We were just walking around and we saw the sign outside that said Happy Hour. We love a happy hour! And it said $5 for drinks. Say less. We got the chicken karaage and sliders. Omg the chicken karaage was so good!! It was nice and extra crispy on the outside, but so juicy and moist inside. Just how i like it! The sliders was nice too. I got a passion fruit margarita and he got his tequlia tonic. Both were great. It was such a nice and chill vibes. Had live music which is always a plus! The best part though was our bartender, Kama. He was extremely friendly and was prompt with everything. He even helped us by giving us some tips on places to go eat/explore while we are in town. He is the 5 star in this review! read more

Moani Waikiki - Sliders - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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We came here for happy hour ($5 drinks & $14 pupus) and there was almost nobody here on a Saturday! Our server was really nice but the hostess was a little cold. Our drinks were refilled constantly and the food came out really quick. Everything was delicious and the portions were perfect for the 6 of us to share! I'm surprised they weren't more busy since they validate parking and it's conveniently at IMP. read more

Moani Waikiki - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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As usual, Moani is a great spot to come to for good laughs & qt with family and friends. Great service, good food, and good music. read more

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I came here for dessert because I heard their Mauna Mud Pie was good. I ordered that and asked if they did anything for birthdays. They said they didn't, but when they brought the mud pie to me, they put a candle in it and lit it up. So sweet of them. The mud pie was very good! Loved that this restaurant is at the International Market and is so accessible. The food on their menu sounds good. I would love to go back and try their entrees or appetizers. read more

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My 'ohana of 7 walked into Moani's on a Saturday evening and were able to sit with no wait. Despite having a big music headliner at 10pm, it was quite calm around 6:45-7pm, and we felt the service was attentive but not overbearing. Our server, Ho'okele, did a great job recommending the appropriate number of dishes for our party, and helping us pick out pork chops, Chinese steamed fish, and shrimp for our mains perfectly. The prices are as you would expect for waikiki, and the serving sizes moderate for a family-style local restaurant. The beer prices for the pitchers were good, but the cocktails kind of mid--but as you would expect for a bar-venue of that sort. I've been to moanis for late night live music, which is full of locals and visitors alike, mostly of the younger crowd. Parking is easy and validated at international marketplace, which left our 3 hour trip costing only $2 to park. read more

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We arrived during the last 20 minutes of happy hour. They kindly suggested we order a few different things off of that menu to start. We got the shrimp, chicken, pork belly, read more

Moani Waikiki - Bacon Truffle fries and Pork Belly - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

This place has good food and good portions, although I wish there were more menu items. We got Pele's prawns, garlic chicken, and Kanaka kalbi. My personal favorite was the kalbi--they served big cuts of juicy and tender meat and the Ewa onions hit the spot. Pele's prawns were a close second; I liked the light crisp to them and the mix of sweet, savory, and spicy made for a delicious dish. Service was good and the ambience was serene. read more

Moani Waikiki - The spread of food - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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This may not be a fair review...I went for the spicy garlic butter shrimp and clams and wouldn't you know it - they were out of clams. I still went for it, but wished I hadn't. Not enough flavor with just shrimp. I think they should've substituted with other seafood. The other reason I'm not giving them the benefit of the doubt is cuz there was nothing else on the menu that sounded good to me for seafood. They need more creative seafood options. read more

The location is great, the live music was wonderful and the service was warm and friendly. However, the food was just OK. We ordered the calamari, pork baos, spicy garlic shrimp and the kalbi. Of all the dishes, the kalbi was good. I was pretty disappointed with everything else. The calamari itself was good, but I wish the dipping sauce was tastier. Combined, it was pretty bland. The bao buns were kinda dry. And if you are expecting the spicy garlic shrimp to be similar to the shrimp trucks, then you will be highly disappointed. It was more like a saucy gumbo, but hawaiian. And I think we only got like 3-4 shrimps. It was literally all sauce. They told us they were out of clams and that they'd give us more shrimp, but it didn't seem like it. We should have known before we walked in because the restaurant was pretty empty. This place definitely has potential if they could improve on the food. Or maybe we just ordered the wrong things. read more

