Tropics Cafe Bar and Lounge

I ate at this restaurant a few times while I was staying at the Hilton Hawaiian in January. The food was good and consistent and the live music was great. The restaurant overlooks the beach and is a great place for people watching.
I can recommend the pizza and the ahi burger.

Bing bing bing-​bee-​bing bing bing bong-​e
All day all night it’s a pahtee
I love me some reggae and I skank to some dank for Tropics Lounge!
This is one of my all time favorite Happy hours. $ 10 pitchers and $ 3 pints for anything on draft — which includes Stella and Deschutes among other great picks!
$ 1 sliders: Hand-​formed patties of ground goodness. Not the leanest, but definitely the meanest, these are my favorite sliders on the island right now. You can choose American or swiss cheese and the buns are always soft and perfect for catching the meat dribbles. (I should NOT like these as much as I do… YUM!)

$ 2 fish sliders: Move over Gordon’s fisherman, we’ve got a clear winner in the fried fish department over here. These sliders feature a nice chunk of freshly fried fish. You know they make ‘em here cuz the pieces tuck perfectly into mini sweet bread rolls with iceberg lettuce and tartar sauce. If my Grandpa were still alive I would have brought him here for lunch — think 1950’s style comfort food.

$ 3 chicken wings: Crispy and hot — like burn yo’ mouth hot! I love these. $ 3 gets you 5 perfectly cooked wings with a side of ranch. Great deal and great after taste!
Taco Tuesday: Order the fish taco’s for $ 2 a piece. What a fantastic deal. A large piece of their freshly fried fish snuggled in a flour tortilla with sour cream, cheese shreds, lettuce and bottled salsa. Sound boring? Well they’re not. They are DELISH! I also like the $ 1 tortilla soup.
Seared ahi poke: This is a tasty and unique way of serving poke. Seared ahi mixed Maui style with onions, tomatoes, and cabbage and drizzled with spicy mayo. I would order this again. I would eat this with chips. I would eat this in a box. I would eat this with a fox.
Things to skip: The regular ahi poke here just doesn’t do it for me. The fish isn’t fresh — which is probably why the seared poke tastes so much better fried and topped with spicy mayo :) I also don’t like the regular taco’s here — I thought the world was done with taco bell style hard taco shells?
NOTE: This is a dark, dank, hole of a bar. Do not come expecting a clean and sanitary experience at this little local gem. Nice bar staff and efficient service keep us coming back. Reggae is served up daily with a smattering of local and mainland artists. Ooklah the Moc any one??? Sometimes its good (Dub konscious), and sometimes it’s the same old beep (Mike Love solo… again). Definitely check out who’s playing before you bring the crew.

Conflicted on this review. FYI, don’t ask for the porkchops, they don’t actually serve them! We tried to order something else (I forget which) and they said that they were all out of that for the day (and this was in the early afternoon).
So we got their steak which they’re known for, and it was good. Seasoned well, not overcooked, but the steak they used had a lot of gristle in it. To be honest, I feel like it was something I’ve made myself many times before, with better steak.
Fortunately, their tortilla soup was a serious home run. When I think of tortilla soup, I think of something somewhat milder in flavor, with chicken and tomato, a kick of spice… but this… this is the kind of soup to cure those saturday morning pains, if you know what I mean.
It’s like a roundhouse kick to the face. No joke.
HUGE, BOLD flavor, so so delicious. Perfect amount of spice… I can’t even describe the flavor. It tastes like it’s been stewing for days on a stove fueled by love and habanero powder. No joke, my mouth is watering right now. Me gusta.
I need to come back for Taco Tuesdays just for the soup.

I love me some Tropics Taco Tuesday! $ 3 Margaritas, $ 1 Tortilla soup, chips and salsa, and chicken and beef tacos, and $ 2 fish tacos. The tortilla soup, fish tacos, and chips and salsa are all pretty good, but I’m not really a fan of «crunchy» tacos with ground beef so I skip that part. Happy Hour here is also awesome. Get a plate of edamame, SOOO HUGE and delicious! Service can be a little slow at times, but the servers are nice. They also have amazing live music on Wednesdays. Cool little dive bar!

Went on a Friday during Happy Hour for dinner. Friendly bar atmosphere and typical décor but good prices on drinks.
We tried some of the Happy Hour pupu specials. Sliders for a buck each were great for the price but that’s about it. Nothing special there. Wings for three bucks were okay, nothing exciting there either. Don’t eat the cheese quesadilla without dipping it into the salsa. Plain, the quesadilla tastes like a paper plate but the medium salsa adds a kick that brings out the taste of the cheese.
The star is the Philly cheese steak sandwich off of the regular menu. Best I’ve ever had. Nine bucks including fries is a bargain for this. Can’t wait to go back for another one.

Five Stars for being the best «Dive Bar» with great pupu’s and good drinks at decent prices.
Taco Tuesdays are their speciality starting @ 5p and costing $ 1– ea, don’t miss the Chicken Tortilla Soup!

Definitely the go-​to dive in Ward. The place isn’t very big but has a cozy and personal vibe that I liked. Also an upstairs area so you can watch the live performances with a perfect bird’s eye view. The only thing that had me second guess them at first was the vibe and patrons that frequent this place. Not that I’m into reggae. False! It was more the fact that being in a rock band ready to perform for «that type of crowd» made me apprehensive. It works both ways.
From a musician’ point of view, since it was a slow night, there was parking literally right at the foot of the front door. This was very convenient when it came down to loading and unloading my gear. I have a heavy guitar amplifier, so this was a plus. Also the sound guy in there was pretty cool. Didn’t vibe us or anything like that, which I still sometimes get playing around more «hip» joints around town.
What may be a problem for some bands, depending on how many members, is the size of the stage area. It’s not a lifted stage for one (not like that matters anyway) but the space alone may be cramped. Room to breath, sure but still a little cramped. The advantage of this, however, is that since there is a little dome that bowls over this area (which is actually part of the wall), it adds great acoustics for live performers. That was the plus, given the early minus. I think it’s probably the best we sounded live in a while.
It was a long night. Our band just got done playing a benefit show at Manifest on Hotel and booked it straight over to Tropics. It was around 10:30 — 11:00 pm and all of the employees from the neighboring bars and restaurants finishing work started pouring in. It wasn’t really our crowd that night but people seemed to give us a great response. In fact, even thanked us. We’re not a bunch of lads seeking an ego trip but it was quite the reward at Tropics, especially since all of us were like «Uh, dude, wanna bail this show? I don’t think anyone’s gonna dig us».
Food is another story but the rest of the band and crew were having a late night snack before our set. I didn’t eat (I never perform on a full stomach, with fear i’m gonna have «to go» on stage). Though it did smell freaking delish from where I was sitting. Kalua pork sliders and fried mac n’ cheese were what my mates were raving about. This being my incentive to return.
4 stars
Tropics on Auahi Street in Ward

Love the garlic fries and sliders. Good drink specials too.
Pat, the manager, is a really good guy.
Great live music, although the place has definitely gotten way more moke-​ish over the last two years. Get here early if you want to sit, otherwise be prepared to squeeze in with the rest of the standees.

I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeee this bar!
A total good hang out spot for friends! The Happy Hour is to dieeee, the specials on on point! Plus their food is super good and their not skimpy too. They give choke!
There’s a lot of parking and is located right next to Ward Theatres. Sometimes they have live entertainment like on Wednesday and Weekends. Which is always good! The staff there are totally layed back and cute.
I love the vibe. COME COME!:)

Dang everytime I come here its a good f-​in time. If you love reggae music you gotta come here. There is always good bands that come like ooklah, or mike love, and the up in coming artist as well. Sometimes its free, but when you have ooklah headlining be prepared to spend 10 bucks. But it is always worth it.
The drinks at this place is fairly cheap. 4 dollar dos equis, 3 dollar red stripe. The pitchers are like 14 bucks that fills 3 pints of your favorite beer. Mostly heines and I think bud. But THAT IS FULL PRICE. It is cheaper when they happy hour specials.
Don’t get me started on the food. Garlic fries are bomb. And the steak is good too. I need to try eat some more of the good food but I rather spend it on beer. Lol.

So I’ve been here a few times for a hip-​hop shows. It’s very small, and it’s hard to get around sometimes since everything seems to be super tight. ESPECIALLY when there’s a lot of people it gets really irritating. I think that’s pretty much my only problem about this place. If you want a seat you must come here before 10pm or else no more areaddy!
The Blue Moon is COLD and served with a slice of orange and the drinks that are made here are delicious and consistent. I would give you a price of how much it is but I can’t because I’m usually inebriated by that time.
The food is so good. I got the poke and the fried mac and cheese thingies and whewwww, they were super good. Fresh, hot, and just so damn tasty.
There’s an upstairs but I haven’t gone there yet. For photographers, the ceiling is awesome to bounce back flash on!

Went here on a whim after hearing that there was live music playing before we headed back to Oregon from visiting home in HI. The Mana Maoli Collection was playing so I already knew there was going to be great music playing.
Total hole in the wall place, if you blinked you might have missed the place. It’s a good thing I checked Unilocal for reviews on the place first to be sure I knew where to find the place.
It’s pretty small and we got there just before 9pm and the seats were already taken. Our friends and I were waiting to jack booth until we were told that there was more seating upstairs! SWEET! So we pretty much stayed upstairs the whole time and still got a great view of the band playing.
Drink prices are decent and we ordered the garlic fries I read so much about on Unilocal.They came out piping HOT and the fresh garlic pieces and butter on crinkle cut fries were so ONO! I seen other orders pass by us and they looked good too.
Cool place to hang out.

LOOOOOVE Tropics. :)
Came here so far solely for the purpose of live reggae music. To be specific, Mike Love the first time and Dubkonscious the next. Now hands down, thats all you need to start the night off right!
The bar is kinda easy to miss. adjacent to the Ward theatre building (see photos). On a slow night, its nice to relax hear, grab a beer and wind down to some live music. Not too spacious, with a few booths and tables here and there. On a busy night where they have. oh idk, DUBKONSCIOUS playing live. witness the chaos! lol. We were standing the whole night but then again, so was everyone else one the band started up.
They accept credit/​debit cards so we always end up starting a tab… they have restrooms in the back as well. The service is great too. I gotta hand it to them. they swim through the crowd to serve food and bus tables til early hours of the morning and manage a smile through the whole night. I can think of A LOT of places that need to learn service like these people.
We’re definitely heading here for the next «cant miss» show. :)

$ 5 top shelf margaritas and they accept credit card equals dangerously good combination.
We came here for Taco Tuesdays for $ 1 each for homemade tortilla soup (secret recipe), shredded chicken or ground beef tacos loaded with lettuce, salsa and jalapenos on the side served in hard shell tacos only. This taco section of the bar accepts only cash, and you’ll tip once you have a bite of these. Who can beat that deal?
I recommend the shredded chicken tacos, tortilla soup, battered fish tacos wrapped in a soft tortilla and their top shelf margaritas. This place has a total chill and laid back vibe, not too crowded (only because it may be the closer to the holidays) and they play reggae music.
The service is friendly and it’s a good times for inexpensive grinds. Plenty of parking is right in front of the place. It located right next door to Marukai market. This place is more like 3.5 stars for cheap and good drinks. I’ll have to try their main dishes next time.

Carrie, I love Tropics. I love how you and your husband have awesome Taco Tuesdays. I’m in love. I’m in love with the top shelf margarita that Russ introduced me to.
Just an fyi, it’s a little hard to find. I had to really open my Asian eyes to find the place. It’s adjacent to the little driveway into the the warehouses, but once found, on Tuesdays, it’s amazing. The tacos are beef or chicken, with tons of taco shells and delicious salsa. But what did it for me was the chicken tortilla soup. I think if my gal Seleena H had tried the soup, she would have gone back to meat. It’s that good.
Take the time to go on Tuesdays and have fun. Who cares if you ate 8 or 20 tacos and 1 or 3 soups? It’s fun and delicious and supporting a local business.

Taco Tuesday tonight had $ 1 beef and chicken tacos and $ 1 Tortilla soup!
Chicken tacos were prett tasty and easily worth the buck. Tortilla soup was even better, but I wish it had avacado in it… Good chicken broth, shredded chicken, corn and some greens I can’t remember in it served nice and hot.
I saw that they had $ 2 fish tacos, but I didn’t get to try them this trip. Bar tenders were efficient and courteous… I’ll stop in again when I’m by Ward.

The garlic fries are ONO!!!
Yes, the place is dark and dingy but if you’re looking for a cross between Mai Tais and Bar 35 with live reggae/​roots music, this is the place to go. Very low key — not a bad thing! :)
FYI, I went on a Friday night; cover charge was $ 5.

One of the cheapest happy hour spots for food in Honolulu. Tropics is a cool little bar with a great location and cheap eats. If you go for happy hour you can expect 3 $ beers and cheap cheap food.
Here is some of their specials
Weekly Happy Hour specials
Happy Hour Monday-​Friday 4−7pm
$ 3 well drinks
$ 4 call drinks
$ 3 draft beer
$ 10 60oz. pitchers
$ 3 house wine
$ 1 tropics sliders
$ 3 chicken wings
$ 3 garlic fries
$ 3 edamame
Taco Tuesdays 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
$ 1.00 Tacos (Beef or Chicken)
$ 1.00 Tortilla Soup (homemade)
$ 1.50 Salsa & Chips
$ 3.00 Corona, Corona Light, Negra Modelo and Margaritas
Night times they run a lot of bands and reggae music so if you like that scene then its perfect for you.
The bar doesn’t have to many frills about it just tvs and a few games upstairs. One thing to note is its kinda smelly outside of the bar (probably due to trash compactor being nearby).
If you want a cheap cheap night of happy hour food then come on and get it. To me its one of the better taco Tuesdays on the island.

Last Tuesday’s itinerary:
A pitcher of Blue Moon for $ 10
A pitcher of Margaritas for $ 12
+
Fish tacos for $ 2
Pork quesadillas for $ 3
+
$ 1 (hard shell) tacos
+
Reggae & Jack Johnson playing over the chatter
Great Taco Tuesday Specials!
Let’s just say I left full, tipsy and very happy.

I want to tell everyone who is not from here to stay away.
It’s our new secret in Oahu.
But I can’t. Why? Because @ final call, when we asked for a beer, the bartender said, sorry we only do HARD Liquor at last call.
Hawaii f***ing ROCKS.