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Like many other cities, Honolulu is witnessing a restaurant boom. Hawaiiʻs largest city continues to double down on excellent Japanese food — some of the best outside of Japan — but it is also now home to some new cuisines and flavors. Here are some of the hottest places that have opened recently.
Zigu
Tucked into a low-rise building in Waikiki, Zigu is an izakaya with a heavy emphasis on locally-grown ingredients, a rarity among Honolulu’s Japanese restaurants. Chef Masaki Nakayama’s standout dishes include a tuna cheek teriyaki ($26), a big, meaty wedge roasted to tenderness; braised pork belly ($22) with laulau (stewed taro leaves) and pohole (fiddlehead fern), a melding of Japanese with Hawaiian fare; and the deceptively simple sounding egg and potato salad ($8.50), the egg poached in dashi and then smoked.
Details: Open daily for lunch and dinner at 413 Seaside Ave.; www.zigu.us.
Tonkatsu Tamafuji
Honolulu already has one excellent restaurant specializing in tonkatsu — Ginza Bairin. Now Tonkatsu Tamafuji vies for the mantle of the best deep-fried pork cutlet ($19.50) in town. Here, the panko crust is made in-house, resulting in an especially light and delicate crust — if you could deep fry cotton candy, this is the texture it might have — protecting a juicy cut of meat. An unlimited supply of shredded cabbage, pickles and tonkatsu sauce, to which you add sesame seeds you grind yourself tableside, help cut through the richness. With no reservations taken, waits of up to two hours are not uncommon. Call ahead — 808-922-1212 — to put yourself on the wait list.
Details: Open for lunch on weekends and dinner daily, except Tuesday, at 449 Kapahulu Ave.; www.facebook.com/tamafujihonolulu.
Off the Hook
Yes, the rest of the world loves poke, but no one loves it more than Hawaii locals. In a town already filled with excellent poke, Off the Hook decided it still wasn’t enough. And judging by the crowd, people agreed. Bowls start at $11.99. The tuna comes fresh from Honolulu’s fish auction and the flavors range from classic shoyu to the Chinese-inspired cold ginger ahi. If you can’t decide, get the sampler, which includes all of Off the Hook’s eight different varieties.
Details: Open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except Sunday, at 2908 E. Manoa Road, 808-800-6865.
Off the Wall
A number of craft breweries have opened in Honolulu in recent years. You could schlep all over town seeking them out, or just head to Off the Wall, where 24 self-serve taps offer local brews, plus cider and kombucha. The breweries represented include Aloha Beer Co., Beer Lab Hawaii and Waikiki Brewing Co., as well as some non-Oahu companies, such as Big Island Brewhaus. And the bites are Latin-inspired, from the empanadas ($11) to the cinnamon and Oreo churros ($9).
Details: Open daily at 1170 Auahi St.; www.offthewallhawaii.com
Rangoon Burmese Kitchen
Born in Myanmar, Khun Sai lived in San Francisco before moving to the islands, watching Burmese restaurants explode in popularity. With his Honolulu restaurant, he wanted to feature more traditional Burmese dishes. So at Rangoon, you’ll find Kachin whole fish ($24), smeared with a paste of fresh herbs and prickly ash, wrapped up with fern shoots in a banana leaf. There’s also a pennywort salad ($10), its tender leaves tossed with copious amounts of sesame seeds, and a sour leaf shrimp curry ($18), the leaves from a hibiscus varietal lending a lemony tang.
Details: Open for lunch and dinner daily, except Sunday, at 1131 Nuuanu Ave.
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