Grondin French Latin Kitchen - CLOSED

Grondin is located in the heart of Chinatown near Lucky Belly. They offer a fusion of French and Latin flavors. I noticed a lot of the items on their menu are spicy but if you ask, they can put the spicy sauces on the side. The food tasted really good minus the extreme spice in the shrimp ceviche dish. The chicken and the fish were my favorites. The chicken was very moist and had good flavor. The snapper was cooked perfectly and the outside had a bit of a crunch to it. The portions for the chicken was good but I thought the fish was a little small. Their items are on the pricey side so save this for a special occasion.

The area that they are in makes it difficult to get to in the evenings. I recommend going there in a group. The parking can be tough since the street spaces are all taken by 6pm. The closest parking lot would be on Smith and N Pauahi.

For more information about Grondin French Latin Kitchen, visit http://www.grondinhi.com.

62 N Hotel St
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 566-6768

Crepes Mole Negro (duck)

Prawn Ceviche

Pan Roasted Jidori Chicken

Pan Roasted Snapper

Koko Head Cafe

If you're an early riser, Koko Head Cafe is the place you want to be for breakfast. If you go at 7AM, there's no wait time. If you go around 11AM on the weekend and you have 5 or more people, your wait time could be about 30 minutes or more. The restaurant is small and most of the tables are set for 4. They also have a small bar at the front where you can see into the kitchen and watch Chef Lee Ann and her team create your dish.

The items on the menu are created with local ingredients. Some of the items I recommend are the breakfast bruschetta, congee, and the don buri chen. If it's your "cheat day," order Elvis's revenge because it is good and no one on this island makes anything like that. You can also jazz up your breakfast with some drinks as they do have a full bar. The prices are a bit high but you're paying for fresh local ingredients and you are supporting a local business. If you're having trouble finding street parking, you can park in the paid lot on 11th and Waialae where Big City Diner and Happy Days is.

For more information about Koko Head Cafe, visit www.kokoheadcafe.com.

1145C 12th Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808)732-8920

Breakfast Bruschetta

Kim Chee Bacon Cheddar Scone

Coffee & Doughnuts

Chicken Dumplings

Elvis's Revenge

Reuben Frittata

Breakfast Congee

Don Buri Chen

Wing Shave Ice & Ice Cream

They are an ice cream parlor in Chinatown that makes unique flavors. Their entrance is on N Pauahi Street across from Summer Frappe, not Maunakea Street. When you walk into the shop, you'll see a chalk board on the back wall. What you see on the chalk board is the menu . The homemade ice cream flavors are usually in the middle of the board. I haven't had any flavors that tasted bad yet. The owner makes the ice cream in small batches so they sell out pretty fast. There's always new flavors so this is one place you want to visit often. A single scoop is a little over $3. They accept credit cards so you can bring the whole family after your dim sum brunch.

They are in the heart of Chinatown so street parking is your best option. You can park in the paid lot on Maunakea Street which is around the corner but that payment machine doesn't give change so don't pay with large bills.

1145 Maunakea St
Ste 4
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 536-4929

Hurricane Popcorn

Li Hing Mango

Avocado

Izakaya Torae Torae - CLOSED

They are located at the corner of Young and McCully Street. It's izakaya style and they have a lot of delicious food items on the menu. Their fish is very fresh and the chef at the sushi bar can oversee the whole place. I sat at the sushi bar and the chef would check from time to time to make sure everyone was doing okay. My favorites were the chu-toro, o-toro, ahi tataki, snow crab croquette, pork belly kakuni, and dashi tamago. The dashi tamago is not on the menu and you have to request for it when you make your reservation. It is not guaranteed that you'll get it because Chef Hide makes it himself and if it's a busy night, he will not be able to step away from the sushi bar.

The quality of their ingredients are excellent and the prices are very reasonable compared to other sushi places on the island. They opened a few weeks ago so it's BYOB. If you plan to have dinner here, I recommend making a reservation. They are limited on parking spaces so car pooling might be a good idea.

1111 McCully St
Honolulu, HI 96826
(808) 949-5959

Chu-toro

O-toro

Spicy Ahi Tartare

Ahi Tataki

Snow Crab & Corn Cream Croquette

Vegetable Tempura

Pork Belly Kakuni

White Dragon Roll

Dashimaki Tamago

Otto Cake

They used to be located in Chinatown but they are now in Kaimuki. The owner, Otto, bakes up all different flavors of cheesecakes daily. Their flavors will usually get posted on twitter or instagram. The cheesecake slices are $5 each and they're kept at the perfect temperature so you can eat it right away. They even have tables and chairs inside for you to eat on. Some of the flavors are very interesting such as bacon and maple or root beer float. I recommend trying some of those out of the ordinary flavors because some of them work.

They only accept cash. There is some street parking on 12th Ave or you can park inside the paid lot with all the restaurants. If you plan to order a whole cheesecake from them for a special occasion, you need to order anywhere from 2-3 months in advance. It is probably best to go there in person to place the order.

For more information about Otto Cake, visit www.ottocake.com.

1127 12th Ave
Honolulu, HI 96816
(808) 834-6886

Almond Cookie

Green Tea

Mint Chocolate Chip

Orange Chocolate Chip

Rootbeer Float

Lehua Blossom Honey