Hawaii’s oldest restaurant receives prestigious James Beard recognition

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The James Beard Foundation has named a Hawaii Island hotel and restaurant ― Manago Hotel ― as among this year’s recipients of the prestigious America’s Classics Award.

The spot in Captain Cook is home to Hawaii’s oldest continually operating restaurant, which opened in 1917.

Manago Hotel was started by Kinzo Manago and his “picture bride,” Osame, immigrants from Fukuoka.

They began by selling udon, bread, jam and coffee out of their home and then added cots for travelers.

During World War II, the Army contracted Manago Hotel to feed soldiers.

Today, the hotel says it offers “clean, simple and affordable hotel accommodations.”

And its restaurant has largely remained unchanged since the 1940s, serving up must-have Hawaii favorites like butterfish, pork chops, and hamburger steaks alongside tuna sandwiches and BLTs.

That attention to the classics keeps bringing people back, year after year.

“Broke da mouth pork chops,” wrote one Yelp reviewer. “Old school Hawaii,” wrote another.

Sisters Britney and Taryn Manago, the fourth generation owners, now run the hotel and restaurant.

“This is the only thing I’ve ever really known that I’ve loved and wanted to always be a part of,” Britney Manago told the James Beard Foundation.

The America’s Classics Award celebrates to locally owned restaurants that have timeless appeal and are beloved regionally for quality food that reflects the character of its community.

This year’s honorees join the ranks of more than 100 restaurants across the country that have received the Award since the category was introduced in 1998.

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