New & Coming Restaurants on O‘ahu

Photo: Courtesy of Adez Steakhouse & Lounge

Adez Steakhouse & Lounge

Honolulu’s newest steak house, Adez (pronounced “at-ease”) is a vibey spot in the former space of the speakeasy Blind Ox. Part restaurant and bar, part dessert lounge, it features steaks you grill at your table on stones heated to 500 degrees F. Also on the menu: a $65 prix fixe with appetizers, choice of steak and sides, and dessert. There’s valet parking, a plus on parking-challenged Kapahulu Avenue.

829 Kapahulu Ave., Kapahulu, adezhawaii.com, @adez.hawaii

Photo: Tracy Wright Corvo

Alan Wong’s

Five years after closing in McCully, the legendary chef’s eponymous restaurant is expected to open at The Kāhala Hotel & Resort in March at the earliest. Wong will be consulting chef and the initial menu will feature classics from King Street; new dishes featuring locally grown, caught and raised ingredients will start appearing later. You can bet the signature ginger-crusted onaga—so popular Wong had to dedicate a cook and cooking station to the dish, which he once estimated had been ordered more than 10,000 times—will return. Here’s hoping Da Bag and favorite desserts also come back.

5000 Kāhala Ave., Kāhala

SEE ALSO: Foodflash: Alan Wong’s Next Restaurant Will Replace Hoku’s at The Kāhala

Photo: Courtesy of Banh Mi Paradise

Banh Mi Paradise

A tiny shop with a tinier menu, Banh Mi Paradise has what other purveyors of Vietnam’s national sandwich don’t: bo la lot banh mi, or betel leaf roll sandwiches. Each a specialty in its own right, the two are typically sold at different street carts. Here, the mince of beef with garlic, lemongrass and other seasonings is wrapped in betel leaves, grilled and stuffed into crusty baguettes with all the fixings. Other sandwiches include this crispy roast pork and a house special combining the pork with gio lua steamed ham and pâté; drinks and shrimp papaya salad round out the menu.

Wednesday to Monday 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., 661 Ke‘eaumoku St., Ke‘eaumoku, @banhmiparadise

Chill n Grill

Northern Chinese skewers have appeared in Kaka‘ako, in the space next to Lin’s Hawaiian Snacks that once housed Phuket Thai. Skewers at Chill n Grill go beyond the usual, with standards like lamb, sausage and chicken augmented by chilled surf clams, shredded pork heart and other less known choices. Five hot pot selections also veer from the norm, starting with a traditional mala tang spicy option.

Tuesday to Sunday 11 am. to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to midnight, 401 Kamake‘e St., Kaka‘ako, @grillshanhaiyingdi

Photo: Courtesy of Domodomo Hawai‘i

Domodomo Hawai‘i

Part of a micro-chain of Asian-inspired eateries featuring mostly Japanese dishes, Domodomo took up residency at 360º ‘Ewa Beach Country Club in November. The New York City flagship, listed in Michelin’s Bib Gourmand, claims to have pioneered the modern handroll trend in 2015, and these sushi rolls feature in ‘Ewa Beach. Also on the menu: Nigiri sushi, katsu, spicy bulgogi, Korean fried chicken dumplings and a signature $79 Domokase whose seven courses include a 6-piece nigiri set and a handroll. At the end of Fort Weaver Road, the restaurant comes with a sweeping golf course view.

Lunch daily 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., dinner Sunday to Thursday 4 to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 4 to 9 p.m., 91-050 Fort Weaver Road, ‘Ewa Beach, @domodomohawaii

Photo: Mari Taketa

Mama Guava

Crispy lumpia rolled in look fun, anato-red banh xeo stuffed with shrimp and longanisa, a longanisa smash burger with magical garlic fries: Mama Guava is the modern Filipino American restaurant many in Honolulu have been waiting for. Monique Cadavona cooked at MW Restaurant and The Pig & the Lady before heading to New York City to sharpen her skills and start a Hawai‘i Filipino-themed catering business. A decade later, she’s riffing on heritage Filipino dishes the way MW and Pig riff on local Japanese and Vietnamese, so you never know what global touches will appear next. Alas, Mama Guava is a lunchtime pop-up in the old Pig & the Lady space only through February, but it’s worth the hunt for Chinatown parking.

