These Honolulu Restaurants are Offering Liquor Bottles with Your Takeout

Pau hana at home just isn’t the same. It’s been easier to slide in a drink before 7 p.m. now that I don’t have a commute. But, after a day that usually includes a lengthy conversation with my dog, plants or myself, the only options are the three or four local beers or a few wines we keep on hand as staples.

To help local breweries, my house has recently been experimenting with different growlers of draft beer (a tough job, but someone had to do it). Now, some restaurants are selling bottles along with their takeout. There are a few big pluses here: bigger and more curated selections of drinks you may not be able to find in stores, expert advice from the bartenders selling them, and the chance to support your favorite bar in this challenging time.

You must purchase food along with your alcohol, which we count as a bonus. Also, the liquor commission requires that all bottles be opened and resealed. Here are three places we recently spotted starting sales, in alphabetical order. If your business is doing the same, email us at food@honolulumagazine.com.

12th Ave Grill

This Kaimukī favorite is also offering bottles of wine to go at big discounts and bottles of local beer for 50% off. The restaurant will even fill your own container from the taps, as long as it is a glass container with a lid that holds a 64-ounces or less. 12th Ave Grill’s sommelier Rick Lilley can also make suggestions when you call in your order, which is also 15% off the regular menu price. Bottle cocktails are also an option and that menu should expand. And  look for the family meals now available twice a week including the popular meatloaf.

Wednesday through Monday, 3:30-7:30 p.m. 1120 12th Ave., (808) 732-9469, 12thavegrill.com

Pint + Jigger

Limited Talenti and other cocktail to-go kits are available at pint + jigger. photo: Steve Czerniak

Stop by the picnic table set up every day to view the daily choices. Purchases are limited to what is out that day and one bottle per guest per day. Pint + Jigger tells us W.L. Weller 12 Year bourbon is a staff favorite that goes quickly. We’ve also been told that bottles from the so-called “Hawai‘i Whiskey Mafia”–a group of local industry people (Dusty Grable, Justin Park, Jason Fukeda and others) who buy barrels of bourbon together–sometimes make an appearance including Maker’s Mark and Whistle Pig sometimes are available. Pint + Jigger also has a few Talventi kits left, which come with Old Overholt Rye Whiskey, Campari, vanilla cream, cold brew coffee and the recipe that we named “Best Pick-Me-Up Cocktail” in our 2019 Best of Honolulu. Bloody mary and fresh-pressed screwdriver kits are in the works. Don’t dawdle. Friday is Pint + Jigger’s last day.

Open 4:30–9 p.m. daily for takeout. 1936 S. King St., (808) 744-9593, check @pintandjigger on Instagram for updates.

SEE ALSO: Best of Honolulu 2019: The Best Food and Drink on O‘ahu

Restaurant XO

You can get your adobo fried chicken or XO misoyaki scallops with big discounts on bottles at this Kaimukī neighborhood restaurant. Drive up to the back door for “curbside” dinner pick ups and you can also get frozen, multi-portion meals, baked goods and a 30% rebate in the form of a gift certificate.

Takeout orders taken by phone from 3-8 p.m. for pickup 5-8:20 p.m. (808) 732-3838. Text orders taken all day, (808) 384-3281. 3434 Wai‘alae Ave. See the menu @restaurant_xo on Instagram.

Square Barrels

Square Barrels’ old fashioned kit. Its bartenders suggest using high west double rye! in the recipe. Photo: Courtesy of Square Barrels

One of our favorite places to pau hana near our Downtown Honolulu office started advertising bottle sales Tuesday. Its Instagram posts showcase bottles of High West Double Rye! Whiskey ($38), Hendrick’s Gin and Elijah Craig Whiskey. Beer and wine are also for sale. Square Barrels will also be offering to-go cocktail kits including ingredients for the Old Fashioned, Moscow mule and aperol spritz. Price for the Old Fashioned kit is $10 plus the cost of your choice of whiskey. For the Moscow mule, it’s $18 for five cans of ginger beer, four limes and the recipe.

Open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. for takeout. 1001 Bishop St., (808) 524-2747, squarebarrels.com and @squarebarrels on Instagram.

Stripsteak Waikīkī

The Michael Mina eatery in the International Market Place just reopened yesterday for dinner pickup at The Street downstairs or delivery (it had closed on March 18). Now, you can buy bottles of pinot grigio, pinot noir/gamay or the always classic cabernet sauvignon for as much as 30% off to pair with your Washugyu flat iron steak and gochujang fried rice. Bottles of Maui Brewing Co., Honolulu Beerworks and Waikīkī Brewing Co. are also available.

Orders are taken 11 a.m.–7 p.m. for pickup at The Street from 4–8 p.m. International Market Place, 2330 Kalākaua Ave., #330, (808) 896-2545, michaelmina.net/restaurants/stripsteak/waikiki/