During our stay, the Hulopo'e Court was closed for renovations. The Hulopo'e Court is the casual restaurant, and the Ihilani is the formal restaurant for the hotel. I believe the formal-clothing restrictions were removed from the Ihilani while the Hulopo'e Court was closed. So although I list the Ihilani as a casual restaurant, I believe it will change back to being a formal restaurant when the Hulopo'e Court reopens. The dining room has a very elegant setting and some say the most beautiful view in Hawaii. The romantic restaurant provides a splendid setting for vibrant Mediterranean cuisine with French and Italian specialties, including local seafood and island-grown fruits and vegetables. It is prepared by Chef de'Cuisine Jean-Pierre Bellon.
Ihilani means "heavenly splendor" in Hawaiian.
Breakfast - Serving a splendid buffet and á la carte selections by Chef de'Cuisine Orlando Apodaca. Open daily from 7 to 11am for breakfast.
This restaurant is half open air, with a roof covering the other half. Morning tables have umbrellas that provide some shade with a wonderful view of the swimming pool below and Hulopo'e Bay beyond the pool area. Linen tablecloths and a full-service table setting are provided even for the breakfast meal.
We ordered from the á la carte menu in the morning, but a full buffet was offered. The breakfast menu included a banana-club French toast, pineapple upside-down cake (pancake with pineapple on top), Hawaiian waffle, smoked salmon on toast bagel, seared ahi omelet, shrimp benedict, traditional benedict, fresh farm eggs with breakfast potatoes, vegetarian egg white omelet, juices, and Kona coffee. Breakfast in the open-air restaurant was a very relaxing time and really my favorite meal of the day. We tried the banana-club French toast and the pineapple upside-down pancake. All the meals looked good as the plates went by us.
Dinner is served nightly from 6 to 9:30pm.
Dinner tables were set with the fine china, and crystal with candlelight was provided at each table. Waiters wore formal tuxedos, but the guests were in elegant-casual attire. An average meal took two and a half hours and was very romantic. My husband tried their ahi tuna dish and I had a steak. Small pastries were placed on a tray, as we had declined dessert, but oh, those chocolate candy pastries were the best! Other special dishes included lavender-honey-glazed Muscovy duck breast or crispy Hawaiian moi. A lavish six-course meal is also available with wine pairings. This restaurant has an excellent wine list.