Came here for our anniversary the other night, and it was a wonderful experience. The setting is gorgeous, right on the water, and the live music and hula dancing took place against this gorgeous backdrop. The drinks that we ordered were strong and tasty. I got a Tropical Itch and my husband got a Hale Passion, and he was kind enough to switch drinks because mine was a little too strong for my taste. His drink was creamy and delicious though! The staff was friendly and very attentive - our water glasses were never empty! The fish was deliciously cooked, and they allowed us to sub mashed Okinawan sweet potatoes for the rice, which was SO GOOD. We finished off the meal with a slice of their heavenly coconut cake. I didn't think I had room for another bite, and suddenly the whole plate was clean! I definitely recommend splurging on this place for your next special occasion. read more

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I made it a point to stop by here a second time when my work brought me to Oahu. I stumbled upon it my first time when I heard the eloquent live music from afar. I had to wait for approx 40min to get a table for one on the lawn which has a limited menu but such variety- I still remember the mai tai & sushi roll! The Hulu dancing was perfection! My second time back I had enough forethought to make a reservation and was sat right away-- this time in the main dining section. The live music was present as well as the hula, & the service was outstanding even though I was dining solo. I had the sea bass and switched it up with a whiskey cocktail. I will always make it point to stop in when on Oahu! read more

This is my father's favorite must-go-to place for drinks and snacks/dinner on the outdoor patio whilst listening to live Hawaiian music and dance. This is my third time here in the last couple of years and also enjoy this place very much. It's located at such a beautiful and private luxury beachfront hotel resort, and I would love to stay here someday. The setting is so relaxing....ok, gets a bit crowded and noisy due to its popularity, but still a great place to relax, enjoy some live soothing music, with a good selection of drinks, decent selection of apps and main menu items, whilst watching the sunset in the backdrop. You do get complimentary chips, which are great with any alcoholic beverage, but they also allow you to order main menu items from the main dining room. What I also really liked is how the staff from the hotel's front driveway to the hosts podium, to the server, all recognized my father from his years of visits to this hotel and happy hour patio dining, that they all greeted him and even offered to remove the $5 (as non-resident guest) entertainment charge from our check. Service was excellent, food was delicious, entertainment was wonderful, lush surrounding greenery and beachfront setting watching the sunset is like a dream......truly living the good life in paradise, albeit just for a few hours. Has definitely always been a great experience and worth every penny. Not much to else to say except, make sure you have a reservation as this place gets packed every evening!.........with long crowds of people at the entrance waiting to get a seat. read more

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Great service, stunning drinks! Their Mai Tai lives up the the high reputation;) Ambiance was beautiful, we sat at the bar so we had a partial view of the ocean. read more

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This one is unfortunate as this is a beautiful spot with a gracious staff. However, I got severe food poisoning from the chef's special, which was a white fish dish garnished with cream sauce over roasted broccoli. Throwing up with fever hours later and missing a flight and other obligations was not good. Apparently Hemingway wrote there, so go check out the sites but don't eat the food. read more

The view was spectacular and live music was really pleasing. But the food sucked. Also i hated the seating outside. Just because i wanted to be outside to enjoy music and the view, doesn't mean i won't eat. All the table were low so you constantly had to bend over to eat your food or just hold your plate in your hands. I legitimately don't understand why restaurants do that. If you serve food and not just drinks, dont give me a coffee table, give me a normal height table so i can eat. I looked around and everyine looked just as uncomfortable eating as we were. The menu is really limiting, nothing really to share, no good appetizers at all. We even considered ordering from the kids menu, looked like they had more options. We ended up ordering margarita flat bread since again our appetizer options were pretty much nonexistent. It was the worst flatbread I've ever had. I didn't taste basil, i didnt taste even tomato sauce. All i could taste was cheese. The pizza was literally white with a few blotches of red sauce. It was disgusting. Margarita is known for being thin and tasting like a perfect combination of basil and tomato flavors. I'm not even exaggerating - it was just cheese, lots of cheese, with blocks of mozzarella literally baked in. Disgusting! I expected some grace from this place. Thst they will have a great selection of light food and easy to eat appetizers. But they failed at every step starting with seating and ending with food. And btw, service also sucked. We had this brick faced girl serving us who barely ever checked in on us and never smiled. I don't recommend coming here. There are other ways to enjoy the ocean view and lots of other restaurants offer live music. Skip on this one. read more

