The 9 Best Cocktail Bars in Honolulu

Bar Leather Apron is the island's most decorated cocktail bar, winner of the 2023 James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar and home to a mai tai that topped a world ranking. Tucked onto a downtown office mezzanine, the room takes its cue from Japanese cocktail bars, all precision and quiet focus, with a remarkable whisky list behind the bar. Reservations are essential and the seats are few. We rate it first without hesitation. Book well ahead, sit at the counter, and watch a drink built with the care of a tea ceremony.

Order: The famous mai tai, or a whisky flight

Podmore blends Hawaiian warmth with English heritage at the corner of Merchant and Alakea, a cosy downtown cocktail bar and speakeasy where the drinks are inventive and the cooking shows fine dining training. The Clausmopolitan and the St George and the Dragon get named again and again by reviewers, and the room earns its must visit billing. We rate it among the best in the city for craft and comfort together. Book a table, settle into the low light, and let the bar steer you toward a house original.

Order: The St George and the Dragon

Manifest runs as a coffee shop by day and a Chinatown cocktail bar by night, a gallery hung room that anchors the neighbourhood's art walk and late nights. The crowd is creative and the drinks keep pace, and the space hosts DJs and shows that keep regulars coming back. Maps reviewers love the atmosphere and the value next to the upmarket rooms nearby. We rate it as Chinatown's most dependable hang. Come after dark, check what is on, and treat it as the anchor for a night through the neighbourhood.

Order: An espresso martini on the house roast

Tchin Tchin sits in the heart of Chinatown's art district with a rooftop terrace, a well curated wine list and a list of creative cocktails that draw a stylish crowd. The covered roof makes it an easy warm evening pick, and the menu rewards anyone who wants wine and cocktails under one roof. Reviewers praise the ambience and the breadth of the list. We rate it for a date or a relaxed first drink. Head up to the terrace early on a weekend, since the roof tables are the first to fill.

Order: A glass of grower champagne or a seasonal cocktail

Wild Orange is the rare Honolulu speakeasy that still feels illicit, hidden behind an Aloha Maid vending machine you open with a nickel. The cocktails rotate and run genuinely inventive, with drinks like Hold the Boba that play with island flavours, and the small plates lean vegan. The Infatuation rates it among the city's best bars. We rate it for a night that wants a little theatre and a great drink. Reserve ahead, mind the cancellation policy, and arrive ready to hunt for the door.

Order: Whatever rotating original the bar is proudest of

House Without a Key at the Halekulani is the sunset drink against which all others in Waikiki are measured, an open air terrace under a century old kiawe tree with live Hawaiian music and a hula dancer as the sky turns. The mai tai here is a classic done right, and the setting is simply the best on the beach. Every guide names it, and for once the postcard is real. We rate it as essential. Arrive an hour before sunset, claim a table near the tree, and order the mai tai.

Order: A mai tai at sunset

Lewers Lounge, also at the Halekulani, is Waikiki's grown up nightcap, an intimate room with live jazz every night and a list of classic cocktails poured with hotel polish. It is the place to retreat after dinner when the beach bars feel too loud, and the music runs seven nights a week. Reviewers praise the jazz and the calm. We rate it for a late, refined drink. Go after nine, take a low table near the trio, and order something classic and unhurried.

Order: A classic daiquiri

La Mariana Sailing Club is Honolulu's last original tiki bar, a 1957 relic on the edge of Keehi Lagoon crammed with salvaged carvings, blowfish lamps and decor rescued from the city's lost tiki rooms. It is out of the way on Sand Island, which is exactly why it survived as the real thing rather than a theme. Reviewers treat the pilgrimage as worth it. We rate it for anyone who wants tiki history without the gloss. Make the drive, settle by the water, and order a strong rum classic.

Order: A mai tai among the blowfish lamps

Pint and Jigger, inside the Ala Moana Hotel, pairs Hawaii's largest whiskey collection with a serious cocktail program from a bartender who brought the island its first barrel aged and sous vide drinks. Add twenty plus taps and redefined pub food and it becomes the pick for a longer, looser night. Reviewers rate the whiskey range and the kitchen alike. We rate it for whiskey drinkers and groups. Settle in at the bar, ask about the barrel aged list, and let dinner happen around the drinks.

Order: A barrel aged Manhattan