Honolulu

Moku Nui

· Honolulu · Hawaii Regional

The Wild Card

Moku Nui is a casual Hawaii Regional spot that has no business running a wine list this thoughtful — and we mean that as high praise. Fair glass prices, a sommelier clearly making intentional choices, and enough variety to reward the curious drinker. If you're eating here, skip the default beer order and let someone at the table order the Vouvray.

Azure Restaurant

Waikiki · Honolulu · Seafood

The Reliable

Azure is a genuinely lovely place to drink wine — the setting does a lot of heavy lifting and the France-Italy-Hawaii focus is a sensible match for the island seafood menu. Just go in knowing resort markup is real, and if the tasting menu with wine pairing is available, that's likely your best shot at getting something memorable poured without having to guess blind from the list.

Senia

· Honolulu · Tasting Menu

The Wild Card

Senia's wine program is one of the more thoughtful in the state — sommelier on staff, an Old World-focused list, and a Wednesday night deal where bottles at $65 and under get cut in half plus a tasting flight. If you're serious about what's in your glass, this is where you go in Honolulu. Book a Wednesday if you can.

53 By The Sea

· Honolulu · Italian-American

The Wild Card

53 By The Sea plays an interesting game: a short, all-glass list that punches well above its weight in the mid-range, anchored by a custom Failla Pinot and some genuinely thoughtful picks from Austria and southern Italy. Markups lean steep, especially as you climb the tiers, and the absence of bottle service means you're always buying by the glass. But if you stick to the $12–$31 range, this is one of the more curated pours you'll find in Honolulu — and that Grüner alone is worth the visit.

The Capital Grille Hawaii

· Honolulu · Steakhouse

The Reliable

The Capital Grille Hawaii's wine list does what the brand does everywhere — it's safe, corporate, and priced to capture resort-market margins. The Champagne selection is genuinely deep and includes some worthwhile picks like the Paul Bara and the Llopart Cava, but markups are steep and there's little here to excite anyone looking beyond the obvious. If you're here for a steak and want bubbles, you'll find something that works — just don't expect the list to dazzle you.

BLT Steak Waikiki

Waikiki · Honolulu · Steakhouse

The Reliable

BLT Steak Waikiki is a competent, crowd-pleasing steakhouse wine list in a setting where you're mostly paying for the view and the popovers. If wine is central to your evening, call ahead and ask what's actually open — the list's documented depth isn't enough to guarantee a great bottle without some homework. Come for the porterhouse, manage your wine expectations.

Mud Hen Water

· Honolulu · Hawaii Regional

The Wild Card

Mud Hen Water's wine list is small, smart, and priced without the island markup you'd expect. It won't overwhelm you with options, but the options it has are well-chosen — and the ability to glass-pour every single bottle means you can explore freely. If you're eating there, skip the default and work through the whites.

The Pig and the Lady

· Honolulu · Vietnamese

The Wild Card

The Pig and the Lady is running one of the most thoughtful small wine lists in Honolulu, and the fact that it's attached to a Vietnamese restaurant makes it even more interesting. If you show up expecting a standard Southeast Asian wine afterthought and find Domaine Huet Chenin Blanc and a Hungarian pet-nat, you should probably order both. This is the Wild Card badge in its purest form — surprising, intentional, and worth your attention.

Livestock Tavern

Chinatown · Honolulu · American Brasserie

The Reliable

Livestock Tavern is a genuinely good neighborhood hang with a wine list that supports the food without embarrassing itself. The pricing skews steep for Honolulu (not unusual in Hawaii), and the program won't wow a devoted wine nerd — but if you're going for the smoked prime rib or the tavern burger, there's something on this list that'll do the job. Go for the atmosphere and the kitchen; treat the wine as a reliable co-pilot, not the main event.

Morton's The Steakhouse Honolulu

· Honolulu · Steakhouse

The Reliable

Morton's Honolulu gives you a competent, Cabernet-saturated list that will reliably satisfy the guest who came for a big steak and a big red — just don't expect any surprises, and watch the markup on the entry-level bottles. Send a friend here if they want comfort, not if they want discovery.

El Cielo

Waikiki · Honolulu · Latin American / Tasting Menu

The Lazy List

El Cielo earns its reputation on atmosphere and food, but the wine program is a black box — and in a city where you're already paying tourist-tier prices, a list you can't see or trust is a list you should probably skip. Order a cocktail and save the wine night for somewhere that wants to earn it.

Ruth's Chris Steak House Waikīkī

Waikīkī · Honolulu · Steakhouse

The Reliable

Ruth's Chris Waikīkī is a dependable splurge for steak night, but the wine list is corporate comfort food — Napa-forward, markup-heavy, and unlikely to surprise you. If wine is the point of your evening, this isn't your destination; if steak is the point, it'll get the job done.

Chart House Waikiki

Waikiki · Honolulu · Seafood / Steak

The Reliable

Chart House Waikiki is giving you a safe harbor, not a destination — the list is functional, the by-the-glass selection is surprisingly broad, and a couple of smart picks exist if you know where to look. Come for the ocean views and the fish; just don't expect the wine list to match the scenery.

Vintage 1901

Downtown Honolulu · Honolulu · Hotel Wine Bar

The Reliable

Vintage 1901 is a well-organized hotel wine bar doing exactly what it should — giving visitors something better than the minibar without demanding too much effort or knowledge. The port program is legitimately great and worth your time; the rest of the list is competent, if a little sleepy on value.

