The wait is over — Side Street Inn has a new eatery in West Oʻahu. Haliʻa by Side Street Inn, located in Wai Kai (in the former Kitchen Door restaurant space) officially opened yesterday to the public.
Opening a west Oʻahu restaurant location has been in the works for years, according to Lisa Meyer, who co-owns Hali‘a by Side Street Inn, Side Street Inn on Da Strip and the original Side Street Inn on Hopaka Street with business partner Cheryl DeAngelo. (DeAngelo also co-owns Bubbly & Bleu, a Kaimukī-based charcuterie business, with her husband, chef Fred DeAngelo.)
“People have been asking for so long, ‘When are you coming to the west side?’” she says. “Colin (Nishida) always wanted to open someplace on the west side. When we came here (to Wai Kai), it felt good; it’s very family oriented. We’re just happy we’re here; everybody’s so excited.”
“We have been looking at various locations for Side Street Inn on the west side,” DeAngelo adds. “This location came at the perfect time, and we love everything about it — amazing views, perfect size and lots of parking!”
The name “Haliʻa” means “fond remembrance,” according to Meyer, who says the restaurant name was chosen to honor Nishida, who died in 2018. Prior to his passing, though, both Meyer and DeAngelo came on board to help their friend with his business.
“When we thought of the name, we wanted to honor him,” she says. “It’s Haliʻa by Side Street Inn, people will know it’s Side Street food.”
The food menu is the same as Side Street Inn’s other two locations. The ‘Ewa Beach location will eventually have seafood specials, but that’s still to come.
The fresh, island-style poke (market price) comes highly recommended; choose from options like shoyu and spicy ‘ahi, along with kimchi tako poke, limu tako poke and ocean clams poke.
We opt for the spicy ‘ahi poke, which features a spicy-mayo style with sweet onions, green onions, tobiko, Sriracha drizzle and furikake. The fish tastes fresh and the poke packs some heat, due to the generous amount of Sriracha.
If you’re craving something lighter, go for the tofu salad ($13 half portion, $20.50 full portion). It features spring mixed greens topped with tofu, bonito flakes, kizami nori, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, sesame seeds and oriental dressing. The pieces of tofu are so soft, and we enjoyed the salad’s refreshing flavors.
If you order the eatery’s boneless kalbi, it’s served on a sizzling platter, just like the sizzling rib-eye steak (market price). While I usually order bone-in kalbi when getting Korean-style short ribs, I highly recommend this boneless version because it’s buttery and boasts that melt-in-your-mouth texture. The short ribs’ tenderness, along with the marinade’s sweet-yet-savory flavor, makes this one of the most memorable dishes of the evening.
No visit to Side Street Inn is complete without its loaded fried rice. This savory staple ($25) is loaded with bacon, Portuguese sausage, char siu, green onions, peas and carrots. Its slightly smoky flavor and savoriness is just as good as I remember.
Of course, if you want to upgrade your fried rice, you could get “The Works” version ($29), which includes kimchi and lup cheong.
Side Street Inn’s famous pan-fried pork chops ($33) are a crowd pleaser. They’re thick, meaty and sure to satisfy.
If you’re dining with a group, you can also opt for Colin’s Classics prix fixe menu ($161 for 4-5 people, $317 for 8-10 people), which features a variety of the eatery’s bestsellers. The menu includes edamame with Alae salt; farmer’s salad (mixed greens topped with grape tomatoes, avocado, Maui onions, capers, and bay shrimp with red wine vinaigrette and Okinawan potato curls); signature fried rice; garlic fried chicken; famous pan-fried pork chops and sizzling boneless kalbi.
Desserts include the eatery’s signature peanut butter crunch ($15), brownie served with Roselani’s vanilla ice cream ($13), Mom’s sweet bread pudding ($13), lilikoi creme brulee ($13) and chocolate haupia puff ($14). The peanut butter crunch was something I remember ordering at Side Street Inn’s Kapahulu location, so we just had to get it.
The decadent dessert features a bread pudding-like base topped with a layer of peanut butter crunch, Roselani’s vanilla ice cream and a chocolate drizzle. It’s dense and indulgent, but that crunchy peanut buttery layer will keep you coming back for more.
Stay tuned — the eatery plans to start a weekend brunch menu and add new seafood specials to its dinner menu in the upcoming months. Customers can also enjoy live music, which will be starting soon.
“We are excited that we get to be a part of the west side,” DeAngelo says. “People travel to our locations in town, and we are excited that we can bring our food to them. In addition to dine-in, we will be doing a lot of takeout and catering. The events at Wai Kai are awesome, too.”
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CONTACT
Haliʻa by Side Street Inn
Wai Kai
91-1621 Keoneula Blvd., ‘Ewa Beach
808-752-2288
sidestreetinn.com
Instagram: @sidestreetinn
Open 4-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, open 4-11 p.m. Fridays-Sundays
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
