The Best Places to Eat Outside on the Windward Side of O‘ahu Right Now
When one door shuts, the outdoors open. Here are some of our favorite restaurants in Honolulu for dining alfresco.
Find more outdoor dining options in the August issue of HONOLULU. Look for it in our online store.
photo: David Croxford
Hale‘iwa Joe’s Seafood Grill
Whether you’re scoping out the boats moored in Hale‘iwa Harbor or the lily pads floating in the pond at Ha‘ikū Gardens in Kāne‘ohe, both Hale‘iwa Joe’s Seafood Grill locations feature great outdoor views to pair with your lunch, dinner or pūpū. Although there are slight menu differences between the two locations, you can’t go wrong ordering a freshly caught fish baked with Thai spices; grilled with macadamia nut pesto and lobster cream sauce; or steamed with shoyu, bok choy and shimeji mushrooms. But we’d also be remiss not to mention the gargantuan 2-pound bone-in rib roast. We’d say your eyes would be bigger than your stomach, but your eyes may not even be that big. –JC
Hale‘iwa Joe’s in Hale‘iwa, 66-011 Kamehameha Highway, (808) 637-8005; Hale‘iwa Joe’s in Kāne‘ohe, 46-336 Ha‘ikū Road, (808) 247-6671; @haleiwajoes
SEE ALSO: The Most Pet-Friendly Bars and Restaurants on O‘ahu to Grab a Drink With Your Dog
Buzz’s Original Steak House
The pandemic may have killed the steakhouse salad bar, which Buzz’s Original Steak House, open since 1962, claims to have invented (along with Chuck’s Steak House), but so far, it hasn’t killed Buzz’s welcoming, kitschy old Hawai‘i vibe. The tourists and salad bar may be gone, but you’ll still find diners on the lānai, shaded by the Dickey-style roof, enjoying a view of Kailua Beach, mai tais, grilled steaks and towering hunks of ice cream pie. –MC
413 Kawailoa Road, Kailua, (808) 261-4661, buzzsoriginalsteakhouse.com, @buzzsoriginalsteakhouse
Cinnamon’s Restaurant
The irony of Cinnamon’s dining area, which spills from the breakfast spot’s cozy interior into the atrium of the Kailua Square building, is that the inside, with its gazebo and homey white-paned windows, looks more alfresco than the actual alfresco space. New regulations since COVID-19 mean you’ll wait in your car until your table is ready, check in at a table in front of the parking lot entrance, and get your temperature scanned before you’re seated. Which you and hungry& brunchers from around the island gladly do for Cinnamon’s famous eggs Benedicts and fluffy stacks of red velvet and guava chiffon pancakes. —MT
315 Uluniu St., Kailua, (808) 261-8724, cinnamons808.com, @cinnamonskailua
Read more stories by James Charisma and Martha Cheng
