FUUD: Waioli Tea Room in Manoa

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Every year my family goes out to dinner on Christmas Eve.

And we like to try new restaurants, though with some restrictions, like, “not in Waikiki” and “not going to make my parents take out a second mortgage on the house.”

So we’ve had Christmas Eve dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Morton’s and Kobe Japanese Steakhouse (which is the closest to Waikiki my parents like to get).

But this year my mom wanted to try something new — and old.

Waioli Tea House, founded in 1922 and nestled in lush Manoa Valley (where my mom lived for a bit), was her out-of-the-box suggestion. It served a variety of food in its buffet, it wasn’t in Waikiki and, above all, it had an opening for seven on Christmas Eve.

None of us had ever been there before — there was some discussion about whether or not it was still open, actually — so we were excited to try it out.

Here’s what our recent visit looked like:

Outside Waioli Tea Room

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The turn-of-the-century structure alone is worth the trip to Manoa.

Waioli Tea Room,, 2950 Manoa Rd. Phone: 808-988-5800.

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To read all of Cat’s blogs, visit www.nonstophonolulu.com/thedailydish. Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at cat@nonstophonolulu.com.

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