Romantic restaurants all share certain characteristics: great views, soft lights, comfortable seating, soft music - and the sound of surf, ukuleles, the moon over Diamond Head.... okay, not all are the same. On Oahu alone there are hundreds of great restaurants, each often more romantic than the next, so it's almost criminal to choose only ten. More marriage proposals happen in Oahu's restaurants in a day than happen all year in most places. Indeed, the floors here are slick with the happy tears of the well fed and newly betrothed.
Accessible only by a special glass enclosed elevator, this restaurant is located 30 stores above glorious Waikiki beach, and is perfectly positioned to frame famous Diamond Head within large panoramic windows and to offer memorable views of the expansive Pacific Ocean and tropical sunsets. The menu here is largely Continental with delicate Asian and local accents to make it unique and interesting. Menu selections include many classics like Caesar Salad, Wilted Spinach Salad, and Garlic and Rosemary Chicken. But the Sauteed Onaga and the Pancetta Monchong are especially enjoyable. Dinner is just the beginning here, plan on enjoying the live jazz music and spectacular moonlight views well in to the evening before heading down the elevator back to terra firma. Collared shirt and long pants required. No short, sandals or beachwear allowed.
Holiday Schedule: Open all holidays
Estimated cost per person: $50-$65
TOP OF WAIKIKI Waikiki Business Plaza 2270 Kalakaua Avenue , Top Floor Honolulu , Hawaii 96815 Reservations: (808) 923-3877 Hours: (Sun-Sat) 5:00 pm - 9:30 pm
This restaurant offers sky-high views along with a fabulous menu for a complete experience and is the only restaurant in the state that will make one full revolution each hour to provide an ever changing view of the Waikiki 's wonderful skyline and beach. Once up the elevators the room is an expanse glass and endless views. The multi-level dining area is just off a comfortable central bar area is perfectly designed to give every table a fantastic view. The innovative menu shines with the culinary artistry of Exec utive Chef Sean Priester . Menu selections include Beef Wellington, Hawaiian Snapper Chinese Style with Szechuan Seafood Udon and their signature 16 oz Grilled Roasted Garlic Rib Eye Steak with Hamakua Mushrooms.
Holiday Schedule: Open all holidays
Estimated cost per person: $50-$65
LA MER 2199 Kalia Road Honolulu , HI 96815 Telephone: 808-923-2311 Hours: (Sun-Sat) 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Upscale and award winning, there is hardly a finer or more formal restaurant in Honolulu to celebrate a special occasion or to pop the question. Oceanfront location, views, fabulous menu and discreet service makes the evening memorable. The menu is lavish and opulent with Mediterranean flavors and the freshest island ingredients. Menu selections include Roasted Chilean Sea Bass on Alsatian Choucroute, Sautéed Veal Chop with Mushrooms and Madeira Sauce, Bouquet of Asparagus and Brocoletti au Gratin with Opakapaka Sausage and Parsley Potatoes, accompanied by a Juniper Berry Mustard Sauce. Best seating is near the ocean by the windows and the best time for dinner is sunset. Long-sleeved collared shirt or jacket required.
Holiday Schedule: Open all holidays
Estimated cost per person: $75- $95
AARON'S ATOP ALA MOANA 410 Atkinson Drive Honolulu , Hawaii 96814 Phone: (808) 955-4466 Hours: (F ri - Sat) 5:30 pm to 11:00 pm, (Sun - Thu) 10:30 pm to 12:00 pm (Fri - Sat) 11:00 pm to 1:30 pm
With a contemporary, urban and upscale setting, this restaurant sits forty stories high above the city at the Ala Moana Hotel. This restaurant offers wonderful city views, a menu of classic entrees with a few fresh tropical inspired selections and a young hip crowd. Although sunset dining is wildly romantic and popular here, it's later in the evening when the dance floor and the restaurant begin to gain speed as the crowds gather. Also popular here is the late night menu that keeps the momentum going until the wee hours of the morning. Popular menu items include Opakapaka Gabriella and the Ahi "Diane." Collared shirts, slacks and covered shoes for gentlemen, no beachwear allowed.
Holiday Schedule: Open all holidays
Estimated cost per person: $50-$65
SARENTO'S TOP OF THE 'I' 1777 Ala Moana Blvd. Honolulu, Hawaii 96814 Phone: (808) 955-5559 Hours: (Sun-Thu) 5:30 pm. to 9:00 pm, (Fri-Sat) 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Located on the very top of the Ilikai hotel, the restaurant has sweeping sunset, coastline and city views which provide a dynamic backdrop to subdued romantic candlelit setting and crisp white table linens. The restaurant is typically filled with island visitors enjoying the views and honeymooners making the most out of the romantic setting and the live piano music. The Italian menu is one of the finest on the island and includes many traditional selections such as Veal Scaloppine, Ossobuco, Rack of Lamb with Eggplant Caponata, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes and Pomegranate Syrup, Cashew Crusted New Zealand Mussels with Lemon, Garlic & Bruschetta. Collared shirts, slacks and covered shoes for gentlemen, no beachwear allowed.
