A bakery terrace at Halepuna Waikīkī by Halekūlani is living a double life. By day it serves coffee and pastries, but from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, the same open-air space transforms into Terns, a new casual dining spot built around shared plates and rum cocktails.
The concept comes from chef Vikram Garg, who also founded UMI by Vikram Garg and Masala Maya, according to a report from Aloha State Daily. Garg told the outlet he wanted Terns to feel informal, and the restaurant was created as a place for people to slow down, connect and experience exceptional food in an approachable setting. The menu is designed for sharing, conversation and discovery, blending global influences with the spirit of Hawaiʻi, per the same report.
Terns sits on the terrace of Halekulani Bakery at 2233 Helumoa Road, repurposing a space that otherwise closes as a morning café by 11:30 a.m., according to HAWAII Magazine. The bakery itself operates out of an 887-square-foot kitchen and prep space behind its service counters, the magazine reports, giving Halekulani Corporation a built-in kitchen to run both a morning café and an evening lounge in the same footprint.
A Menu Built on Global Plates and Local Rum
The Terns menu leans on shared plates meant for grazing rather than individual courses. Dishes include a smoked ʻahi dip, salmon rillette dip, avocado dip with tomatillo, cilantro and salsa, and chips with assorted dips, alongside heartier options like a loco moco with rice, egg and Hamakua mushroom gravy, udon bolognese with parmesan cheese, a burger, and fish and chips, per Aloha State Daily's rundown of the opening.
Masala Maya, described as a takeout concept for Indian cuisine, contributes several dishes to the Terns lineup, including lamb shank rogan josh, Goan shrimp curry, pork vindaloo, chicken tikka naan with tomato sauce and mozzarella, and butter naan. A Hawaiian-style ʻahi poke pani puri also appears on the menu, blending the archipelago's raw-fish tradition with an Indian street-food format, the same report notes.
On the drinks side, Terns' rum cocktails use juice or sugar cane from Maui and other Hawaiʻi-grown ingredients. Kō Hana Rum is identified as a partner for Terns. Kō Hana Distillers grows more than 30 varieties of heirloom Hawaiian sugarcane and distills French-style agricole rum from fresh-pressed cane juice rather than molasses, according to tasteMAKERS. Kō Hana is regarded as one of the world's leading conservators of native Hawaiian sugarcane, per the same profile.
Dessert Comes From Across the Street
For dessert, Terns serves the Halekulani Coconut Cake alongside a panna cotta with pineapple, coconut and dulce de leche. The coconut cake, a multi-layered chiffon cake with coconut amaretto cream, originated across the street at the flagship Halekulani hotel and has been a signature item for the Halekulani hospitality brand for decades, HAWAII Magazine reports. Halekulani Bakery bakes 15 to 20 of the nine-inch cakes daily.
Garg's other Halepuna Waikīkī venue, UMI by Vikram Garg, is at Halepuna Waikīkī. UMI has also been featured at the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival, per a Facebook post from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Named for a Bird With Deep Local Roots
Terns takes its name from the seabirds found throughout Honolulu, an homage to the manu-o-Kū, or white tern, that carries civic weight well beyond the dinner table. Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann designated the white tern the official bird of the City and County of Honolulu in April 2007, citing its cultural significance to Polynesian navigators and its unusual habit of nesting in the middle of an urban landscape, according to the Hawaiʻi Audubon Society. It remains the only indigenous seabird known to nest within a city like Honolulu, and it lays a single egg directly on a tree branch without building a nest, according to Civil Beat.
The bird's profile has only grown since then. Honolulu officials adopted the manu-o-Kū as the official mascot of Oʻahu's $10 billion Skyline rail transit system in June 2023, citing the bird's adaptability and its ties to local wayfinding, as reported by Hawaiʻi Public Radio. Transit staff reportedly landed on the symbol after encountering a nesting tern in Mānoa. Separately, volunteer conservation group Hui Manu-o-Kū has tracked Honolulu's white tern population growing by more than 50% between 2016 and 2026, a rare bright spot as other indigenous Hawaiian bird species have suffered steep declines, according to Civil Beat.
A Boutique Hotel Built for Flexibility
Halepuna Waikīkī by Halekūlani is the hotel that houses Terns.
Terns is now open to the public, with additional details, reservations and updates available on its website, ternshawaii.com, and its Instagram account, @ternshawaii.
