Get into the Holiday Cheer at These 3 Pop-Up Christmas Bars in Honolulu

Where to go to find us sitting rosy by the fire.

November 25, 2019

Katrina Valcourt,

PHOTO: CATHERINE TOTH FOX

Christmas came early this year with three pop-up holiday bars all opening this month. Here’s where to get your spiked eggnog and hot chocolate, build your own gingerbread house and more before the end of the year.

DOWNTOWN

Mistletoe Tavern

PHOTO: KATRINA VALCOURT

Run by the same folks as the recent Heebee Geebee’s Halloween pop-up bar, Mistletoe Tavern opened last week in the empty spot next to SIN Lounge as a tongue-in-cheek homage to classics like A Christmas Story while projecting movies against the wall. Build your own gingerbread house for $20, enjoy a shared bucket of Holiday Cheer (made with “Santa’s special punch”) for $30, or choose from an assortment of cocktails and shots with fun names. Here’s what we found when we tried Mistletoe Tavern last year.

1111 Nu‘uanu Ave., facebook.com/Mistletoe-Tavern

ALA MOANA

Holiday Bar

The one with the most generic name but the most space for festive decorations, Holiday Bar opens this Friday, Nov. 29, in the same spot as Ghost Bar and is run by the same team. The former Café Lani will be overrun by reindeer (we hope) and revelers clamoring to get “frozen buttered beer,” created for the pop-up in partnership with Harders Hawai‘i. If it’s anything like Ghost Bar, expect to pay every time you order, even if a server comes to your table—no open tabs.

2 p.m. to midnight daily until Dec. 31, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd., ‘Ewa Wing, instagram.com/holidaybarhonolulu

WARD

The Christmas Bar

PHOTO: KATRINA VALCOURT

The Christmas Bar has returned! The people behind the 2017 Ala Moana pop-up—with ornaments dangling from the ceiling, merry martinis, spiked hot cocoa and more—moved it to Ward this year. The crew from Tiki’s Grill and Bar have decked out the spot vacated by Big City Diner below the theaters and are offering dishes such as reindeer meatballs, a kim chee grilled cheese sandwich and turkey pot pie. There’s a new menu—including frozen hot chocolate—but for an idea of what it was like when we visited in 2017, click here.

11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, 1060 Auahi St., (808) 591-8891, facebook.com/thechristmasbarhawaii