Moani Waikiki Island Bistro & Bar

We walked in at 4:45 and was able to make a reservation for 10 people at 5:30. We were given the option for indoor or outdoor seating & chose to sit indoors because it was more convenient for my autistic son. The artist playing live music had did great covers to great songs! We ordered the watercress salad, Kalbi, whole fried fish, fried chicken, shrimp fried rice, calamari, prawns, taro rolls, & a side of fries. To drink we had the pickled mango margarita & lilikoi mule. My favorite dish was probably the fried fish. My least favorite was the calamari. They're the right texture but not the right calamari taste i expect. The mango margarita was amazing! The mule was good too.

The food was good and most of the servers were great. Our primary server, Ho'okele, however went out of his way to let our group know how much he hated "Americans." From ordering our food to serving it, he tried to make us feel bad at every turn. Seems funny that he works at a restaurant where tons of tourists come through and he acts like that. I actually would have loved to learn some history of the island and people in a constructive dialogue, but shaming people is not a productive way to do so.

It took 45 minutes for our order to arrive. The waitress said that they were "swamped", but there were at least 6 empty tables ready for customers.Also, having the waitress just verbally tell me the items ordered and the total (not giving me a printed, itemized bill)... and then stand next to me waiting to pay is extremely uncomfortable and an unacceptable practice.

Lovely restaurant. Another live singing on site. We ordered the Hunney Girl (malfy blood orange gin, yuzu and honey sour) and the Lilikoi Mule (absolut vodka, likikoi syrup, ginger beer and lime). We enjoyed both drinks. Great service. We didn't try any food though as we weren't hungry, maybe we'll try next time.

The kalbi I had was really good. Highly recommend. The service was good. The food took some time. The surprising part was how long the fried rice took. That was the last thing to come out and it was so very bland. Luckily we had some sauces around to give it some flavor. My sister enjoyed her salmon. The fried fish we were told was good for 2-3 people but it was barely enough for 1 person. This was our first actual meal after traveling all day for 16 hours so I think we were extra hungry. The location was beautiful. The weather was perfect. We sat on the patio on the 2nd floor with the perfect island breeze.

The good: service was great! It was a very busy day but the servers were attentive, quick, and friendly. The bad: the food was very salty and mediocre. They were out of the bao sliders, kimchee, and a few other dishes. We got the bacon truffle cheese fries, spam Mac and cheese, spicy fried chicken, pork chops, and mud pie. The mud pie was our favorite part of the meal. The cocktails were pretty good. My husband got the old fashioned and I got their special.

We heard this place had a live band so came here, but the band goes on at 6:30pm and we missed them. Apparently, it turns into a club/lounge with a DJ at night.Shrimp appetizer was amazing! Wow, so delicious.Bao Burgers was a nice take on the Vietnamese banh baos. I like it.The Loco Moco - I've had better, it was more like a steak than Hamburger meat and the gravy was too runny for my liking.

I've never wanted to review a place so bad. The manager/host was great but the server was something. My allergies are wheat gluten dairy and soy and since we weren't sure we were going to stay due to accommodation. ( sometimes restaurants can't) which is fine so I had some questions which is natural. Lo and behold I set Ho'okele off at the start. He started a rant about how I didn't do proper Hawaiian etiquette I don't even know Hawaiian lingo..Then into how us Americans stole land and went into racist comments particular about Asians. He should check that this is a Korean fusion place if you're anti Asian. He didn't know the menu that well or even soy stuff. Maybe people don't order off the menu? I got some kind of poke bowl but I'm not sure what was in it add some kimchi and voila it's great a little too much sesame oil. The person I was with got the pork belly and it was great. The carrot kimchi was great it tasted homemade. We sat outside but it was emptish never got full. Price was almost 50$ because we got rice and kimchi as a side.

Decent restaurant with unique tasting food, but questionable host attitude.We came here for a honeymoon for dinner and there weren't many other options open. We also wanted to visit the mall area where this restaurant sits. Right off the bat, we noticed the host was somewhat frustrated being there or didn't want to be there. Our waiter as pretty good.The food is pretty interesting as you can see from the pictures. We ended up taking about half back to the hotel. The drinks are ok, but seemed more watered down than anything. Overall, this place is ok, but somewhat on the expensive side. Highly recommend sharing an entree if you have someone that doesn't eat a lot.

Great food but even greater service! If you get the privilege of having Reyna as your server you know you'll have a good time!