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The best bars in Honolulu and Oahu, from locals' spots to the tourist bars, including the North Shore and restaurant/bars.

Bars and Pubs in Honolulu

Beautiful views, beautiful drinks and beautiful people are heaven to haoles.

As every good tourist knows, Waikiki is the centerpiece of activity on Honolulu. It has all the tacky tourist shops, overpriced stores and enough high-rise hotels (all seemingly called the "Outrigger") to provide lodging to the thousands that come here for sunshine and tiki torches.

It's also quite easy to find a cocktail here. But it's hardly the only place in town that provides fun, lively environment. We, of course, have them all. This section focuses on the pubs and bars. For dance spots and upscale clubs, click on the Party Bus Clubs link at the bottom of this page. Here's a breakdown of the different drinking areas of Honolulu:

• Waikiki Beach and Vicinity – Tourists and tropical drinks
• Aloha Towers – A mini-hotbed of bars
• Locals' Pubs – Places few tourists ever see
• Restaurant/bars – Eat, drink and be merry
• The North Shore – A beautiful drive to $2 sunset margaritas

Also make note that on the first Friday of each month, Honolulu hosts a downtown block party that is the toast of the town. Click here for more about First Friday.

Waikiki Beach and Vicinity

Enjoying the best mai tais in the entire South Pacific.

One could spend their entire PubClubbing experience in Honolulu and never make it out of Duke's Canoe Club. Can't think of any place to go for a drink? Head to Duke's. If nothing is happening when you arrive, chances are something will be happening before you leave.

Situated in the heart of Waikiki Beach at the Outrigger Waikiki Hotel, Duke's is named after the legendary "Father of Surfing." The wave master would certainly have approved of his namesake (his wife, certainly did, spending much of her Sunday afternoons here until her passing).

This is the centerpiece of Honolulu's bar activity. It's an interesting combination, offering the friendliness and comfort of a casual dive bar in a clean, modern environment. On the one side, it's the stereotypical Hawaiian lounge with palm fronds over the bar, staff outfitted in Aloha shirts and skirts, an ocean-air patio right on Waikiki Beach with a view of Diamond Head, tiki torches burning at night and rum drinks served with umbrellas.

The PubClubettes hang loose at Duke's during the Pro Bowl.

This gives it all the makings of a geeky tourist trap but pleasantly it isn't. Duke's doesn't gouge customers with insane prices. The "passion-style" rum drinks hover around a very reasonable $6.50 – we recommend the Mickey Goon which blends in 151 rum and "may alter your personality." These prices, plus an assortment of tasty pupus, can keep one happily at Duke's for hours.

Duke's attracts its share of locals as well as tourists. It's best in the late afternoons as people come in casually off the beach. Sundays, it's a prime party destination. There's a band in the afternoon – Jimmy Buffetthas made the occasional appearance – and the outdoor patio is packed. As is the case in Hawaii, it's not an insane scene – nobody is standing on tables twirling their tops, for example – but it's definitely energetic.

A few sand steps away is the World Famous Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, which serves the best Mai Tais on the island and, in fact, quite probably in the entire South Pacific. Have any more than two and it may be difficult to walk to Duke's. This is the perfect place to welcome oneself to Hawaii. Long-time mai tai patrons opt for the Original, which is not on the menu and contains 151 rum! The Sunday brunch ($60) is a perfect warmup for Duke's later that afternoon. (NOTE: The Royal Hawaiian is undergoing renovation from June thru December; this may or may not affect the Mai Tai bar).

Both Duke's and the Mai Tai Bar are within easy reach of the beach's booze cruises. For $25, you get a catamaran with all the rum, beer, mai tais and whatever else might be on board one can consume in 90 minutes. The yellow boat in front of Duke's and the catamaran that launches from the Shorebird are the best ones. Sunset cruises are the most popular.

PubClubbers enjoy the sunset booze cruise.

After the sunset booze cruise and the obligatory walk-through at Duke's, Honolulu nights shine under the maluna.