The luxurious serene and private setting of the Kahala Resort lends to the enjoyment of this fabulous restaurant. The décor is warm and contemporary with subdued lighting, pale walls, warm woods and wonderful art accents. There are expansive views of the Pacific Ocean and the open kitchen is particularly enjoyable. Chef Wayne Hirabayashi has won the hearts of the locals and puts together a wonderful inventive menu of European specialties and Asian flavors and fresh local ingredients that delight and tantalize. Most popular is the Salt Crusted Rack of Wisconsin Lamb served tableside or the Slow Braised Kahuku Pork Belly, Pancetta Crusted Onaga. Collared shirts with slacks or evening wear is suggested.
Holiday Schedule: Open all holidays
Estimated cost per person: $60-$70
CHAI'S ISLAND BISTRO 1 Aloha Tower Marketplace Honolulu , HI 96813 Telephone: (808) 585-0011 Hours: (Tue-Fri) 11 am - 4 pm, (Mon-Sun) 4 pm - 10 pm
Chef Chai Chaowasaree has created a restaurant where dinner and entertainment are part and parcel of a truly wonderful experience. The menu is a fabulous assortment of predominately Asian flavors that feature fresh fish, seafood and organically grown vegetables. Menu favorites include the Kataifi & Macadamia Nut Encrusted Jumbo Black Tiger Prawn Served with a bouquet of Waimanalo Baby Greens, Fresh Pineapple & Pineapple Vinaigrette, the Pacific-Rim Cioppino with Scallops, Fresh Local Fish, Fresh Kauai Prawns, New Zealand Mussel in Coconut Broth or the Grilled Fresh Mahi Mahi with Thai Red Curry Sauce Asian Stir Fried Vegetables & Wakana Soba. The experience also includes nightly entertainment by Hawaii 's best entertainers. It's not to be missed.
Holiday Schedule: Closed Christmas Day
Estimated cost per person: $50-$65
MICHEL'S RESTAURANT 2895 Kalakaua Ave Honolulu , HI 9681 808-923-6552
Located on the beach with an unforgettable sunset and Waikiki view, the setting is elegant and very formal French in décor, service and flavor. The ambiance is very romantic and dinner reservations are best made to align with the sunset when sky turns from blue to purple to flame orange and disappears beyond the Waianae Mountains are replaced with a tropical starlit night. That's when the flame torches are lit and the live music begins to waft softly in the background. The menu is mostly traditional French with a few entrees that feature fresh island fish prepared in popular island fashion. Request seating near the windows for the best views.
Estimated cost per person: $50-$65
Holiday Schedule: Closed Christmas
BALI-BY-THE-SEA Hilton Hawaiian Village 2005 Kalia Road, (Waikiki District) Honolulu, HI 96815 (808) 941-2254 Hours: (Mon - Sat) 6 - 10 pm; (closed Sun) If this doesn't get the libido working, you're dead. Located in the Hilton Hawaiian Village, elegantly dressed in teal and sand and white with a great seaside view, each Friday at 7:30 pm, Bali's beach explodes with fireworks, giving you something to ooh and ahh about besides the food: steak and ahi appetizers, shiitake mushrooms and char siu packed into crisp pot stickers, excellent mahi-mahi entrees eggplant and diced tomatoes - simple but elegant. A pastry kitchen cranks out delicacies, two of which come with the price and the first of which is a chocolate replica of Diamond Head, billowing with dry ice smoke, its crater filled with chocolate truffles and macadamia nuts. The miniature looks remarkably like the original, which you can see from the restaurant.
Estimated cost per person = $50 - $80
Holiday Schedule: Open all holidays.
JOHN DOMINIS RESTAURANT 43 'Ahui St., Honolulu, Hi. (808) 523-0955. Hours: Dinner 6-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 5:30-9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sunday Brunch: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Reservations recommended. For locals, John Dominis is synonymous with special occasions and its mesmerizing view of Diamond Head sometimes overshadows the incredible quality (and, in the case of the sumptuous Sunday brunch, the quantity) of the food served. A Koi pond weaves its way through the restaurant, making one feel like they're in a Japanese garden. John Dominis' chefs visit the fish auction daily and design special dishes to complement the Pacific's daily bounty. Tradition is balanced with trend in classic continental preparations: grilled vegetable platter and Szechwan-style Moi and Mahi.
The Top List of Romantic Restaurants - Honolulu, HI