One of the best dining experiences of the trip because of the ambiance. Go for the live music that sets the stage for a magnificent front row view of the perfect Hawaiian sunset. We sat at a casual cafe table/coffee table setup so that we could be closer to the ocean view. Though it wasn't super easy to eat a full meal there, we wouldn't have changed it. Food was good - but the cake was EXCELLENT. Light, not too sweet, perfectly coco-nutty. read more

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Classy and relaxing restaurant. Hawaiian musicians. Background of the beach. Awesome view. Meals were delicious. Hibachi chicken was full of flavor. The Hale passion cocktail was amazing. Must try. Coconut cake is superb. read more

Went there for the live music, hula and specialty drinks. A good conversation at the bar with the friendly staff and visitors.

Ambiance was wonderful with beautiful bright surroundings. The music added to the evening; however, the service lacked and we were made to feel annoying to our particular server. Food was okay. The margarita pizza had basis flakes rather than leaves and was tasteless. read more

House Without A Key is a lovely place to have a sunset drink at Waikiki, but make sure you have plenty of time allotted in your schedule. We came at 5:30PM to catch the sunset and the show, which makes for a relaxing pre-evening activity. The service is severely spotty though, and we forewent a second round of drinks just because we couldn't get ahold of our server once the sun started to set. Once we managed to catch his attention, we seized the opportunity to ask for our checks instead. Drinks are delicious, if weak. My Hale Passion was a delicious tropical blended drink, and my husband's lychee martini was great for someone with a sweet tooth. The complementary chips are a nice touch, and we could have easily eaten a second bowl if it had been refilled. I'm not sure if I'd be back, due to the touchy service, but the view makes for an undoubtedly beautiful setting. read more

Melissa made our evening!! Thank you so much for your excellent service and accommodating to my wheat allergy (gluten free), peanut allergy and other dietary restrictions. This place was relaxing and wonderful. Great music, hula and a beautiful day and evening We will be back. read more

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#Hawaii #Niceview Had a dinner with my friends. Waiting for 1 h in Friday and most of the food were just ok. Nice view and romantic vibe surroundings. read more

The view of the beach was amazing. It was a great location. We went for our 1 year anniversary and saw good live music by the tree. The ambiance was perfect and great service. Joseph was friendly and a great server. He helped make our one year anniversary more enjoyable and memorable. The food was delicious, my husband had the steak and it was good size for him, since he can eat. I had the fish of the day which was Mahi mahi and it was good. We are not coconut fans but had their famous halekulani coconut cake Joesph recommended and it was delicious. read more

Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay the bartender there was very inappropriate and also the food isn't that good

This place should be called House Without Communication Skills. What a disappointment. We really wanted to love this place, so many of our friends recommended it to us which was backed by multiple articles and tour books we were referencing but it ended up being the armpit of our entire 30-day trip in Oahu. First, I booked dinner through Open Table for NYE back in November. Then when we arrived in Oahu in December, I got an email cancelling our reservation, no explanation. We happened to be close by to the restaurant so we talked to the host in person who explained that the restaurant has been closed for a while, so they are only offering cocktails and apps. Okay, so explain that in the cancellation email, and if the restaurant is closed then you should have removed your online reservation back when you closed it. So we booked the same NYE reservation with the host, in person, acknowledging that there would be no dinner menu. We don't eat big dinners anyway so that was fine. She said we would get an email confirmation. We did NOT make an additional dinner reservation anywhere else. All we had for NYE was this reservation. 5 days later, no email confirmation for our NYE reservation. So I called, confirmed our reservation and was sent a confirmation email. Great, we were back on track. But it would have been nice if I didn't have to chase it down. With heavy rain in the forecast for NYE, we were worried about the outdoor setting. So I called specifically 24 hours before NYE to ask about their contingency plans. They said they will likely move us into an indoor spot (Lewer's Lounge) or if they cancel it they will call us. So make sure I keep my phone on. NYE is here, I made a point to make sure my phone was on in case of cancellation. No calls and the rain dies down, so we got dressed up for our NYE cocktail and apps and was excited for the night especially since we just got engaged. There were puddles walking there but no rain. We get there and they had the host stand tucked away with a paper sign that said they were closed for NYE, "sorry for the inconvenience". No one is there. So now it's NYE and everything is booked. We stood outside HWAK, all dressed up with no where to go. We put our trust in them and did NOT make an additional dinner reservation anywhere else. This was more than an inconvenience. They completely ruined our NYE night, what happened to the call? What happened to sending an email AND a text, AND making sure that your customers actually receive the message. There's this thing called 2-way communication, it is what professional businesses do. But they would rather just put up a paper sign and basically say "we're closed, deal with it." This would have been bad for any night, but for NYE it gutted us. We had no where to go but home. And guess what? There was no rain the entire NYE night. read more