The new Waikiki Beach Walk on Lewers has several spots, including Senior Frogs. Yes, it's a bit odd to have a joint famous in many Mexican party towns in the heart of Waikiki, but there you have it. Senior Frogs is a pretty large place with a big dance floor, making it more of a casual club than a tequila-slamming cantina. Thursdays belong to Skyline Two, a local promotion company known for its exciting events.

Hang loose at Giovanni Pastrami, which appears to simply be a nice resturant – which it is, indeed – but has that comfortable bar attitude that makes easy to wander into and hard to leave. This may be the friendliest place in Waikiki. Certainly for sports it's the place to be, with its many large plasma TVs. It has a daily Happy Hour from 3-7 that includes free pizza on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It also serves a killer breakfast all day and night. Tell Bill, the GM, or the waitress Amber, that PubClub sent you.

Across the street is The Yard House, which anyone from the mainlnd will recognize as a nice sports bar witih good food and plenty of draught selections.

Irish lads and lasses can't pass up at least a pint at Kelley O'Neills, a couple of doors down from Giovanni's.

In the opposite direction, just down the street from Duke's a few blocks toward Diamond Head sits the Tiki Bar and LuLu's Waikiki Surf Club, second-story hangouts with elevated, open-air views of the beach. The Tiki doesn't look like a tiki bar because it's essentially a concrete balcony with a bar (spot it from the street by the huge stainless-still tiki torches along the railing). But it does have that Hawaiian-style hang-loose atmosphere.

LuLu's is like a Mexican Spring Break bar– Hawaiian style – ready to happen. It has few locals but many young foreign tourists who seem to seek it out as if it were a hostel with cocktails. Must be because they can lean against the railing against the huge open-air windows and soak up the sea breeze along with drinks and conversation. Or maybe its that oversized flip-flop on the wall. There is a $5 cover on weekends.

Away from Waikiki in the Ala Moana Shopping Center is the Mai Tai Bar. Well, not THE Mai Tai bar as in the Royal Hawaiian, but an open-air version that's a pretty happy Happy Hour spot for locals. Occassionally, there's a battle of the bands and it's packed.

Below it is Pearl, a lounge-style bar that's a real gem on Tuesdays when it has Ladies Night. This is a little more dress-up of a place, which means slacks and shoes for dudes.

Hard Rock Cafes are usually too touristy for our taste, but the Honolulu location is a very cool place to hang out. It is a place to meet people, isn't cheesy and and has the atmosphere of aloha in a big-bar feeling. The Hard Rock is large with a big tiki lanai (patio) and lots of surf boards, the bartenders are excellent and on weekends it has the island's local best bands, plus mainstream musicians that play when big-name concerts are in town. The Hard Rock is always a good time and people feel not only like they are in Hawaii but as if they are a part of it, too.

Aloha Towers

Located "ewa" of Waikiki (toward the Ewa Plantation, or the opposite direction of Diamond Head) is a shopping/entertainment area known as the Aloha Tower. It's easy to spot because of its large clock tower. It sits right on a marina and is a favorite hangout of locals who want a waterside cluster of bars without having to fight the traffic and parking of Waikiki.

One of the first stops is Gordon Biersch. For preparty drinks, dinner or both, it has a large outdoor patio, microbrewed beer and tasty food. Weekends can be especially crowded, which can make getting a table after about 8 a challenge. Gordon Biersch is also known locally for its terrific theme parties: Mardi Gras, Cinco De Mayo, etc.

After warming up at GBs, many people walk the few steps over to Don Ho's. Yes, Tiny Bubbles Himself. Yet this is not the geeky tourist attraction that was the pun of Johnny Carson jokes, but instead a clean, quaint bar that is a favorite hangout for locals. A main attraction is the great local bands. The bar can get jumping and it has a great sunset over the marina. And, yes, Don Ho on the video screens.

Locals' Bars & Pubs

Casually fit at night and sunset over Ala Wai Marina.

Dollar beers!? In the heart of Honolulu?

