We are not fine-dining people. Our normal Hawaii evening is a supermarket bottle of wine on the lanai or a happy hour we can walk to in slippers. But once a year, for our anniversary, we put on real shoes — literally, and that detail matters here — and book Michel’s at the Colony Surf: the oceanfront French dining room at the quiet Diamond Head end of Waikiki that has been doing this since 1962.
If you are deciding whether it belongs in your trip, three things determine the evening: the reservation, the dress code, and the bill. Here is all three, with our receipts.
The essentials
| Where | 2895 Kalākaua Ave, Honolulu — in the Colony Surf, facing Kaimana Beach |
| Hours | Daily, 5:00 – 9:00 pm (last seating); a late-night menu is offered for 8:00–9:00 pm seatings |
| Reservations | Effectively required — OpenTable or (808) 923-6552 |
| Dress code | Smart casual (details below — the shoes are the real rule) |
| Budget | Current tasting menu $130 per person; plan on roughly $300–400+ for two with wine (our 2017 à la carte dinner for two came to $303 with tax) |
The dress code, translated from the official page
The restaurant’s published policy (checked August 2026) is “smart casual”, spelled out in three tiers — and it is friendlier than the words suggest:
- Encouraged: aloha wear, dress or chino pants, dark tailored jeans, slacks, button-downs, polos, blouses, dresses; blazers optional. Toe-covering shoes or pumps.
- Discouraged (not banned): t-shirts, shorts, flip-flops and thong sandals, caps, torn jeans.
- Not allowed: tank tops, swimwear, gym wear, clothing with inappropriate language or characters, and dirty or wrinkled clothing.
Note the wording: flip-flops sit on the discouraged list, not the prohibited one — the published policy does not say you will be turned away in sandals. Still, here is the practical translation from people who overthought it: the clothing is easy, the shoes are where the doubt lives. An aloha shirt and chinos are already in most suitcases; covered shoes usually are not. One year we actually gave up on booking Michel’s out of pure footwear anxiety — our own caution, not a doorman’s ruling. Now one pair of covered shoes rides in the suitcase every trip, because on an anniversary we would rather delete the question entirely than test the house’s flexibility.
The room is the reason
Michel’s sits at the far east end of Waikiki, past the crowds, directly on Kaimana Beach. The dining room is open to the ocean air, and if you time your reservation before sunset, you watch the sky go orange over the water while the first courses arrive. Waikiki has taller views and louder views; it does not have many older or calmer ones.
We do not rent a car in Hawaii, so “past the crowds” normally disqualifies a restaurant for us. This is one of the few places worth summoning a ride for — the small trip is part of what makes the night feel different from our usual five-minute-walk evenings.
What we ate
Our anniversary order, from a previous visit:
- Sautéed foie gras with pineapple — rich against sweet-tart fruit
- Lobster bisque à la Michel’s — the signature, still on the current menu, finished tableside with lobster meat flambéed in cognac. The little column of flame at your table is the moment the dinner becomes an occasion.
- Warm seafood salad
- Chateaubriand for two, sauce béarnaise — carved as one grand plate for the pair of you
We drank by the glass, matched to courses by the staff — a different rhythm from our usual ten-dollar-bottle evenings, and once a year, a very good one. Today the kitchen also offers a tasting menu at $130 per person with wine pairings at $40 or $80, which is the cleanest way to plan the budget in advance.
The honest bill
Our à la carte dinner for two — the courses above plus wine by the glass — came to about $303 including tax in 2017. Prices have moved since, as everywhere in Honolulu; with today’s $130 tasting menu as the anchor, a realistic plan is $300–400+ for two with wine. Against our normal grocery-store-wine evenings that is a splurge with a capital S. As a once-a-year night with a sunset, a flame at the table, and sixty years of history in the room, we have never regretted it.
How to do it right
- Book ahead on OpenTable; note anniversaries or seating preferences in the reservation.
- Reserve before sunset — check the sunset time for your dates and aim 30–45 minutes earlier.
- Pack one pair of covered shoes and one smart-casual outfit each. Covered shoes are technically only “encouraged” — but packing them removes every doubt for the price of a little suitcase space.
- Verify the current menu and dress code on the official site before you go — policies and prices change.
We also publish a Japanese-language version of this guide: ミッシェルズの予約・ドレスコード・お会計.