Sunset Happy Hour at House Without A Key is still on my list of must-do Hawaii activities but I have to knock off a star for my poor last experience. Be sure to make a reservation. Proper tables require reservations. If you want to wait for a happy hour lounge table, you can wait for them. If you come at prime time, it takes awhile to get a table. This last visit, the service was actually quite poor. Our waiter seemed overworked and just couldn't really be as attentive as we needed for extra place settings, taking our order, getting any drinks, menus. We were constantly looking for him and waiting. The menu has changed and it is now pretty pricey restaurant food instead of cheaper sandwiches, etc. After nibbling on the complimentary potato chips, we ordered the steamed onaga prepared Chinese style with a soy/sesame oil sauce over white rice and bok choy, as well as the Lau Lau Chicken steamed in banana leaves. We ordered the kids mac n cheese and a side of sauteed mushrooms. Quite frankly, the food was some of the poorest we've ever eaten. Given that this is the Halekulani, I was really very disappointed. The steamed onaga was the better of the two dishes but it lacked the finesse of a well cooked fish. The lau lau chicken was stringy and gross. The sauteed mushrooms weren't cooked with high enough heat so the mushrooms were rubbery. Even the potato chips were salty. We mostly came for the hula dancing. It was there alright. Two songs, then a 20 min break. Then two songs, 20 min break. So much waiting. read more

I've only been once before (5 years ago), and then I would have given it a 5-star review. But as for now, the Mai-Tai is made in batches and is not so great, whereas when I visited before it was one of the better ones I had ever had. The current Tropical Itch cocktail is quite good, because it's made to order. Also I recall the food being great. And I know menus change, but this time I found the menu a bit lackluster. I had the Ahi Tataki and the Asian BBQ Chicken wings. The tataki was perfectly reasonable, but not price-worthy. The chicken wings were a nice idea, but would have been well served by being flipped at least once while cooking, so both sides had some crisp, rather than one side being a bit rubbery. So, 2 appetizers and 2 cocktails and $130 after moderate tip seems a bit high for what you get. read more

What was our waitress' name?! I think it was Leo! He was amazing and the service he provided at House Without a Key definitely showed that he's an awesome employee and server! We had a party of four for dinner one lovely evening (came without reservations) and was thrilled to be seated within a few minutes upon arriving at 8:00. For drinks, their Mai Thai was known to be the greatest around! So we got a couple of those going at the table. For dinner, the special was a grilled ahi accompanied with broccoli and rice/fries. The spicy aioli sauce that went with the fish was perfect although I wish there was more! The entree is definitely one I would recommend if they are able to make it for you. Or else other choices such as the chopped salad (or one that came with watermelon) was also a good pick. Their coconut prawns are huge and so delicious. To finish off our course, our server presented us with the Halekulani's Coconut Cake and the macadamia nut ice cream (complimentary)! I don't know how he read our minds we wanted dessert but there it was, 4 individual portions of each. It was truly the best service we had in Hawaii that week. I would highly recommend coming when a live band is playing on stage and reserving your table ahead of time! Dinner is a tad bit on the expensive side but it's worth it, believe me. I will be back in Hawaii and when that happens, I'll make another stop at House Without A Key for sure! read more

We are very thankful for a friend recommending this spot to us. We arrived around 6pm without a reservation and the wait was on 15 minutes for a table near the entertainment. The music and the sunset views were awesome. Around 7pm we mentioned to the waiter that we were ready for dinner and about 15 mins later our table was ready. The catch of the day was great and we shared the coconut cake. We weren't staying at the hotel, but it was easy to find. Make sure you give them a try. I highly recommend. read more

House Without A Key - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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be prepared to open your wallet wide, but I keep going back to this Mainstay of the Island scene. true , like many of my age , we always bemoan any changes (for example, I loved the pasta they used to have) but even as things change the overall experience stays the same. the quintessential Waikiki experience , that includes a Mai Tai outside , under an evening sky with Hawaiian music (try to go when the band Pa'ahana is playing) accompanied by graceful Hula (usually by a former Miss Hawaii who was trained from childhood to dance) accented by gentle lapping of the waves , with the view of Diamond Head in the distance and if lucky a beautiful tropical sunset. try the coconut cake read more