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Service by Trey was excellent! He was friendly , helpful and very customer oriented. We ordered all happy hour items. I think you can't go wrong with whatever you order. We were looking forward to listening to some live music but we were too early . Parking was easy at the international market place. 1st hour free then $2 for the 2nd and $2 for the 3rd hour oh and they even gave us a hand wipe after we ordered!!! That was perfect!!!! read more

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Great ambience and live music Performances. Drinks and food was priced about right for a Waikiki establishment. We had a nice time with friends and mahalo for the staff for checking in on us. read more

Here on a beautiful outdoor bar listening to the music of the Islands. The ambience in Waikiki is awesome!! Gentle breezes...enjoying cocktails, but this place is unique, besides all the beauty, there are these bartenders. They are so friendly, amazingly talented! A big shout out to Alii, Alana, and Vid! You will enjoy the ambience, the skill and great 'talk story' with the bartenders! read more

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We heard this place had a live band so came here, but the band goes on at 6:30pm and we missed them. Apparently, it turns into a club/lounge with a DJ at night. Shrimp appetizer was amazing! Wow, so delicious. Bao Burgers was a nice take on the Vietnamese banh baos. I like it. The Loco Moco - I've had better, it was more like a steak than Hamburger meat and the gravy was too runny for my liking. read more

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Minus 2 stars for the rude server The good we went for happy hour and was so happy to see the dynamite shrimp on the menu. We noticed they were smaller but taste still ono. Also the adobo fried chicken was delish too. We usually go to the Kapolei location but since our friends were staying across the street we were excited to support and expected the same stellar experience. Most of the workers were friendly except one female server who rolled her eyes when my sister asked for hot sauce. My husband told her thank you for filling up his water. She said nothing or no smile. She had bad energy that doesn't belong in beautiful restaurant. She had no shame and we witnessed her drop plenty dishes on floor. Talk about karma. Sadly, we won't return to this location and stick with Kapolei location for the ono grinds, music and pure aloha service. read more

Decent restaurant with unique tasting food, but questionable host attitude. We came here for a honeymoon for dinner and there weren't many other options open. We also wanted to visit the mall area where this restaurant sits. Right off the bat, we noticed the host was somewhat frustrated being there or didn't want to be there. Our waiter as pretty good. The food is pretty interesting as you can see from the pictures. We ended up taking about half back to the hotel. The drinks are ok, but seemed more watered down than anything. Overall, this place is ok, but somewhat on the expensive side. Highly recommend sharing an entree if you have someone that doesn't eat a lot. read more

Moani Waikiki - Menu - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Food was great but the only thing I didn't like is the service is slow. We got there on our reservation time and they told us we only had 1hour .30mins to eat with a party of 6. Because ther also had another reservation coming. We didn't get our food until 35 min but we waited a good 15mins for our server to take our order, then when our hour hit we kept getting reminded that we had to leave soon. It felt so rushed for our girls night out. Will come again but maybe an earlier time. read more

We walked in at 4:45 and was able to make a reservation for 10 people at 5:30. We were given the option for indoor or outdoor seating & chose to sit indoors because it was more convenient for my autistic son. The artist playing live music had did great covers to great songs! We ordered the watercress salad, Kalbi, whole fried fish, fried chicken, shrimp fried rice, calamari, prawns, taro rolls, & a side of fries. To drink we had the pickled mango margarita & lilikoi mule. My favorite dish was probably the fried fish. My least favorite was the calamari. They're the right texture but not the right calamari taste i expect. The mango margarita was amazing! The mule was good too. read more

