The Boardroom - Deep Research Report

Overview

The Boardroom is a dinner-and-cocktail spot in Kailua on Oʻahu’s Windward Coast, set up more like an intimate neighborhood lounge than a casual all-day restaurant. Based on its own site and reservation listings, it is oriented around evening service, craft cocktails, and a compact, experience-driven dining room rather than a broad all-day menu. (theboardroomkailua.com)

For travelers, the appeal is the combination of small-scale setting, local sourcing language, and a menu that leans into shared plates, seafood, and cocktails with a polished-but-not-formal feel. The main practical caveat is that the restaurant’s own materials and its reservation listing should be checked together before going, because its website, OpenTable listing, and Google hours all generally align on the evening-only pattern, but reservations have shifted to Resy according to OpenTable. (theboardroomkailua.com)

Cuisine & Specialties

The Boardroom’s food lane is best described as seasonal farm-to-table tapas and contemporary American-leaning dinner fare with Hawaii-local ingredients woven through the menu. The strongest identity signals are scratch cooking, local sourcing, and a cocktail program built around house infusions, fresh juices, and island ingredients. (theboardroomkailua.com)

Notable menu items on the current dinner menu include oysters with house kiwi mignonette, coconut shrimp, the Boardroom Caesar, burrata with local tomatoes, fresh carpaccio made with local line-caught ono, catch of the day with roasted red pepper coconut milk sauce, boardroom paella with ono, shrimp, mussels and saffron rice, and a 14-ounce ribeye with chimichurri. Happy hour items and drink specials are also a major part of the draw. (theboardroomkailua.com)

• Overall menu style: Seasonal tapas/shared plates, seafood-forward entrées, and a cocktail bar emphasis; the restaurant describes itself as “Island Fresh Tapas & Handcrafted Cocktails.” (theboardroomkailua.com)
• Notable dishes/specialties: oysters on the half shell with kiwi mignonette; coconut shrimp; burrata + local tomato salad; fresh carpaccio with ono; catch of the day with coconut milk sauce; Boardroom paella; ribeye with chimichurri. (theboardroomkailua.com)
• Notable drinks: Boardroom Martini, Classy Captain, Midnight Mescalito, and an “Oh Mai Tai” on the libations menu; the site also advertises daily happy hour and $15 signature cocktails. (theboardroomkailua.com)
• Price range / spend expectations: Google Places lists price level 2, while OpenTable places it in the roughly $31–$50 range; many cocktails and dinner plates suggest a midrange to upper-midrange evening out rather than a cheap casual meal. (theboardroomkailua.com)
• Dietary usefulness / limitations: OpenTable lists gluten-free options and vegan options, but the menu is still quite seafood-, dairy-, and meat-forward, so this is useful for mixed groups rather than ideal for strict plant-based diners. (opentable.com)

Notable Features & Ambiance

The Boardroom presents as a small, designed-for-occasion space with indoor and outdoor seating, patio dining, and a bar-focused evening atmosphere. Its own site emphasizes custom furniture and an intimate setting, while OpenTable describes only about 50 seats and notes indoor seating on a “wave bench” plus outdoor spots. (theboardroomkailua.com)

• Service model and seating style: Dinner-only on most open nights, with reservations available through Resy; the venue also markets itself for private events and buyouts. (theboardroomkailua.com)
• Atmosphere and decor: Intimate, upscale-casual, cocktail-lounge energy; the brand leans into bespoke furniture, a patio, a beer garden, and live music on some nights. (theboardroomkailua.com)
• Amenities or practical features: Outdoor dining, patio/beer-garden areas, live music, happy hour, private-event capability, wheelchair access, dog-friendly listing on OpenTable, and late-night hours on Friday/Saturday. (opentable.com)
• Best fit: A date night, cocktail-forward dinner, or small group meal where ambiance matters as much as the food. (opentable.com)
• Weaker fit: Travelers wanting a big menu, a quick in-and-out casual bite, or lunch service; the venue’s hours and menu are focused on evenings. (theboardroomkailua.com)

History & Background

The Boardroom appears to have grown out of Kailua’s local hospitality scene rather than arriving as a generic mainland concept. A Hawaii Magazine piece identified owner Keno Knieriem and described it as Kailua’s “newest tapa and cocktail lounge” when it opened, while a separate local article ties the Boardroom to an expansion from nearby Solar Shack coffee bar and Treehouse Coworking under the same ownership. (hawaiimagazine.com)

