Since 1969, restaurant, hotel, travel & other witty reviews by a handpicked, worldwide team of discerning professionals—and your views, too.

John Dominis

43 Ahui St. (Ala Moana Blvd.) Send to Phone
HonoluluOahu HI 96813
808-523-0955
Dig into chef Jean-Pierre Maharibatcha's nicely prepared seafood

Cuisine

Open

Dinner nightly, Brunch Sun.

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Wine

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Opened in 1979, John Dominis was Honolulu’s premier seafood restaurant in those pre-Roy Yamaguchi days. The landmark spot hanging over Kewalo Basin has gone through highs and lows since then, although it continues to pack in the visitors. Japanese tourists especially rave. Chef Jean-Pierre Maharibatcha, formerly chef de cuisine at Orchids, has brought the kitchen up to snuff again. Of Vietnamese, French and Indian heritage, the French-trained chef makes sure the kitchen cooks its stunning array of seafood right, if the preparations are standard. You just can’t go wrong with locally caught opakapaka or mahi mahi done in one of five ways, perhaps simply flame-broiled with a citrus-mango sauce. It’s pricey, yes, but rooms with a view always are---here you get a panoramic view of Waikiki, Diamond Head, and the wide open Pacific Ocean. To get there, you navigate through a dark alley by the fish auction house. Once inside, you wind your way through forests of hanging plants and indoor streams running with local lobsters and various finned critters, as well as stunning displays of fish on ice. John Dominis is a special-occasion seafood spot where service is friendly and solicitous, the room animated and the fish as fresh as it gets.

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