Honolulu’s 6 most exciting restaurant debuts of 2023

Margotto Hawaii opened its doors in June and is undeniably one of the fanciest restaurants to ever hit Honolulu. Its menu is a lavish love letter to everyone’s favorite fungus—the almighty truffle—and recently earned it USA Today’s “Best Restaurant in Hawaii” award. Chefs Kenta Kayama and Yohei Yagishita, who opened Margotto’s first location in Tokyo in 2014, go all out to give the earthy ingredient its main-character moment with a supporting cast that includes caviar, wagyu, and New Zealand lamb. If you’re feeling especially extra, pair your truffle-centric feast with Champagne—Margotto gets bonus points for being Hawaiʻi’s only “Krug ambassador” restaurant with special access to a wide selection of bottles and pairings.

Nami Kaze lives on the same dock that’s home to the Honolulu Fish Auction—which makes sense, considering its chef and owner Jason Peel (a Roy Yamaguchi alum) is all about super-fresh seafood and vegetables. The inventive izakaya opened in late 2022 and adds modern riffs to familiar Japanese dishes like lobster chawanmushi with brown butter and gochugaru. That outside-the-box thinking earned Nami Kaze a series of honors including James Beard semifinalist status, a Haleʻaina Award for Best New Restaurant of 2023, and an OpenTable Diners’ Choice award, so it’s no surprise that this creative hotspot is one of the most sought-after reservations in Honolulu right now.

Filipino cooking is an unmissable part of Hawaiʻian culture (the community makes up 25 percent of the state’s population), and Peso is where you come for playful twists on traditions. Chef Ria Dolly Barbosa, whose Los Angeles-based restaurant Petite Peso received glowing reviews from the Los Angeles Times, opened Honolulu’s first modern Filipino restaurant in April. It wasn’t long before the ultra-creative spot earned an Ilima Award for Hawaiʻi’s Best New Restaurant of 2023. Barbosa’s cultural mashups are best sampled in eight-course omakase form that includes hits like kinilaw tostadas and wagyu beef cheek stew.

After making a name for himself at the Halekulani Hotel and MICHELIN-starred kitchens around the world, chef Vikram Garg brought his international firepower to the Halepuna Waikīkī resort in April. This time, he focuses firmly on the sea (“umi” is Japanese for the ocean) with masterpieces like kampachi with squid-ink tuile and tender, swoon-worthy abalone with a mushroom-miso crust. UMI recently landed a Critic’s Choice distinction at the ʻIlima Awards for its ultra-artistic and thoughtful dishes, proving its a force to be reckoned with on Honolulu’s fine-dining scene.

Arden’s postcard-perfect location—in a sanctuary at the foot of Diamond Head—is reason enough to check it out. But so are its contemporary Hawaiʻian dishes by chefs Makoto Ono and Amanda Cheng. The pretty Waikīkī restaurant opened in October and is set against a very sought-after, sunset-facing stretch of sand. Despite its swanky backdrop, Arden’s menu doesn’t hold back on the fun. Cases in point: lamb lollipops with cilantro pistou and shiso and a local take on baked Alaska, aka black sesame cake encased in toasted meringue.

If an Italian chophouse and crudo bar sound super traditional, think again. Cino is anything but, as hinted by the trendy diners who have packed its gold and velvety dining room since it opened in September. Local chef Arnold Corpuz worked through Italian kitchens in New York and that experience shines on beautiful fusion plates like crab spaghetti and miso-charred butterfish with slow-roasted eggplant. For a quicker meal or a solo affair, post up at the bar—and consider a drink by cocktail pro Jen Len.