Bon Appétit just named this Honolulu hot spot as one of its Best New Restaurants in the U.S. for 2025, placing a Chinatown spot among only twenty restaurants selected nationwide. It is the first Hawaii restaurant to make the list since Lineage earned the honor in 2019, and the first Oahu restaurant to land there in years. The restaurant is Giovedi, which was also named Best New Restaurant in Hawaii in the 2025 Hale ‘Aina Awards.
The recognition arrives roughly eighteen months after Chef Bao Tran and his wife, Jennifer Akiyoshi, opened Giovedi’s permanent home on Hotel Street, right next to Fête. Before that, the restaurant existed as a pop-up, with a following among diners who understood what Tran was doing with Italian technique filtered through Asian flavors. The permanent location opened in May 2024, and the national attention followed faster than most Hawaii restaurants ever experienced.
We visited on a crowded Saturday evening and were disappointed to be seated in the atrium behind the restaurant, which is also behind Fete and other businesses. The atrium is also used by patrons of Fete who walk through to use the restroom. It felt removed from Giovedi, even though you are only steps from it.
To overcome this, the food had to be excellent, and it was. The lighting was warm, and the tables were spaced well enough that conversations stayed private. Service was excellent and unforced throughout our meal, with Akiyoshi working the room and helping guide the pace. Courses arrived on time, with no long gaps and no sense of being rushed out the door.
The Giovedi menu is short, and the pairings are unusual. Italian technique runs into Vietnamese, Sichuan, and Japanese flavors in combinations that do not sound intuitive until the food hits the table. Prosciutto San Daniele is paired with a Vietnamese sesame donut. Gnocchi comes coated in a beef cheek ragu seasoned with doubanjiang and Sichuan pepper, a nod to mapo tofu that lands firmly as Italian comfort food.
We ordered the Capellini Granchio, a crab pasta finished with preserved lemon and kani miso breadcrumbs, along with the mushroom donburi and salads, and a five-spice carrot cake with ginger gelato.
Rob tried their Old Fashioned, the Dayvan Cowboy, which isn’t traditional. It blends Diplomatico Mantuano rum with Yellowstone 108 bourbon, then layers in lemongrass and banana. The result drinks like a stronger Old Fashioned with a subtle tropical note and a fresh citrus lift from the lemongrass.
Every dish delivered. The crab noodles struck a great balance of brightness and depth, with no flavor overpowering, and the miso breadcrumbs added interesting flavor and texture without making the dish heavy. The mushroom donburi was earthy and deeply satisfying, rich without feeling too weighed down. Nothing about the meal or the presentation seemed ornamental, and nothing relied on novelty to gain attention.
Dessert was a five-spice carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and ginger gelato. It was easily one of the most unusual carrot cakes we have had, warmer and more complex than the classic version, with the ginger gelato keeping the whole thing balanced.
Giovedi is reasonably priced. Expect to spend between $30 and $100 per person, depending on how far you explore the menu and whether drinks are part of the night. Portions are sized for sharing, and this is food meant to be eaten with gusto. It may work best if you arrive with an understanding of what the restaurant is offering. It is clearly a place to experience dishes that have been thought through from the very first ingredient to the final bite.
The Bon Appétit recognition is significant because it pulls Honolulu back into a national conversation about where great food is actually happening right now. Their editors travel widely and narrow thousands of candidates down to a mere twenty. For years, Hawaii has largely sat outside that spotlight, despite the variety and depth of its cooking talent. Giovedi’s inclusion signals a significant shift, without relying on familiar standbys or visitor expectations. In a word, it’s unique.
Akiyoshi described the award as being bigger than the restaurant itself, calling it an affirmation of Hawaii’s role in shaping contemporary American food culture. To us, that rings true. Giovedi is not presenting traditional Hawaiian regional cuisine, nor is it resurrecting Pacific Rim ideas from decades past. It is personal, specific cuisine that happens to be rooted in Honolulu, and that regional specificity is exactly what the list tends to reward.
For visitors wondering whether Chinatown is worth the effort, Giovedi offers a clear answer. The interior courtyard setting helps ease concerns about crowding in the small space, the service is welcoming without being over-the-top, and the food clearly justifies the trip on its own. This is Chinatown at its best, and it belongs in the same league as Pig and the Lady, which helped establish the neighborhood as a serious dining destination years ago before moving to Kaimuki.
Reservations are strongly recommended. The restaurant is intimate by design, and national recognition has a way of making things like that worse overnight.
Giovedi is located next door to Fete at 10 North Hotel Street. Reserve on OpenTable or call (808) 723-9049. Closed on Monday. Dinner service only starts at 5:00 pm.
Beat of Hawaii paid full price for dinner and received no compensation for this review. All photos © Beat of Hawaii.
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