My cuz and I went out for a drink & pupus on St Patty's Day. However, all the places we hit up at first closed @ 9 pm. We decided to hit Moanis in IMP bc they closed @ 10:30 pm. I'm not sure what they serve for dinner, but I know Moanis serves a whole lot of aloha. From the live music, to the hand tossed poke, I felt like I was at home here. It helped that our bartender, Kama was super cool, and made our poke to order. The fried calamari was no slouch either. Its a big space inside with a large bar area. All the people we met at the bar were locals. Nonetheless, there were peeps from the mainland present bc I saw a b'ness associate's wife at HNL afterwards. She asked me if I was at Moanis and I confirmed. She said, "I told my husband that was you". "But he kept saying no, thats not Joe" - LOL. Come to Moanis for fun, good food and a whole lot of aloha. You might even run into someone you know! Hahahahaha read more

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Lovely restaurant. Another live singing on site. We ordered the Hunney Girl (malfy blood orange gin, yuzu and honey sour) and the Lilikoi Mule (absolut vodka, likikoi syrup, ginger beer and lime). We enjoyed both drinks. Great service. We didn't try any food though as we weren't hungry, maybe we'll try next time. read more

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Yesterday tried making reservations for last night, both online and by phoning. Went straight to voicemail so we took our chances and went to the restaurant at 4:45 PM. To our dismay, it was totally closed! Chairs piled on tables, locked up and lights off. What happened?? At least change your voicemail greeting and update your website and socials. So sad! read more

Food was pretty good with big portions to share, nice ambiance and very friendly service, live music, reasonable prices and great place to hang out! If you're in waikiki looking for somewhere to hang out and you wanna try some local food (not your typical macadamia nut crusted fish or other touristy food without breaking your bank) then this might be a perfect spot! I enjoyed their poke nachos the most. The wonton skin was very crispy and the poke was fresh with good seasoning. I'm not a huge fan of their noodles and fried rice as they're more buttery than any Asian version I've had which threw me and my friend off a little. The galbi was well seasoned but could be a little more tender. The fried chicken was pretty good and I liked how there's coleslaw on top to make it more interesting and balanced. I would not recommend getting the dessert there. It's nothing special and there are plenty of ice cream and shave ice spots around if you don't finish dinner too late. They offer parking validation if you park at the international marketplace. read more

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This past weekend we celebrated a couple of birthdays at Moani Waikiki located in the International Market Place. Moani Waikiki is the sister restaurant to Moani Island Bistro and Bar in Kapolei and both restaurants are locally owned and specialize in local style food and live entertainment. Our group of 11 was seated comfortably in their outdoor seating area. We dined family style and ordered mainly pupus and a few entrees. The food was delicious, portions were generous, and the service was great which made for a really fun night. We left before the live music began, but the restaurant was already lively and great for groups. read more

The food was good and most of the servers were great. Our primary server, Ho'okele, however went out of his way to let our group know how much he hated "Americans." From ordering our food to serving it, he tried to make us feel bad at every turn. Seems funny that he works at a restaurant where tons of tourists come through and he acts like that. I actually would have loved to learn some history of the island and people in a constructive dialogue, but shaming people is not a productive way to do so. read more

We went early (4PM) since we were going to a show. They worked hard to get us our food quickly. Everything was good. We got the Kal bi, fried chicken appetizer and Moani special fried rice. I think I liked the fried rice the best. The watercress salad was also good but I don't really care for watercress (someone else ordered it so I just tried a little). Our server was really on the ball. But there were probably only 2 or 3 tables of customers. Food isn't cheap but it is not bad for Hawaii. read more

Moani offered a delicious dining experience in Waikiki. They have a good array of Hawaiian classics and Asian Fusion cuisine and you can tell they put a lot of attention to detail into each dish. The night I went they also had free entertainment with a live band which really added to the experience. We started with Pele's Prawns which came with plenty of shrimp lightly fried and topped with a spicy lava sauce. So good and so addicting. For the mains we got the veggie tofu Yakisoba and the whole fried fish (snapper). The fried fish was awesome, the fish was so flaky and light and came with a sweet and salty dipping sauce. I mixed the fish and the sauce in with the yakisoba and it made for an amazing meal overall. My only constructive criticism was that the ambience of the place could have been improved. The lighting was a bit harsh and there was a big pole in the center of the restaurant that blocked the view and acoustics of the band. Otherwise, Moani made for a delicious and very special vacation dinner in Waikiki. I would definitely come back again for more. read more

