Moana Terrace

Just got into town today. Checked into hotel, walked the beach a bit and knew that the sun would be setting soon. Headed back towards hotel and stopped at Moana Terrace for an appetizer and a beer. As the sun set, we enjoyed some delicious onion rings and a cool beverage. Kahea was our server. She was awesome. Told us of another restaurant to check out while we were in town. Looking forward to that soon.

We went up to claim our free drinks and as expected, they were watered down and barely flavorful. We also ordered a fruit appetizer that was WAY overpriced for the amount of fruit it came with. We ended up skipping dinner to avoid total disappointment.
The only thing really great about this terrace is that it is convenient to the Marriott and has an amazing view of the beach.

Great place to go on the weekend for a relaxed, beautiful atmosphere with live music and a bite to eat. Most of the menu items are tasty but it’s Waikiki so, expect to pay more for drinks and food. The Kailua Bay Buddies (minus one of the buddies) play an acoustic duo there on Friday & Saturday nights and they alway make for an entertaining time!

Moana Terrace is a nice little bar and grill located on the pool level of the Marriott Waikiki with an awesome view of Waikiki Beach. The bar and separate seating area is located on the edge of the pool level overlooking Kalakaua Avenue and Waikiki Beach. The menu is petite but they serve more than your typical bar food, and of course, the menu items come with the obligatory sky-​high resort pricing.
I was pretty pleased with the two out of the three items I had-​the Kona Blue Beer Battered Fish & Chips and the Musubi Wild Ahi Poke. My third item, the Sweet Potato Fries were much too saturated in oil and soggy when I got them. The fish in the fish and chips plate was definitely fresh and not the frozen kind and had a nice crispy and flavorful breading. The Musubi had the freshest Ahi and was basically a poke bowl that was compacted into a musubi rectangle. Instead of a nori wrapping, there were bits of nori in the brown rice and there were green onions to top it off. It was also topped off with a delicious Sriracha mayo drizzle.
I had a great time because I was with great company and although I would love to give this spot 4 starts, the service was a bit slow (even with just a few other occupied tables) and our server was alright but didn’t really do anything memorable or extra to stand out. The view was fabulous but we could have also had that same view at about a dozen other spots on the Waikiki strip. They do, however, have a decent happy hour. I enjoyed the food and will stop in if at the Marriott again but probably won’t go out of my way to dine there.

Great location– an outdoor terrace overlooking the main drag of Waikiki with the beach about 500 feet on the other side. But the mediocre menu is unworthy of the pricey cost, and the drinks are served in plastic cups which at these tourist-​trap prices, feels really chintzy.
At this price point and genre, you’re better off walking a few blocks up Waikiki to Duke’s, which has better food and drinks at the price, plus a more lively atmosphere. Although if you’re just too lazy (i.e. are staying at the Marriott and don’t want to drag yourself outside), Moana will get the job done.

Pros:
Great view of beach.
Bar is decent, good food selection and decent happy hour (a bit pricey for happy hour)
The two appetizers we had were seated Hawaiian ahi ($ 18) and musubi wild ahi poke ($ 12) were both quite good (small portions so will not fill you up).
$ 5 — 12 ounce draft beers
$ 9 wines
$ 7 tropical drinks (Mai tai, blue Hawaii, lava flow, daiquiris, margaritas)
$ 9 appetizers (Kalua pig, calamari rings and chicken wings)
Buy one appetizer at regular price and get second 50% off
Cons:
For football people, the TV is 27′ inch

I like going here to listen to live island style music.
It ia great to sit out on the terrace, grab a drink and some pupu’s while listening to some live music.
The food is ok. Portions are ok. Pricing is a bit high. Sad to say this is expected since this spot is located in a Waikiki hotel.
The staff is friendly and filled with Aloha.

** This review is not based on their food and on a drink experience that we had. **
Since we were forced into the Marriott’s resort fee we thought we’d take advantage of the free mai tais. We came down to the 3^rd floor Moana Terrace and ordered our drinks. AJ made it clear that we were getting the free mai tai drinks and the bartender said we need the ticket and proceeded to make the drinks. The bartender asked him to show our room card and if we were staying at the hotel so we thought we didn’t need to provide the voucher since he showed him the card. I mean why ask if it doesn’t make a difference right? Well there must’ve been some confusion because we got two drinks and he tried to charge us $ 24 for them. AJ explained that we were here for the FREE drinks. A lightbulb must’ve went off because the waitress immediately took both of our drinks back AFTER I had already started mixing and drinking mine, which was OK, not good or great. They waitress tells us it’s a different mai tai you get with the voucher. C’mon how many times did my husband say free mai tai and you act surprised after making the «real» one w/​alcohol? AJ went back to the room to get the vouchers and I watched the bartender remove the plumerias and serve our drinks to someone else. What!!! Yes he did! If you order drinks from this place I’d recommend watching the bartender make it. You could be getting a recycled drink — - — -!

We only had drinks here but they were wonderful and they definitely didn’t skimp out on the alcohol. My husband and I each had 3 drinks and we were stumbling out of here. So beware, the drinks are strong!

