The Lanai

This is one of my favorite food courts. There is a nice variety to choose from. I can come here to get pastries from Brug, or kimbap from Seoul Mix 2.0, or get a delicious bowl of ramen from Kamukura. I can even have a craft cocktail and catch a game at Agave & Vine. I like to try and get here early so that I can find a good parking spot and before it gets crowded especially during Christmas shopping season at Ala Moana.

The Lanai is a food court and my go to place for fresh baked pastries from Brug Bakery and musubis from Iyasume Musubi Cafe. There is free parking just outside of this food court. The Lanai is located on the Mall level of the Ala Moana Center. You can find The Lanai situated between La Palm D'or and Macy's store. There are many other food vendors here to satisfy your cravings. Mahaloha BurgerMusubi Cafe IyasumeDa Spot Honolulu Brug BakeryKamakura RamenManá Sándwiches Ahí and Vegetables HiTea CafeSeoul Mix 2.0And more. Seating areas are kept clean and there are many tables and counter seating available to use. Bathrooms are also located in The Lanai. Service here varies according to vendor and the busy lunch and dinner crowd.

My family ate at The Lanai 3 times for lunch/brunch. I believe The Lanai opens around 10:30. It's basically a little food court. It isn't a balcony, as the name may suggest. We tried bites from the musubi cafe, the dim sum bar, the Korean kitchen and the Japanese bakery. Every single thing was so good. The kimchi fried rice from the Korean kitchen was spicy and some of the most flavorful I've ever had. The Japanese bakery was utterly amazing, we got mochi donuts, matcha filled buns, and vanilla custard buns that were heavenly. Restrooms are easy to use here, clean and have a large changing table for baby needs. There is even an adorable airy and chic little bar here with drafts and cocktails. The only thing I noticed that might be frustrating here is the seating. There is mostly inside seating but there's maybe 1 or 2 dozen small tables outside too. On one of the mornings we went we were able to find a table to sit at, but on the other days it was very challenging and it was very crowded.

We had a mid afternoon snack and tried the Fruit Sandos at Mana Sandwiches in the upper foodcourt on the Lanai in the Ala Moana Mall.Mana Sandwich also featured a Strawberry "daifuku" which was a fresh mochi stuffed with red bean filling and a fresh and juicy strawberry. The mochi was extremely soft and pillowy and susted with confectioners sugar. The strawberry was ripe and bursting with sweet juice. This was a winner!The fruit sandwiches were also very good and inspire us to try making them at home with Japanese milk bread from our local asian grocery. Again, fresh soft bread filled with slightly sweet custard on one side and heavy whipped cream on the other, with the ripest, freshest fruit in between! A suprising, sweet treat!The place is very clean and service was quick.We only tried the har gao (shrimp dumpling) from YYK dimsum and it was suprisingly good for a "mall dimsum". The mall has other asian cusines represented. Too bad we had limited time and were rushing to other meal engagements elsewhere. But we had to try the Sando!I'm remorseful, I did not come back to load up on musubi from Musubi Cafe to bring as snacks on our flight home.The grill at the Tempanyaki Farmer is it's own open-air entertainment. I was mesmerized by the knife-work the cooks applied to steaks on the grill and would make a dinner visit there next time I'm in town!VIDEO:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN5w1ePwlCQ

I absolutely love this space! It's super comfortable with lots of tables both inside and out... and COLD A/C !!! It's a great place to meet up with friends for coffee, food and conversation. The place has a great welcoming/relaxing vibes. Especially when you see young families enjoying a meal or elderly couples sharing conversation over coffee and pastries. Lastly, as opposed to the Makai food court downstairs where it's super bright, here at Lanai, they keep it somewhat dimly lit which lends for a more relaxed ambiance. A wide array of food options from an artery clogging juicy bacon cheeseburger at Mahaloha Burgers to artery unclogging salmon sashimi at Ahi & Vegetables. In between, there are ramen noodles, pastries and bubble tea. One of my favorite dishes is the Salt and Pepper shrimp with brown rice from the Chinese food vendor Hitea Cafe. A dim sum place is slated to open soon. Can't wait for that! A sports bar Agave and Vine sits tucked in the corner with lots of big screen TVs continuously airing sporting events. My typical lunch routine is to grab an ice americano from the Starbucks next door then settle at a table for lunch. Every so often finding an open table can be challenging. Mostly during peak lunch hours between noon-1pm. See ya around!!

The Lanai is a food court located on the second level of Ala Moana Center with entrances from the Mauka and Diamond Head sides. I've patronized a few of the eateries since the five or six years that it has been open. Brug Bakery, Musubi Cafe Iyasume, Seoul 2.0, and Mahaloha Burger - before my conversion to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet. Today, I made an initial visit to Mana Sandwiches. I am not sure what was situated in their stall beforehand but they are a recent tenant though it may have been Da Spot, which still is open on University Ave.They have a ramen shop, Ramen Nakamura and a few other establishments to include a bar replete with TV monitors. Outdoor seating - it is called The Lanai - is available to complement the fair amount of indoor seating; from counters to tables. Peak hours are very busy, as to be expected. Nice modern decor...air-conditioning...and a fair amount of options which favor Asian or local cuisine.

This place seems like the food court but just a bit smaller in size BUT BUSY all the same. I'd say this place is a bit better for those who's looking for a hangout spot with TELEVISION. For instance... SPORTS! Lol!Haven't ate yet but I did order from Mahaloha burgers. Looks delicious... we'll see when I take it back to the hotel. I'm looking forward to trying that truffle fries & mushroom burger.I'll let you know on their review how the food was.

I really thought I had written a review. Guess not. The lanai is one of two food courts in the Ala Moana Shopping Center. It is located on the mall level right across Macy's on the mountain side of the center. My retirement peeps and I come here once a month to eat and talk story. The food court features Mahaloha Burger, HITea, Musubi Cafe,Teppanyaki Farmer, Kamukura Ramin, Ahi and Vegetables, Mana Sandwich and Brug. This food court has fewer vendors, but the noise level is low enough to have a conversation without yelling. Nice and clean. You always see someone cleaning up. Enjoy.

I like this food court, sometimes better than the makai food court when that one gets a bit overwhelming - crowded, noisy, stuffy and dirty. The Lanai food court has much less to offer, however if you're set to go to one spot then it's great. I tried almost everything here: the burger spot was decent. The Chinese place Hi-Tea served decent boba drinks and had really good Singaporean noodles. The new YYK dim sum was a disappointment. Lukewarm and soggy dim sum. Mana sandwiches is always one of my favorites; get their California avocado! Brug is of course always wonderful with delicious bread and pastries. Ahi and vegetable sometimes have really good toro nigiri. Their udon was pretty good too. Musubi Isayame had cheap musubis after 6 or 7pm. Snatch some if you come to this food court for dinner. That's about it!

Thank you to The Lanai for just being at a normal part of the mall!Small yet mighty this food court can be victimized for it's size but this newest addition does it's job of giving us a place to relax and take a breath from shopping, hangry moments or just adulting.So much seating both indoors and outdoors it does have a little bit of everything from Mahaloha Burger, Smooties and Chinese food at HiTea Cafe, fresh fish at Ahi & Vegetable, my favorite boneless kale bowl at Teppanyaki Farmer, yummy pastries at Brug, a drink to watch the game at Agave & Vine, or a healthy creating at Da Spot, bento heaven at Musubi Cafe or how about the newbies Kamukura Ramen and Mana Sandwiches.It's so nice to see that every space is finally occupied and the normalcy is back in place no names to be taken and we can seat ourselves. The decor is simple and bright with bathrooms just steps away this is my favorite place and when I broke my ankle the convenient 20 minute parking right outside with automatic doors sure help when you're on crutches.The staff here does a fantastic job keeping in nice and clean I only hope the hours get extended to stay open longer past 7pm so that we can get our cravings selfishly taken care of on my long work days.Thank you!