Weddingbee boards

I don't know about what restaurant to go to but, why not do a search on luaus (sp?).  It's a bit kitsch but if everyone is flying in for your wedding it's noce to show some of the culture of the area.  The hotel might even be able to provide this.

Buzz's is my absolutely favorite restaurant but it requires driving. Duke's has a fun ambience but I am not a big fan of the food. 

Sorry, I'm not a fan of any of the "casual dining" places in Waikiki. They're all overpriced since they have a captive audience.

Luau's are very kitsch, but *can* be fun. The Paradise Cove one is pretty decent, and the grounds are beautiful. You can set up a group deal, probably, either directly through them or any other tour operator. The nice thing is that you can all drink as much as you like since part of the package is transportation.

Duke's is fun, but the food is not particularly special, and, as I mentioned, I find it overpriced. The view is awesome, though.

If you venture outside of Waikiki, there are lots of nice places that are better priced. If you like Chinese, a personal favorite is called "Little Village," it's in Chinatown, and that's where we had our RD.

I think Kona Brewing is OK, but my pet peeve is that in about 10 minutes, your food is ice cold because of the wind that comes in off the bay.

Here are some good (local) websites with dining guides and recommendations that I find to be pretty good:

Honolulu Magazine (cross check the listings against their restaurant reviews in the magazine; this link goes directly to the guide)

'Ono Kine Grindz 

Hawaii Diner 

The Honolulu Advertiser (this is the link to the home page; check out their "Island Life" section for restaurant reviews, and they also have a restaurant guide on the site somewhere...they redesigned, and I hate it)

I don't know if they reserve areas, but the Shorebird is one of my favorite places when I'm there.

Oh, hulafish is right -- Willows!  They're cute, they have a couple of private room options, AND they have a Hawaiian buffet.  Sometimes.  You should probably call/check their website first.  Their food is not bad, and also not too expensive.  They have a really cute property, with jumping fountains 'n' stuff.

Also, hubs and I were talking about this place:  MAC247

It stands for "Modern American Cuisine" 24-7 (as in all day, every day). It's basically an ultra fancy diner. So, it would be pretty casual style of food, but it's a very nicely mod looking venue. They're never busy that I can tell, and I love that I can get breakfast whenever I want. I'm a breakfast fan that hates getting up for breakfast. The catch is that their service is really not so great on an average basis. BUT, maybe if you have a group, you'd be better off since they'd probably devote servers to you.  (I do also tend to go at totally random hours of the night.) As far as price, we usually get out for about $35-40 for two of us; hubs feels it's a bit pricey for the style of food, but I don't think it's so bad. (He just thinks, you can get eggs & bacon for $10 elsewhere...) Oh, the portions are HUUUUGE on most of their dishes. (If you order the pancakes, no joke, they are as big as hubcaps.)

Also, I'm incredibly entertained by the fact that there are only 2 hours in the day (4AM - 6AM) that they DON'T serve alcohol!

Indigo is quite cool!  Make sure you find out if it's a "club night" on the night you want to go. I forget which nights they do this, but after the regular dinner "hour," they bring in DJ's and go nuts.  It can be a bit much for "older folk," but fun for the young 'uns.  Oh, and they have the AWESOMEST martini deals around pau hana (after work) -- it's like $2 or something ridiculous like that.  And they're not watered down, teensy things either!  Yum!

They have creative "Eurasian" food, which is quite common in Hawaii, but to as much so on the Mainland. I've never done dinner there, but have had lunch.  Pretty tasty. (Honestly, I can really only vouch for the drinks...sorry!)

I will warn ya: the restaurant is in Chinatown, and that area is, well, "scrungy" pretty much sums it up. It's not dangerous or anything (no more so than any other largeish urban city), but sometimes people are thrown to be confronted w/ that sort of thing in "paradise."  The front entrance is on a perfectly decent, well-lit street and all; not scary or anything. They do also offer valet, if you don't want to bother with parking (if you're not familiar w/ the area, it might be a good idea; the streets are one way, which can be annoying).

Oh, and if you do still want the luau idea: they serve more than kalua pig. Some of 'em even serve regular "American" food that you'd find anywhere. Pig and poi sometimes scare people. Bleah, poi. 

Just call and check, or see if the website has a menu of the full buffet offerings.

Venuz -- I know Duke's has both an indoor area and an outdoor.  It *does* tend to rain (more heavily than usual) from about October to April.  (Think of it as liquid snow...) Don't know why they'd stick you on the lanai if your preference would be for indoor. Oh, I think sometimes they have music on the lanai too -- actually, now that I think about it, a lot of places do that.

Ack, I didn't know they charged that much for the luau!  (Oh, but check if that includes transportation -- sometimes you can get it for cheaper if you haul your butts out there yourselves...which, to me, defeats the point since it's so far (OK, far for Hawaii; it's like 30 minutes, more if there's traffic) and who wants to drive after they've stuffed themselves full of luau food and booze?

Roy's is very nice, and the view is beautiful. I prefer to eat in their "bar" (there's tons of space and not actually next to the bar, either!) b/c the dining room can be noisy. Altho' if they're renovating, it may be better. The fad for a long while was these showcase open kitchens, which are cool, but they are SO LOUD! It's still a really nice place for a dinner.  

If you're OK with dives, check out a place called Side Street Inn.  (I'm feeling too lazy to Google it and link to their site, sorry!) They have REALLY GOOD food (this is the place that chefs go to hang out), but it's on this totally crappy side street (get it?) and it's not much to look at. But the food is awesome, and not too expensive.  Pretty cheap for a lot of the dishes. But it is, essentially, one giant bar (they do karaoke too, which may not be some peoples' thing), so it can get a little bit noisy. 

RE Brew Moon:  I love their food...but we stopped going for dinner because they started doing this wretched thing where they had entertainment (not in itself a bad thing) and CHARGED COVER to EAT DINNER!!  WTF?!?  I can understand if you just sit in the bar and/or you don't order dinner, but we weren't coming for the entertainment. We just wanted dinner.  I'm not paying $20 for the "privilege" of eating there and/or having "entertainment" while doing so.

Not sure if they're still doing it. I'm about 90% sure they're still doing the entertainment, but not sure on the cover thing.

Love me some "beer crackers," tho'!  (I still go for lunch every now 'n' then.)