AKU Bone Lounge and Grill

This place is the bomb
Great food
Great chef and bartenders

everything is great here… even when the service is slow, even when I get the wrong order, even when its not exactly perfect. The bands are great, the drinks are great, and when i think of Hawaii I think of the Aku Bone Lounge.

Pros:
— Entertainment TOP NOTCH!
— Décor Mos def dive bar style, old style 70’s. it works
— Food (once it arrives) avg, what you shoudl expect.
Cons:
— Arrival of food. Ordered fried fish and steak veggie dish. Wasn’t packed. TOOK 45 MINUTES FOR 1^st dish… then 60 MINUTES for 2^nd dish. I was out with a friend who serves for a living, and it jus wasn’t acceptable
— Price. Way overpriced for what you get. Green bottles…$ 6??! c’mon.
— Service. Got attitude when asked about where food was after we didn’t see anything for 30 minutes. sorry for being a customer!
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I’ve always gone on a Tuesday or Wednesday to hear Holunape or Pilioha. This week it was Hiikua (2/​3s of the original Pilioha and Blake Leoiki-​Haile). For me, a night of Hawaiian music at Aku Bone is heaven! The atmosphere is local bar and grill, which is a good thing. Didn’t eat this time, but when I have I enjoy the local-​style grinds. Wait staff is good. Sometimes food can take long to come out. Not a good place for someone picky … a GREAT place for those who know how to appreciate life and things local.

If you like feeling like you are in a dive bar on the neighbor islands, this is the spot for you. You really don’t feel like you are in town for real.
The live music is extra good here if you like Hawaiian music.
I’ve seen some heavy brawling go down here (it happend to be my friend that one time… oh well)…don’t expect to find cute chicks either…
Just some braddahs and titas having a good time…

My friend dragged me here on a Friday after work against my wishes because her co-​worker said they had really good pupus. That co-​worker is probably on her s_​_​_​–list…and mine.
I was amused when we walked in because the décor is old style Elvis in Hawaii… like an old Hawaiian motel. Charming? Maybe, but when it got darker outside, it turned into what my friend described as the «bat cave». Sorry, but my sonar is out of whack… lights please.
We ordered fried chicken, grilled steak, garlic fries and get this, chicken skin. The food took a long time to come out (I don’t know why since we were the only customers in there from 5 – 7) but when it finally arrived, it smelled yummy. That’s the end of it… smelled yummy. The fried chicken and steak were terribly under-​seasoned and the garlic fries were just fries with garlic salt. The chicken skin tasted the best but that’s not saying much.
It’s not a horrible place. The bartender was really nice and the other worker in there even gave us some wine to taste. The bathroom is clean and the vibe is very laid back. Maybe I gotta come on a different night. Who knows? Until then… meh.

I really love this place.
The crowd tends to be a little older but that adds to the intrinsic charm. I love Aku Bone for its eclectic, rough around the edges appearance which exudes personality of some undefined sort. If you’re looking for something different, original, interesting, even eccentric, go here. Give it a chance and I’m sure you’ll soon see that Aku Bone has the kind of appeal that’s apparent but which one can’t quite pinpoint the exact source. It’s fine if you don’t like Aku Bone. Have fun at Hard Rock Café. More aku belly for the rest of us!
All the food is great … but if moi is available, order it!

The Aku Bone seems like one of those dirty little dive bars, which it is and isn’t. It really looks dumpy from the outside. One of the local secrets here is that many local entertainers come here to listen and play music. You never really know who’s going to appear really. Most of the people who go here are locals and the «pau hana» (after work) crowd.
Inside, once you look around, I would describe the décor as «Margaritaville Eclectic.» It has a laid back vibe and once the beer and music start flowing you really get an idea of what the local flavor is like. The food is typical pupu styles and it’s good, not great.
Before hand try call and see when the musicians are going to be playing. No cover charge. Parking is mainly on the street. May have to hunt a bit to slide into a spot.

On Thursdays, Aku Bone turns into a veritable who’s who of notable Hawaiian entertainers, kumu hula, and big-​shots in the Hawaiian community (I think it’s also the official Kamehameha alumni clubhouse). If you’re looking for a nice relaxing environment to hear great Hawaiian music that caters to locals, not tourists, this is the place. The food is nothing to write home about but it always seems to hit the spot– we always order the chop steak, poke, soybeans, and nachos and we usually finish them in a matter of minutes. The drinks are just like they would be at any other bar, but it irks me that they don’t have Red Bull, only Rockstar. Yes, I’m addicted to energy drinks.
Biggest piece of advice I can give– if you go on a Thursday, either request, or make sure, that you’re sitting in Debbie the server’s section. Otherwise you will end up with the other server who’s HORRENDOUS– a sassy little boy that makes you feel like you’re inconveniencing him when you ask for a re-​fill. Debbie is always attentive and makes sure everyone in your party is taken care of.
I’ve never been on any other day but Thursday, so that’s the only day I can recommend going. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you go– If you’re lucky you may be able to catch Amy Hanaialii get called up to the stage to sing or see Mento Mele dance her famous metal spoon pu’ili hula, both are common occurences. Either way, it’s always entertaining.

I’ve been to this place a few times because my friends wanted to go… but it’s an okay place. The poke is good here… and you can even sing. Not that I ever did. LoL.
The crowd is definitely older though… people were kinda staring at me like why am I there… but whatevers.

Aku Bone is probably my favorite bar, and I really can’t put my finger on why. The place is pretty uninteresting on the inside, with tables lined up cafeteria style towards the bar. They have the ubiquitous TVs showing sports but thankfully they seem to not have paid their cable bill — the TVs just show jumpy static. Outside the place doesn’t look at all inviting sitting amongst the strip clubs and car shops in the ungentrified wasteland between Ala Moana and Ward.
Still, it is really easy to relax here and have a drink! The tap choices are the typical Bud/​Coors/​Heineken, but for whatever reason they have Blue Moon as well. Food is good to, with mostly local favorites which match the beer pretty well. Their Kim Che is great and goes really well with a Blue Moon!
The live music is always great, with mostly hawaiian falsetto bands. Thursday night seems to be the unofficial mahu night, so don’t drink too much and watch who you go home with! The place is really lively and the music segues from traditional to obscene as the night goes on. It’s really fun to be with the crowd of drunk happy people.
Beers are a relatively expensive $ 5, and the place is packed solid on nights with live music. Most tables are reserved at least a week in advance, but you can usually find a seat. Since the people are so friendly, they’ll often offer you a seat at their table.
Friday and Saturday are Karaōke nights, if you are into that sort of thing.

This is a bar that happens to have delicious pupus, aku belly always runs out!
Hawaiian music most everynight, and karaōke’s in full effect