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FeedThe Best Bars in Honolulu: Liquid Assets
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The Lewers Lounge specializes in well-mixed, beautiful cocktails.Photo: Mark Arbeit |
When anxiety runs high— and there’s been plenty in this year of recession and swine flu—you don’t need a drink. You need a well-mixed drink. You need a guy with a moustache and kind eyes pouring you a perfect martini, and you need someone to bring you a plate with hot, salty things on it. You need a place where you can walk in and see people you know, and on the way out, maybe throw your arms around someone solid, and hold them close for a minute. When anxiety runs high, we remember that the best bars are assets to the community.
Aiea Bowl Bar Lounge
Sure, you can go there to bowl, but in-the-know locals flock to Aiea Bowl for the Alley Restaurant’s ono grindz (we dream about the tasty chicken platter) and the nightly drink specials in the Bar Lounge from 10 p.m. to closing. Take advantage of rotating drink specials on Super-Duper Saturdays, where, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., you can try your hand at Cosmic Bowling (we like to think a little liquid courage improves our aim) and shake your money maker to the musical stylings of a live DJ. The Bar Lounge is open daily, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. 99-115 Aiea Heights Drive., 488-6854. www.aieabowl.com.
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Apartm3nt
You can’t be a club kid forever. Eventually, you want to sit down someplace nice and have a conversation. That’s why nightlife promoters Flash and Matty Boy partnered with Charles “Chip” Jewitt, the owner of the former Aria restaurant, to create Apartm3nt (pronounced apartment three), a hip, slightly edgy lounge in the Century Center space that was home to Aria, The Bistro and, further back, Alfred’s. Unexpected asset: the menu, filled with gourmet versions of American classics, such as grilled-cheese sandwiches and hot dogs. Happy hour prices until 2 a.m. on Tuesdays. Daily 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., 1750 Kalakaua Ave., third floor, 955-9300.
Brandy’s Bar & Grill
Located across the street from Aloha Stadium, Brandy’s Bar & Grill is a neighborhood watering hole that attracts a motley mix of folks, from UH football fans watching the game on TV to Navy guys knocking back pints while shooting pool. It’s definitely a beer-swilling kind of place, with Bud Light, Budweiser and Michelob AmberBock on draft and Newcastle, Heineken, Corona and others available in bottles. Brandy’s serves up standard pub grub, including a recommended-by-the-regulars kālua pork quesadilla, slow-burning Buffalo wings and mini corndogs. Check the board for monthly drink specials. Monday through Thursday, 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Friday and Saturday., noon to 2 a.m.; and Sunday, 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. 4510 Salt Lake Blvd., 486-4066.
Breakers Restaurant & Bar
Despite the throngs of tourists and obligatory surf décor, the bar at Breakers Restaurant has several things going for it. First, there’s the bottled-beer selection (think everything from Heineken to Harp). Second, Breakers is one of the few spots where North Shore sports fans can get their fix, thanks to the smattering of TVs tuned to the day’s games. Lastly, Breakers is the only bar in Haleiwa that stays open until 2 a.m. Open daily, from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. 66-250 Kamehameha Highway., 637-9898.
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Top Five Cocktails
We taste-tested drinks and quizzed bartenders all over town. In no particular order, here are Oahu’s don’t-miss cocktails:
- The Late Nite at Thirtyninehotel
- Pomegranate Sake at Shokudo Restaurant & Bar
- The Whiskey Smash at Lewers Lounge
- The Pisco Sour at Nobu
- The Shark Bite Bloody Mary at Oceans 808
Go on a Honolulu Bar Tour with us as we taste-test these drinks.. Watch the Video!!
