A total of 10 restaurants will open in the new International Market Place, with the announcement of the 10th player pending. There will be other food-related shops as well. Here’s what we know about announced tenants and their menus.
>> Baku Japanese Robata Bar: Robata is a traditional form of cooking via grill; in this case, Baku offers wagyu rib-eye tomahawk-cut steak, chicken, duck, lamb, pork and seafood. Also on the menu: yakitori, tempura and sushi, including maki rolls made using “forbidden” black rice.
Another Baku restaurant is located in Charlotte, N.C. The Waikiki restaurant’s opening date has not been announced.
>> Herringbone: The restaurant by “Top Chef” contestant and “The Taste” mentor Brian Malarkey is slated to open in 2017, according to parent company Hakkasan Group. It is one of two concepts Malarkey has created under Hakkasan’s management. Herringbone’s menu emphasizes line-caught seafood and quality meats, and includes a dish called whole fish ceviche, served on a platter with fish head and tail at either end.
>> Goma Tei: This local ramen shop will open its doors at the marketplace in September with an expanded menu of American and Japanese-style breakfasts, said owner Ken Siu. The restaurant is already known for an extensive menu of non-ramen Japanese-style dishes such as chicken katsu curry rice and Chinese-influenced dishes like mapo tofu. The nearly 3,000 square-foot Waikiki Goma Tei will seat about 90 customers.
>> Kona Grill: The restaurant makes its Hawaii debut at the International Market Place likely in the first week of September. Its menu offers sushi, salads, burgers, pulled pork sliders featuring braised kalua pork, miso-sake sea bass and macadamia nut chicken, among many other items.
Though its moniker is local-
sounding, Kona Grill is an Arizona-based, publicly traded corporation that has more than
30 restaurants on the mainland. Under a recent rebranding, the company no longer uses descriptors such as Asian fusion, Asian-inspired, Polynesian or Pacific Rim in reference to its menu items, calling the menu instead a global menu of contemporary American favorites.
>> The Street: This food-hall concept is months away from opening. To be curated by Michael Mina and his team, The Street will feature 12 to 18 casual restaurants. Some tenants will be permanent, while others will offer rotating vendors, Mina said.
>> Yauatcha: A Michelin-
starred dim sum restaurant and teahouse, Yauatcha is designed to be a modern interpretation of a traditional Chinese teahouse. Besides the premium teas and dim sum, Yauatcha is known for its European-style patisserie items, including handmade macarons, chocolate and petit gateaux.
Like Herringbone, it is a Hakkasan restaurant concept, with locations in London, India and Houston.
>> Honolulu Cookie Co.
>> Godiva chocolates