Best meal we had during the trip was at John Domanis. It was not mentioned in any of the 4 or 5 tourist guidebooks we consulted, but came as a personal recommendation to our friend and dining companion Jean-Marc from a long time resident.
John Domanis has great seafood, attentive service and a nice outlook over the ocean. It is approached via part of Honolulu's working port, so don't be put off by that. Valet parking is very reasonably priced too. Check out the details and typical menus on the restaurant's website here.
Best tourist restaurant experience was at Duke's Waikiki. Duke's Canoe Club Waikiki is located inside the Outrigger Waikiki hotel. This restaurant is mentioned in every tourist guidebook. The food was pretty good, but what you really come here for is the ambience and people watching. There's the restaurant, then there's the hotel's pool, and then on the other side the most famous beach in the world. The restaurant is chock full of memorabilia about Duke Kahanamoku, the father of surfing.
HINT: We read that Duke's does not accept reservations for dinner, so early in the afternoon we asked the restaurant hostesses what time they suggested we attend to have the shortest wait for a dinner table. On that Saturday, they suggested we arrive at 6.15pm, and expect one hour waiting time. We arrived at 6.00pm and reported to the restaurant reception desk. They noted our names, and we were advised to come back at 7.10pm. Returning on time, we had to wait only 5 more minutes to be seated at our table. The one hour waiting time gave us enough time to go next door to have a cocktail at The Royal Hawaiian Hotel's Mai Tai Bar. Again, one of those quintessential experiences. Sure it's commercial - but this is Waikiki baby, and money talks. We had fun drinking our outrageously kitsch cocktails, and the friendly bassist from the bar's jazz trio who was on his break kindly took our group photograph. (Photo will be posted when it comes to hand.)
DINING WITH CHILDREN ON OAHU
For dinner, the standout for kids is the Pacific Beach Hotel's Oceanarium Restaurant. The aquarium is huge. Maybe 6 metres high, and 30 metres long. The photo attached to the restaurant's website gives some scale against the dining tables and chairs.
The restaurant is very busy, and probably has at least 3 seatings per night.This place is obviously a favourite of locals, and there were at least 3 kids' birthday parties. Not the place for a romantic dinner for two. The tables are generally long, seating 9 or ten people. Prime tables abut the aquarium tank and the gimmick here is that a diver in the water swims up to the table celebrating a birthday and places a sign against the glass "Happy Birthday Billie". When the birthday cake comes out for the boy or girl of the moment, 9 or 10 waiters gather around the table and sing Happy Birthday to You. It's hokey, but the pay off is the ear-to-ear grin of the birthday boy or girl. If I were 7 or 8 years old, I would think it was the bee's knees. Bookings essential, and I assume to get one of those prime tables on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night you would need to book weeks ahead. Gabrielle and I probably got more out of the aquarium aspect than Edward did, but he enjoyed the food, the general hubbub and sense of occasion.
The food is OK for a high volume buffet. Like Duke's, you don't come here for the food, you come because this ambience is something you can't get anywhere else.
I couldn't take suitable photographs there, but here's some Flickr sets. There's a nightly Dinner Buffet, and on the Sunday night we dined the Dim Sum Station was active.
I'm not exactly sure how much the Oceanarium Restaurant charges for the buffet, but we went with 5 adults and 3 kids under 4 years old, and paid about $35 each for the adults and nothing for the children. Check their children's prices before you go. Drinks and tax were extra. A great kids' holiday experience.
For casual lunch eating with the kids, a standout was the Poolside Grill at the Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa.
I mentioned this place when I was writing about beaches for kids, but what I didn't tell you is that less than a metre from our table was a giant pond full of hammerhead sharks. On the two days that we lunched there, a hotel staff member came around with a group of hotel guests at 11.30am and fed the sharks. The sharks feeders and guests actually stand in the pond, but are protected from the predators by a small rock wall. This rock wall also allows the small fish to swim out of the reach of the sharks so there are no disturbing displays of the natural world to bring on tears in the little kids.
The food was tasty and hearty, and reasonably priced for an establishment of this type (read moderately expensive) The bonus is that a spend of more than $25 yields free parking in the resort car park, close to the Ko Olina lagoons where it is otherwise near impossible to park.
Generally, everywhere we went on Oahu children were warmly welcomed.
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