Awesome happy hour drinks and menu. The sunsets were breathtaking! We had several waitresses during our 8 day stay, but Susan was definitely our favorite. If you go, ask for her. She’s wonderful!

Best Mai Tai, the only reason we keep on coming back to stay here. We try almost every Mai Tai in Waikiki, still coming back to Randy and Lee. They are best bartender and very friendly. Stop by say Hi to them.

Very good pool bar. Would give 5 stars but some of the other happy hours around this area have it beat for value. However, if you’re staying at the Marriott, you get 2 complimentary Mai Tais with your stay. Food is decent – basic bar food essentially, though the fish sandwich is much larger and tastier than you’d expect.
Other highlights: the VIEW! It looks right down Kalakaua ave and the beach is across the street, so it can’t be beat. Also they have amazing musicians come play tunes every single night at 6 or 6:30, so even if you just stop in to have 1 evening drink, it’s worth the stop.

Good food with GREAT views. Beers and drinks are pricey if it’s not Happy Hour. The prime rib French dip came on toasted focaccia bread — I was afraid it was going to be too heavy but it worked. The BBQ pork sandwich was ok — I just wish they listed on the menu that it came with coleslaw.
All in all not a terrible lunch. But you do pay for the view, not the food or drink quality.

Good happy hour with live music.
Food/​Drink: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 3
Value: 3

Great place to eat with a great view of waikiki beach. Had the veggie burger with fries. It was good, but I have to say I was mostly impressed with the kids menu. My son ordered a cheeseburger. The meal comes with a choice of fries or fruit cup (he chose fruit cup and of course it was nice fresh Hawaiian fruit!) a chocolate chip cookie and a drink. The portions were perfect and all for $ 10. The atmosphere was amazing as they had live entertainment the night we went. They view alone would have been enough so the entertainment was a definite bonus! Great friendly service.

Three and a half stars. Rounded down because the drinks and food aren’t that good.
This place was able to accommodate my large family and it was conveniently in our hotel area. It was nice that it was near the pool and had good sun.
The appetizers tasted like heated frozen food or prepackaged foods. The drinks were very sugary and tasted more like juice.
The best part was the live band that played. That alone could have upgraded to four stars.
Happy hour was $ 6 drinks and $ 8 apps.
At least use up your drink tickets that come with the hotel resort fee.

This. Is. Hawaii. At least the way Hawaii SHOULD be and used to be. Hospitality from every person we came across and so much attention to detail. We had the breakfast buffet and everything was dynamite. Even the salmon for the bagels was unbelievably fresh, and yes, I realize I’m in Hawaii. The bacon was thick, plentiful and cooked perfectly. The coffee was perfect, as were the Eggs Benedict. It is a fantastic bargain for the money and of course, the appointments and view are amazing. Definitely don’t miss out on this place if you are in town!

Solid 4.5 stars so I rounded up compared to its current score.
Can’t beat the view here, right on the ocean. It’s a very chill kinda vibe. It’s not super easy to see off of the street but it’s a part of the Marriott.
The bar area has sports and the sit-​down area has tables and lounge chairs. The prices are shockingly good for the location and view, basically, they weren’t outrageous. I went there around sunset so it was an amazing view, what the romanticized version of Hawaii is all about. The wait staff and bartenders were great, across the board.
What’s cool is that we came back later at night when I heard there was live Hawaiian music (which I love). (I think there’s live music every night?) We sat up front but didn’t order anything, but the waitress came by to see if we needed anything and when we didn’t, I expected, «Actually, these tables are reserved for guests ordering food.» But no, she smiled and said to just let her know if we needed anything. Of course, we tipped the band and left a little something on our table.
It was just a very enjoyable experience here, definitely would recommend.
(After I left my review, I checked out some of the other reviews on here and, my God, no wonder some locals hate us ‘haoles’. You’re in paradise and are acting like entitled babies, «Whaahhhh, too much salt in my Kalua.» What the hell do you think Kalua is?! «The bartender didn’t talk to me enough.» Um, maybe you were boring? It’s just shocking how something like Kalua being too «salty,» which is exactly how it’s supposed to be made, leads to a one star review, when the reviewer is too ignorant to know how something is supposed to be made. We forget that WE are the guests in Hawaii, these servers work their asses off in a pride-​sucking job catering to tourists, having to smile while they act like this. Stop giving the rest of us bad names and enjoy your time here and stop treating locals like servents.)

All time favorite beach bar that we go to whenever we’re staying in Waikiki! Great exotic drinks! Had their Mai Tai again and again, and my wife started our weekend visit with a piña colada. Would be 5 stars except we had a lot of noisy traffic coming and going onto the beach.
The huge Banyan and classic white old Hawaiian mansion feeling is always romantic and the noise and hustle of Kalakaua is magically shutoff.

Expensive, but what did you expect?
Good drinks, menu of bar food/​appetizer types, and live music some nights make this a great stop on your beach stroll.
Laid back atmosphere with good service, and friendly tourists staying in the hotel.
The hotel is the Westin, this the prices.