Hawaiʻi Wine & Dine ← The Guide
W
Two Weeks Only · Kakaʻako

Taste of Ward

For two weeks, twenty-eight Ward Village kitchens put something on the menu you cannot order the rest of the year. Here is every one of them — what to get, where it is, and how to find it.

September 16 – 30, 2026 Ward Village, Kakaʻako, Honolulu 28 Participants

Ward Village runs this twice a year, and the format rewards planning. The offers are genuinely limited — some are single dishes, some are full prix-fixe menus for two, and a few are simply a few dollars off a drink. The spread is wide enough that you could eat your way through the fortnight without repeating a room.

A word on strategy: the set menus are where the value concentrates. Cino's three courses and Off the Wall's menu for two are built as complete meals. The platters — Nori Bar's oishi deluxe above all — are the ones worth bringing someone to share.

01

Ăn Đi Dzô

1044 Auahi St.

Washugyu pho and a French dip sandwich, with an optional caviar bump on either dish — a small, very Honolulu kind of excess.

02

Cino

987 Queen St.

A three-course Italian menu. Antipasto: panzanella with seasonal fruit, Ho Farms tomato and stracciatella, or caprese with burrata and kalamata olives. Entrée: butternut squash agnolotti with Parmigiano Reggiano, macadamia nuts and brown butter sage, or rigatoni bolognese of veal, beef and pork. Dessert: mango-coconut panna cotta or tiramisu. Chef Arnold Corpuz says the kitchen is leaning on simplicity, freshness and seasonal ingredients.

03

Cotti Coffee

1000 Auahi St.

Order the steamed dumplings and any drink is $3 — including the cloud mousse latte the shop is known for.

04

Cream & Sugar Hawaiʻi

Victoria Ward Park Makai, 1020 Auahi St.

The park kiosk is running cinnamon rolls, pesto tomato focaccia and a scallion chili crisp focaccia.

05

Dean & DeLuca

Kōʻula Shops, 1000 Auahi St.

A pastry case worth the detour: yame-matcha, white chocolate mousse with matcha brownie, ube coconut tart, Macedonia, whole Montblanc roll cake and whole green grape shortcake.

06

Fishcake

307 Kamani St.

Special beverages from Laʻa Kea Wellness and Aloha Matcha Hawaiʻi, served in one of Kakaʻako's best-looking rooms.

07

Ginza Sushi

1044 Auahi St.

Special pricing across the sushi rolls at this casual Japanese dine-in spot.

08

Han No Daidokoro

1108 Auahi St.

The yakiniku house goes big: A5 Miyazaki wagyu tsukimi yukhoe, Miyazaki wagyu sushi with sea urchin, and Nicolas Feuillatte Brut champagne.

09

Happy Lemon

1000 Auahi St.

Mango sago and the bubble waffle.

10

House of Mana Up

1170 Auahi St.

An ultimate sweet-and-savory gift set plus customizable boxes — the easiest way to take Hawaiʻi-made product home.

11

Istanbul Hawaiʻi

1108 Auahi St.

Mersin tantuni — wagyu, tomato, onion, mardin sumac, Kahuku parsley, Maui lemon and thin lavas bread — built from chef Ahu Hettema's childhood in Mersin.

12

Jules & Gem Hawaiʻi

1170 Auahi St.

Coffee-scented products from the fragrance shop — the one stop here that isn't edible.

13

Kamitoku Ramen

South Shore Market, 1170 Auahi St.

An exclusive tsukemen from the beef-bone-broth specialists, newly moved into South Shore Market.

14

La Tour Café

ʻAʻaliʻi Shops, 987 Queen St.

Falafel banh mi, a watermelon mint julep and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies at the hybrid café.

15

Luna's Tex-Mex Cantina

987 Queen St.

Al pastor skewers with rice and beans; a torta of grilled carne asada, melted cheese, avocado, chipotle mayo and lettuce; Jarritos and strawberry lemonade.

16

Māla-Be

Victoria Ward Park Makai, 1020 Auahi St.

Mediterranean-inspired vegan treats, all coconut-based and gluten-free: a Mediterranean plate and a Hawaiian cookie crumble.

17

Merriman's Honolulu

1108 Auahi St.

Lunch: miso salmon with banchan, garlic rice and a miso lemon vinaigrette. Dinner: the Taste of Ward surf-and-turf duo — Manhattan steak with garlic potatoes and local vegetables, alongside a shrimp pot pie.

18

Mochi Momma HI

Victoria Ward Park Makai, 1020 Auahi St.

Signature butter mochi in rotation: azuki strawberry, butter mochi biko and Cookie Butter.

19

Nalu Health Bar & Café

South Shore Market, 1170 Auahi St.

“Heartbeet” juice of beets, orange, apple, pineapple and ginger, and a purple bliss smoothie with blueberries, banana, spinach, almond milk and acai.

20

Nori Bar

Kōʻula Shops, 1000 Auahi St.

The most ambitious plate of the fortnight: the Nori oishi deluxe platter — lomi ʻahi under uni and caviar, an oyster shooter, mini wagyu don with shoyu and chili oil, toro shiso hosomaki, ʻahi tataki nigiri, kanpachi with shichimi, garlic truffle salmon nigiri with ikura, seared spicy ʻahi with tobiko, and sashimi of maguro, king salmon and hamachi.

21

Ocean Taste

South Shore Market, 1170 Auahi St.

A lava flow chirashi don and a spicy salmon crème brûlée torched bowl, from a chef who buys at the Honolulu fish auction himself.

22

Off the Wall Craft Beer & Wine

South Shore Market, 1170 Auahi St.

A set menu for two: field harvest salad with fresh fruit, greens and avocado in housemade yogurt dressing; steamed Manila clams with chorizo in white wine reduction with garlic ciabatta; a 10-ounce New York sirloin with garlic lemon fingerling potatoes and bordelaise; and Ecuadorian chocolate cake with hazelnut cream and crunch.

23

ONKEE Korean Grill House

1000 Auahi St.

A specialty japchae from the tabletop-grill house.

24

Potluck Hawaiʻi

East Village Shops & South Shore Market, 1170 Auahi St.

Truffle & Pop popcorn and Please Come Again Ice Cream at the neighborhood lifestyle shop.

25

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

South Shore Market, 1170 Auahi St.

$3 off any fall pumpkin or horchata drink.

26

The Social Honolulu

South Shore Market, 1170 Auahi St., second floor

A tomato bisque with seafood, and fried pocho sausage, in the whiskey bar upstairs.

27

Tonkatsu Kuro

1000 Auahi St.

Specialty drinks built for fried pork: lilikoʻi and jeju mandarin orange, lime and jeju green citrus, honey grapefruit black tea, strawberry hibiscus.

28

Westman Café

Kōʻula Shops, 1000 Auahi St.

A Cafe coco mocktail of coconut water, espresso cold foam, orange juice, maple syrup and dehydrated orange, and a Mānoa chocolate basque cheesecake with tropical compote and vanilla ice cream. Westman Group's Ryan Ko on the Mānoa partnership: quality, local, and “simple, approachable and familiar.”

Before you go. Offers run September 16 – 30, 2026 and several venues are kiosks or pop-ups with short hours — Māla-Be, Mochi Momma HI and Cream & Sugar operate from Victoria Ward Park rather than a storefront, and Mochi Momma asks for orders ahead. Call or check the account before making the drive. Menus and pricing are set by each business and can change without notice.