Todai, 1910 Ala Moana Blvd. (tel. 808/947-1000), part of a string of Japanese seafood buffet restaurants with locations ranging from Dallas to Portland to Beverly Center, is packing 'em in at the gateway to Waikiki with bountiful tables of sushi (40 kinds), hot seafood entrees (tempura, calamari, fresh fish, gyoza, king crab legs, teppanyaki), and delectable desserts. It's not big on ambience, but the food is terrific, the selection impressive, the operation as smooth as the green tea cake, and the prices eye-popping: lunch is $15 weekdays and $18 on weekends; dinner is $28 weekdays and $29 on weekends.
Ala Moana Center's third floor is a mecca for dining and schmoozing. The open-air Mai Tai Bar (no phone) is a popular watering hole. Next door are the boisterous Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (tel. 808/949-4867) and the California Pizza Kitchen (tel. 808/941-7715; although on our last visit it was surprisingly dirty), which also maintains branches in Waikiki at 2284 Kalakaua Ave., next door to the Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel (tel. 808/924-2000); Kahala Mall, 4211 Waialae Ave. (tel. 808/737-9446); and Pearlridge, 98-1005 Moanalua Rd. (tel. 808/487-7741).
L&L Drive-Inn is a plate-lunch bonanza, with 45 locations in Hawaii (36 on Oahu alone). Zippy's Restaurants, the maestros of quick meals, offer a surprisingly good selection of fresh seafood, saimin, chili, and local fare, plus the wholesome, low-fat, vegetarian "Shintani Cuisine" (based on the dietary principles of Hawaiian doctor Terry Shintani). Every restaurant (21 of them on Oahu at last count) offers a daily Shintani special, and some locations (Kahala, Vineyard, Pearlridge, Kapolei, Waipio) sell cold Shintani items in 2-pound portions to take home and heat up.
It's hard to spend more than $10 for the French and Vietnamese specials at the Ba-le Sandwich Shops: pho, croissants as good as the espresso, and wonderful taro/tapioca desserts. Among Ba-le's 20 locations are those at Ala Moana Center (tel. 808/944-4752) and 333 Ward Ave. (tel. 808/591-0935). For smoothies, head to Jamba Juice, with 11 locations in and around Honolulu at last count, including Kahala Mall (tel. 808/734-7988) and Ward Gateway (tel. 808/593-2043). The ubiquitous Boston's North End Pizza Bakery chain claims an enthusiastic following with its reasonable prices and generous toppings. Boston's can be found in Kaimuki, Kaneohe, and Makakilo.
For Italian food, Buca di Beppo (tel. 808/591-0880) is in the Ward Entertainment Center, 1030 Auahi St. Heaping plates of Italian food served family-style make this place quite popular, along with the reasonable prices. Reservations are a must.
In Waikiki the local Hard Rock Cafe is at 1837 Kapiolani Blvd. (tel. 808/955-7383). At the Ala Moana end of Waikiki, Outback Steakhouse, 1765 Ala Moana Blvd. (tel. 808/951-6274), serves great steaks to an always-full house. In downtown's Restaurant Row, beef eaters can chow down at swanky Ruth's Chris Steak House, 500 Ala Moana Blvd. (tel. 808/599-3860).
