Hawaiʻi Eats guide · honors as of October 2026

Hawaii James Beard Award restaurants

James Beard Foundation honors at 6 Hawaii restaurants and bars still serving: 3 America's Classics and 3 winners. Each listing leads with its highest honor, with the rest beneath it.

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Honors, not ratings

Everything on this page comes from the James Beard Foundation's own announcements, matched by hand to each restaurant. The Foundation's restaurant and chef awards narrow in stages: a long semifinalist list each winter, then nominees (what the Foundation calls its finalists), then a single winner per category. America's Classics is a separate honor for long-running, locally owned restaurants with timeless appeal. We call a semifinalist a semifinalist and a nominee a nominee; only a winner is called a winner. For the Best Chef award, Hawaii is in the Northwest and Pacific region.

Hawaii has no MICHELIN Guide, so no MICHELIN stars or recommendations appear here. Reader polls, "best of" roundups, Hale ʻAina picks and review-site stars stay off this page, and a restaurant that closed after its honor is dropped.

James Beard Foundation and James Beard Award are trademarks of the James Beard Foundation. Hawaiʻi Eats is not affiliated with the Foundation.

Other guides: Hawaii plate lunch & drive-ins, Hawaii poke counters & fish markets, Hawaii saimin stands, Hawaii shave ice stands, Hawaii malasadas & bakeries, Hawaiian food & okazuya, Hawaii musubi shops, Hawaii loco moco, Lahaina restaurants open again, Hawaii's oldest restaurants, Hawaii restaurant inspections. City pages: Honolulu, Kailua-Kona, Hilo, Kīhei, Kapolei, ʻAiea, Waipahu, Kailua, Kāneʻohe, Kahului, Līhuʻe, Kapaʻa, Wailuku, Haleʻiwa, Pearl City, Kāʻanapali, Waimea (Hawaiʻi Island), Kōloa, Mililani, Waikoloa. Regions: Oʻahu, Maui, Hawaiʻi Island, Kauaʻi, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi.

Jump to a region

Oʻahu

4 honored restaurants, by town. The Oʻahu page has the region's other lists.

  1. Alan Wong's

    5000 Kahala Ave, Honolulu

    James Beard winner

    James Beard: Best Chefs winner 1996 (Alan Wong)

  2. Bar Leather Apron

    745 Fort St #127A, Honolulu

    James Beard winner

    James Beard: Outstanding Bar winner 2023

  3. Fête

    2 N Hotel St, Honolulu

    James Beard winner

    James Beard: Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific winner 2022 (Robynne Maiʻi)

  4. Helena's Hawaiian Food

    1240 N School St, Honolulu

    America's ClassicHawaiian food On the menu: pipikaula, kalua pig, squid luau, lomi salmon, haupia

    A family-run Kalihi restaurant serving Hawaiian food since 1946; the James Beard Foundation named it one of America's Classics in 2000.

    James Beard: America's Classics 2000

    helenashawaiianfood.com

Hawaiʻi Island

1 honored restaurant, by town. The Hawaiʻi Island page has the region's other lists.

  1. Manago Hotel

    82-6155 Hawaiʻi Belt Rd, Captain Cook

    America's Classic

    James Beard: America's Classics 2023

Kauaʻi

1 honored restaurant, by town. The Kauaʻi page has the region's other lists.

  1. Hamura Saimin

    2956 Kress St, Līhuʻe

    America's ClassicSaimin On the menu: saimin, barbecue sticks, lilikoʻi chiffon pie · Since 1952

    A Līhuʻe saimin stand open since 1952 that still operates out of the same wooden building on Kress Street.

    James Beard: America's Classics 2006