The headline promised discounts, so we read the list looking for one that was ours. Favorite Son, the all-day restaurant at the Ambassador hotel on Kūhiō Avenue, is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day and comes with a long list of perks. The percentage discounts, though, go to students, hotel guests and hospitality workers, as Hawaii News Now describes them. A visitor staying somewhere else is mostly looking at menu prices, a pau hana that does not publish what it discounts, and three free hours of parking with a meal.
What happened
Hawaii News Now (HNN) reported on September 12 that Favorite Son, at the Ambassador Hotel of Waikiki, “has launched an all-day menu concept” under the slogan “Where Waikiki Begins.” Executive Chef Justus Keliehor — who, the station says, previously led culinary teams at Basalt Waikiki, Hideout at The Laylow and the Ritz-Carlton Turtle Bay — joined HNN Sunrise Weekends to show off the menu, the perks and the weekly events. The headline calls the restaurant new. Neither the report nor the hotel’s own page gives an opening date.
The restaurant’s page on the hotel’s website is where the prices live. It lists the address as 2040 Kūhiō Ave., hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, and a menu that runs from a $4 guava Danish on the breakfast list to $38 signature garlic shrimp among the after-5 p.m. mains.
Here are the discounts and weekly specials the two sources list, and who each one is for.
| Perk | Who gets it | When | Listed by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15% off | Students, with a school ID | Daily | Hotel page and HNN (ID on hotel page) |
| 15% off | Hotel guests | Not stated | HNN only |
| 50% off | Service Industry Night; HNN says hospitality workers | Sundays, 8 p.m. to close | Both |
| Pau hana | Anyone; no specials published | Daily, 4–6 p.m. | Both |
| Tacos & Tequila | Anyone; specials not priced | Tuesdays | Both |
| Prime Rib Night, 10 oz | Anyone; $48 on the hotel page | Fridays (HNN); Fridays and Saturdays (hotel page) | Both |
| Parking | Diners, three hours free | Daily (hotel page) | Both |
Both sources also list a no-cover DJ pool party at the hotel’s Waikiki Swim & Social on Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. For dogs, the report mentions dog-friendly patio perks, and the hotel page files water bowls and tennis balls under “Paw Perks.”
What it changes for a Waikiki stay
For most of the day, it changes what you pay only if you fit one of the discount rows. Otherwise, the menu price is the price. From the hotel’s page:
| Menu section | Prices |
|---|---|
| Shareables / pupus | $13–$24 |
| Waterman rice bowls | $26–$29 |
| Salads | $16 |
| Crafted handhelds | $22–$29 |
| Mains (after 5 p.m.) | $34–$38 |
| Desserts | $10–$14 |
The clock matters as much as the price. The doors are open all day, but the mains section is marked after 5 p.m. That includes the roasted local catch at $35, one of the five dishes Hawaii News Now singled out. The other four carry no time limit on the page: the ʻulu and artichoke dip ($17), the fried garlic noodles ($17), the Hawaiian ʻahi poke rice bowl ($29) and the chocolate almond cake ($14).
If you do qualify, the math is modest. Fifteen percent off the $29 poke bowl is $4.35, so $24.65 before tax and tip. Neither source says whether the 15% applies to drinks, and we found no drink list on the restaurant page.
The parking is the clearest perk for a visitor who drives. Both sources say diners get three complimentary hours. Neither explains where you park or how the validation works.
What we would do — and what we wouldn’t
We would not move our afternoon for it. Our eating day starts around 2 p.m. — a happy hour if the beer is the point, takeout back to the room if it isn’t. At 2 p.m., Favorite Son is a full-price restaurant for us. We are not students, we are not staying at the Ambassador, and the Sunday discount is built for people who work in the industry, at an hour when we are winding down anyway.
A pau hana without a posted menu is hard to plan a walk around. Four to six could work; we would just start later than usual. But a sit-down has to earn its place with what is on tap, we found no beer list to go on, and nothing says whether the discount lands on food, drinks or both. As we found writing about Yard House, a happy hour can cut the food in half and barely touch the beer. The details decide whether it is worth the chair.
The dish that got our attention is the garlic noodles. Dashi shoyu, crispy garlic, bonito flakes, $17: salty, shareable, and the kind of plate that goes with a cold beer. If it can be boxed, it fits the way we actually eat far better than a sit-down pau hana does. Neither source mentions takeout, so that would be our first question.
We would skip the 7 a.m. opening and the cake. Coffee and fruit in the room is our breakfast, and neither of us has a dessert habit. That part is good news for somebody else.
Who this is better for: guests at the Ambassador (ask about the 15% at check-in, since only the news report mentions it), students with ID, anyone driving in who wants three free hours, dog owners who want a patio, and anyone in hospitality looking for a Sunday night out.
We have not eaten at Favorite Son. Everything above comes from the news report and the hotel’s page, not from a meal.
Before you plan around this
- Two sources, two disagreements. The hotel-guest 15% appears in Hawaii News Now’s report but not on the restaurant page, which lists only the student discount. Prime Rib Night is Fridays in the report and Fridays and Saturdays on the hotel page. We would go by the hotel page and still call before counting on either.
- Unpriced specials. What the pau hana discounts, what Tacos & Tequila costs, what the Sunday 50% covers and whether you need to show proof of a hospitality job are not spelled out in either place.
- One weekly night isn’t running yet. The hotel page lists a “Pre-fixe Monday” as coming soon.
- Prices, hours and perks were checked on September 14, 2026 (September 13 in Honolulu) and can change. The restaurant’s page on the hotel site is the place to re-check.
Details
Favorite Son — Ambassador Hotel of Waikiki, 2040 Kūhiō Ave., Honolulu. Open daily 7 a.m.–10 p.m.; mains after 5 p.m.; pau hana 4–6 p.m. Phone (808) 941-7777, per the restaurant’s page as of September 13, 2026, Honolulu time.
If someone tells us the garlic noodles travel well, the walk over to Kūhiō gets a lot more likely.