Tuesday to Saturday 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 83 N. King St., Chinatown, mamaguavahnl.com, @mamaguavahnl

Photo: Mari Taketa

Makanai

Dense, walkable Makiki feels bereft without a coffee shop; thankfully, after the closure of Sure Shot Café, Makanai has filled that gap. Opened just before Christmas, the café serves up coffee and matcha drinks plus cookies and pastries, sandos on Mille Fête bread, plus loaded toasts and bagels from Tali’s Bagels & Schmear. The energy is young and the vibe casual and bright: Makanai, or family meal in Japanese, is a heartful spin-off from the younger generation of the family that owned Sushi King.

Daily 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 1249 Wilder Ave., Makiki, @makanaihnl

Mokihana Haus

“A beer bar in Kaimukī with midcentury modern Hawaiian vibes,” Mokihana Haus is slated to open this summer, says owner Keola Warren. Plans include pau hana, live music, a 20-seat bar, 16 patio seats and 25 indoor seats. Ninety percent of beers flowing from the 12 taps will be brewed in Hawai‘i, says Warren, who also owns Moké’s Bread and Breakfast, conveniently situated right next door.

1127 11th Ave., Kaimukī

Photo: Courtesy of Okazuya at Diamond Head Market

Okazuya at Diamond Head Market

Ginger fried chicken is back; so are Grandma’s Potato Salad and furikake Goteburg musubis. Jason Peel, who ramped up Nami Kaze from an okazuya to brunch destination to locally sourced izakaya before shuttering the restaurant last Halloween, is now in the kitchen at Diamond Head Market & Grill. In addition to weekend breakfast and catering, Peel has debuted a weekly Wednesday early morning okazuya featuring his spins on favorites like sweet potato tempura, fried saimin and old-school kim chee. What else is in the works? “Other pop-ups soon to come,” he texts. “New menu items coming soon. Special holiday chef meals soon to come. Farm tours and Hawaiian flower lei making: coming soon. Farm events: coming soon. Educational farm classes coming soon.” Peel is also planning a supper club on the rooftop of Diamond Head Market; that may come later.

Every Wednesday 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. or until sold out. 3158 Monsarrat Ave., Diamond Head, diamondheadmarket.com/okazuya, @diamondheadmarketandgrill

Photo: Mari Taketa

Okome Tendon & Poke

Opened in December, Kaka‘ako’s new tempura and poke bowl shop is an offshoot of Okome, the poke and sushi spot in Kapolei. The focus here is tempura, all of it fried in beef tallow and not seed oils and arrayed on sushi rice to balance the richness. The tempura that emerges is light, and available solo or paired with steak, spicy pork or all kinds of poke.

Monday to Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 685 Auahi St., Kaka‘ako, okomehawaii.com, @okome.at.salt

Photo: Mari Taketa

Sip Café

Newly opened on Jan. 5, the cozy shop sells banh mis, coffee drinks and matcha and hojicha lattes. Notable are the Vietnamese coffee drinks, especially this Hanoi-style egg cream espresso with hand-whipped egg yolks and sugar dusted with (not so Hanoi-style) cocoa powder, and this Saigon Classic banh mi with juicy roast pork, gio lua steamed sausage, pork floss and a schmear of pâté. Seating is limited, so best to plan on takeout.

Daily 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., 1199 Dillingham Blvd., Kalihi, @sipcafehnl

Photo: Mari Taketa

Totoya ‘Aiea

We don’t normally cover when a restaurant expands to a new location with the same concept—unless there’s a newsworthy angle. In the case of Totoya, a negitoro sushi bowl specialist that opened to lines in Kaimukī in 2024 and across from Ala Moana Center in 2025, here’s the news: Its sushi bowls are coming to ‘Aiea from Feb. 15. After that third Hawai‘i location, Totoya is looking at Mainland expansion. That info comes from Takuya Tsutsumi, president and CEO of parent company Funergy Group, whose other small Japanese eateries include Mō‘ili‘ili izakayas Tori Ton and Tenkichi, and Marujuu Japanese Hamburg & Steak, opened in the former Chubbie’s Burgers Kaimukī spot just before Thanksgiving. Watch out also for a new, women-run izakaya coming to the Ala Moana area this year.

99-115 ‘Aiea Heights Dr., ‘Aiea, funergygroup.com, @totoya_hawaii

Mari Taketa is editor of Frolic Hawai‘i and dining editor of HONOLULU Magazine.