Side Street Inn — Restaurant in Honolulu

And joining my exclusive list of grindz...one of Oahu's iconic...Side Street!

Side Street isn't for everyone and it doesn't matter - it's everything that so many places are quickly not becoming - generous portions of good local style food that you can talk story over.

Side Street is on the makai side of Kapiolani, with parking in the building across the street or if you're lucky, on the street. They open at 4pm but if you plan on hitting peak hours, it's best to make a reservation.

The food is good - kimchee fried rice (yup, even if you don't think you'll like it), pork, all pupus, stir fry. The plates are generous and served family style, about a plate a person should do it for hearty eaters. Drinks are moderately priced with prizes some nights. I head over usually when I'm in the mood to eat 'till I'm stuffed - if there's one thing to recommend (since everything is ono), it'd be the kimchee friend rice - even though I don't like kimchee!

Side Street caters primarily to locals and is well known in the community. The service is good and everyone has always been friendly - checking in, "special" orders, and talking story a bit. While it's a pleasant atmosphere, it'll be nothing like my other top restaurants on my lists (and it's a good thing).

Hope you enjoy it! For those tourists who might hesitate to venture outside of Waikiki, a second Side Street is looking to open...

Oooooh this place is it!!! So first off, have to commend the staff on friendliness and service. Making reservations was super easy via email as they were respondent and friendly. Even mentioned it was to celebrate my birthday, and they had the live singer sing to me!! Our server was knowledgeable about the menu and gave us great recommendations. We ordered: sautéed mushrooms, garlic edamame, Kal bi chicken, the signature garlic chicken, and a side of white rice with furikake.

The apps were delicious, mushrooms had a great sherry and parmesan umami flavor and were plentiful, and edamame were also a huge portion with TONS of garlic. In fact while I'm at it, all the portions were HUGE. Kal bi chicken was okay, nothing that blew me away. Signature fried chicken though was sooooo good. Perfectly fried and crispy and had tons of flavor. The only negative was that it was slightly overly salty with the fish sauce marinade, but the white rice certainly helped to offset. I have tons of items I want to try next time (like the noodz). This is definitely a great place to dine family style with others.

The place can get pretty loud, especially with live music and during the dinner rush. There's cheap valet parking right outside, but also 2 garages right across the street. The upper one...

A few friends have suggested we had to try Side Street Inn when we visited Honolulu so we finally got around to it on our last trip. It was so good that we came back twice!

The location is a little out of the way. Feels like you're in an alley. Once you're inside the place has a kind of old-school, diner, family restaurant vibe. We came on a Sunday afternoon and the place was pretty full, mainly locals, so it had to be good!

All the food comes in large portions and is served family style. It was only me and my wife so I was sad we couldn't try more dishes. We ordered the farmer's salad, boneless Kalbi beef, and teriyaki chicken. I wanted to order more just because everything looked so yummy but the server said, "Oh no, dear. You're ordering way too much for just the two of you. Are you staying in a house or condo with a refrigerator?" I told her we were staying in a hotel with a bar fridge, so she stopped me. LOL!

The food is top notch! The Kalbi beef and teriyaki chicken were tender and very flavorful. We had the "lite" portion of the farmer's salad and it was huge and delicious!

This place is great! The food is excellent and I only wish we had more people with us so that we could share and try...