Well, almost! In the nautical-feeling Harbor Pub, located at the edge of the marina where Gilligan, the Skipper, Maryann (ahh, Maryann) and the other castaways set out to sail on their infamous "three-hour cruise," draft beers are $1.25 from 4-7 weekdays. An old, wooden bar with more character than the SS Minnow, it's a just-off-the-boat kind of place, which is precisely what people do after a day of sailing or cruising around the local waters. After the annual summer regatta in August this place is packed! In addition to the beer,  which is still cheap even when it's not a buck twenty-five, it is known to serve the best pizza in town on – get this – linen tablecloth tables. Mixed drinks are cheap and strong pours.

The Harbor Pub is directly below the Chart House at Ala Wai Marina, which features Honolulu's best food bargain. The bar area of the Chart House has an incredible Happy Hour from 5-7 featuring huge appetizers for $5-6, pints of local lager for $3 and a sunset view over the harbor. A perfect Friday routine is to have a couple of drinks at The Harbor Pub then go upstairs for dinner and sunset at the Chart House.

There are no Sunday bikini contests anymore, but the huge open windows looking out to Waikiki Beach (closer to the Hilton than the Royal Hawaiian) still make The Shorebird Beach Bar a local favorite. The menu includes cook-your-own steaks but we prefer to sit at the bar and soak in the breeze after sunset. However, when hunger hits,the pork sandwich is the call and be sure and get it with the potato salad, good enough to impress even a Southerner.

It's only open on Fridays and Saturdays, but the Fisherman's Wharf (on Nimitz Blvd., just on the Ewa side of Aloha Towers) is a longtime locals' spot. It's home to local actors, big-time celebrities when they are in town and "average" people just out for a few drinks in a very Hawaiian setting.

Murphy's, located in the cracks of downtown (a block from Aloha Tower) is the place to be on St. Patrick's Day. The Hawaiians do it right for the Irish, a full block party – three blocks to be exact– two Irish pubs (Murphy's & O'Tooles and several drink stands along the street), lots of Irish beer and local bands. After the party closes, it's over the Aloha Tower to Gordon Biersch or Don Ho's. One would think it's a misplaced Ireland by the amount of people that turn out for this event!

Restaurant/Bars

There's a movement among some Honolulu restaurants to transform themselves into happening bars after the kitchen slows down. Few, if any, tourists ever visit these places, so these are good spots to see locals in action.

Compadres in the Ward Center is highly popular on Tuesdays for its taco specials. The people go more for the mingling than the tacos, of course. It's a similar situation but with different food on Thursdays at Sansei at the Marriott. Here the meal attraction is the sushi (which is half-price every night after 10), but more people come for the cool crowd and deejay.

Also in the Ward Center is Brew Moon, a brewery that turns into a crowded after-work bar weekdays (until about 8:30) and into a club on Sunday nites. It also has dancing on Saturdays.

A more down-and-dirty place is Magoo's Pizza. It has great pie and $6 pitchers of beer. It can can get pretty raucous with the budget-minded locals and college students that call this place home.

If it's the first Friday in Honolulu, then it's First Friday. This is a self-guided walk of 25 art galleries blocked off on downtown's Paliahi Street, in Chinatown near the state capitol, from 5-9 p.m.. The hot bar here is Indigo.

In East Honolulu, Uncle Bo's serves great pupus for $5-8 and quickly built a reputation as one of this city's finest low-key restaurants. But it's also a neighborhood bar, kind of a dive that's hardly a dive with its cool decor. In fact, you expect it to be a dive, but are treated to something that's more like a relaxed lounge.

North Shore

A great day trip – particularly in the winter when the swells are huge and the top surfers in the world gather to challenge Pipeline – is the North Shore. The sunsets on appropriately named Sunset Beach are terrific. The North Shore is an hour's drive from Waikiki using the direct route; the more scenic coastal roads take about three hours. It's best to make this a day trip with snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, a stop at the Blowhole, body surfing at Sandy Beach, and lunch on the beach at Lanikai.

If it's Wednesday, North Shore locals fill up the small lanai at Bamzi Sushi. A complete North Shore guide is in the works and will be on PubClub shortly.

Next stop on the Party Bus: Honolulu Nightclubs

Honolulu Bars and Restaurant/Bars Resource Guide