Top Rated Restaurants & Cafes in Honolulu

This hybrid bar and grill is set in downtown Honolulu and is a favorite hang-out for the business and media communities and one of the only places in the Hawaiian Islands where you can get a pint of Guinness from the tap. While the bar roars with excitement, the restaurant serves great salads, steaks and other fare at decent prices. The food is fresh, and the service is congenial.

Set in one of the nicest hotels on Waikiki Beach, this is a great place to start or end a day in paradise. The breakfast buffet is huge and lavish. A la carte lunch and dinner menus offer a variety of tasty sandwiches, salads and hot dishes. You'll dine al fresco under the shade of a native Kiawe tree, enjoying picturesque ocean views. Needless to say, the sunsets here are exquisite. Live Hawaiian music at sunset is a long-standing tradition.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this place offers good food in a casual, relaxed atmosphere. The restaurant takes its name from a huge Hau tree that grows out of Waikiki Beach and shades the beachfront terrace. This is a great place to take in the sunset while enjoying a wide variety of seafood and other well-prepared offerings at moderate prices. Mai Tais here are large and make a great view even better. The Hau Tree has live slack-key guitar music on weekend nights.

While the competition for "Best Luau" is tough in the Hawaiian Islands, this spectacular event might deserve the title. It takes place on 12 acres of gorgeous beachfront property in Western O'ahu. Guests are shuttled to the cove during the day and, upon arrival, are invited to participate in authentic Hawaiian games and activities. At sunset the roasted pig is brought forth, and guests can heap their plates and settle down to watch the show. Hawaii's history is told through music and dance. Call or check the web site for prices and reservations.

The "Aloha Spirit" is very much in evidence at this friendly, entertaining luau. On Germaine's strip of beach, guests can dance the hula, sip free-flowing Mai Tais and Blue Hawaiians, and stuff themselves on a sumptuous buffet of Hawaiian and American favorites. At the dinner show, performers from varied South Pacific islands entertain the crowd with displays of skill and dexterity.

A favorite local stop since 1952, this bakery, less than a mile outside Waikiki, is famous for its malasadas. These pastries are a local favorite, similar to doughnuts only without the holes. They're best eaten hot, leaden when cold. Another specialty is pao doce (Portuguese sweet bread). Danish pastries, cookies, breads and specialty wedding and birthday cakes are also available. This is take out only; there is no place to sit. Parking is available.