Got foodie clients heading to Oahu, Hawaii, this winter and beyond? Travel Agent breaks down the latest bar and restaurant news to pitch to Oahu-bound vacationers.
Pitch Sports Bar will soon be joining Kamehameha Schools’ 85,000-square-foot Salt at Our Kakaako retail and restaurant complex in Honolulu.
Pitch is expected to be located on the second level of the complex next to Juic’d Life. Pitch will join other businesses that have opened or are opening soon at the complex, including Happiness U, Milo HNL, Boiling Crab, Tiffany’s Hair Salon, Treehouse and Sprint and Village Bottle Shop & Tasting Room.
Visit www.saltatkakaako.com
M.A.C. 24/7 on Waikiki is once again planning a special Valentine’s Day dinner on February 14. The popular annual dining experience allows couples to enjoy a prix fixe meal prepared by Executive Chef James Aptakin. The restaurant will also celebrate St. Patrick’s Day the following month, bringing back M.A.C. 24/7’s "Beer & Corned Beef" special.
Visit www.mac247waikiki.com
Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach recently unveiled its new bar featuring specialty cocktails at Japengo. The menu focuses heavily on organic and local products, as well as local craft beers. Newly added to the menu is a special honey cocktail using honey made on-site at the resorts honeybee apiary.
Visit www.waikiki.hyatt.com
Growler USA, which opened in August 2016, features 100-plus beers on tap, including a large selection of local and Mainland beers, and local kegs. Beer fans are invited to step inside and enjoy a craft beer in taster’s pours, pints or growler fills.
Visit www.growlerusa.com
Piggy Smalls, the “little brother” branch of ever-popular Honolulu restaurant The Pig & The Lady, recently opened its doors in Kakaako’s Ward Village.
The menu has been created by Executive Chef Andrew Le and Chef de Cuisine Brandon Lee. Piggy Smalls features a creative menu inspired from some of their favorite dishes of Europe, North Africa, America, and Southeast Asia.
Visit www.thepigandthelady.com/piggysmalls/#ward-village
Hula Grill Waikiki will kick off 2017 with new opportunities to enjoy brunch with fresh local ingredients. The oceanfront dining experience will include brunch seven days a week beginning in January from 6:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Visit www.hulagrillwaikiki.com
Waikiki Brewing Co. is opening its second location in the former Fresh Cafe space on Queen Street in the Honolulu neighborhood of Kakaako. The new brewpub will serve a wide variety of handcrafted beers and food. Waikiki Brewing Co. plans to open its all-encompassing 6,000-square-foot facility that includes a brewery, canning operation and tasting room in March 2017.
Visit www.waikikibrewing.com
The re-imagined International Market Place announced that Kona Grill has officially joined its lineup of chef-driven restaurants. The 8,380-square-foot American grill and sushi bar will introduce a new, innovative dining experience to Waikiki led by Chef Alejandro Baez.
Kona Grill is open daily for lunch and dinner, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 - 12 a.m. Friday and Saturday. The restaurant's in-house bar also introduces a number of daily pau hana (after work) specials, including contemporary cocktails and appetizers made from scratch.
Visit www.konagrill.com
Flour & Barley, a craft beer and brick oven pizza eatery, is slated to open at the International Market Place on December 22, 2016. The Waikiki location will offer delicious brick oven pizzas including the "Aloha Pie," topped with mozzarella, Maui gold pineapple, SPAM, smoked bacon and Calabrian chili; and the Kalua Pork pizza, made with mozzarella, slow-roasted pork, onion, roasted tomato, avocado cream and cilantro.
The menu will also include a variety of Italian-inspired appetizers, entrees, house-made desserts and refreshing, tropical cocktails.
Visit www.flourandbarley.com
Curated by Bar Manager Raymundo Delgado, STRIPSTEAK Waikiki’s beverage program features the "Island Rum Experience," the restaurant’s very own ritual of torching classic island ingredients, capturing their essence in smoke form and pairing them with Hawaii’s own Ko Hana Rum Agricole, KOHO.
Visit www.stripsteakwaikiki.com
Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina, the newly opened luxury resort on Oahu’s leeward coast, introduces an island flavor to the resort’s reputation for lavish weekly brunch celebrations with the launch of Brunch on the Beach, a six-hour long Sunday feast at Fish House from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Visit www.fishhouseoahu.com
Recently-opened Moku Kitchen is a chef-driven concept that brings Hawaii’s rich upcountry farming and ranching heritage to downtown Honolulu’s urban lifestyle. Moku Kitchen is the newest venture from Handcrafted Restaurants and award-winning chef Peter Merriman, the people that brought you Monkeypod Kitchen.
Visit www.mokukitchen.com
The perfect shot of espresso is pulled with 9 bars of pressure. This is the concept behind the name 9Bar HNL. 9Bar is a specialty coffee shop with a modern industrial atmosphere that is run by passionate coffee lovers and foodies. 9Bar HNL strives to inspire interaction, conversation, and creativity by brewing quality coffee and pairing it with rustic-style homemade pastries and breakfast items.
Visit www.9barhnl.com
A Japanese restaurant chain is opening its first Hawaii eatery in Honolulu’s Chinatown. Hachibei, which describes its cuisine as “high-quality” Yakitori-style food, has several locations in Japan. Yakitori means “grilled chicken” in English. Hachibei Chinatown Hawaii will join other restaurants in the works or that have already opened on the ground floor of the Real Office Centers at the corner of Hotel Street and Nuuanu Avenue, including Fete, Brick Fire Tavern and Cantina.
Visit www.hachibei.com
Inspired by New York-style markets and delis, Bevy Market is now open for lunch and retail. The market and lunch eatery serves lunch from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and features gourmet salads, sandwiches and specials. The location also includes a deli fridge with grab-and-go items and a new “picnic box” concept only offered at Bevy Market. Bevy Market also sells made in Hawaii goods such as hot sauces, honey, salt, coffee, pasta, handmade soaps, bevy syrups and shirts.
Visit www.bevyhawaii.com/bevymarket
Waikiki Yokocho has opened a handful of its 16 planned authentic Japanese eateries in December 2016. Once fully open, visitors will be able to dine at the popular Tsujita ramen shop, which is known for its out-the-door lines in Tokyo and Los Angeles and Kaneko Hannosuke, which has attracted crowds in Tokyo with their quality tempura dishes. Based off the concept of “yokocho” or alleyway dining in Japan, the 23,000 square-foot space is located in the basement of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza.
Visit www.waikiki-yokocho.com
Hawaii Prince Hotel Waikiki and Golf Club recently opened its new restaurant, 100 Sails, in late November. The new restaurant is part of the hotel’s comprehensive $55.4 million transformation, which is slated for completion in spring 2017.
Visit www.princeresortshawaii.com and keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for all your latest Hawaii travel news.