Honolulu’s 7 favorite bars

Pool drinks are the name of the game at Heyday, a super hip bar at the recently renovated White Sands hotel. The cocktails, which include the fluffy pineapple Chaise Dreams, a mamaki-tea infused mai tai, and daiquiris, are best sipped on swings that double as bar seats—one of Heyday’s many distinguishing features, which also include a grotto enclave and a tiki-style bamboo bar. To all that, add a top-notch food menu steered by James Beard Award winner Robynne Maii (locally caught fish and chips, flatiron steak skewers) and you’ve got a quintessential Honolulu hangout.

As one of Honolulu’s most historic pockets, Downtown has long been home to family-run lei stands that promoted the century-old Hawaiian tradition of placing garlands on people deboarding from nearby piers. Step through a side door past one such stand’s facade and you’ll find a bar that is far from a relic. Neon lights and thumping bass permeate the dark lounge. For fuel, there are juicy house drinks, such as the guava jelly-infused Rub Upon My Belly or the coconut fat-washed Coconut Wireless. The Lei Stand’s food is inspired by dishes found at local dives, featuring chicken karaage, misoyaki salmon, and patty melts—alongside a more refined selection called #luxuryshit, made up of uni waffles, caviar egg salad sandwiches, truffle Parmesan popcorn, and more.

Look no further than House Without A Key’s sun-soaked lanai for what is arguably the world’s greatest mai tai. Here, the quintessential beach cocktail is made with three types of rum, poured over crushed ice, and garnished with a bouquet of orchid, lime, and sugarcane—all made sweeter against a backdrop of live Hawaiian slack key, hula dancing from former Miss Hawaiʻi-USA winners, and a magical beachside view of Diamond Head. Other tropical drinks are also available—think daiquiris, and Champagne cocktails—alongside fruity non-alcoholic selections. Graze on small plates including sushi rice cubes with spicy ahi if you’re just here for golden hour. But should drinks turn into dinner, choose from a heartier menu that includes brick-oven pizza, hibachi chicken breast, and steamed fresh red snapper.

Come for the ultra-modern Italian furniture—but stay for the wine. Amuse Bar is housed on the second floor of the glassy Honolulu Design Center, decked with a tech-heavy system sprawled throughout the bar area that lets you swipe a card at as many as 80 beeping and flashing gaskets that pour you a taste of from around the world, ranging from Napa cabs to French burgundies and more. Show up between 5 pm and 6 pm between Tuesdays and Saturdays for a daily happy hour selection of by-the-glass wine specials (a rotating selection of beer and cocktails are also available). Pair the sips with petite wine-friendly bites such as truffle fries, charcuterie and cheese plates, and sliders.

Though you’ll spy Hana Koa Brewery Co. cans in local supermarkets, its bar is where you can fully immerse yourself in beer. The converted-warehouse haunt offers 16 taps that pour out suds made on site with selections that rotate weekly. Find flights, as expected, or tall frosty pints. All pair well with Hana Koa’s snacky menu, including spicy pork belly sliders, a beer-battered fish sandwich, plus a sizable ramen selection. If you want a stiffer drink, head upstairs to Hana Koa’s Mezzanine, a low-key craft cocktail bar with weekly specials and secret menus made by its creative bartending staff.

Eleven may be practically built inside a Foodland, one of Hawai’i’s beloved locally-owned grocery stores, but this cocktail bar is anything but a freezer aisle. The drinks menu features many original riffs on modern classics, though the real draw is a 91-bottle whiskey selection that can be prepared one of a staggering 13 ways—as a sour, old fashioned, in julep form, or as a boulevardier, just to name a few. If you’re not imbibing, consider the Pineapple Slinger, made with a non-alcoholic gin, pineapple and lime juice, orgeat, hibiscus, and cherry syrup. Stretch your experience with enticing small plates including seasonal Pacific oysters, hamachi carpaccio, or roasted beets with spiced silken tofu.

Blind Ox is a casual-chic Prohibition-style speakeasy in Kapahulu. The bar serves classic cocktails with local twists against a backdrop of chandeliers, dark red booths, and stylish wallpaper. Grab seats at the roomy indoor bar areas with ample booths or grab a plush perch on one of the many outdoor sofas. Choose from drinks including Mr. Crack Seed (a whiskey sour with plum skin powder-infused bourbon) and the Bull & the Whip (a wagyu-infused twist on a Manhattan). For the peckish, there’s a tapas menu of scallops, bone marrow, and scotch quail eggs.