Spend any amount of time walking around Waikiki and chances are you’ll find yourself passing through International Market Place. Set between Kalakaua and Kuhio avenues, right in the middle of Waikiki, it’s an easy walk from the beach and most nearby hotels.
At first glance, it looks like a polished open-air shopping center filled with stores and restaurants. But I’ve never really thought of it as just another mall. Step in from busy Kalakaua Avenue and the mood changes surprisingly quickly.
Large trees, tropical landscaping, open-air walkways and little streams soften the whole place. For a few moments, it feels less like you’re in the middle of Waikiki and more like you’ve wandered into a small tropical garden.
The Banyan Tree That Keeps a Piece of Old Waikiki Alive
If I had to pick one thing that gives International Market Place its character, it would be the enormous banyan tree at its center.
The tree was here long before today’s sleek shopping complex. When International Market Place was redeveloped, the banyan was preserved and the new property was designed around it, along with lush landscaping and open-air gathering spaces.
That’s a big reason the place doesn’t feel like a typical indoor mall. Instead of moving from store to store under fluorescent lights and air-conditioning, you can wander through the greenery, feel the trade winds, stop for coffee, browse a few shops and sit down for a meal without ever feeling completely indoors.
Anyone who remembers the old International Market Place may find today’s version almost unrecognizable. It used to be known for its maze of small shops and souvenir stands, with the feel of an old-fashioned Waikiki open-air market.
Today it’s far more polished, but I like that the old banyan tree is still right there in the middle of it all. In a small way, it keeps old Waikiki connected to the Waikiki we know today.
For Something Casual, Start on the First Floor
You don’t have to commit to a full restaurant meal every time you stop by. The first floor has a few easy, casual options, and it’s often where I head when I just want lunch, coffee or a quick break.
Kuhio Avenue Food Hall
Kuhio Avenue Food Hall is an easy choice when everyone in the group wants something different. There are several casual food options under one roof, and prices are generally more approachable than a full sit-down dinner in the middle of Waikiki. The atmosphere is nicer than your average food court, too. It’s a good stop for an uncomplicated lunch or a bite between the beach and shopping.
Kona Coffee Purveyors
If you like coffee, Kona Coffee Purveyors is one place I wouldn’t rush past. The coffee has that deep, distinctive Kona character, and it’s even better with one of the pastries.
I especially like grabbing a table facing Kuhio Avenue and watching Waikiki go by. Coffee, a pastry and twenty quiet minutes of people-watching can be surprisingly satisfying. Not every memorable part of a Hawaii vacation needs to be an activity.
I Probably Come Here to Eat More Than to Shop
When I want a proper meal, I head upstairs to the third-floor Grand Lanai. It’s one of my favorite parts of International Market Place.
These aren’t oceanfront restaurants, so don’t come expecting a sweeping Waikiki Beach view. But the Grand Lanai has its own appeal. The open-air layout, tropical greenery and terrace seating give it an easy, relaxed atmosphere that feels a little removed from the bustle of the streets below.
Late afternoon into evening is my favorite time to be here. It’s comfortable for a long dinner or a cocktail, and once the lights come on after sunset, the whole area takes on a warmer, more intimate feel.
What also makes the restaurant lineup interesting is that it isn’t simply a collection of generic tourist spots. Several names have deep roots in Hawaii, while others draw on local food traditions and the islands’ culinary history. Each has a little more personality than you might expect from restaurants inside a shopping center.
Liliha Bakery
A longtime local favorite in Hawaii. Picking up one of the famous Coco Puffs is worth doing, but I don’t really think of Liliha Bakery as just a place to buy pastries. To me it’s more of a local-style restaurant where breakfast or brunch is easy and comfortable.
Walk in and the bakery counter is the first thing you see, its cases full of pastries and desserts. Head further in and the dining room is bigger than you’d expect, with a very casual feel.
The menu covers a lot of ground, from familiar American breakfast plates to Hawaii local dishes, so it’s easy to order even when everyone in the group wants something different. The food is consistently good, and for somewhere in the middle of Waikiki, a modern, pleasant room at these prices makes it solid value for a meal.
Eating House 1849
A restaurant from Roy Yamaguchi, one of Hawaii’s best-known chefs. The kitchen draws on old Hawaii food culture, building its menu around local ingredients with an Asian sensibility.
What makes it interesting is where the ideas come from — Hawaii’s plantation era. Just as the food of the many cultures that settled here mixed together back then, the menu moves easily between Hawaiian, Asian and Portuguese influences. There’s plenty of range too, from local fish to meat dishes to paella, which makes it a good place to order several things and share.
It isn’t full formal fine dining, but it isn’t especially casual either, so it works when you want dinner to feel like an occasion without being stiff. You can take your time over the food with wine or a cocktail. It’s the one I’d suggest when you want a meal that feels like dinner in Hawaii.
STRIPSTEAK Waikiki
If you want something more special and more stylish, STRIPSTEAK Waikiki fits. It’s a modern steakhouse from Michael Mina, a chef with a global name, and it takes the traditional American steakhouse and adds Asian flavors and a contemporary edge.
