Waikiki eatery serves tasty pizza with a slice of sunset

Flour & Barley, the new brick-oven pizza eatery at the newly renovated International Market Place in Waikiki, offers decent pau hana specials, a cool setting and a partial sunset view.

Pizza places proliferate throughout Honolulu, but Flour & Barley offers a setting like no other pizza place in town. The Waikiki location is the chain’s third, in addition to Las Vegas and San Diego. It opened in December just before the holidays.

If you haven’t been to the new Market Place, you’ll be happy to learn that it now offers a spacious parking lot you can enter off Kuhio Avenue, but other than an original banyan tree, it has none of the cluttered charm of the old place. Some might feel nostalgic for that, but some may also be impressed with the sleek and clean new shopping center.

The experience

There is a bit of a wow factor as you enter this pizza eatery, which is on the Grand Lanai. The black exterior feels surprising and stands out in tropical Waikiki. One enters via a multicolored, curved wood wall.

The best seats in the house are along the window fronting Kalakaua Avenue where you will get a peek at the sunset over the ocean between hotels.

I give Flour & Barley credit for quality service from beginning to end. Service was professional and prompt. There’s a generous bar, a contemporary island-style-meets-nautical vibe, neon signs that say “aloha” (look up at the entrance to the restroom) and windows that open up completely to the outside. Parking was plentiful in the garage on a recent Friday afternoon. The first hour is free with validated parking, followed by $2 for the second hour and another $2 for a third.

The food

Pau hana specials are limited to a few menu items, including calamari, chicken wings and two styles of pizza: the Margherita Pizza, a classic combination of San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil; and a Big Apple Pizza topped with pepperoni and mozzarella. During happy hour both pizzas are $10, a $6 discount from the regular price.

Other combinations of pizza on the regular menu range from $17 to $20. The crust is light and airy, and will leave you with the satisfaction of having had pizza without that heavy, greasy feeling.

The chicken wings ($8, regular $14) will leave your fingers orange with a thick chili glaze; they’re made to be dipped in a Gorgonzola dressing.

For those seeking healthy choices, there’s also an arugula and kale salad on the menu at $8.

The drink

While there are a number of handcrafted cocktails to choose from, and my Mango Grog ($10; $13 regular) was just fine, I realized in retrospect that a simple glass of wine ($5) or draft beer ($5) would have been the best combination for the pizza and a better deal. If you’ve got at least a party of four, a pitcher makes sense ($20). A pitcher of sangria is also available for $25.

The verdict

There are plenty of other pizzerias in Honolulu to choose from, and I would probably go for a hole in the wall if getting a good pizza was my sole goal. But the spacious setting, opportunity to get a glimpse of the sunset and overall experience would bring me back here to revisit Waikiki with a group of good friends.