Good restaurant with amazing service. And it's within a beautiful hotel! Very romantic ambiance. Definitely worth getting dinner reservations for the evening shows. Food, however, was ok. Nothing was out of this world, but overall good. We got the utopia flatbread, side of sweet potstoes, and the cobb salad. Coconut cake for dessert. read more

House Without A Key - Split cobb salad - dressing was very good. - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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New favorite place to go for dinner. Live music while you enjoy the best meal ever. Service was great and drinks were even better. Definitely will be back on future vacations. Obviously can't leave without coconut cake so defiantly make sure you have room because it's amazing. read more

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We came here less for the food and more for the experience - the sunset over the ocean horizon, the evening views of Diamond Head and Waikiki, the chilled hula show and music, and the cocktails. And it delivered on providing the romantic Hawaiian cliche. We knew this is a wildly popular place, so we made a reservation for a table a few weeks before coming - and everything was ready for us when we turned up. Staff were friendly and for a busy place pretty efficient. (We didn't stay at the Halekulani Hotel that hosts House Without A Key, so we took the opportunity to explore the place. We discovered the Japanese toilets near the lobby, with their heated toilet seats and range of bidet functions. We were laughing afterwards; we're not used to such fancy toilets.) read more

Great location by the sea at Halekulani hotel. Enjoy beautiful sunset with nice live music and hula dance. I come here whenever I had visitors. Plenty seats but it gets full after 6:00PM or so. It would better make a reservation ahead of time. When I call, they just allowed walk-in, so I came here before 5:00PM. There were plenty seats at that time. Foods are OK. It's not cheap but I can't complain because it's by the sea. read more

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We heard about the view and vibe at this establishment. It was wonderful. Right now they have a very limited menu. May be because of Covid or the remodeling. The hotel is absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately the drinks weren't great but I was ok because it was so pretty and the live entertainment was so good. This was the real reason we decided to visit and hopefully the drinks will get better as they open up the menu. I especially recommend a sunset reservation if this is your first time to Hawaii (and really nice for everyone else too). I will definitely visit again as soon as we have visitors to the island. read more

House Without A Key - Live music and beautiful hula dancer - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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So many new places have opened up in Waikiki in the past few years, but this place will always be my favorite place to grab drinks in Waikiki. Housed inside the beautiful Halekulani Hotel, this is a place where you can get away from the tourists in Waikiki and grab a drink in peace. You also get a spectacular view of the beach and Diamond Head. The best time to go is right before sunset when you'll also enjoy live Hawaiian performances. House Without a Key serves the best Mai Tai on the island and their complementary chips are so delicious and addictive. Before you know it you've ordered several Mai Tais and finished more than one bowl of chips. read more

What a special place! The food was delicious and the atmosphere and music is unforgettable.

Fantastic venue for good food and live music. Perfect place to enjoy and watch the sunset. read more

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I had lunch at House without a key but dinner was my first time. Nice live Hawaiian music was relaxing. I liked Halekulani signiture steamed local fish catch. Very fresh red snapper. read more

House Without A Key - Red wine - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I think this was my worst birthday dinner ever. They confirmed it was my birthday at the host stand, but never mentioned it again which was weird. I saw in other reviews people got cake but I never did. When they took our plates after we were done eating they didn't ask if we wanted what was left boxed up or anything so I guess they just got rid of our leftovers. Not that I really cared much because the catch of the day was literally the most bland thing I've ever eaten for $50 and I'm not sure if I would've even eaten what I had left. I thought it was undersalted originally when I took my first bite (which it definitely was) but even after salting, it was incredibly bland. Tasted like fish just plopped in heavy cream. Not a cohesive dish whatsoever. At least the venue is beautiful and the live music was wonderful. read more

House Without A Key - Catch Of The Day - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

They've made some major changes... they have new chairs and tables, a whole new seating arrangement, a new menu, and new drinks. You also should 100% make a reservation. Walk-ins have to wait until all reservations are seated, then take your chances there will be a seat left in the back. I'd also recommend making your reservation for the moment they open and showing up early so you're first in line. That way you can be sure to avoid being seated on the grass. This place is very expensive, so my recommendation for the pupu that gives you the most bang for your buck is the charcuterie plate. It's the most food and it's delicious. I first ordered the Halekulani Sunset for my cocktail. The description of this is "rum, pineapple juice, guava puree." What are you picturing? I was picturing something layered in the mode of a tequila sunrise. Is that what I got? Nope, this is a blended frozen drink. But how would you know that from the menu? You wouldn't. Anyway, I didn't like or want what actually tasted like frozen Hawaiian Punch, so I put it aside, the waiter noticed and offered to get me something else. Stick with the mai tai. It's fabulous. The sunset show never disappoints. Great music, great dancing, great night. read more

