STRIPSTEAK Waikiki is marking ten years in business with a month-long celebration running throughout October, capped by a ticketed anniversary party on October 27 that includes Chef Michael Mina himself. The $125-per-person bash, limited to 200 guests, runs from 5 to 9 p.m. inside the restaurant at the International Market Place and features a welcome toast, live food stations, oysters shucked to order, master sake tastings and local live music.
STRIPSTEAK Waikiki is among the restaurants at the 360,000-square-foot International Market Place, which reopened in August 2016 after closing for renovation in 2013. The anniversary celebration includes a month of events, including a four-course ohana menu served family-style and new bar offerings. The restaurant occupies the third-floor Grand Lanai of the Market Place, with a main dining room for 120 guests, a private dining room for 42 and an outdoor lanai seating 80 under a retractable roof, per the restaurant's own description shared through STRIPSTEAK Waikiki.
A Decade of Steaks and Duck Fat Fries
Throughout its run, STRIPSTEAK's menu has featured steak, Wagyu, and complimentary gourmet French fries, according to a report from HAWAIʻI Magazine. Those offerings are part of the restaurant's menu as Waikiki's dining scene has shifted considerably over the past ten years.
As part of the anniversary celebration, the restaurant also has new bar offerings. The bar's High Tide Happy Hour now runs from 4 to 6 p.m., and the restaurant has also brought in weekly guest bartenders for October. Tickets to the anniversary celebration are available for purchase for guests who want to join Chef Mina on the 27th.
From Tiki Bazaar to Celebrity Chef Territory
The International Market Place itself carries a much longer history than the steakhouse anchoring its third floor today. The original open-air market was established in 1956 by Donn Beach and operated for 57 years before closing for renovation in 2013, according to Wikipedia. The site reopened in August 2016. STRIPSTEAK is among the restaurants at the International Market Place.
There's also a quieter financial thread running beneath the property. The land under the International Market Place is owned by the Queen Emma Land Company, meaning proceeds from the property's commercial activity help support non-profit healthcare at The Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, per Wikipedia's entry on the site. It's a detail that ties STRIPSTEAK's decade of fine dining back to a piece of Hawaiian royal land trust history most diners probably never think about while cutting into a Wagyu steak.
Chef Michael Mina at the Celebration
Mina is scheduled to attend the October 27 anniversary celebration at STRIPSTEAK Waikiki.