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Reader Comments:
Must agree that the drinks at Nobu are some of the best I have ever had. Dave makes some of the most original and best tasting cocktails I have ever had. I am not sure that the Pisco Sour that is ranked as one of the best 5 drinks on Oahu is even close to the best drink that they serve though...I have worked my way through the drink list and have too many drinks off the list to count. Just ask for Dave, then ask something special. He will probably ask you a couple questions and then make you your own personal cocktail. 3 or 4 of these have absolutely blown me away and one that he made for my boyfriend was the best drink I have ever tasted. Blood orange, Tequila and some sort of pepper that sat on your tongue for a few seconds after you take a sip. Here is an insiders tip. Go late on Sunday night, the drinks are half priced! You also get your own sushi chef to make some nibbles in the lounge with 80's music from a pretty good DJ! One more insiders tip. They validate for 4 hours, so parking is free. You really can't beat that in Waikiki
Judging from this post and the ridiculous list of "best bars", the authors obviously have no appreciation for anything progressive or beyond the usual Oahu fare.
V Lounge opens up and offers the VERY FIRST and only Neapolitan-style pizza (as in Naples, Italy) in the state. They built their own wood-fire oven just to have ignorant island folk complain when they don't get Domino's mega-stuffed-crust pizza brought to their table. That thin crust and those big hot blisters on the edge are to be celebrated. Local chefs from some of the best restaurants in Honolulu have been gathering at V Lounge after work, so it could be a sign that it'll be the new Side Street Inn for the next generation.
Similarly, very few bartenders in the state are pushing the envelope with their craft and this magazine's article does NOTHING to recognize their efforts. The bartender at TOWN Restaurant in Kaimuki (Dave Power? Powers?) infuses his own vodkas with local herbs and fruit, juices bushels of fresh Meyer lemons for his mixers and stocks 10 different types of "bitters" when most Honolulu bartenders don't even know what Angostura is. He can make you an authentic Sazerac from the early 1800s and then follow it with his own play on great rye whiskey. There are others in Honolulu like him, but Hill, Hitt, et al. make no mention of them. If the authors honestly think a saketini with lychee is noteworthy, they have no business writing an article about the best bars in Honolulu. Also, I wonder how a bar known for their "cold beer" (a basic requirement of ANY bar) or shirtless well-sculpted bartenders makes the list for any serious reader above age 17.
I must agree with both the responses listed above. Town and Nobu are amazing. They are my two favorite spots to enjoy drinks while sitting at the bar. Town is my local favorite as I live right up the street and when I go into Waikiki I must go have a cocktail in the lounge at Nobu. People tend to complain about the prices, but I can tell you that you get what you pay for. Yeah you might get a drink for less elsewhere, but you end up drinking 3 or 4 just to get the same effect. The drinks at Nobu are the best I've had anywhere and are well worth the price. Thanks to the poster above as I did not know that they had a half price Sunday night. See you there! Town has such a great laid back atmosphere and the infused vodkas are perfect for sipping on. Both spots are priceless to me and I always look forward to my next visit to either one. I also agree that some of the bars listed should never have made the list though. Shokudo's infused sake looks like a processed syrup with tons of sugar to mask the taste of poor quality sake. Not sure how that is one of the 5 best. Also I went and tried the drink at Oceans and it is horrible. Nothing you could possibly do to Three Olives Tomato vodka could possible make it taste good and for that to listed as one of the top 5 drinks really is a discredit to the article. I would love to see a readers survey or "readers favorites" article on drinks or bars around Oahu. There are some very passionate and talented bartenders around town and it would be nice to see more of them get the exposure they deserve! Keep up the good work guys! Merry X-mas!
Great Work guys! Nobu is a favourite of mine but my all time favourite bar would be the Mai Tai Bar.
It is a proper party spot in Honolulu, Mai Tai is usually heaving with people, particularly on Friday nights when the after work crowd get let of the leash for the weekend. It is atop the Ala Moana mall, they serve pupu (tasty nibbles made for sharing), sweet, cool cocktails – including a shave ice style Mai Tai – and a lot of free flowing beer. :-)
http://www.worldsbestbars.com/city/honolulu/mai-tai-bar.htm