional line-to-table menu that celebrates the local catch in a space with panoramic views from indoor and lanai oceanfront tables. This might be the only restaurant in Hawaii (or the world) to have an on-site “fish sommelier,” who guides you through the array of cooking techniques, flavorings, and portions—from fillet to whole fish—and helps you choose the best matches for your palate. The raw bar is excellent, too. Validate your ticket for free valet parking during your meal.

Classic dishes from southern Italy’s Amalfi Coast dominate the menu at this sleek Four Seasons restaurant, with seating indoors, in various intimate and more social spaces, and outdoors overlooking a nature preserve. Locals come to celebrate special occasions, while guests from throughout the Ko Olina community come to feast on house-made pastas—especially the signature tagliatelle with truffle pesto and mushrooms—and multiple dishes that showcase Kona lobster. Valet parking during your meal is free with validation.

There's nothing "Mickey Mouse" about the updated Hawaiian food at the prix fixe fine-dining restaurant of Aulani, the Disney resort, which has a reflecting pool and decor with beach house elements like a thatched roof. Add to that the views of the Ko Olina lagoons and Pacific Ocean—and nightly live music by top local performers in the adjacent bar—and you have an evening worth the pretty penny.

Housed in a former officer’s dining hall right on the west-facing beach at Pokai Bay, the hip, casual, younger sibling of Pearl Harbor’s Restaurant 604 is a great place to stop for a bite before or after a surf session at Makaha or a day trip up the west side to Yokohama Bay. The island-inspired menu focuses on comfort foods and includes everything from poke, burgers, fries, and pizza to traditional island plates with fish and rice. During happy hour and sunset time, locals congregate to watch sports on large-screen TVs and see the golden orb dip into the clear seas.

A humble, family-run restaurant in a tiny roadside shack, Coquito’s serves an eclectic array of traditional Puerto Rican and Latin American dishes, such as arroz con gandules (rice with peas), shrimp mofongo, pastel borricúa (ground green-banana masa stuffed with pork), Colombian empanadas, and Argentinian flank steak with chimichurri sauce. Order takeout for a picnic at a beach park, or dine in the small outdoor patio (no alcohol sold here, so you need to BYOB).

Escape the tourist traps and rub elbows with locals at this small, busy breakfast–brunch café, with outdoor porch seating and ocean views—but come early or order takeout, as it closes early afternoon. Island favorites dominate the menu, including corned beef hash loco moco (white rice, meat, fried eggs, and gravy) and lilikoi (passion fruit) pancakes for breakfast and garlic shrimp with mushrooms, fish tacos, and kalbi ribs for lunch.

The main restaurant at Disney's Aulani resort offers three-course breakfast and dinner menus with a wide variety of locally produced items, as well as familiar dishes from stateside and the rest of the world. You'll find sustainable Hawaiian seafood, Asian selections, familiar grilled meats and vegetables. Arrive early for dinner and have a drink at the adjacent Olelo Room, where the staff are fluent in Hawaiian; you can get a language lesson along with your libation.

Local farm-to-table guru Peter Merriman is well-known throughout Hawaii for his inventive and popular restaurants, and this one captures his creativity and locally inspired food mantra perfectly. Hawaiian slack-key guitar music and the gentle buzz of diners kicking back make this a nice stop for a leisurely lunch—that could easily slide into happy hour.

The Ko Olina outpost of Roy’s famed restaurant chain overlooks the 18th hole of the Ko Olina Golf Course and reflects a distinct local vibe, as most of the friendly staff come from this side of the island and exude an authentic aloha spirit. Dine on the Hawaii-Asia-Europe fusion signature dishes of Roy Yamaguchi and the chef’s west side–influenced creations out on the patio or in the iconic wood-beam-and-concrete interior.