Hawaii does not need artificial scenery to make dinner memorable.
The islands already offer volcanoes, tropical gardens, manta rays and dramatic mountains. Hawaii’s resort dining can also get extravagant, including one of the standout buffets in this nationwide roundup.
These five restaurants and dinner experiences use Hawaii’s natural setting — or deliberately ignore it — to create something unusually memorable.
The Rim at Volcano House
The Rim sits inside Volcano House at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, overlooking the Kilauea caldera and Halemaʻumaʻu Crater.
That means diners can eat while staring across one of the world’s most active volcanic landscapes.
The exact view changes with the weather and the volcano’s activity. At certain times, guests may see steam, volcanic haze or a distant glow. Even during quieter periods, eating beside an enormous crater feels unlike a normal restaurant experience.
Most dining rooms use paintings as focal points. The Rim uses a volcano.
Manta at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel
Manta is an open-air restaurant overlooking Kaunaʻoa Bay on Hawaii Island.
The unusual part often comes after dinner. The hotel’s nearby Manta Point uses lights that illuminate the water, attracting plankton and the manta rays that feed on it. The rays are most reliably spotted from roughly July through March.
Guests may finish a polished resort meal and then walk down to watch enormous manta rays glide and turn through the darkness.
The animals are not guaranteed to appear, but few restaurants can offer “look for giant rays after dessert” as a reasonable evening plan.
Rock-A-Hula in Waikiki
Rock-A-Hula combines a Hawaiian luau, buffet dinner, hula, fire-knife dancing and celebrity tribute performances in one large theatrical production.
A typical evening can move from whole roasted pig and island music to performers channeling stars such as Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.
It is an unusual mashup: part traditional Hawaiian dinner show, part Las Vegas revue and part pop-concert tribute.
Purists may find the combination strange. That is exactly what earns it a place on this list.
Haleiwa Joe’s at Haiku Gardens
Haleiwa Joe’s Kaneohe location is hidden within Haiku Gardens in Kaneohe beneath the towering Koʻolau mountains.
Diners look out over tropical plants, a pond and steep green cliffs that can make the restaurant feel more like a secret jungle estate.
The setting is especially surprising because guests reach it from an otherwise ordinary roadway. After entering the property, the urban surroundings appear to vanish.
The restaurant is also famous for generously sized dishes, including a massive prime-rib serving that fits the dramatic scenery.
Hy’s Steak House in Waikiki
Hy’s may be Hawaii’s strangest exercise in atmospheric contrast.
Outside is tropical Waikiki. Inside is a dark, ornate steakhouse resembling an old English library or private club, complete with carved wood, books, chandeliers and formal tableside service.
Steaks are cooked over Hawaiian kiawe wood in the dining room, while Caesar salads and flambéed desserts add to the old-school performance.
Walking from palm trees and surf shops into a British-looking library steakhouse feels like crossing continents without leaving the block.
Hawaii’s weirdest restaurants do not all rely on gimmicks. Sometimes the landscape — or the contrast with it — provides all the weirdness needed.
Links on this page may be affiliate links, for which the site earns a small commission, but the price for you is the same
Leave a Comment