12 New Oʻahu Restaurants to Try This Summer (2026)

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Oʻahu’s food scene never really sits still, but 2026 has been a big year even by island standards. A Michelin-starred yakitori master set up shop in Kakaʻako, a hometown legend is coming back to Kāhala, a new food hall took over a corner of Keʻeaumoku, and Chinatown and Kaimuki keep stacking up openings worth the drive across town. We eat out constantly for this blog, so we pulled together the new spots that actually have us excited this summer. Twelve of them, grouped by neighborhood, with what to order and where to find them.

Here is what makes this year stand out. The openings are not just more of the same; they cover a genuinely wide range, from a world-class omakase counter to a self-serve hot-stone steakhouse to a Filipino smash burger, and they are spread across the neighborhoods locals actually eat in rather than crammed into one visitor zone. That is good news whether you are staying in Waikīkī or renting a place out on the windward side, because there is very likely something new and worth your time within a short drive. One note before we dig in: opening dates, hours, and menus all move fast in a restaurant’s first few months, so treat this as a summer snapshot and confirm before you make a special trip.

The big names everyone’s talking about

The headline opening of the year is Torishin, the Michelin-starred yakitori restaurant that made its name in New York, now tucked into the Aeʻo tower in Kakaʻako. Kakaʻako (Aeʻo, Ward Village). This is charcoal-grilled chicken taken very seriously, skewer by skewer, the kind of place where an omakase counter seat is the move and the binchōtan smoke does half the work. If you have only one splurge dinner in you this summer, this is a strong pick, and it is worth reserving well ahead because the counter is small.

The other one has locals genuinely emotional: Alan Wong’s is coming back, this time at The Kāhala Hotel & Resort, with Wong consulting and a menu that leans on the King Street classics that put modern Hawaiʻi cuisine on the map. If you grew up here, you know what this means. If you are visiting, this is your chance to eat the food that a lot of today’s island chefs grew up cooking under.

Both of these reward a little planning before you book. Torishin is a study in restraint, where the pleasure is tasting how many ways one great bird can be cooked over charcoal, so go hungry, grab a counter seat if you can, and let the chef set the pace. Alan Wong’s, by contrast, is about heritage and warmth, the kind of meal where a ginger-crusted fish or a twice-cooked short rib arrives with a side of island history. Neither is a budget night out, and neither should be an afterthought; these are the dinners you build the rest of the day around. If you are the type to plan a whole trip around one unforgettable meal, start with these two and work backward from there.

Kakaʻako keeps cooking

Beyond Torishin, Kakaʻako remains the neighborhood to watch. Chill n Grill brings a Northern Chinese skewer-and-hot-pot menu to the area, with grilled lamb, chicken, pork heart and chilled surf clams alongside a handful of hot pot options. Kakaʻako. It is the kind of communal, order-a-pile-of-skewers dinner that is perfect with a group, and it fills a gap the neighborhood did not know it had. Between the condos, the murals, and the coffee shops, this stretch of town has quietly turned into one of the best eating grids on the island.

Chinatown’s new energy

Chinatown is in the middle of a genuine run. Mama Guava is the one we keep hearing about, a Filipino-American spot doing crispy lumpia wrapped in look fun, a shrimp-and-longanisa banh xeo, and a longanisa smash burger with garlic fries that has no business being as good as it is. Chinatown, Honolulu. It is playful, it is proudly Filipino, and it is exactly the kind of cooking this neighborhood does best. On top of that, a wave of new Chinese restaurants has opened here recently, from Guizhou to Hunan regional cooking, including the well-reviewed Daji Spicy Pavilion, so the mala fans are eating very well right now.

If you would rather graze a bunch of these in one afternoon without planning the whole route yourself, a guided Chinatown or Oʻahu food tour is a fun, low-effort way to do it, and a good local guide will get you into spots you would walk right past. For the do-it-yourself crowd, our guide to the best dim sum on Oʻahu is a solid Chinatown starting point.

Kaimuki, still the chef’s neighborhood

Kaimuki has been Honolulu’s quiet dining heart for years, and it keeps earning it. Mokihana Haus is slated to open this summer as a midcentury-Hawaiian beer bar, with roughly a dozen taps pouring about ninety percent Hawaiʻi craft beer, live music, and a small, easy pau hana room built for lingering. Kaimuki. It is less about a big meal and more about a good, unhurried evening, which is a very Kaimuki thing to be.

A few doors into the neighborhood’s history, the team behind the beloved Café Miro has opened a new counter concept in the former Leila space, serving a prix-fixe, multi-course tasting experience for a small number of seats a night. Kaimuki. This is a special-occasion reservation, the kind you book for an anniversary. If that is the vibe you are after, our roundup of the best date night restaurants on Oʻahu pairs well with it.

