Wine Spectator Award-Winning Restaurants in Honolulu

Explore Honolulu's Wine Spectator Restaurant Award holders in this list of 9 restaurants, including Hy’s Steak House, La Mer and Mugen. Several are in Waikiki or Kapahulu, and many also have recognition from La Liste. We choose venues by weighing recognition from independent critics, guides and awards.

Restaurants are presented in alphabetical order. Each entry shows the venue's town or city, a short description and awards from independent sources, with Wine Spectator providing the restaurant wine awards.

How this list is chosen: Every restaurant here holds a Wine Spectator Restaurant Award. When more qualify than the list can hold, En Primeur Club chooses among them by weighing recognition from independent critics, guides and awards. Entries appear in alphabetical order.

Arancino at The Kahala
Honolulu, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Arancino at The Kahala brings a precise Italian kitchen to the east edge of Honolulu's hotel corridor, earning consecutive Opinionated About Dining recognition in North America from 2023 through 2025. Dinner runs five nights a week from inside the Kahala Resort, where the mood sits closer to composed resort formality than casual beachside dining. For Italian on Oahu, this is the address that critics keep returning to.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining
Empire Steak House Hawaii
Honolulu, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Empire Steak House Hawaii sits along Ala Moana Boulevard in Honolulu, positioning itself within a city whose steakhouse tier has grown considerably more competitive as mainland concepts and locally rooted dining rooms vie for the same reservation. The address places it steps from one of Honolulu's densest hotel corridors, making it a natural reference point for visitors and kama'aina alike seeking a structured, protein-forward dinner in the heart of the city.
Hau Tree
Honolulu, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Set on the lobby floor of the Kaimana Beach Hotel along Kalākaua Avenue, Hau Tree sits at the quieter, residential end of Waikīkī where Diamond Head begins to rise and the beach crowds thin. The restaurant trades on its setting beneath a sprawling hau tree at the edge of Sans Souci beach, making it one of Honolulu's more occasion-ready addresses for a meal tied to place rather than spectacle.
Hy’s Steak House
Honolulu, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Hy's Steak House on Kūhiō Avenue has held a place in Honolulu's serious dining conversation for decades, earning back-to-back rankings on Opinionated About Dining's North America Casual list (#113 in 2023, #154 in 2024) and a White Star from Star Wine List. Open nightly from 5 pm, it represents the old-guard steakhouse tradition done with enough consistency to attract continued critical attention in a city increasingly shaped by newer concepts.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining, Star Wine List
La Mer
Honolulu, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
La Mer sits inside the Halekulani hotel on Waikiki's west side, where ocean-facing doors draw in the tradewind breezes and the sound of breaking surf becomes part of the dining experience. Recognized by La Liste's 2026 global ranking with 79 points, it occupies the upper tier of Honolulu's formal dining scene.
Also recognized by AAA, Forbes, La Liste, Opinionated About Dining
Merriman's Oahu
Honolulu, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Merriman's Oahu at 1108 Auahi Street sits within Honolulu's Ward Village corridor, carrying the Merriman's brand commitment to Hawaii Regional Cuisine and direct relationships with local farmers and fishermen. Recognised by Star Wine List with a White Star designation, it represents the more produce-driven end of Honolulu's dining spectrum, where sourcing geography shapes the menu as much as the kitchen does.
Also recognized by Star Wine List
Mugen
Honolulu, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
Forbes Five-Star and AAA 5 Diamond, Mugen occupies a 34-seat dining room on Kalākaua Avenue where a Japanese-inflected tasting menu follows the Hawaiian calendar. The five-course format offers per-course flexibility, supported by a 270-selection wine list and a cocktail program built around local fruit and island-distilled spirits. Dinner reservations are required; valet parking is available on-site.
Also recognized by AAA, Forbes, La Liste
Orchids
Honolulu, United States
Wine Spectator Award of Excellence
At the Halekulani on Waikiki Beach, Orchids has tracked a steady arc from hotel dining room to a ranked entry on Opinionated About Dining's North America list, reaching #477 in 2024 and climbing to #477 in 2025. The kitchen runs Italian and Mediterranean cooking under Chef Christian Testa, backed by a 115-selection wine program with 750 bottles in inventory and a sommelier team that tilts toward California producers.
Also recognized by Opinionated About Dining
Stripsteak
Honolulu, United States
Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence
Stripsteak occupies a prominent address on Kalākaua Avenue in Waikīkī, earning a White Star recognition from Star Wine List in December 2023 for the depth of its wine program. The format places serious meat cookery and considered wine selection at the center of a dining scene more often associated with casual Pacific Rim fare. It sits in the upper tier of Honolulu's hotel-adjacent restaurant corridor.
Also recognized by Star Wine List

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