Side Street Inn, the Honolulu local-favorite bar and restaurant known for huge platters of pan-fried pork chops and fried rice, is now in Waikiki. According to Honolulu Magazine, it opened on Beach Walk on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. We have eaten those pork chops and the kim chee fried rice a few times over the years, but always at a location that was a ride away from Waikiki, which meant we rarely bothered during a stay. Now it is a short walk from our base at Hokulani Waikiki. That changes how often we will eat it.
Here is what is actually open, what it costs to take out, and how two people who start drinking mid-afternoon would use it.
What opened, and where exactly
Honolulu Magazine reported on September 24 that Side Street Inn, which closed its Kapahulu restaurant in April with a promise to reopen in Waikiki, “made good on that promise Wednesday.” The new restaurant is in the second-floor Beach Walk space that used to house Westman Café and Bills Waikīkī. Co-owner Cheryl DeAngelo told the magazine, “We have the full SSI menu,” and said there are plans to open for lunch soon.
The official site lists the address as 280 Beach Walk Avenue #107 and carries a “Now open” banner for the Beach Walk location.
One thing trips people up: “Beach Walk” here is the street, not the Waikiki Beach Walk shopping complex on Lewers Street (where, for example, the newer Liliha Bakery sits). Put “280 Beach Walk” into your map app rather than the complex name.
According to the same Honolulu Magazine piece, this is the third restaurant for DeAngelo and business partner Lisa Meyers, and at 140 seats it is the smallest. The original Hopaka Street location near Ala Moana Center and Hali’a by Side Street Inn in ‘Ewa Beach each seat about 170.
Hours: the official site and the magazine count differently
| Day | Opens | Official “Dine In & Takeout” hours end | Honolulu Magazine: closes (last seating) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon–Thu | 4 pm | 8:30 pm | 10 pm (8:30 pm) |
| Fri | 4 pm | 9 pm | 11 pm (9 pm) |
| Sat | 11 am | 9 pm | 11 pm (9 pm) |
| Sun | 11 am | 8:30 pm | 10 pm (8:30 pm) |
The two sources agree on the opening times. The site’s end times match what the magazine calls last seating, so for takeout we would treat 8:30 or 9 pm as the real cutoff. The printed September takeout menu rounds it differently again (Mon–Fri 4 to 8:30 pm, Sat–Sun 11 am to 9 pm), and the site itself says hours are “subject to change without notice.” We checked all of this on October 1, 2026; for a new opening, call 808-739-3939 or check the site before you walk over.
What takeout costs
The official Waikiki takeout menu, marked “Menu Effective September 2026,” states in red near the top: “Ala Carte Items Serves 3-4 Guests.” That one line explains every price below. A selection:
| Item (Waikiki takeout menu, Sept. 2026) | Price |
|---|---|
| Pork Chops | $37 |
| Kim Chee Fried Rice | $36 |
| Signature Fried Rice | $32 |
| Garlic Chicken (3-4 guest) | $32 |
| Crispy Fried Chicken Gizzards | $26 |
| Roast Pork Poke | $29 |
| Edamame | $19 |
| Ohana Pack (3-4 guests): Signature Fried Rice, Pork Chops, Garlic Chicken | $98 |
For a sense of how far prices have moved: when we photographed an order of the pan-fried island pork chops back in 2016, it was $23.50. The new menu says takeout prices went up because of the disposable foodware ordinance (DFWO), and adds a note about rising costs.
Two more money details. The site text says credit cards carry a 3% surcharge (debit cards are not surcharged), while the September takeout menu says a 2% credit card charge starts November 1, 2026. We cannot tell you which number applies the day you go, only that paying by debit avoids the question. Orders can be placed online through the site or by phone.
BYOB for now, and the specials that are not live yet
Honolulu Magazine reported that until the liquor license comes through, the Waikiki location is BYOB, with a $10 corkage fee per person. That is the magazine’s report; the official site does not mention corkage.
The official site’s menu has a “Waikiki Location” specials section with three pages: Happy Hour, Weekday To Go Lunch Menu, and Wine Wednesdays. As of October 1, 2026, all three say only “Coming Soon!” No days, times or prices are posted. If a 3 pm happy hour shows up here, we will be very interested, but right now there is nothing to plan around.
The magazine also reported a 10% kama’āina discount that needs a Hawai’i driver’s license or state ID, so most mainland visitors will not qualify.
What we would do
We would take it out. Every time.
Partly it is the BYOB math: two of us sitting down with our own beer would pay $20 in corkage, per the reported fee, before ordering anything. Mostly it is that a 3-4 person platter is exactly the kind of food our suite is built for. We would buy beer and a bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc at Longs or Waikiki Market first, then pick up one order of pork chops.
Then we would not try to finish it in one sitting. Night one is the pork chops fresh, with cold beer, windows open. Night two is the leftovers reheated in the microwave’s air-fry mode, which brings cold fried chicken back to crispy better than you would expect, so we fully expect the same from pan-fried pork chops. White wine on night two. That turns a $37 platter into two evenings of drinking food for two people.
If we add a fried rice, the order is $37 + $36 = $73 for pork chops and kim chee fried rice, before tax and any card surcharge. That is a lot of food, and it means the fridge is full and nobody has to go out for a couple of days. We consider that a feature.
Timing is where the weekend helps. Weekdays it opens at 4 pm, which is after we have usually started drinking in the room. On Saturday and Sunday it opens at 11 am, so we can walk over in the early afternoon, carry the bags back, and be on the sofa with a cold one before 3. If the weekday lunch menu actually launches, weekdays would work the same way.
If you have a car, the site says the Bank of Hawaii parking garage, entrance on Beach Walk Avenue, gives two hours of validation, and that the garage otherwise charges $4 per 30 minutes, credit card only. We don’t rent a car, so we have not tested that part.
And if you want to sit down for the full experience with a group, the 140-seat room and the late closing time the magazine reports are your friends. We will be asleep by then, so that half is reported rather than field-tested.
Before you plan around this
- Opening date, seat count, the BYOB rule, the $10 corkage and the kama’āina discount come from Honolulu Magazine (Sept. 24, 2026). The address, hours, takeout prices, parking and surcharge come from the official site and its September 2026 takeout menu, checked October 1, 2026.
- The happy hour, weekday lunch and Wine Wednesdays pages were all “Coming Soon!” when we checked. Once the liquor license is approved, the BYOB rule will presumably change.
- We have not been to the new Waikiki location yet. Our pork chop history is from earlier visits to other locations.
Re-verify on sidestreetinn.com before you go. New restaurants adjust hours in the first few weeks, and this one already lists slightly different hours in two places.
Details
- Side Street Inn Waikiki, 280 Beach Walk Avenue #107, Honolulu, HI 96815
- Phone: 808-739-3939 (orders by phone or online)
- Opens 4 pm Monday through Friday, 11 am Saturday and Sunday (official site, checked Oct. 1, 2026)
A pork chop platter you can walk to is not a small thing for people who would rather not leave Waikiki.
We also publish a Japanese-language version of this blog; the Japanese article on this opening is written separately for Japanese readers.