House without a key is located inside of a hotel. It's a really cute spot with great ambience. They have live music and hula dancing which is always beautiful. I found this place on TikTok; but my overall opinion is the place is a bit overrated. The food is extremely pricey for what you get. A cocktail is $22 dollars and it comes with 90% ice. I got The yellow umbrella and it was really good. In the three sips of drink that there was in there it had a perfect mix of tropical flavor and tequila. read more

House Without A Key - Salad - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Wow ! This restaurant is an absolute gem. The ambiance did not miss - From the live music, hula performance, the views, the service, and the food, it was such a good experience. Came here on a Monday evening for sunset as a walk-in for "Dinner seating" and the wait was about 1.5 hour. Side note - whatever day of the week it is, I'd highly recommend making a reservation because this is definitely a hot spot for dinner (esp at sunset). But your other options are to either get lucky and find a seat at the bar which you can also order dinner, or also add yourself to the "Cocktail seating" which lets you sit, enjoy the ambiance and have some drinks while waiting to be seated at a more formal table. We lucked out and ended up getting a dinner seating after about 30 minutes of waiting. As for food, while awaiting our meal they served us bread & it was yummy. It's tinted purple dough, as a Filipino I got excited and immediately thought of Ube - It was good, even their butter is good, lol. We ordered the four cheese pizza - YUM! All the different cheeses and their crust! I don't know what Hawaii puts into their dough but it's always good ! If your a cheese fanatic, you'll be pleased with the pizza. Also ordered the crab cake appetizer, initially I was a bit off set with it being $32 for one piece of crab cake BUT IT WAS DEFINITELY WORTH IT. The BEST crab cake I've ever had - you can taste the quality and freshness. So my recommendation is to make a reservation for dinner and definitely come for sunset because the views are so magical along with the live music. Happy dining ! read more

House Without A Key - Four cheese pizza - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Absolutely fantastic experience in all areas! If you are looking for a romantic evening, with truly Hawaiian ambience, and the spirit of Aloha, this is definitely the place to go. The rooms and outside areas are absolutely stunning all dressed in white and the food is impeccable. Please try the coconut cake. read more

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My husband and I came here 6 out of the 7 mornings we stayed at the Halekulani. The breakfast is a buffet but it isn't just your average spread, speaking for two vegetarians. They had a variety of fresh juice (guava, pineapple, orange, grapefruit), coffee, and tea served at our table. At the buffet, we usually indulged in: various pancake options everyday (the macadamia nut ones were our fav!), waffles (some of the best we've had which is saying something since they're on a buffet), a different potato side everyday, egg station, pastries, toast, and a fruit spread. Out of all these, I particularly liked the way the chef prepared my eggs whether it was an omelette, fried egg, or scrambled. For the waffles, pancakes, and pastries they had all the fixings like walnuts, whipped cream, whipped butter, raisins, chocolate chips, guava jam, strawberry preserves, hot maple syrup, and coconut syrup. They even had this freshly prepared salsa that went well with the eggs and potatoes. The service was top notch even when it was pretty hectic and the view is pretty spectacular! read more

House Without A Key - Breakfast view - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

After getting some drinks we needed to out some food in our belly so decided to come here for food! I have been here for breakfast, lunch and dinner but was never able to write a review since I usually would come with a client or a friend were i couldnt tak picts :( Anyways, long review short *Ambience: nice and more casual than Orchids *Service: always good *Parkig: valet, they will validate *Food: -lobster ($53) pretty good and fresh!! -Steamed Onaga (market price $44) one of my favorites! Overall, i would still come back here and i am happy i was finally able to finish a review here! read more

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ambiance was amazing service was okay food was mediocre it was way pricey for what quality food u recieve

Excellent place for dinner and fantastic drinks. Most places lack real cocktails. This place has the most creative and tasty drinks.

My wife and I had a lovely lunch. The server made some great suggestions and their mai tai was fabulous! The outdoor venue was perfect. read more

House Without A Key - Ahi Sashimi, Mai Tai - Seafood Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii