The Lei Stand

This is a very, very well decorated lei-stand-themed lounge/bar. The drink menu has many options for cocktails and mock-tails. Their drinks are creatively named with local references/sayings which I thought to be very fitting to the bars overall vibe. -wow lau lau, the lei stands version of an espresso martini, was strong and did not disappoint-the rub up on my belly is "zesty and refreshing" just as the menu advisedThey even serve food, but keep in mind the kitchen closes before the actual bar does.The service was immaculate. Make reservations and be on time, they have a 15 minute grace period. There's also a waiting list, but do make reservations if you have a seating preference (bar or table). We sat at the bar and the bartenders were so attentive. One even helped with "selfie lighting" when he saw we were struggling with the dimness of the bar :)There's also an area in the back of the bar that looks exactly like one of the Honolulu (Daniel k. Inouye) airport lei stand, be sure to take a picture or two

While it is dark inside, the decor is cute with signs and leis! There are a few tables and bar seating. Deeper into The Lei Stand, there is also the Dorothy's sign with a bunch of leis underneath. This is cute for a picture. We made a reservation and sat at the bar. There was a healthy amount of drink options and some food. We ordered the Wow Lau Lau and Petal Pusha. We also got a cheese board that came with different cheeses, bread, and jams. We liked the drinks! They were both sweet and came out pretty quickly. The cheese board was good and ended up being pretty filling.

Cute decor but this bar was a bit too rowdy for me and my friend the night we went. Lots of super drunk people and the crowd felt a bit young for us. Staff was not the nicest or most professional either. Cute decor but probably wouldn't visit again unless we were wanting to be in a rowdy overly drunk crowd for whatever reason.

Such a hidden gem. We went and had dinner and came here for our last drink. I've been wanting to try it out as soon as possible glad we did.Came on a Wednesday around 8:30. We sat at the bar which had comfy velvet chairs. Love that the outdoor area has a beautiful strand of leis. The decor is comfortable and inviting.Carl was helping us out and he was great! Very talkative and informative. My husband and I loved our drinks. If you like spice and citrus then you'll like the Ruff Ryder drink I got. It's right across from the theater a little inconspicuous as the front doesn't look like a bar. We will be back!

The Lei Stand is a cute trendy speakeasy in Chinatown. I like coming here with my girls or it's a good spot for a birthday celebration since they have leis that can purchased at the front (although on the pricier side).The whole place is cute and definitely great photo ops. I came here a couple times in the past and never had a bad experience. Food and drinks were pretty good and staff are pretty friendly and attentive.On my recent visit, we celebrated my friend's birthday. I love how they were playing all the jams from back in our high schools.. almost as if they were reminding us how old we are lol. The bartender also gave us all a pineapple drink/shot? on the house in celebration of the birthday girl which I thought was really nice. Unfortunately my friend is allergic to pineapple but they were happy to give her a different drink.As for my cocktail, I ordered the Ruff Ryder which is a tequila based drink with Hawaiian chili and yuzu. It definitely had a nice kick to it and gave me a pretty good buzz since it was strong.We ordered a bunch of dishes/small plates to share. Their menu is pretty minimal and it's bar type food so don't expect to get really full off the food. The first two times I came here, I really enjoyed their food. For some reason this time around, a lot of the dishes were a disappointment. We ordered the smoked salmon dip with taro chips, chicken karaage, Ramona's cheezy bread, ceviche and the tsukune sandwich (which I've had before).The highlight was probably the taro chips lol. Not sure if they make it there but it was nice and crunchy and we kept nibbling on that through the night. The cheezy bread, basically like a Brazilian cheese bread, was nothing special and kind of hard. Not chewy like it should be. The tsukune sandwich was good but not like how I remember it to be. I was not a fan of the ceviche but I am not really into ceviches. And the chicken karaage was underwhelming.The prices here are not cheap and I wouldn't mind paying if the food was good. Our waitress (forgot her name) was fabulous and provided great service.Although the food went downhill I'd still come back here for the cute vibes and drinks!

The iconic Dorothy's photo opt. Came here for the photo opt of course. We made rsvp in advance, and was seated right away. I went twice so far, and both times the service was pretty good. They weren't slow which was nice. The mixed drinks here were a bit watery, but it was fine since we only ordered like one and the rest were shots so those weren't too watery. Anyway, prices are like $15-20 a mixed drink, so it is somewhat pricey for a night out. Chill vibes here. One night they had a dj which played some like EDM style music, then the other night there was just house music. It wasn't loud which we appreciate because we were able to chat with friends.There was one night though where my friend asked one of the guys to take our photo, and he was a bit rude. He straight up told my friend, "I'm so busy here! I don't have time to take your photos" he was very rude which was a turn off, and we ended up leaving because my friend was not happy.

Went on a Wednesday night and were able to walk in without a reservation because it was surprisingly slow during the holidays. I liked it better this way because it was less noisy and easier to converse. Everything was decorated for Xmas, Lei Stand style which was fun including a tree topped with a rubber chicken. A tribute to Aunty Maria Lani? We went for after dinner drinks which could have bought us a meal elsewhere for the same price. They were however, extremely well conceived and crafted. I often get lost in cocktail menus like theirs where everything looks so interesting. Our server recommended the Run Upon my Belly and Soup Soup again, but when I mentioned that I had enjoyed the Duke of Diamond last time she recommended the Master of Ceremonies which was a great match for me! It consists of Rittenhouse rye, Cynar, Suze, sweet vermouth, lemon oil. It comes with a beautiful block of ice topped with a bit of macadamia nut toffee on a lemon peel . It was "Bold and Boozy" in a very smooth palatable way. I loved the blend of flavors! My friend got the Manoa Honey & Mead which she loved. It was "sparkling" without being glittery and the notes of lilikoi and honey were just right, smooth and subtle. 5 stars for the drinks and fun photo op decorations. Minus 1 star for service which was knowledgeable and friendly but made us wait a long time for water and a spoon which was frustrating since they weren't even busy. Finally I stood up to ask the bartender myself.

Adult beverages in Downtown, Honolulu, Hawaii...The Lei Stand is a popular Speakeasy on Social Media. I was curious about this place, and luckily, CeCe from Northern California went with me! Locals are probably being cautious about visiting this area at nighttime... and rightly so...We arrived around 8pm and found free parking in the Loading Zone (yellow curb) on Bethel Street. I had called 5 times and messaged on Instagram once to ask about the dress code and get a reservation, but there was no response. That's ok on a Wednesday night because there was no line to get in. I'm quite sure that no reservations are taken. It's a walk-in only type of system. After our IDs were checked, we were shown to a high top table, but we couldn't be seated since the floor had to be swept around it. We liked the booth that we eventually got.Our server told us that the kitchen was closed. Shucks... the food photos looked good. Our server said that they did have Haupia Cream Puffs with chocolate ganache drizzle. We asked for the drizzle on the side to make a video of pouring, but it clumped up... lol!CeCe ordered the Prince Hanalei. It came in a tea cup with a token under the cup! The token was redeemable for a special gift! She placed the token in the prize machine and read the secret message... her gift was a tote bag! Ooh!I got the "Rub Up On My Belly" drink because it sounded fruity. Description: "Guava jelly infused Tito's, acid adjusted pineapple, FT lime & yuzu soda". The ice cube had a cool design on it, and the fresh flower topping was a nice touch!We really liked the ambiance! It's very Instagram-worthy! Make sure to walk all around and visit the restroom, too! (Hint)

Not at all a speaky-easy, but cool nonetheless. Went for a few drinks Friday night for my gf's bday. Cute female DJ played music way before her time but perfect for our generation. We were jam'n. I hadn't eaten so other than my double vodka drinks I ordered sliders, Salmon Dip, and Karaage Chicken. Food okay. Big old gristle piece got stuck in my teeth, but was tasty at least. Salmon Dip was dry dry dry...but nice smoky flavor and the taro chips were thick but good. The chicken wasn't anything special, but it wasn't bad either.Drinks seemed good and the token thing is cute. We got booted since apparently there was another reservation after us. We were spending money so i'm sure they could have stuck the next res somewhere else, but it's okay, we made our way to another bar. I'd go back ...maybe jus cruise at the bar and pupu after work...

One of my favorite bars! Not that I go to bars all the time... but this place has almost everything checked off on my list. Their food was surprisingly good, and their drinks were delicious too! Service was very friendly and attentive especially if you sit at the bar. We sampled quite a bit of different appetizers and we got a meal out of it actually. Our favorite was the salmon dip. It wasn't the kind I was used to with lots of mayo and sauce, so when it was first served I was a bit hesitant. It looked like some very densely packed salmon in a bowl. But man we were wrong! It's the best salmon dip we've ever had!We also went on to try other apps like the ahi tuna dip, oyster Rockefeller, sliders, coconut ceviche. Our second fav was the oysters. The ceviche was overwhelmed by the coconut. It's like ceviche tomkha soup. It could be good but I think the balance was a bit off. The ahi tuna dip was good too but not as good as the salmon. The sliders meat tasted fresh and juicy but at that point I think we ate a lot already and didn't enjoy the rest of the food as much lol. The drinks - definitely try the soup soup. Their acid adjusted pineapple juice gave it a very good umami aftertaste to the drink. It's interesting, weird but good. Must try. Their mojito was a bit too sweet for me. Their pandan drink was pretty refreshing!I thought there would be live music that Saturday night we went but it was just music played over the speakers. If there was live music it would be a solid 5 stars. Right now it's 4.5 stars rounding it up to a 5.