This James Beard Award–winning chef (who you might have seen on the season finale of the 2006 Top Chef) doesn't rest on his laurels. His dining room may be modest, but his flavors explode. As the locals say, when food is this delicious, it is "broke da mouth" good. Try his five-course tasting menu ($75 per person), or opt for à la carte originals such as Hot California Rolls (baked lobster mousse with crab-avocado stuffing) and the keawe-wood-grilled mahimahi with spicy wasabi sauce.

One of Oahu's top restaurants is the domain of chef George Mavrothalassitis (who thankfully used his nickname). Set in a residential neighborhood of Honolulu, it attracts a nice mix of local couples, dedicated foodies, and in-the-know tourists ready to have the best meal of their trip. Set menus of three and four courses and an 11-course tasting menu are offered with optional wine pairings. The marbled tako, for example—finely sliced octopus with ponzu sauce, salmon roe, and green-papaya salad—finds its perfect foil in a glass of 2004 Leasingham Riesling. Specialties such as cursinade (sea urchin bouillabaisse) reflect Mavro's roots in Marseille, as well as his love for his adopted home, where he moved in 1988.

Dinner only. Closed Mondays.

Dry-aged steaks cooked to perfection, plus a view overlooking Waikiki Beach, have made this place a major hit since it opened in the fall of 2004. D.K. Kodama is one of Hawaii's most ambitious chef-entrepreneurs; in addition to this steak house at the Waikiki Beach Marriott, he owns the islandwide chain of Sansei sushi bars and the conjoined Honolulu hot spots Vino and Hiroshi Eurasian Tapas. Kodama may have a lot of pots boiling, but what's cooking is undeniably good. D.K. Steakhouse's double-broiled, butterflied filet mignon, for example, served with shiitake mushroom demi-glace and a side of asparagus Milanese, is satisfying to both the local and tourist palate. There's also a special menu of dessert martinis, including the well-named "Bomb" (Godiva white chocolate, Baileys, and Kahlúa). The portions are big here, so unless you've hiked Diamond Head or surfed Pipeline all day, consider sharing.

Dinner only.

You might scoff at the idea of a surfing-themed restaurant, but Duke's (named after Hawaiian legend Duke Kahanamoku) is actually one of the best bets in town. The food is tasty and fuss-free: macadamia-and-crab wontons, hulihuli (BBQ) chicken, grilled fresh fish, chocolate-and-macadamia "hula pie" for dessert. But the scene is more important here, anyway—beach girls and boys, happy families, daily live music, and the backdrop of Waikiki Beach, with palm trees swaying in the balmy breeze.

As the name implies, the draw here is small plates meant to be shared. Chef Hiroshi Fukui's menu has lots of sample-worthy creations, such as filet mignon topped with foie gras ponzu sauce, pan-roasted shrimp with roasted-garlic aioli foam, and panko-crusted ahi with yellow-mustard foam (warning: the meal can get pricey very quickly). Many of the inventive cocktails also benefit from Fukui's penchant for foams; the Sex and the City, for example, is a concoction of vodka and triple sec with lemongrass foam. The restaurant shares its green-walled, green-upholstered space with a lively wine bar, Vino.

Set inside the Ward Center shopping mall, across the street from Starbucks and a giant movie-theater complex, Kakaako is a gentle reminder that you're still in Hawaii. This popular takeout place serves local-style fast food (there are a few tables if you want to sit down), with a menu that changes every six months. The hot entrées are hit-or-miss, but the Chinese pork char sui noodle salad and the sandwiches (try the seared ahi) are always reliable. So are the desserts, including coconut mochi and heavenly bread pudding.

Follow the UPS drivers, hotel staffers, and off-duty strippers to this Waikiki hole in the wall—it's the perfect place for cheap, super-tasty comfort food. If you're hung over, come for breakfast: Two eggs, two scoops of rice, and some spicy Portuguese sausage will cure your pain for under $5. For lunch, try the house specialty, Kalbi beef short ribs with rice, or the hearty bibimbap rice bowl with beef and vegetables. Most people get takeout; the beach is only a five-minute walk away. But if you want to sit, there are a few outdoor patio tables where you can watch the workers of Waikiki speed by.

Where the rinky-dink beach concession stand of Turtle Bay Resort once stood, this sexy open-air restaurant now lets the waves practically lap at your table. Ola (Hawaiian for "life") has a menu that's unique to the North Shore: Its high-end cuisine is made with decidedly local, down-to-earth ingredients. Kahuku corn chowder, ahi and lobster poke (a marinated seafood salad), local greens with lilikoi (Hawaiian passion fruit), and smoked beef tenderloin with mashed sweet potatoes are just a few of the delicious choices. Many dinner menu items come with a suggested wine pairing. Prices are a little high for the casual setting, but the ambience can't be beat—unless there's rain or stormy seas, in which case you should stay away. The zip-down fabric walls don't do much to cut the damp.

Affordable and very popular with the locals, the Pineapple Room is a great place to sample chef Alan Wong's accessible classics, such as crispy Asian slaw, Kalua pork (Hawaiian BBQ) BLT, and house-made North Shore Cattle Company meatloaf. The Pineapple room is located in the Ala Moana shopping center, on the third floor of Macy's, and while it's set with white tablecloths and staffed with attentive servers who know their food and wine, it maintains a more casual atmosphere than Wong's eponymous restaurant. If you want to try as many dishes as possible, order the five-course chef's menu, which changes daily.

Open Sundays 9 am to 3 pm, Mondays through Fridays 11 am to 8:30 pm, and Saturdays 8 am to 8:30 pm.

Oahu-born chef Elmer Guzman is on a one-man mission to elevate poke—the local side dish of soy-marinated raw fish—to an art form. He blends the bold influences of his mentors—Alan Wong and Sam Choy in Hawaii and Emeril Lagasse in New Orleans—with his own creative ideas to come up with no less than 25 flavors of poke. Guzman's outpost is in Waipahu—totally out of the way unless you're staying at the Ihilani Resort & Spa—and resembles a fast food joint with counter service and cement tables and umbrellas outside. But it turns out top-notch food. Blackened fish, bento boxes, salads, sandwiches, and soups round out the menu, but most people stop in just for the poke. Like at an ice cream counter, you can try three flavors for free before you commit—the spicy, Big Easy–inspired Creamy Ahi is the most popular—and your order can be packed on ice if you want to eat it back at your hotel.

Open Mondays through Saturdays 8 am to 7 pm, Sundays 8 am to 5 pm.

The minimalist black, tan, and white decor makes Rokkaku the perfect backdrop for the Louis Vuitton-, Gucci-, and Chanel-clad customers who frequent the restaurant. (Conveniently, these boutiques are located on the same level of the Ala Moana Shopping Center.) Despite the surroundings and crowd, though, there's nothing trendy about the Japanese food: Rokkaku serves up traditional Kyoto-style cuisine. The upscale menu includes a few items that even some Hawaiian-born Japanese might not recognize, such as the house specialty, kamameshi (rice cooked in a small ceramic pot until it has a chewy golden crust, and served with an assortment of savory pickles). But more familiar dishes like sushi, sashimi, grilled butterfish, and Wagyu sirloin are also available here, along with a terrific list of premium sakes. Reservations are recommended.

This bustling Saturday-morning market (it starts at 7:30 and lasts until 11) sells an overwhelming array of locally grown produce and ready-to-eat foods. Come with an appetite, but pace yourself; the more you wander around, the more you'll want to try. You might start with a breakfast wrap of kalua pork (cooked in banana leaves), scrambled eggs, cheese, brown rice, and pineapple salsa in a taro tortilla. But save room for breads, cookies, fudge, chai tea, and exotic fruits.

More sports bar than restaurant, this humble spot has such terrific food that you might spot Alan Wong or Roy Yamaguchi hanging out here after-hours. You'll have to put up with the loudly blaring TVs (and even louder shouts and screams if a big football game is on), but the barbecued pork ribs, perfectly juicy pork chops, and garlic edamame are worth it. And with entrées costing about $12, you can't beat the prices with a stick.

Shave ice—the local treat of monster-size snow cones drenched in fruit syrup—makes the perfect refresher after a day at the beach. These days, Waiola, with its 45 flavors, has elbowed out Matsumoto's on the North Shore as Oahu's number-one shave-ice spot. You can add ice cream and other toppings to your cone—and even the most gourmet combo (say, shave ice with coconut and strawberry syrups, condensed cream, and li hing mui, or salted plum powder) will still cost you less than a Frappuccino. There's a second location at 525 Kapahulu Avenue (808-735-8886).