The room feels different from a typical Hawaii restaurant, closer to a polished spot in New York or Las Vegas, urban and stylish. Steaks and seafood, of course, but the wine and cocktail lists are deep enough that it suits starting with a cocktail and letting the evening stretch out rather than simply eating and leaving.
Prices run higher, but that’s rather the point on a night when you want to make an occasion of it. Anniversaries and special dinners, or simply a night in Waikiki when you feel like dressing up a little for a good dinner and a cocktail.
Herringbone Waikiki
If you like seafood, Herringbone Waikiki is worth a look. Fresh seafood is the focus and the cooking is varied, but honestly it’s the room I find most appealing.
Greenery and tropical plants run through the space inside and out, so it feels a little like eating in a well-kept garden or on a resort terrace. It’s nicely done without being stuffy or overly formal, and it’s an easy place to sit with the warm Hawaii evening air.
Late afternoon into evening suits it best. Seafood with a cocktail or a glass of wine, taken slowly, is an easy way to spend an hour. It’s what I’d suggest when you’ve finished shopping and want to settle in for a relaxed dinner with a little atmosphere.
ShoreFyre
For something more casual and easygoing, ShoreFyre works well. You’ll find Hawaii local plates like loco moco alongside garlic shrimp, tacos and familiar American casual dishes — the kind of food you want to try at least once on a Hawaii trip.
Nothing on the menu is complicated or overly precious, so it’s easy for anyone to order, and portions are generous. Compared with the upscale restaurants above it, prices are easier too, which makes it reasonable value for a meal in the middle of Waikiki.
It’s good for brunch or lunch, easy to drop into when you get hungry mid-shopping, and works in the evening with a beer or cocktail alongside your food. It isn’t somewhere you dress up for, more the place to go when you just want a good, no-fuss meal on a Hawaii trip.
Mitsuwa Marketplace
It’s not a restaurant in the same sense, but I always think Mitsuwa Marketplace deserves a mention. Japanese groceries, prepared foods, snacks and drinks make it surprisingly useful if you’re staying in Waikiki for several days. Sometimes you simply don’t want another big restaurant meal.
Shopping, from Luxury Labels to Island Casual
Shopping is, of course, a big part of International Market Place. The mix runs from luxury labels to casual brands you can browse in flip-flops, along with beauty, accessories and Hawaii-made gifts, so there is more variety here than you might expect.
You will find names such as Burberry, Balenciaga, Rolex and MCM alongside more familiar stops like Anthropologie, Banana Republic, Abercrombie & Fitch and Vans.
A few stops here are worth knowing about for practical reasons rather than for browsing. Target opened on the property in 2024, and it is genuinely useful in the middle of Waikiki: sunscreen, snacks, beach things and whatever you forgot to pack, at prices that are not resort prices. ABC Stores covers similar ground on a smaller scale, with drinks, snacks and souvenirs close at hand.
For something to take home, Martin & MacArthur works in koa, the Hawaiian hardwood, with handcrafted bowls, boxes and furniture. It sits at the higher end, but it is the kind of gift that is genuinely made in Hawaii rather than shipped in for the souvenir shelf.
Personally, I do not think of this as a mall you need to set aside a whole day for. It suits a slower approach: coming for a meal and browsing a few stores afterward, or cutting through on the way back from the beach. It is also handy on the last day of a trip, when you remember there is one more gift left to buy.
After Dark, It Feels a Little More Hawaiian
If your schedule allows, it’s worth seeing International Market Place both during the day and after dark. Once the lights come on, the banyan tree and tropical landscaping take on a different mood, and the space feels less like a shopping stop and more like a relaxed evening hangout.
At Queen’s Court, you may also catch complimentary performances featuring hula and Hawaiian culture. Coming across a performance while you’re wandering through the shops is one of those small Waikiki moments that’s easy to enjoy without planning your whole evening around it. There is a luau-style dinner show on the property as well, if you happen to be looking for one.
Not a Must-See. More of a Place You’ll Simply Enjoy.
If someone asked me whether International Market Place is a must-see Waikiki attraction, I’d probably answer a little differently.
I wouldn’t say you need to go there just to check it off a sightseeing list. It’s more the kind of place that naturally becomes part of your Waikiki stay.
Start the morning with Kona coffee and a pastry, grab an easy lunch at Kuhio Avenue Food Hall, wander beneath the old banyan tree in the afternoon, then settle into a Grand Lanai terrace for dinner or a cocktail. If the timing works, catch a little hula afterward.
The nice thing is that you don’t have to do any of that all at once. Stop in after the beach, browse before dinner, or walk through with no plan at all and stay for a cup of coffee.
For me, that’s the real charm of International Market Place.
An old banyan tree, tropical gardens, modern shopping, good food and touches of Hawaiian culture all share the same space in the middle of Waikiki. It may not be the kind of landmark you rush across the island to see, but on a slow afternoon or an easy Waikiki evening, it’s a place I’d happily recommend taking your time with.
