Stage
While most visitors go to Hawaii ready to dine in their Aloha shirts, a pair of trendy new restaurants give both locals and tourists a chance to eat out in style.
Chef Jon Matsubara, formerly of Roy’s and Alan Wong’s, serves up “couture cuisine” at Stage, a high-style newcomer located in Honolulu’s upscale Design Center (1250 Kapiolani Blvd.; 808-237-5429). The larger-than-life black-and-white decor – the restaurant doubles as a showroom with furniture sold on location – may leave patrons feeling like they’ve entered a surrealist painting, but provides plenty to look at while they dine on signatures such as grilled Hawaiian escolar.
The newest branch of Nobu recently opened in the Waikiki Parc Hotel (2233 Helumoa Rd.; 808-237-6999), where it's helping to revive the Waikiki scene. While the menu specializes in Nobu Matsuhisa’s signature “new style Japanese cuisine," a few dishes show some Hawaiian flair.