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The kalbi I had was really good. Highly recommend. The service was good. The food took some time. The surprising part was how long the fried rice took. That was the last thing to come out and it was so very bland. Luckily we had some sauces around to give it some flavor. My sister enjoyed her salmon. The fried fish we were told was good for 2-3 people but it was barely enough for 1 person. This was our first actual meal after traveling all day for 16 hours so I think we were extra hungry. The location was beautiful. The weather was perfect. We sat on the patio on the 2nd floor with the perfect island breeze. read more

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My SIL was in town (flying back from New Zealand to Seattle) and she wanted to treat me to a Christmas dinner at a place with outdoor dining ... I thought of Moani Waikik because it has live music, a large outside space and good food. I started with an Empress gin & tonic ... Moani is one of the few places with Empress gin. A extra point for that. We were early enough to take advantage of the early bird specials ... they offer a number of their appetizers at reduced pricing from 4 to 6pm. We shared the Moani Caesar, DP's Fried Chicken and the Moani Special Yakisoba. The Caesar came with cherry tomatoes and large croutons. Some restaurants apply too much Caesar dressing; this one was just right. The yakisoba was full of pieces of meat, including lup cheong. It was flavorful and seasoned perfectly. The fried chicken was somewhat of a disappointment; it was listed on the early bird menu as adobo fried chicken; it was really fried chicken and greens with an adobo-flavored mayo. The chicken was fine, but I expected adobo-flavored chicken. There was no live music on Sunday evening; I suppose because there was a luau on the ground floor. I'll remember that the next time I visit Moani Waikiki. The food is good and the prices are reasonable ... Recommended! read more

The good: service was great! It was a very busy day but the servers were attentive, quick, and friendly. The bad: the food was very salty and mediocre. They were out of the bao sliders, kimchee, and a few other dishes. We got the bacon truffle cheese fries, spam Mac and cheese, spicy fried chicken, pork chops, and mud pie. The mud pie was our favorite part of the meal. The cocktails were pretty good. My husband got the old fashioned and I got their special. read more

I've never wanted to review a place so bad. The manager/host was great but the server was something. My allergies are wheat gluten dairy and soy and since we weren't sure we were going to stay due to accommodation. ( sometimes restaurants can't) which is fine so I had some questions which is natural. Lo and behold I set Ho'okele off at the start. He started a rant about how I didn't do proper Hawaiian etiquette I don't even know Hawaiian lingo..Then into how us Americans stole land and went into racist comments particular about Asians. He should check that this is a Korean fusion place if you're anti Asian. He didn't know the menu that well or even soy stuff. Maybe people don't order off the menu? I got some kind of poke bowl but I'm not sure what was in it add some kimchi and voila it's great a little too much sesame oil. The person I was with got the pork belly and it was great. The carrot kimchi was great it tasted homemade. We sat outside but it was emptish never got full. Price was almost 50$ because we got rice and kimchi as a side. read more

Killer live music a ono grindz. Service is unbeatable. Perfect island hospitality in the middle of Waikiki

Loved !!! Hidden gem every thing it was on the 3rd floor and had to walk a bit to find but worth it all!! The food was so savory and delicious! The live music was a cherry on top! read more

Moani Waikiki - Seating area - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Went for the live entertainment with a friend who was visiting. The performer was great! Unfortunately when we went it wasn't too crowded but we were sat next to a big party. The appetizer sampler was a little small but we ordered another few dishes to make up for it. The server was attentive and she was helpful in the suggestions for other dishes as well! read more

