Two Tides Bar is the bar at the Whole Foods Market Queen location at Ward Villages, the largest of the Whole Foods Market locations in Hawaii.
Combining a dining area and shopping center isn’t that unusual, but the addition of a bar is less common. With Whole Foods becoming a toney trendsetter on the grocery front, though, it’s not an unwelcome feature, and the Kahala and Kailua locations of Whole Foods also offer the option.
Whether you want to visit for ready-to-eat food and drink after a hard day’s work, or take a break after shopping, Two Tides is convenient, with the Ward location’s expansive parking garage and plenty of seating.
THE EXPERIENCE
Two Tides Bar is an airy, spacious locale. The name refers to high tide and low tide, and alludes to the upper and lower levels of the bar, which has outposts on the first and second levels.
Combined, it’s a large area. If you’re planning to meet someone there, be sure to specify which floor you’ll be on.
Low Tide, the more spacious of the two levels, is located on the same floor as the grocery area. The grocery store and bar are separated only by a head-high barrier, so noise from the grocery area, which is huge and invariably bustling with shoppers, wafts into the bar, and can make it seem busy and hectic, even during happy hour.
The decor is modern industrial tech, with seats around a large central bar, a few tables and flat screens scattered nearby, and a lounge area by the window.
There are some chairs and tables on the outdoor patio, but alcohol is not allowed there since it is open to the street.
High Tide, accessible via a stairwell from Low Tide, is by contrast smaller and perhaps more intimate — though on the day of my visit, a basketball playoff game was being broadcast and so the atmosphere was excited. (This area has the largest flatscreen of the two bars, so if you like your sports big, this is the place to be.)
The decor is equally chic as downstairs, but one nice thing is that there is an lanai area, accessible only through the bar. Alcohol is allowed on this lanai, which makes for a peaceful place to nurse a drink and have a nice conversation.
THE FOOD
A full menu is offered at Low Tide, whereas you’ll first see a bar menu upstairs.
We found the offerings to be fresh, inventive and substantial, so bring a friend or an appetite.
Happy hour options offered included tangy chicken wings or rich, filling kalua pork tacos (both $9, regularly $11).
The Mushroom Harvest Bowl ($12, regularly $14) a large bowl containing a porcini mushroom cutlet, was nicely deep-fried with a crispy crust and a flavorful chimichurri sauce. It came with a large serving of mushrooms and kale, along with cucumbers that had been somehow cut into long (really long!) noodles and sauteed. The only problem with this dish was that the noodles were so long that they wound up dragging on the table, even as you tried to stuff one of them into your mouth.
I also enjoyed the Baja Fish Tacos ($10, regularly $12), which that day featured deep-fried monchong, served with cabbage, avocado crema and pico de gallo on corn tortillas. I found the mixture of sauces especially pleasing, adding a subtle sweetness and tang to the dish, which also was quite filling.
The last dish I tried was one of the more unusual I’ve seen on a menu: cauliflower nachos ($8, regularly $10). Yes, it’s cauliflower, roasted, with pico de gallo, jalapeno, cilantro and avocado crema sauce. I’m not sure it quite qualified as nachos (too healthy?), but the combination of flavors and textures was enjoyable enough.
THE DRINK
Beverages are offered at a $2 discount on cocktails, draft beer and wine during happy hour. For beer, that would make the price of beer range from $2 to $8 during pau hana. Aficionadoes of local beers will find plenty to choose from, with brews available from Kona Brewing Co., Waikiki Brewing Co., Maui Brewing Co., Honolulu Beerworks, Lanikai Brewing Co. and Beer Lab Hawaii.
With so many options, it’s also nice that a beer flight is available, with four 3-ounce tastes of featured beers. I was impressed by the Paradise Ciders Guava Lava, which was a bit tangy; and Beer Lab’s Ko’Olaulea IPA, which had a rich and intriguing flavor.
Regular cocktails are priced at $10 during happy hour, regularly $12. There’s also a featured cocktail, created by Two Tides’ bartenders and changing from month to month, priced at $10 regular, $8 for happy hour. For my visit, it was Arnold’s Boozeberry Lemonade, a refreshing blend of vodka, lemon juice, ginger syrup, blueberries, mint and club soda.
THE VERDICT
Two Tides is a refreshing, mod place to stop for a drink and a snack. In keeping with the overall ethos of Whole Foods Market, an innovative company that got its start in Austin, Texas, and is now owned by Seattle’s Amazon it has an updated, techie feel.
The offerings seem health-oriented but are tasty and interesting.
Certainly the idea of stopping by for pau hana, then heading home with some fresh cheese seems like a nice idea, but given the size of Whole Foods Market in Kahala, I would suggest going through the market first, making a list of what you want, stopping by Two Tides for the snack, then going back to pick up your groceries.
If you snack first, then shop, you might find yourself wandering the voluminous grocery story for so long that you’ll get hungry again!
TWO TIDES
Whole Foods Queen, 388 Kamakee St.
379-1800, wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/queen
Happy Hour: 3-6 p.m. Monday-Friday
>> Kalua Pork Tacos, $9 (regularly $11)
>> Mary’s Chicken Wings, $9 (regularly $11)
>> Draft beer, wine and cocktails, $2 off