Waikīkī and the malls

Waikīkī picked up one of the most beloved names in local baking: Liliha Bakery opened a location at Waikīkī Beach Walk, which means Coco Puffs, poi doughnuts, and full diner breakfasts are now within walking distance of the hotels. It is a genuinely useful addition for visitors, and a good excuse to read our best breakfast and brunch on Oʻahu guide before you go. Over at Ala Moana Center, Molly Tea arrived as its first Hawaiʻi outpost, built around fresh, floral-forward teas that have a real following, and it is a solid pick-me-up mid-shopping. And inside the Royal Hawaiian Center food court, Waikiki Brisket is doing Texas-style barbecue with a local accent, a smart, budget-friendly bite between the beach and the shops.

Kapahulu, Makiki, and a new food hall

On Kapahulu Avenue, Adez Steakhouse & Lounge brings a fun, hands-on format: you cook your own steak at the table on stones heated to 500 degrees, built around a multi-course prix-fixe menu with valet parking out front. Kapahulu. It is dinner and a little theater at once. Up in Makiki, Makanai is the neighborhood’s newest café, pouring espresso and matcha and putting out pastries, sandwiches, and loaded toasts that make it an easy morning stop. And on Keʻeaumoku Street, The Park on Keʻeaumoku opened as a proper food hall, anchored by FEAST by Jon Matsubara alongside vendors like Middle Eats, Soul Chicken, and Serg’s Mexican Kitchen, so a table of people who can never agree on dinner can finally all win.

What this year’s openings tell us

Step back from the individual spots and a few patterns jump out. Regional Chinese cooking is having a real moment, with Chinatown and Kakaʻako both getting menus that go well past the familiar and into Guizhou, Hunan, and Northern-style skewers and hot pot. Filipino food keeps stepping confidently into the spotlight, no longer treated as a side note but as some of the most exciting cooking in town. Japanese depth keeps growing too, from a Michelin yakitori counter to honest Osaka curry, which tracks with how deep the islands’ ties to Japan run. And the food-hall format is clearly here to stay, giving new vendors a lower-risk way to launch and giving diners a way to please a whole table at once. Put together, it is a snapshot of an island that eats broadly and rewards ambition, and it is a good reminder that a lot of the best meals here sit a few blocks off the main strip. It also means the classics finally have some real competition, which only makes the whole scene better.

A few more openings on our radar

A dozen barely scratches the surface, so here are a few more that earned a mention. At Ala Moana Center, Tandoori Express brought Pakistani and North Indian cooking to the mall, with butter chicken, samosas, and biryani that make for a much better food-court lunch than you would expect. Over in the Royal Hawaiian Dining Plaza, Kana Curry is doing Osaka-style Japanese curry, thick and glossy and deeply comforting, and it has quickly become a reliable Waikīkī default when you want something warm and filling without a big production. Back in Chinatown, Daji Spicy Pavilion is one of the standouts in the neighborhood’s new Chinese wave, the kind of numbing, chili-forward cooking that has people planning a return trip before they have finished the first meal. None of these are destination splurges, but all three are exactly the sort of solid, everyday openings that quietly make the island a better place to eat. If value is your priority, they slot right in next to our budget eats picks.

How we’d use this list

You will not get to all twelve in one trip, and you should not try. Pick one splurge (Torishin or the Café Miro counter), one fun group night (Chill n Grill or Adez), and one easy daytime bite near wherever you are staying, and you will eat better than most people who spend the whole trip Googling from the beach. New spots also work out their kinks in the first few months, so a quick check of current hours before you drive across town is always worth it. Prices, seats, and opening dates move around, especially for the places still finding their feet this summer. When in doubt, the classics never miss, and our guides to plate lunch, pho, and budget eats will steer you right while the new spots settle in.

Tips for eating out on Oʻahu this summer

A few things will make eating your way through this list a lot smoother. First, reserve the hot ones early. The small-counter spots like Torishin and the Café Miro tasting room fill their limited seats days ahead, especially on weekends, so book the moment you know your dates. Second, plan around parking, because it is the real tax on a Honolulu dinner. Kakaʻako runs on paid garages around Ward and Ala Moana, Chinatown is easiest from the municipal lots rather than circling for a street spot, and in Waikīkī you will almost always want to ask about validation before you order. Third, timing matters more at new places than established ones; a spot that is slammed at seven on a Friday is often calm and welcoming at 5:30 or after eight, and the food is exactly the same. Fourth, keep a little cash on hand for the smaller vendors and food-hall stalls, even though most places take cards now. And finally, the most local move of all: when you see a line of Honolulu families waiting outside a place that opened last month, that is your answer, so get in it. Summer is peak season across the island, so a mix of early reservations and a willingness to eat a little early or late will save you the most time. For dependable favorites while the new spots find their feet, our pho and plate lunch guides never miss.

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