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The 6 Best Bars in Honolulu

Honolulu drinks well beyond the beachside mai tai, and its menus lean on island flavors: Kō Hana Hawaiian agricole rum, lilikoi, kiawe smoke and Hawaiian chili. The best bars in Honolulu sit downtown, in Chinatown and around Ala Moana. Downtown, Bar Leather Apron won the 2023 James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar and is No. 81 on the 51-100 list of North America's 50 Best Bars 2026; co-founder Justin Park's E Ho'o Pau Mai Tai won World's Best Mai Tai in 2015. Podmore on Merchant Street pairs aloha spirit with British sensibility in emerald green booths. In Chinatown, the owners of a haunted house attraction run Skull & Crown Trading Co., where the Dagger Mai Tai recipe stays secret, and EP Bar plays vinyl with Japanese whiskey highballs. Around Ala Moana, Eleven hides in a corner of Foodland Farms with over 90 whiskeys, and Pint + Jigger runs a beer garden in the Ala Moana Hotel. Bar Leather Apron recommends reservations. These are the six we would start with.

Browse every Honolulu barBest cocktail bars in Honolulu
  1. Bar Leather Apron
    NORTH AMERICA'S 50 BESTCocktail Bar

    Bar Leather Apron

    A cocktail bar on the mezzanine level of the TOPA Financial Center lobby in downtown Honolulu, open since 2015. It operates Wednesday through Saturday evenings and takes reservations via OpenTable. The bar holds No. 81 on the North America's 50 Best Bars 51-100 list in 2026.

    745 Fort Street Mall, Suite 127, HI 96813Wed-Sat 5pm-12am
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  2. Pint + Jigger
    Whiskey Bar

    Pint + Jigger

    Pint + Jigger is a neighborhood bar on the lobby level of the Ala Moana Hotel in Honolulu, built around whiskey, handcrafted cocktails and craft beer. The drinks are led by Dave Newman, whose program brought sous vide and barrel aged cocktails to the bar, and the kitchen serves elevated pub fare. A rotating tap list takes in craft beer, cider and mead.

    Ala Moana Hotel, 410 Atkinson Drive, Suite 1F4, Honolulu, HI 96814Sun-Thu 4:30pm-12am, Fri-Sat 4:30pm-2am
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  3. Eleven
    Cocktail Bar

    Eleven

    Eleven is a cocktail bar tucked into a corner of Foodland Farms Ala Moana in Honolulu. Its cocktails are made by hand with premium spirits and house made bitters, aiming for simple execution and complex flavor, and the list runs to more than 90 whiskeys. Small plates, bar snacks and cocktail inspired desserts come from the kitchen, with brunch at weekends.

    Foodland Farms Ala Moana, 1450 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, HI 96814Wed-Thu 5pm-11pm, Fri-Sat 4:30pm-12am, Sun 5pm-11pm, Mon-Tue closed
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  4. EP Bar
    Cocktail Bar

    EP Bar

    EP Bar, short for Extended Play, is a highball and vinyl bar on Nuuanu Avenue in Honolulu, entered from the Pauahi Street side. The menu opens with highballs built on Japanese whisky, shochu and house infusions, then moves to house cocktails such as a black sesame rye Manhattan and a rum drink with mango, clarified with coconut. Reservations are encouraged, and larger groups book by phone or email.

    1150 Nuuanu Ave Unit A, Honolulu, HI 96817Mon 6pm-11pm, Tue-Sat 5pm-11pm, Sun closed
    Full profile
  5. Podmore
    Cocktail Bar

    Podmore

    Podmore sits in the historic Joseph W. Podmore building at the corner of Merchant and Alakea Streets in downtown Honolulu. The husband and wife team behind Senia pair British comfort food from chef Anthony Rush with inventive house cocktails, made in house wherever possible, and half of the cocktail list now changes with the seasons. Guests are 21 and over after 7pm.

    202 Merchant St., Honolulu, HI 96813Tue 3:30pm-10pm, Wed-Thu 11am-10pm, Fri 11am-11pm, Sat 10am-11pm, Sun 9am-2pm, Mon closed
    Full profile
  1. Skull & Crown Trading Co.
    Tiki Bar

    Skull & Crown Trading Co.

    Skull & Crown Trading Co. is a tiki bar on North Hotel Street in the heart of Honolulu's historic Chinatown. Guests drink in a tiki room and a courtyard built around an atmosphere of mystery and enchantment, and tables can be booked through Resy.

    62 N. Hotel Street, Honolulu, HI 96817Tue-Sat 5pm-11pm, Sun-Mon closed
    Full profile

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These 6 are the starting point. The full BarMagazine directory covers every listed bar in Honolulu, with a map, filters by bar type, and new openings as we verify them.

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