$15 happy hour: Dean and DeLuca

What $15 gets you on the second floor of the Ritz-Carlton Waikiki might surprise you

Prices have gone up since the menu was revamped. As of June 2019, it’s more like $20 happy hour.

What can you get for $15 at happy hour? Like, beyond edamame and fries? At Dean & DeLuca, you get more than you might expect. The upscale wine and deli chain from New York has two locations in Waikiki. This one is at the Ritz-Carlton.

The scene

You need to unwind, you need to get out of the fray. You want quiet. Good wine. And something good to go with.

That’s when you head to Waikiki, turn left on Kalaimoku and leave your car with the valet at the Ritz-Carlton. Dean & DeLuca’s first-floor shop fronts the street and tempts with all kinds of cheeses, tarts and pastries. But you want your wine. You ignore all this for the elevator at the back. Upstairs is practically your own private deli and wine bar.

Locals who live and work in the area come here; so do owners of the Ritz-Carlton residences. Other than these, few people know about this hidden oasis. A banquette lines one wall, and there are some low tables and chairs. Your view peeks through the branches of an old banyan tree and takes in this quiet corner of Waikiki.

What you can get

For $10 you get a glass of the day’s selected red, white or sparkling wine and a bruschetta of your choice. That’s a good deal, not just because we’re talking about bruschetta with things like prosciutto and fruit parfait or Roquefort cheese, honey and apricots; but because a glass of the day’s wine selection by itself will run you about $13.

For $15, you get the spread below.

Meats and cheeses on the boards accompanying the red, white and sparkling wines all differ according to the wine selection, which changes by the day. This day the featured red is Famille Perrin’s Cotes du Rhone Reserve. The cured meat on the left is speck, a smoked and aged ham with an intense flavor. The cheese is Iberico Semicurado, made with a combination of goat, sheep and cow’s milk. The pesto in the middle is awesome and goes well with both.

Here’s what comes with the day’s white wine selection.

Anything you see in the first-floor deli and cafe you can order up to the wine bar on the second floor. Happy hour dishes also include $9 panini sandwiches and charcuterie and cheese boards that run $18-$24. What comes on these boards will be custom-chosen to pair with your wine.

Plus tip

The upstairs wine bar will validate your valet parking at the Ritz for three hours. If you just buy something at the deli downstairs, you’ll get validated for one hour. Happy happy hour!

Dean & DeLuca

Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach

383 Kalaimoku St.

729-9720

Happy hour 3 to 6 p.m. daily