Tchin Tchin Bar

· Honolulu · Rooftop Wine Bar

The Reliable

Tchin Tchin is a perfectly pleasant place to drink wine with a view, and nearly everything being available by the glass means you can graze without committing to a bottle. Just don't come expecting discovery — come expecting a solid pour and a great sunset.

Appetito Craft Pizza & Wine Bar

Waikiki · Honolulu · Italian Pizza / Wine Bar

The Wild Card

Appetito is the Wild Card of Waikiki — a pizza and wine bar that quietly punches above its tourist-strip surroundings with fair pricing, a Brunello on the glass list, and enough Italian depth to make the wine worth ordering. Send a friend here and tell them to skip the Bonanza.

Kaimukī Storeroom

Kaimukī · Honolulu · Wine bar / small plates

The Wild Card

Kaimukī Storeroom is doing the bare minimum in quantity and the maximum in quality — three bottles, all bangers, prices that won't make you do sad math on your phone. If you're a natural wine person stuck in Honolulu wondering why every list is the same, come here first.

Fête

· Honolulu · New American

The Wild Card

Fête is quietly running one of the most interesting wine programs in the state of Hawaii, and most people eating there probably have no idea. If you care at all about what's in your glass, this is worth the trip.

Pai Honolulu

· Honolulu · Contemporary tasting menu

The Wild Card

Pai's wine list won't impress anyone counting bottles, but it will surprise anyone counting countries — seven wines, six regions, zero filler. If you trust the kitchen's tasting menu, trust whatever pairing the list is built around.

Amuse Wine Bar

Honolulu · Honolulu · Wine Bar / New American Small Plates

The Wild Card

Amuse Wine Bar is doing something genuinely unexpected in Honolulu: building a thoughtful, geographically diverse list with fair pricing in a city where most wine programs are an afterthought. If you're in Hawaii and care about what's in your glass, this is the room to be in.

StripSteak Waikīkī

Waikīkī · Honolulu · Modern Steakhouse

The Wild Card

StripSteak Waikīkī pulls off something genuinely rare: a hotel steakhouse wine program worth paying attention to, built almost entirely around an extraordinary by-the-glass selection. The prices reflect the zip code, but if you're eating steak in Waikīkī anyway, this is the room to do it in.

Merriman's Honolulu

· Honolulu · Restaurant

The Reliable

Merriman's Honolulu delivers a wine list that punches above the typical Hawaii resort-area offering — genuinely good producers, a clever small-format section, and enough variety to reward a curious drinker. The pricing skews steep and the list won't surprise anyone, but you won't be embarrassed ordering here either.

Brix and Stones Cafe @ Kaimukī

Kaimukī · Honolulu · Wine Café & Bistro

The Wild Card

Brix and Stones is doing something genuinely valuable for Kaimukī — bringing a thoughtful, accessible wine program to a neighborhood that needed one. The Caymus carafe pricing is a bona fide deal and the Meinklang shows real taste, but watch out for the bubbly markups and a list that could use a little more rotation to keep regulars coming back.

Brix and Stones

Kakaʻako · Honolulu · Wine Bar & Spirits Lounge (BYO Food)

The Wild Card

Brix and Stones is the kind of place that shouldn't exist in the form it does, in the city it's in — and that's exactly why you should go. The markup swings from genuinely fair to eyebrow-raising depending on what you order, but the natural wine focus and knowledgeable staff make it the most interesting wine stop in Honolulu by a comfortable margin.

Fresco Italian Restaurant

Waikiki · Honolulu · Italian with local Hawaiian influence

The Reliable

Fresco is a solid resort wine list doing exactly what it's designed to do: keep guests comfortable and the floor moving. If you're looking for adventure, you'll need to look elsewhere — but if you just want a cold glass of something decent with a view of the Pacific, it gets the job done.

Moku Kitchen

Kakaʻako / SALT · Honolulu · Hawaiian-inspired / New American

The Reliable

Moku Kitchen isn't a wine destination, but it's a reliable neighborhood spot that doesn't gouge you — and in Hawaii, that alone earns real points. Send a friend here for dinner, not for the wine list, but tell them the prices won't sting.

Beachhouse at the Moana

Waikiki · Honolulu · Steak and seafood with Hawaiian regional influences

The Reliable

Beachhouse at the Moana is a perfectly decent wine experience as long as you know what you're walking into: a hotel list with hotel markups and a stunning ocean backdrop doing the heavy lifting. Go for the Jordan with your steak, catch the sunset, and save the serious wine exploration for somewhere else on the island.

Orchids

Waikiki · Honolulu · Seafood / Mediterranean

The Reliable

Orchids is a reliable wine program wearing a luxury price tag — the sommelier is real, the pours are properly handled, and the list gets the job done for the room it's in. Just know that you're paying the Halekulani premium on every bottle, and budget accordingly before you sit down.

Hau Tree

Waikīkī · Honolulu · Regional

The Wild Card

Hau Tree earns its Wine Spectator nod — this is a genuinely considered list in a setting where mediocrity would have been completely forgiven. If you're in Waikīkī and want a glass of something real with your toes near the sand, this is the place.

Hoku's

Kahala · Honolulu · Seasonal Pacific Rim

The Wild Card

Hoku's is a genuinely impressive wine program hiding inside a hotel restaurant — Patrick Okubo keeps the list credible and the service sharp, and the ocean setting makes everything taste a little better. Markups trend steep, as expected for Kahala, but there are smart picks here if you know where to look.