If an out-of-towner asked me for restaurant recommendations now, I think I would struggle to provide good answers. That wasn’t always the case–or at least I would feel more confident in my ability to provide recommendations. I think two things have changed for me in the last ten years or so–1) many of the restaurants I really liked have closed, and 2) I really haven’t tried many new restaurants. Having said that, I’ve been mostly unimpressed or even disappointed by the ones I have tried–so much so that I tend to think the Hawai’i food scene has significantly declined. Do you guys agree with that or not?
In any event, this brings me to the point of the post–namely, in our lifetime, what time period did we have the most quality restaurants? I’m interested in hearing your answers, but here’s mine. For me, I would say the late 90s and early 2000s featured the best, or at least my favorite, restaurants. Here’s a list, off the top of my head:
- 12th Avenue Grill
- Brent’s
- Le Bistro
- Town
- Chef Mavro
- Padovanni’s
- Palomino’s
- Alan Wong’s
- Kincaid’s (more for the ambiance)
- Cafe Laufer (more for the desserts and coffee)
- HK’s
- Kaka’ako Kitchen
- Quintero’s
- Cafe Sistina
- Mediterraneo
- Scozee’s
- Char Hung Sut
- Mocha Java
- Bob’s Big Boy (solid alternative to Zippy’s)
- KC Drive Inn (for the shakes)
- Pyramids (for the buffet)
- McCully Chop Suey (for late night Chinese food)