Side Street Inn Just Opened in the Old Westman Café/Bills Waikīkī Spot

Photo: Thomas Obungen

Side Street Inn, which closed in Kapahulu in April with a promise to reopen in Waikīkī, made good on that promise Wednesday. The locally owned micro-chain opened its third restaurant in the second-floor Beach Walk space that formerly housed Westman Café and Bills Waikīkī. Until its liquor license comes through, it’s BYOB for now, with a 10% kama‘āina discount and two hours of validated free parking in the Bank of Hawai‘i building across the street.

Yakisoba. Photo: Melissa Chang

“We are thrilled that we are finally opened. We have the full SSI menu. There will be specials, but we are focusing on our regular menu,” co-owner Cheryl DeAngelo says, “with plans to open for lunch soon.” That plants classics like massive platters of fried rice with Portuguese sausage and char siu, crispy chicken gizzards and pan-fried pork chops at the opposite end of Waikīkī, with better parking than the original Hopaka Street location near Ala Moana Center.

Photo: Melissa Chang

The new spot is the third for DeAngelo and business partner Lisa Meyers. At 140 seats, it’s also the smallest: Both Hopaka and Hali‘a by Side Street Inn, at Wai Kai in ‘Ewa Beach, seat about 170 customers. Under founder Colin Nishida, a local chef who cooked the childhood favorites his mother taught him, tiny Side Street Inn grew a loyal following and became a late-night hangout for fellow chefs like Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi. Nishida expanded the business to Kapahulu 34 years ago.

SEE ALSO: How Side Street Inn’s Colin Nishida Went From Bar Owner to Restaurateur of the Year

When he passed in 2018, DeAngelo—who kept up a friendship with Nishida since he hired her as a bartender about 30 years ago—took over with Meyer and brought in husband and longtime chef Fred DeAngelo to oversee the menu. The goal, Cheryl DeAngelo told us when they opened in ‘Ewa Beach last summer, was “to just carry on what Colin saw.”

Roast pork poke. Photo: Melissa Chang

Note there’s a $10 corkage fee per person in Waikīkī if you BYOB, and you’ll need a Hawai‘i drivers license or state ID for that kama‘āina discount.

Monday to Thursday 4 to 10 p.m. (last seating 8:30 p.m.), Friday 4 to 11 p.m. (last seating 9 p.m.), Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. (last seating 9 p.m.), Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (last seating 8:30 p.m.), 280 Beach Walk, Waikīkī, (808) 739-3939, sidestreetinn.com, @sidestreetinn

SEE ALSO: Kama‘āina Deals: Restaurants and Eateries

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