The restaurant’s own materials now frame it as a farm-to-table, craft-cocktail venue with seasonal menus, local sourcing, and event hosting. That suggests the concept has matured from a new lounge into a more established multi-use restaurant/event space, though the publicly available background remains limited and the ownership narrative is clearer than any chef-specific origin story. (theboardroomkailua.com)

Review Sentiment Snapshot

What People Love

Guests repeatedly praise the cocktails, the ambiance, and the sense that the place feels special for a night out. Positive reviews on OpenTable also highlight attentive service, outdoor seating, and standout dishes like the corn soup and happy-hour drinks. (opentable.com)

Common Gripes

The most consistent complaints are about tight seating, slow service on busy nights, noise, and occasional mismatches between the posted menu and what was actually being served. Food quality is also described as uneven in some reviews, but the criticism is mixed rather than universal; several diners still say they would return. (opentable.com)

Practical Visitor Tips

• The restaurant’s current posted hours are evening-only: closed Monday and Tuesday, open Wednesday–Sunday, with Friday/Saturday staying open later. Last seating for food is posted at 8:15 PM on the website. (theboardroomkailua.com)
• Happy hour is a meaningful value window, running 5–6 PM daily on the dinner menu page and Wednesday–Sunday on other site pages; expect discounted appetizers, $15 signature cocktails, and $8 vodka oyster shooters. (theboardroomkailua.com)
• Reservations appear to have moved to Resy, even though the website still has reservation prompts and OpenTable now points users to Resy. (opentable.com)
• Seating is limited and the room is described as intimate, so booking ahead is sensible, especially for Friday/Saturday evenings. (opentable.com)
• If you want a quieter meal, earlier dinner seating is probably safer than peak happy-hour or late-evening times, based on repeated notes about noise and crowding. This is an inference from review patterns rather than an official policy. (opentable.com)
• The setting is best for a relaxed dinner or drinks-focused outing, not for a rushed meal or a broad family menu. (theboardroomkailua.com)

Verification Notes

• Name, address, phone, and website all align across Google Places and the official site: The Boardroom, 44 Kainehe St, Kailua, HI 96734, (808) 807-5640, theboardroomkailua.com. (theboardroomkailua.com)
• Google Places shows the business as operational; the official site and reservation listing also show active service. (theboardroomkailua.com)
• Reservation handling appears to have shifted to Resy; OpenTable is still indexing the restaurant but directs bookings to Resy. (opentable.com)
• Google’s category and hours are broadly consistent with the official site, though the site’s various pages differ slightly on happy-hour wording and some details around daily service windows. (theboardroomkailua.com)

Sources

• The Boardroom official home page — https://www.theboardroomkailua.com/ — retrieved 2026-04-02 — useful for the restaurant’s self-described concept, location, hours, happy hour, and event framing.
• The Boardroom dinner menu page — https://www.theboardroomkailua.com/menu-1 — retrieved 2026-04-02 — useful for current food items, pricing, and happy-hour details.
• The Boardroom menu overview page — https://www.theboardroomkailua.com/menu — retrieved 2026-04-02 — useful for seasonal farm-to-table positioning and reservation pathway.
• The Boardroom libations page — https://www.theboardroomkailua.com/menu-1?menu=menu — retrieved 2026-04-02 — useful for cocktail identity and drink-specific examples.
• The Garden at Boardroom page — https://www.theboardroomkailua.com/copy-of-catering — retrieved 2026-04-02 — useful for the outdoor coffee/bar extension, live music, trivia, and broader use of the property.
• Catering/private events page — https://www.theboardroomkailua.com/about-4 — retrieved 2026-04-02 — useful for venue capacity, seating style, and private-event capabilities.
• OpenTable listing for The Boardroom — https://www.opentable.com/r/the-boardroom-kailua — retrieved 2026-04-02 — useful for third-party confirmation of price range, cuisine category, seating/amenity signals, and recurring review themes.
• Hawaiʻi Magazine feature on The Boardroom — https://www.hawaiimagazine.com/the-boardroom-is-kailuas-newest-tapa-and-cocktail-lounge/ — retrieved 2026-04-02 — useful for ownership/background context and the original concept positioning.
• Local article on Boardroom-related expansion — https://tracyallenhawaii.com/blog/the-boardroom — retrieved 2026-04-02 — useful for the ownership/expansion connection to Solar Shack and Treehouse Coworking.