Overview
Hau Tree is the oceanfront restaurant inside Kaimana Beach Hotel in Waikīkī, on the Gold Coast side of Honolulu. It reads as a higher-end beach dining room rather than a casual snack spot: a place people choose for brunch, sunset dinners, cocktails, and special-occasion meals with a view.
For travelers, its main draw is location and setting as much as the food. The restaurant sits right by Kaimana Beach with lanai seating and a resort-casual feel, so it is best understood as a “go for the view and stay for a polished beach meal” kind of place. The Google record and current hotel site line up on the identity and address, with no major sign of a mismatch. (kaimana.com)
Cuisine & Specialties
Hau Tree’s menu leans toward contemporary American/Pacific Rim with seafood and brunch dishes, plus cocktails, wine, and a dedicated pau hana setup. In practice, that means a beachside fine-casual menu with oysters, poke-style and seafood starters, benedicts, pancakes, salads, burgers, and dinner plates that aim to feel lighter and more polished than classic hotel-room-service fare. (kaimana.com)
- Overall menu style: Contemporary American / Mediterranean-leaning seafood and brunch, with a beach-centric focus rather than a strictly local-plate-lunch lane. The official site emphasizes brunch, lunch, dinner, cocktails, wine, and pau hana specials. (kaimana.com)
- Notable dishes and drinks supported by sources:
- fresh baked pastry trio
- ahi poisson cru
- half dozen oysters with yuzu champagne mignonette
- hau tree eggs benedict, avocado benedict, cured salmon benedict, snow crab benedict
- Kaimana Burger
- housemade chips and rainbow caviar dip
- miso Caesar salad
- Sunset Provisions / Mu‘u & Mimosas-style cocktails and island mimosas in the hotel’s nearby lounge programming
These items show a menu that mixes brunch classics with seafood and a few richer, more “destination” dishes. (kaimana.com)
- Price range / spend expectations: Google lists the restaurant at price level 3, and OpenTable shows $31–$50. That usually means a traveler should expect a mid-to-upper spend for Honolulu, especially if ordering cocktails, seafood, or dinner rather than just brunch items. (kaimana.com)
- Dietary usefulness / limitations: OpenTable lists gluten-free options and the menu shows at least some vegetarian-friendly items such as avocado benedict and the pastry trio with a vegan marker. That said, the menu is still seafood- and egg-heavy, so it is friendlier to flexible eaters than to strict plant-based diners. (kaimana.com)
Notable Features & Ambiance
The setting is the restaurant’s biggest asset: open-air, ocean-facing seating at the Kaimana Beach Hotel, with the beach and sunset as part of the experience. This is a place people use for a lingering brunch, a celebratory dinner, or a scenic pau hana stop rather than a quick in-and-out meal. (kaimana.com)
- Service model and seating style: Table service with lanai, bar/lounge, and indoor ocean-view dining areas listed on OpenTable. The restaurant also has patio/outdoor dining and accepts reservations. (opentable.com)
- Atmosphere and decor: Sources consistently describe it as beachy, breezy, romantic, and casually elegant, with hau trees, lanterns, and sunset views. The hotel itself leans into a retro-luxury Gold Coast identity rather than a glitzy resort look. (kaimana.com)
- Practical features: OpenTable lists valet parking, wheelchair access, non-smoking, takeout, and dog-friendly patio access. The hotel site also says pau hana includes complimentary parking, though that appears tied to the happy-hour window rather than all-day dining. (opentable.com)
- Best fit: Sunset dinners, date nights, brunch with a view, and meals where the setting matters as much as the plate. It also fits travelers who want a polished but not stuffy Honolulu dinner near Diamond Head and Kapiolani Park. (opentable.com)
- Weaker fit: Budget-focused diners, people wanting a fast casual meal, or visitors who dislike hotel dining-room pricing and the possibility of busy-service delays. (opentable.com)
History & Background
Hau Tree is tied closely to the Kaimana Beach Hotel’s own history on the Gold Coast. The hotel says it opened in 1963 on the site of the former McInerny family residence, and the restaurant’s name comes from the hau tree grove associated with that earlier landscape. The restaurant’s modern version was notably refreshed in 2021 with chef Chris Kajioka involved in the menu reboot, and later updates brought further menu changes under new executive chef Bob Luong. (kaimana.com)
Review Sentiment Snapshot
What People Love
Review patterns and recent coverage point to three repeated strengths: the beach view, the sunset atmosphere, and the brunch/dinner setting itself. Travelers and local coverage often describe it as romantic, memorable, and one of the better places on Oʻahu for an oceanfront meal where the environment feels special. The renovated menu also gets praise for being more polished and more interesting than a generic hotel restaurant. (opentable.com)
Common Gripes