FYI this is going to be a long, honest review. TLDR: The flavor of the apps was very good. Portion sizes are a bit small for the price. Main dish we tried was just ok. Dessert also ok. Overall ok, would come back for happy hour but would not get the same stuff for main. Ok now for the full review: it was my first time here, so I was very excited since I have heard so much about this restaurant on the radio and from friends. For parking, I parked at Royal Hawaiian, bought 2 items that were on sale (20% off end of day) at ABC store ($10 min spend), and took my receipt to Helumoa Hale for 3 hrs free kamaaina parking (best parking deal in Waikiki imo). Then crossed the street by Cheesecake Factory and went up to the 3rd floor of International Marketplace. Tucked away in a corner on the rooftop, there is Moani. If I didn't know it was there, it would've been a bit hard to find. It was very empty when we arrived around 5:30pm. Happy hour is from 4-6pm. The food specials are only slightly discounted, but the drink specials are very good. For example, all of the beers are $4, but after 6pm a Blue Moon was $9! One huge note: the sliders on the happy hour menu come with loaded fries. If it had been listed on the menu that it came with fries, I would definitely have not ordered another order of just loaded fries. Here is my item by item review. We ordered all of the happy hour items to try them all. We got dirty shirleys (vodka, sprite, grenadine: my fave), and a pineapple vodka (FYI they charge 50 cents for pineapple juice...not worth it). 2nd round was a Big Wave, Dogfish, and Blue Moon. All drinks (except the one with pineapple) were $4. Solid discounted prices. All food on the "pupu menu" is $14 per item. Some are more discounted than others on the menu. *Crispy Calamari: solid portion. Came with calamari strips only, no rings, and shishito peppers, covered in parmesan cheese. Served with marinara on the side. Would order again. *Pele's Prawns: their version of coconut shrimp. My favorite thing that I ate. Decently sized portion, tail on but shell off. Comes with crispy coconut shreds and furikake on top with some sriracha "lava sauce." Would order again. Pork Belly: I'm not a huge fan of meat and definitely not fatty meat, but my friends really liked it. Portion a bit small. Not my fave by far. Served on a bed of romaine with some kimchi and spicy mayo. I wouldn't order it again, but my friends might. Adobo Fried Chicken: Texture was pretty good, flavor was pretty good, portion was a bit small, served with watercress salad and "adobo mayo" which tasted just like regular mayo. This was kinda just like chicken tenders with some watercress. Nothing amazing, might pass next time. Seffer's Sliders: the menu says bacon jam and truffle fondue, but that's on the fries that they fail to mention come on the plate. This comes with 2 sliders that are double mini patties (think White Castle-ish). The sliders' flavor was pretty good. It is a decent portion with the fries, but I'm used to bacon jam being more sweet like a jam. This was just like they poured bacon fat on the fries and it was kinda old bacon fat. The oil tasted a bit old and it was very oily. None of us could taste any truffle at all in the fondue. That was my hugest disappointment since I LOVE truffles. I would've honestly liked plain fries better since the bacon jam just tasted old. *Bao burgers: these were pretty unique. It was pork hash filling as the burger with bao as the bun! This came with mustard shoyu dipping sauce and kimchi on the side (the kimchi was unnecessary as the flavors didn't really mesh, but I liked the kimchi alone). The hoisin with the bao bun and the pork hash really tasted great together. This came with 3 buns, a decent deal. Bacon truffle cheese fries: these were the hugest let down. Like I said before, if they mentioned that the sliders came with these already, I definitely wouldn't have paid $14 more for another small plate of these old-tasting fries. Way overpriced and underdelivered. No truffle flavor at all, bacon was just fat, cheese wasn't even very cheesy. DEFINITELY would NOT order again. They have 2 "munchies" at the bottom of the menu for $4 each. Edamame hummus: came with 4 small pita triangles and a salad of onions and tomatoes. This was probably the best deal. Great for just a small snack. Hummus flavor was decent and the acidity of the salad complimented the creaminess of the hummus. Chicharrones: I don't like skin, but my friends LOVED this one. It is covered in parmesan cheese and comes with vinegar on the side for dipping (Filipino style). And it was also Filipino-approved by my friend who said it tasted "real." On to the mains. There was only one option that stood out to me that I really wanted to try. Spicy Garlic Butter Shrimp and Clams: very bland. Would not order again. Banana Split: small only 2 lumpia, just ok, wouldn't order again. Longest review, cut off but * are must trys! read more

