Restaurant in Honolulu, United States
James Beard credentials, Chinatown hours worth knowing.
A 2022 James Beard Award winner on Honolulu's Hotel Street, Fête runs under chef Robynne Maii with New American cooking that has held a consistent Opinionated About Dining Casual North America ranking since 2023. The split schedule — daytime only Tuesday through Wednesday and Sunday, late evenings Thursday through Saturday — shapes everything. Book ahead for a Friday or Saturday dinner; walk-ins are a long shot.
Fête is not primarily a dinner restaurant that also does lunch. It runs daytime service five days a week and flips to an extended evening format only on Thursday through Saturday — a schedule that shapes the entire experience and is the first thing a first-timer gets wrong. If you are planning a Friday night out in Chinatown, Fête absolutely works. But if you are visiting mid-week and expecting a full dinner service, you will find the kitchen closed by 5 pm. Understand the hours before you book, and this becomes one of the most credentialed New American tables in Honolulu. Ignore them, and you will miss it entirely.
Chef Robynne Maii won the 2022 James Beard Award for Leading Chef: Northwest and Pacific, a credential that places Fête in rare company for a restaurant on Hotel Street. The James Beard recognition is not incidental — it is the clearest signal you have that the cooking here operates at a level most visitors do not expect from a Chinatown address. Fête has also appeared consecutively on Opinionated About Dining's Casual list for North America, ranked #411 in 2024 and climbing to #398 in 2025, with a Recommended citation in 2023. That three-year OAD presence confirms this is not a one-cycle story. The cooking has held up.
The schedule split matters more here than at most restaurants. Tuesday through Wednesday, and Sunday, Fête runs 9 am to 5 pm , which means you are dealing with a café and lunch format, not an evening dining room. Thursday extends to 11 pm; Friday and Saturday run to midnight. The physical space on Hotel Street is compact and Chinatown-casual in feel, which means the daytime experience and the late-night experience inhabit the same room but read very differently depending on when you arrive.
For the food-focused explorer, the Thursday-to-Saturday evening window is where the full range of the kitchen is most likely to be on display. Arriving at the 9 am to 5 pm window gives you access to the space and the cooking at a lower pressure point , useful for a solo visit or a more relaxed first introduction , but the late-night Friday and Saturday service is when Fête earns its reputation as a Chinatown destination rather than just a neighborhood café. Book for a Thursday or Friday evening if the full experience is what you are after. Show up for a Tuesday lunch if you want a quieter read of the place.
Booking is hard. A 2022 James Beard winner with a consistent OAD presence and a 4.6 rating across 1,433 Google reviews does not leave many open seats on short notice. Plan ahead, particularly for Thursday through Saturday evenings. Walk-in attempts during daytime hours are more realistic, especially early in the week, but do not count on it for a weekend dinner.
Fête is a strong call for food and wine travelers who want something with genuine culinary credentials rather than a hotel dining room or a tourist-facing beach restaurant. The Chinatown address on North Hotel Street puts it well outside the Waikiki orbit, which is either a selling point or a logistical note depending on where you are staying. For context, New American cooking at this award level in other cities , think Bayona in New Orleans or The Inn at Little Washington , tends to run at significant price points. Fête's price range is not confirmed in available data, but the casual OAD classification suggests the spend is below fine-dining benchmarks, which makes the James Beard pedigree here a particularly good value proposition.
Solo diners and couples will find the compact Chinatown format more comfortable than large groups. The venue does not carry confirmed seat counts or private dining details in available data, so groups larger than four should confirm arrangements directly before planning an occasion around it.
For a broader view of what Honolulu's restaurant scene offers, see our full Honolulu restaurants guide. If you are building a full trip, our Honolulu hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the city. Other Honolulu restaurants worth comparing on quality and approach include PAI Honolulu, Town, Podmore, and Mariposa.
Fête is at 2 N Hotel St in Honolulu's Chinatown. Tuesday through Wednesday and Sunday, hours run 9 am to 5 pm. Thursday extends to 11 pm. Friday and Saturday run to midnight. Monday is closed. No website or phone data is confirmed in available records, so check current booking channels directly. Reservations for evening service , particularly Friday and Saturday , should be secured well in advance. Daytime walk-ins mid-week carry better odds but are not guaranteed.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Fête | — | |
| Arancino at The Kahala | — | |
| Bar Maze | — | |
| Fujiyama Texas | — | |
| Ginza Bairin | — | |
| Helena Hawaiian Foods | — |
Comparing your options in Honolulu for this tier.
Specific menu items aren't documented in available data, but Fête runs New American cuisine under James Beard Award-winning chef Robynne Maii. Your best move is to ask the staff what's driving the current menu on the day you visit — at a James Beard-recognised kitchen, the daily focus is usually the right order.
Yes, Fête is a reasonable solo call, especially for the daytime window (Tuesday through Sunday, 9 am to 5 pm). A James Beard Award-winning restaurant in Honolulu's Chinatown at lunch format is a low-pressure, high-credibility way to eat well alone. Evening hours on Thursday through Saturday extend to 11 pm or midnight, which works if you want a longer solo dinner slot.
Bar seating specifics aren't documented for Fête, so confirm directly when you book or arrive at 2 N Hotel St. Given the Chinatown location and casual-leaning Opinionated About Dining ranking, bar or counter seating is plausible, but don't assume it without checking.
Dinner gives you more time — Thursday runs to 11 pm and Friday and Saturday to midnight, versus a 5 pm close on other days. If your schedule allows a Thursday through Saturday visit, the evening format is the better call for a full experience under a James Beard Award-winning chef. Lunch works well for travelers who want a credentials-backed meal without a late night.
Yes, with the right expectations. Chef Robynne Maii holds a 2022 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific, which is a real credential behind a special-occasion booking. Fête ranks as a casual venue on Opinionated About Dining rather than a formal fine-dining room, so if you need white-tablecloth ceremony, adjust expectations accordingly. For a food-focused celebration rather than a formal event, it earns the booking.
For a hotel-dining option with Italian focus, Arancino at The Kahala is a polished alternative. Bar Maze suits drinkers who want a bar-led experience over a chef-driven one. Ginza Bairin is the call if you want Japanese over New American. Helena Hawaiian Foods is the right move if you want local Hawaiian rather than contemporary cooking. None carry a James Beard Award, which is the clearest reason to choose Fête if culinary credentials matter to your booking decision.
Fête runs daytime hours (9 am to 5 pm) Tuesday through Wednesday and Sunday, with evening service only on Thursday through Saturday. First-timers who show up expecting dinner on a Tuesday will find the doors closed by 5 pm. The restaurant is at 2 N Hotel St in Honolulu's Chinatown — not a hotel dining room, not a beach-strip spot. Chef Robynne Maii's 2022 James Beard Award is the trust signal that separates Fête from the broader Honolulu casual dining pool.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
