1938 Indochine

1938 Indochine is in Honolulu.

Kaka‘ako has plenty of places that look designed for a night out; the restaurant is more convincing when treated less as a backdrop and more as a whiskey, cigar, and Southeast Asia-inspired dining stop. Book it when the room matters as much as the food and drink: vintage motorbikes above a marble bar, red silk curtains, wooden tables, banquettes, water features, and a two-story layout give it a stronger sense of occasion than a standard cocktail-and-small-plates plan.

Choose it for whiskey, cigars, and a visually dialed-in room

The clearest reason to come is the drinking program. The venue claims the largest whiskey selection in Kaka‘ako, including exclusive signature house collections made through industry collaborations. That makes it a better fit for someone who wants to spend time with the back bar than for someone simply looking for a quick pre-dinner drink.

The cigar angle is also central, not incidental. Several humidors carry classic cigars, including labels such as Padron, Drew Estate/The Rebirth of Cigars Deadwood Series, and My Father, with some offerings exclusive to Hawaii. After 9 p.m. select outdoor lanai tables are set aside for guests who want an after-dinner smoke, so the later slot is the smarter call for that part of the experience.

The kitchen is a supporting reason to book, not the whole argument

Food direction is Southeast Asia-inspired, with chefs drawing from street-style vendor cooking rather than a formal tasting-menu format. That matters for expectation setting: come for a layered night out with drinks, setting, and shareable food energy, not for a chef-driven fine-dining meal.

For larger plans, the scale helps. The two-story, 6,200-square-foot space lists capacity for 213 people, split between 128 indoors and 85 outdoors, with full buyout potential. That makes it unusually useful for a dressed-up gathering where atmosphere, whiskey depth, and late-evening lanai cigars are the point.