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FUUD: Waioli Tea Room in Manoa

By Catherine Toth Fox • December 31, 2010 • Food, Musings, The Daily Dish

Every year my family goes out to dinner on Christmas Eve.

And we like to try new restaurants, though with some restrictions, like, “not in Waikiki” and “not going to make my parents take out a second mortgage on the house.”

So we’ve had Christmas Eve dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Morton’s and Kobe Japanese Steakhouse (which is the closest to Waikiki my parents like to get).

But this year my mom wanted to try something new — and old.

Waioli Tea House, founded in 1922 and nestled in lush Manoa Valley (where my mom lived for a bit), was her out-of-the-box suggestion. It served a variety of food in its buffet, it wasn’t in Waikiki and, above all, it had an opening for seven on Christmas Eve.

None of us had ever been there before — there was some discussion about whether or not it was still open, actually — so we were excited to try it out.

Here’s what our recent visit looked like:

no images were found

Waioli Tea Room,, 2950 Manoa Rd. Phone: 808-988-5800.

***

To read all of Cat’s blogs, visit www.nonstophonolulu.com/thedailydish. Follow Cat on Twitter @thedailydish or send her an e-mail at [email protected]

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7 Comments

  • Reply cai_mommy December 30, 2010 at 10:28 pm

    I’ve never been here. Adding to my list of places to try in 2011. Thanks!

  • Reply nonstopmari December 31, 2010 at 12:08 am

    ur final shot looks like my plate at family potlucks! waioli is beautiful, and serene, and my mom liked it too, which always adds up to a big plus for me anywhere.

    • Reply turkfontaine December 31, 2010 at 12:10 am

      @nonstopmari y’know who’s beautiful and serene? YOU are, bucky! hav a happy new year.

  • Reply turkfontaine December 31, 2010 at 12:08 am

    amazing. i thought the Waioli Tea Room was a urban myth- like the Japanese massage parlor worker.(i guess i strayed off the path a little reading Yelp reviews)

  • Reply M January 1, 2011 at 7:15 am

    Happy New Year Cat!

  • Reply M January 2, 2011 at 1:07 am

    I haven’t gone there but my wife, masako, has been there many many times. In fact she went there twice just last week for lunch.

  • Reply padams January 2, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    yes–the holiday season’s more about family get togethers and quaint places than amazing food.
    Ake Mashite Omede Tou

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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