RFK Rankings · Honolulu
Best Rooftop Restaurants in Honolulu 2026
Rooftop · Honolulu · 6 tables ranked · Updated June 2026
Compiled by the Restaurants for Kings editorial team · Published June 14, 2026 · Updated June 14, 2026
Nineteen floors is the number every Waikiki rooftop list leads with, the height of SKY, the consensus champion. But altitude is the most overrated thing about a rooftop dinner. The best rooftop table in Honolulu sits far lower, on the open-air lanais where the trade winds, the Diamond Head light and a real kitchen do the work a view alone cannot. Buho, the city's first rooftop restaurant, proves it: chef-driven Mexican food at honest prices, with a Friday fireworks view thrown in. These six Waikiki rooftops are ranked on what reaches the table, not how far above the street it arrives, because a good rooftop is a restaurant first and a viewpoint second.
1.Buho Cocina y Cantina
Honolulu's first rooftop restaurant, chef Arturo Silva's tacos near $13 and a Friday fireworks view; the value champion. Book it.
Buho sits on the roof of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza on Kalakaua Avenue, billed as Honolulu's first rooftop restaurant, where chef Arturo Silva runs a kitchen whose motto is "refined, not re-fried." The carne asada tacos land around $12.95 and happy-hour tacos drop to $2, which makes it the value play on this list against the $50 steaks at the high bars nearby. For a rooftop it does the rare thing of putting the food on par with the setting, and the open deck catches the Friday Hilton fireworks straight on. Time a Friday reservation for around 7:45 p.m., ask for a rail seat on the Kalakaua side, and let the show start the night.
Book on OpenTable; request a Friday rail seat.
2.SKY Waikiki
The 19th-floor raw bar, sashimi from $43 and a 2026 dry-aged steak menu; height plus a real kitchen. Ride up early.
SKY Waikiki occupies the 19th floor of the Waikiki Business Plaza, the highest open-air terrace in the neighborhood and the one every list crowns first. It earns the placement on food more than height: sashimi runs $43 to $68, Japanese oysters are $8 each, and a 2026 relaunch added 28-day dry-aged Black Angus steaks from $55. The raw bar is the reason to come, sourced for quality rather than spectacle. Late evening it tips toward a club, so the move is the early seating. Arrive by 5 p.m. for the daily happy hour, work the raw bar and oysters, and leave before the DJ takes over and the room stops being a restaurant.
Reserve on OpenTable; take the early seating.
3.DECK.
Diamond Head from the third-floor lanai, a $23 loco moco and all-day brunch; the easy daytime pick. Come for breakfast.
DECK. runs along an 8,000-square-foot third-floor lanai at the Queen Kapiolani Hotel on the Diamond Head end of Waikiki, looking straight at the crater and Kapiolani Park. It came with the hotel's renovation completed in 2018 and leans into daytime: the Paniolo loco moco is $23, the braised-beef version $25, and the kitchen turns out French toast and acai bowls before the lunch crowd. This is the rooftop for a long, unhurried breakfast rather than a late night, with the best Diamond Head sightline of any deck on the list. Book the 9 a.m. brunch on a weekend, ask for a table on the park rail, and let the morning trade winds do the rest.
Book on OpenTable; ask for a park-rail table.
4.Tiki's Grill & Bar
Second-floor Kalakaua lanai, $30 guava ribs and a 1944 Mai Tai since 2002; the dependable crowd-pleaser. Bring visitors.
Tiki's Grill & Bar has held its second-floor open-air lanai at the property now branded The Twin Fin on Kalakaua Avenue since 2002, when three University of Hawaii friends opened it. The half-rack of baby back ribs in Tiki's guava barbecue sauce is $30, the raw 'ahi poke is $29, and the 1944-style Mai Tai is the order with the beachfront view and nightly Hawaiian music. It is not the highest or the newest, but it is the most reliable rooftop in Waikiki for a first-timer who wants the postcard without a gamble. Book the sunset hour, request a front-row table on the Kalakaua side, and plan around the live music set.
Reserve on the Tiki's site; book the sunset hour.
5.Maui Brewing Co. Waikiki
Thirty-six taps over the Beachcomber, mac-nut mahi mahi and a $54 filet; the beer-first rooftop. Grab a taproom table.
Maui Brewing Co. opened its first Oahu brewpub on the rooftop level of the Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber in January 2017, and at 36 taps it bills itself as the largest bar in Waikiki. The food holds its own against the beer list: a macadamia-nut-crusted local mahi mahi with Okinawan sweet potato, and a filet mignon at $54 for the bigger appetite. It is the rooftop for a group that cares more about a cold flight and an open-air table than a tasting-menu hush, with island-brewed lagers you cannot get on the mainland. Go for an early-evening table before the after-work crowd fills the taproom, and order a flight to map the lineup.
Book on OpenTable; arrive before the after-work rush.
6.Tommy Bahama Restaurant & Bar
Sand-floor third-floor lanai off Beach Walk, $21 coconut shrimp and fire pits; the barefoot option. Settle in.