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An average dinner at tourist prices. I got the seafood special - grilled mahi-mahi. It was pricey, and the portion not large -- it tasted fine, but it was not a good value (it's not like this was a fancy restaurant with great atmosphere and good service). It came with asparagus, which was good, and was served over risotto(?) -- or something similar. I got a Moscow mule - it was perfectly standard, but at an absurd price for a non-specialty drink. And lastly I ordered a mocha parfait. What I got was a brownie with ice cream -- not a bad desert, but not what I'd ordered either. Add all this to a fairly loud outdoor dining area, and a rather inattentive waiter -- I was not impressed. read more

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Moani Waikiki is located in the International market place in Waikiki. It's in the location that used to be Kona Grill. We stopped in for dinner, no reservation needed and were seated promptly. They're mainly open for dinner and late night, on Sunday however they're also open for brunch. They serve seafood and local style food, in a casual atmosphere with very friendly service. We ordered the garlic chicken, which comes with an Asian slaw, toasted,sesame dressing, and won ton strips along with Pele's prawns as an appetizer. Pele's prawns are shrimp with a coconut crust and lava sauce, which is on the spicer side. Perfect for two people. Good tasted very fresh, and came out hot. The garlic chicken had a good flavor, was not spicy. They also had live music, which was unexpected, but very nice! Restaurant was not crowded, which was surprising for a Saturday night. I definitely would recommend for ono food, live music, and friendly service. We definitely want to come back to try some of their other dinner options, or possibly for the Sunday brunch. read more

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Great food and music. Enjoyed 'ohana style portions to be able to share and sample the different 'ono grinds read more

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My partner and I enjoyed bao burgers and pele prawns with live music. The place has an amazing ambience and pretty good service. Food was quick and the server suggested a really nice virgin mango margarita which I enjoyed. Would love to go back when we are back in Honolulu. read more

Moani Waikiki - Virgin mango margarita - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Came here with a big group for family style pupus and was warned that we'd get to see the place transform from restaurant to mayjah rajah and I can verify they were not wrong. Food was really good! I was really surprised by how good everything was. So many local favorites that were made in shareable portions. Fried rice, chinese chicken salad, poke nachos, edamame, pipikaula- everything was good and had good flavor. Tasted like the kind of food you'd expect at a family potluck. During dinner, they had a nice live musician and some people even jumped up to dance hula with him. They had well priced pitchers. Drink menu also includes fishbowls. I don't know that I'd order one of these again. Tasted mostly like soda, no alcohol. Spare the calories and sugar rush and get something else. Sure enough, as we started to finish up, our server asked us if we wanted a table outside because our inside table would be turning into bottle service...wut? But sure enough, we went outside and they started transforming the inside. Tables moved and a DJ set up with a fog machine and lights. Tons of people started lining up to get in and pay a $10 cover. The place was packed and even though it was in Waikiki, it felt like mostly locals. Lots of fun, good food and they validate parking. read more

Moani Waikiki - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Excellent place for happy hour and drinks. The service is amazing - the bartenders, Mel, Alana, Kama, Noah and Vin are the best!! The manager, Ikaka (not sure of spelling) is always walking around and making sure all is good! Rena, one of the servers/bartenders always has a smile on her face! We love the staff! We usually have the sliders for happy hour but tried the calamari tonight and wow! The entertainment is always top notch also! read more

Moani Waikiki - Calamari - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

The service was really good and our large group was accommodated for last minute (we called for a reservation the day before we wanted to come in with a group of 18). Portions were LARGE so don't order too much! We ordered a few dishes to share: Bao burgers - pretty unique but the burger was a bit dry. The sauce flavor was good tho! Calamari - really yummy but kind of tasted like a mozzarella stick. Oyster sauce ribeye - flavor was a bit lacking and a bit too Smokey for my liking but not bad overall. Beer can chicken - really flavorful and loved the corn bread! Moani special fried rice and yaki soba - loved these two. Reminiscent of Chinese fried rice and stir fried noodles with the lap cheong Spam Mac and cheese - really heavy but yummy with crunchy bread crumbs on top. read more

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