Alan Wong's at The Kahala Hotel: Dinner and Brunch Changes

The Kahala Hotel & Resort spent the first half of 2026 changing its signature restaurant. By early fall, the change had reached Sunday mornings too. Hoku's served its last dinner on February 20 after 30 years. Alan Wong's opened to the public on April 8. Then, by late summer, the resort's own calendar was listing Sunday brunch at Plumeria Beach House, not in the room Alan Wong's took over.

Taken together, those moves divide the hotel. The formal room now runs as a five-night dinner restaurant built around a famous chef's back catalog. Brunch and the hotel's free weekly gatherings have moved out to the open-air terraces and the lawn.

How the Switch Happened

The resort first announced in October 2025 that Alan Wong's would replace Hoku's. The schedule that followed ran in stages, as reported by Aloha State Daily:

1. February 15: Hoku's served its last Sunday brunch.
2. February 20: Hoku's served its last dinner.
3. February 23: OpenTable reservations opened for Alan Wong's, for dining on or after April 8.
4. March 25: Alan Wong's began early service for guests who booked the resort's Legacy of Aloha package.
5. March 29: The resort's Sunday brunch came back with its menu unchanged.
6. April 8: Alan Wong's opened to the general public.

The Veranda, the lounge best known for afternoon tea, closed during the changeover and reopened with regular service once Alan Wong's opened. The same "Legacy of Aloha" program included a refresh of the guest rooms and suites, with new flooring and work by local collaborators.

What Came Back From King Street

The original Alan Wong's opened on King Street in April 1995. It closed for good in November 2020 after the pandemic had already forced a temporary shutdown. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that Wong turned in the keys on his 64th birthday and described the closure as a new chapter rather than the end of his restaurant work.

That new chapter took more than five years to arrive. In a February 2026 column in the Star-Advertiser, Wong wrote that the hotel asked him to bring back the King Street classics. His team revisited those dishes and refreshed some of the flavors, with training starting in what was still Hoku's kitchen. The people running the kitchen come from that same history. Chef de cuisine Spencer Yamanaka started as a cook at King Street and worked several stations there. Executive pastry chef Miya Nakashima was King Street's chef de cuisine, then a sous chef at Amasia, then a research-and-development chef working with Wong.

The opening menu read like a list of King Street's greatest hits. HONOLULU Magazine attended a hosted preview and wrote about the whole tomato salad, the Soup and Sandwich, Da Bag, ginger-crusted onaga, lamb chops and short ribs, and noted that more dishes were still coming, including a flight of local butters. At that April preview, prices ran from $14 for the tomato salad and $18 for the Soup and Sandwich up to $70 for the macadamia-nut, coconut and marrunga-crusted lamb chops. Those were opening prices, and the menu may have moved since. HAWAIʻI Magazine picked out the onaga, the kalbi-style short ribs and the tomato salad, and described a dining room with sweeping ocean views.

A Dining Room That Keeps Short Hours

Hoku's was a hotel restaurant with a long history. Alan Wong's arrived with an audience that had waited five years for it. HONOLULU Magazine reported at opening that reservations were already booked two months out.

The schedule keeps that demand concentrated. According to the resort's Alan Wong's page, dinner runs Tuesday through Saturday, 5:00 to 9:00 p.m., and the room is dark on Sunday and Monday nights. The dress code calls for evening resort wear, and dress shorts, aloha wear, shoes or dress sandals all qualify. Sleeveless T-shirts and athletic wear are not allowed, and children 12 and under are exempt. Reservations go through OpenTable or by phone at 808-739-8760.

The calendar is pushing the room the same way. On November 19, Alan Wong's hosts an Opus One four-course dinner at $975 plus tax and a 20 percent service charge. The resort's events page lists it among the season's dinners that take planning ahead.

Sunday Moved Outside

Brunch is where the split shows most clearly. Hoku's had its own Sunday brunch until mid-February. When the buffet returned on March 29, the resort sent it to the new restaurant, promoting it as "The Kahala's Signature Sunday Brunch" at Alan Wong's.

By late summer, the resort was listing a different version. Plumeria Beach House, the open-air, all-day restaurant at the edge of the sand, now advertises what it calls a "new Sunday Brunch Buffet," with a menu file dated August 30, 2026. The resort's calendar entry for November 8 still uses the "signature Sunday brunch" web address, but it now names Plumeria Beach House as the venue.

As of early October, the resort's own pages show both listings side by side:

The newer listing starts two hours later and costs $18 less per adult, both before tax and gratuity. The resort has not published anything explaining whether the Alan Wong's brunch continues alongside it. A call to the restaurant before booking will settle which Sunday version is running.

The Rest of the Week Happens Outdoors Too

Away from the dinner room, the resort's weekly calendar is mostly casual and often free. These are the current listings:

• Mondays: Pia Power Hours, a weekly restoration activity, with no price listed.
• Tuesday through Saturday: Lounge service and live music at The Veranda.
• Saturdays: Afternoon tea at The Veranda from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m., plus Protect & Preserve Hawaiʻi, a weekly volunteer program of community cleanups, hikes and conservation conversations with no price listed.
• Sundays: Brunch, as outlined above.

The dining events page, updated October 6, adds several one-off dates this fall. HMPS Hawaii's Leo Hone o Kahala: Lawakua runs October 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Cigars Under the Stars follows on October 22 from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., starting at $105. On October 31, the Howl-o-ween Yappy Hour fills Plumeria Ocean Grove and Kahala O Ke Kai from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. It costs $105 before tax and gratuity and is run with the Oʻahu SPCA and DogTown Bakery. Talk With Dolphin Quest returns to the Dolphin Quest Lagoon on December 14.

The spirits dinner with Drew Mayville at Kahala o ke Kai on October 14 is the one fall event priced like the Opus One night, at $608.85 plus tax, which includes a 23 percent service charge.

The Kamaʻāina Fine Print

The resort's kamaʻāina offer page was updated in August 2026. It advertises 20 percent off food and nonalcoholic drinks at Hoku's, Plumeria Beach House and The Veranda for diners who mention "Timeless Luxury." It also offers up to 40 percent off room rates and 50 percent off parking, with a Hawaiʻi resident ID required at check-in.

Hoku's closed six months before that update, and the page doesn't mention Alan Wong's. As written, the dining discount clearly covers the beachfront restaurant and the lounge. Whether it applies in the new signature room is something to ask the resort before dinner, not something to assume.

Up the Road, Kahala's Everyday Options Grew Too

Kahala Mall added its own casual openings this year. The Broth Bar Noodle House opened February 14 at 4618 Kīlauea Ave., Unit 6, in the former Domino's space, serving house-made ramen and other Japanese-style dishes. Waiwaolani, a Maui-based clothing shop, opened its first Oʻahu store on June 20 in the former Fighting Eel space on the mall's ground floor. Vince's Cafe, a 307-square-foot carry-out counter next to CorePower Yoga, serves bánh mì, vermicelli bowls, fresh rolls and coffee. The mall's calendar lists an evening shopping event on November 14, with check-in at Center Court, shopping until 7:45 p.m., and sips and bites at participating stores.

A neighborhood's anchor places say a lot about how it lives, and The Kahala has been one of Kahala's longest-standing anchors. If you're weighing what a home near Kahala Avenue offers day to day, from the dinner reservation that takes two months to land to the Saturday cleanup down the beach, Drew Read is glad to walk through it with you. Let's Connect.