Dining Summary
In this section, I’ll offer some final thoughts on our dining experiences as well as some comparisons. Some of this will be a repeat of what I’ve already shared, but this post offers an abbreviated version. If you are jumping into this trip report here, more detail on the restaurants is provided in the previous posts, as well as pictures. I’ve provided some cost ranges based on our experiences, which included tips. To offer some context on these figures, typically we each had one to two adult beverages and we usually shared a couple appetizers or desserts.
Our Hawaii trip was a wonderful culinary experience. As Brad and I were working on this trip report we struggled with how often we used the words amazing, excellent, great, awesome, etc. But we simply couldn’t find enough other words to accurately reflect our opinions. I fully admit that it is easy to be in a different mindset while on vacation and potentially have rose-colored glasses. However, so many of our Hawaii meals stood out even when comparing to comparable meals on other vacations.
The views and environment, as well as the more relaxed culture, are factors that contribute to the experience. My best example of this is Ama Ama. It is a solid restaurant but when evaluating food alone, we could name restaurants in Chicago that are just as good, if not better. But when I factor in the view and location, it is no longer an even comparison. Also, when we consider the knowledge and passion many of the employees offer, it sets Ama Ama further apart.
Let’s start with Aulani meals. Since I just mentioned Ama Ama, I’ll start there. We had three great meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) at Ama Ama. If I were to rank them, breakfast was the best in terms of food and value. Lunch was next, followed by dinner. If budget allows, I would suggest everyone staying at Aulani try to eat at Ama Ama at least once.
For Makahiki we enjoyed both the breakfast and dinner buffets. The food offerings were diverse and tasted very good. You are obviously paying a Disney-premium, but we still felt it was worth what we paid. Brad and I agree breakfast was a slightly better value, but dinner had more diverse options. We would happily eat there again for either meal.
We had two poolside lunches at Aulani - one from the adult cabana and the other from the executive lanai. Both were very good, and obviously convenient. These meals could be considered a splurge since they don’t represent the best monetary value, but for convenience and truly feeling like you are on vacation they were just what we wanted.
The luau was our other Aulani dining experience and it was wonderful. Since it was the only luau we attended, I can’t offer a comparison to others, but I highly recommend it. It has all the historical and cultural attributes with a touch of Disney influence.
Next I’ll offer thoughts on what I consider ‘counter service’ meals. These all had walk-up service where you place your order at a counter and then seat yourself. Each of these was around $15-20 per person. The three places we went that fall in this category were the food trucks in Haleiwa, Ono Steak and Shrimp Shack and Nico’s Pier 38. It’s a bit difficult to compare these since they were very different. Nico’s was my favorite, but it was also the largest and most ‘commercial’ of the three. Ono’s was very good and we beat the rush so we didn’t have a problem finding a table and it was a short wait for our food, but it got busier while we were there. We were happy to experience the food trucks in Haleiwa, but these would probably be the one I’d be least likely to visit again. Parking was a bit of a hassle (luckily I wasn’t driving!) and it took the longest to get our food there. However, there are food trucks all over the island and perhaps this was just our experience with this location, or a busier day.
We visited three restaurants for lunch that I consider casual dining. Kona Brewing Company, Honolulu Beerworks and Haleiwa Joe’s are each places where you are seated and have a server, but are pretty laid back. Each of these meals was approximately $30 per person. I don’t think I can rank them easily – they were all so different but all were very enjoyable. For these, I’d say location is the best deciding factor based on where you are on the island when venturing away from Aulani.
Monkeypod and Beach House were mid-level dinners. These locations are also relatively laid back, but can be a longer meal experience. I’d put these on par with table service restaurants at Disney World. For these meals we spent $55-60 per person. Both were great meals. Beach house was probably my favorite of the two for food and setting. Being located by a beach with the setting sun is hard to beat. However, Monkeypod’s proximity to Aulani gives it an edge. Again, I’d say if you are near Haleiwa, consider Beach House, but if you are not venturing too far from Aulani, go to Monkeypod. Or try to visit both!
Lastly, are the splurge meals, which I’d consider most comparable to signature dining at Disney World. We landed on Roy's at Ko’Olina, Hoku’s at the Kahala Resort and Michel’s at the Colony Surf for our ‘dress-up’ meals. Most of these don’t have an strict dress code beyond the typical, no swimwear, tank tops, etc. Each of these was between $80-120 per person. I should mention that our Ama Ama dinner also came in around this price point (I underestimated that one a bit while budgeting), but I kept it in the Aulani group rather than here. Hoku’s was a definite winner for brunch and Brad and I would like to try dinner there. Michel’s was a great meal, but it was the most ‘traditional’ in terms of it feeling more like a French restaurant in both menu and décor, and felt the least Hawaiian, with the exception of it’s beach-side location. Roy’s was a great meal and conveniently located near Aulani. This group was also difficult for us to rank as we really enjoyed them all and they each offered something unique. In the end, I’d say Hoku’s, followed by Roy’s and then Michel’s. Brad considers Michel’s and Roy’s a tie behind Hoku’s. But it really does depend on what you are seeking (i.e. a romantic dinner offering a rich, savory menu, a local menu that is well-executed, a memorable dining experience blending environment and menu offerings) and you likely won’t go wrong with any of them. Throwing Ama Ama in this category, if we were only going to have one higher-end dinner, and didn’t want to venture too far from Aulani, I’d choose to walk to Roy’s.