The Tommy Bahama flagship on Beach Walk stacks three levels, with a third-floor open-air lanai built on a real sand floor, fire pits and live music after 5 p.m. The World Famous Coconut Shrimp is $21 with papaya-mango chutney, the macadamia goat cheese dip is $18, and the kitchen runs a steady island-American menu that suits a slow evening more than a destination dinner. It is the most relaxed rooftop on the list, the one for kicking off your shoes near a fire pit with a cocktail. Skip the busy ground-floor bar, head straight up to the lanai, and take the 5-to-8 p.m. window for the live music and the last of the light.
Reserve on OpenTable; go straight up to the lanai.
Avoid for a rooftop dinner
Right rooftop, wrong meal
SWELL at 'Alohilani. The fifth-floor pool deck has a genuine ocean view over Waikiki Beach, but it works as a poolside resort bar with lighter fare, not a dinner destination. Come for a cocktail by the saltwater infinity pool in the afternoon, and book your actual rooftop meal somewhere with a full kitchen.
Great vibe, go for drinks
Hideout at The Laylow. The rooftop lounge above Kuhio Avenue is one of the better-looking rooms in Waikiki and the seared kampachi on crispy rice is a real dish, but it runs as a scene with above-average prices and a short menu. Go for the cocktails and the atmosphere; for a serious rooftop dinner, the picks above feed you better for the money. (And do not go looking for the old Top of Waikiki revolving restaurant in the same district; it closed during the pandemic and has not reopened.)
Reservation strategy for Honolulu rooftops
Waikiki rooftops book on OpenTable for the most part, and the lead time that matters is the sunset window and Friday nights. Buho's Friday rail seats and SKY's early raw-bar tables go first, so reserve three to five days out and ask for the specific rail or window when you book rather than on arrival. The Hilton Hawaiian Village fireworks fire around 7:45 p.m. on Fridays, which is the single best timing trick on the island; any deck facing west, Buho and Tiki's especially, turns that into the centerpiece of the night.
Go early for the open-air lanais. The trade winds and the Diamond Head light are strongest in the late afternoon, the rooms are at their best before the bar crowds arrive, and venues like SKY shift from restaurant to club later in the evening. Take the first or second seating, request a table on the rail rather than the service line, and if you want a quieter meal, weeknights beat weekends across the board. For a fuller picture of the city, browse the Honolulu dining guide before you book.
Frequently asked
What is the best rooftop restaurant in Honolulu?
Buho Cocina y Cantina is our top pick. Billed as Honolulu's first rooftop restaurant, the room on the Waikiki Shopping Plaza roof pairs chef Arturo Silva's Mexican kitchen with honest prices, carne asada tacos around $12.95, and a clear sightline to the Friday fireworks. It puts the food on par with the view, which is exactly what separates a rooftop restaurant from a rooftop bar. Book a Friday table and ask for a rail seat on the Kalakaua side.
Which Honolulu rooftop has the best view?
SKY Waikiki has the highest open-air view, 19 floors up at the Waikiki Business Plaza, and DECK. has the best Diamond Head sightline from its third-floor lanai at the Queen Kapiolani Hotel. SKY is the dramatic skyline option and DECK is the daytime one looking at the crater and Kapiolani Park. For a beachfront-level view with live music, Tiki's Grill & Bar on Kalakaua is the dependable third choice.
How much does a rooftop dinner in Waikiki cost?
Plan on roughly $40 to $90 a head before drinks, depending on the room. Buho is the gentlest, with tacos around $12.95 and $2 happy-hour tacos. Tiki's runs near $30 for guava ribs and $29 for poke. SKY is the splurge, with sashimi at $43 to $68 and dry-aged steaks from $55, while Maui Brewing's filet is $54. Cocktails add the most, so set the room by appetite rather than by altitude.
Where can I watch the Friday fireworks from a Waikiki rooftop?
Any west-facing open-air deck catches the Hilton Hawaiian Village fireworks, which start around 7:45 p.m. on Fridays. Buho on the Waikiki Shopping Plaza roof and Tiki's second-floor lanai on Kalakaua both line up well. Reserve a Friday table a few days ahead, ask specifically for a rail seat facing the water, and aim to be seated by 7:30 p.m. so you are not scrambling when the show begins.
Are Waikiki rooftops better for lunch or dinner?
It depends on the room. DECK. at the Queen Kapiolani Hotel is the daytime champion, built for a long weekend brunch with the best Diamond Head view and dishes like the $23 loco moco. For dinner and a sunset, Buho, SKY and Tiki's are stronger. The general rule on the open-air lanais is to go early, since the trade winds and light peak in the late afternoon and several rooms turn into bars after dark.
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Browse the full Honolulu dining guide, compare the best rooftop kitchens worldwide, see every rooftop table worldwide, open the full RFK rankings index, or for a view at sea level try Roy's Waikiki.
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