The most consistent downside signal is variability in service and pacing, especially on busy nights. OpenTable’s own FAQ notes that kitchen and service can be uneven when it is crowded, and Tripadvisor reviews include complaints about meals arriving too quickly or too slowly, with some guests feeling rushed or neglected. Another recurring complaint is value: some diners feel portions are modest relative to the price. These concerns look recurring rather than isolated, though they are tempered by many positive reviews. (opentable.com)
Practical Visitor Tips
- Hours: The official site currently lists brunch daily, weekend brunch starting earlier, bar service all day, pau hana in midafternoon, and dinner in the evening. OpenTable’s hours are broadly consistent, though the breakfast/brunch cutoff differs slightly by day, so checking the same-day booking page is wise. (kaimana.com)
- Reservations: Reservations are available and strongly advisable for sunset or weekend brunch; that is the clearest pattern across sources. (kaimana.com)
- Parking: Valet is listed on OpenTable, and the hotel’s happy-hour coverage mentions complimentary valet during pau hana. If you are driving, expect hotel-style parking rather than easy street parking. (opentable.com)
- Best timing: Sunset is the signature moment. Weekday mornings are likely calmer for brunch, while sunset and weekends are the most in-demand. (opentable.com)
- Ordering strategy: If you want value, brunch classics and the pau hana menu are the safer bets; dinner can skew pricier, especially with seafood and cocktails. (opentable.com)
- Ambience caveat: Outdoor seating is the point, but it can also bring minor annoyances like weather changes or general beachside activity; that tradeoff shows up in review language. (opentable.com)
Verification Notes
- Official name and current branding are consistent across sources as Hau Tree at Kaimana Beach Hotel; older references and some secondary coverage still use Hau Tree Lānai. (kaimana.com)
- Address, phone, and website match the provided Google Places record: 2863 Kalākaua Ave, Honolulu, HI 96815, (808) 921-7066, and the Kaimana Beach Hotel dining page. (kaimana.com)
- Operational status is open/operational on Google and the official site; no closure signal appeared in the sources reviewed. (kaimana.com)
- There is one small hours discrepancy between the hotel site and OpenTable on weekday brunch cutoff times, but not enough to suggest a different business identity. (kaimana.com)
Sources
- Official Hau Tree dining page —
https://www.kaimana.com/dine/hau-tree/— Retrieved 2026-04-02. Best source for current identity, hours, contact info, and the menu’s core direction. - OpenTable listing for Hau Tree —
https://www.opentable.com/r/hau-tree— Retrieved 2026-04-02. Most useful for dining format, price range, reservations, dress code, parking, amenities, and summarized guest-issue patterns. Some FAQ text is clearly aggregate/review-derived rather than hard fact. - Kaimana Beach Hotel history page —
https://www.kaimana.com/our-story/history/— Retrieved 2026-04-02. Best for the hotel/restaurant backstory, Gold Coast context, and the origin of the Hau Tree name. - Hawai‘i Magazine, “Feast on the Beach at Hau Tree in Waikīkī” —
https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/feast-on-the-beach-at-hau-tree-in-waikiki/— Retrieved 2026-04-02. Useful for atmosphere, specific dishes, and the restaurant’s post-refresh positioning. - Hawai‘i Magazine, “The Beloved Hau Tree Restaurant on Oʻahu Gets a New Look and Menu” —
https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/the-beloved-hau-tree-restaurant-on-oahu-gets-a-new-look-and-menu/— Retrieved 2026-04-02. Useful for the 2021 menu reboot and chef connection. - Honolulu Magazine, “Hau Tree: Same(ish) Name, New Chef, Better Bites” —
https://www.honolulumagazine.com/hau-tree-sameish-name-new-chef-better-bites/— Retrieved 2026-04-02. Helpful for chef background, menu style, and the transition from Hau Tree Lānai to the newer Hau Tree identity. - Aloha State Daily, Kaimana Beach Hotel pau hana coverage —
https://alohastatedaily.com/2025/03/05/kaimana-beach-hotels-new-happy-hour-menu/— Retrieved 2026-04-02. Useful for happy-hour timing, scope, and the handoff between pau hana and dinner service. - Hawai‘i Magazine, Kaimana Beach Hotel happy hour article —
https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/this-iconic-waikiki-hotel-has-a-new-happy-hour-with-sunset-views/— Retrieved 2026-04-02. Helpful for specific pau hana items, vibe, and complimentary valet note during the promotion. - Tripadvisor restaurant review page —
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60982-d477435-Reviews-Hau_Tree-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html— Retrieved 2026-04-02. Used selectively for recurring complaint themes around service pace, rushed meals, and value concerns. - Yelp business listing snippet —
https://www.yelp.com/biz/hau-tree-honolulu-3— Retrieved 2026-04-02. Used only as a secondary signal for popular dishes, atmosphere, and a small number of operational observations; treat as user-generated and not definitive.
