"Everybody in ʻEwa knows The Ville," chef Adam Gilbert told Aloha State Daily this spring. He was talking about the clubhouse restaurant at ʻEwa Villages Golf Course, which he says had been empty since 2019. His new place in that space, Fairway Tavern, is now open at 91-1760 Park Row. The name nods to the golf course, but Gilbert's own description puts the tavern on the plantation, and the hours back him up.
On Thursday through Saturday nights, Fairway Tavern stays open more than four hours after the course's starter's office closes, so the old ʻEwa core along Renton Road now has a sit-down dinner spot that serves well past sunset three nights a week.
A Concession Bid That Took Since 2019
The City and County of Honolulu announced the opening on June 5, 2026. The announcement called it the return of a full-service restaurant to the course and "a new dining destination for residents and visitors in the surrounding community." The dates vary by source. Aloha State Daily ran its opening profile on May 6, and HONOLULU Magazine's 2026 openings list puts it under April. The safest way to say it is that the tavern opened this spring.
The project goes back much further than this spring. Gilbert told Aloha State Daily he had been working on it since 2019. The pandemic pushed it to the back burner, and the City's bid for the space went out about two years ago. He and business partner Chris Natale won it and started renovating in December 2024. They redid the floor and repainted the whole place. The dining room seats around 135, and the tables and chairs came from Sansei and D.K. Steakhouse, both now closed.
While the concession was on hold, Gilbert sold Plantation Tavern, his Kapolei restaurant of about six years, in 2020. In 2021 he opened Monarch Poke at Pearl Kai Shopping Center. That history is why Fairway Tavern's logo looks so much like Plantation Tavern's.
Why the Owner Says the Concept Fits ʻEwa Better Than Kapolei
According to Aloha State Daily, the name honors both the golf course and the old Kapolei restaurant. Gilbert explained the logo choice to Aloha State Daily this way:
"The intent is to remember — subconsciously or not — that we're the same ownership, same business and same food. The whole concept of the tavern almost fits in better here than it did in Kapolei. You're on the plantation here. When you pull in off Renton Road, those are all original plantation buildings."
The menu follows that idea. The Fairway Tavern menu has breakfast bentos and loco moco, poke nachos, ahi poke, miso-yakitori chicken, sizzling sisig, and ube cheesecake. Aloha State Daily describes the food as plantation-influenced and local-style, with the poke nachos as the signature dish. The outlet also says the tavern aims for affordable prices and keeps a grab-and-go section for golfers. So golfers get a grab-and-go counter, and everyone else gets a 135-seat dining room.
The Hours Say Who It's For
The golf course and the tavern keep different schedules. The City's ʻEwa Villages Golf Course page describes an 18-hole, par-73 course with the starter's office open daily from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. It also posts "No Twilight Play Until Further Notice." No one is teeing off in the evening.
The tavern's website lists Sunday through Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. That's four and a half extra hours on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights after the starter's office closes, while the course itself has no twilight play. Anyone eating there at 8 p.m. on a Friday came for dinner.
One caution. The City's course page and the May article both list 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, so the later weekend hours could be newer than those pages or could still change. The tavern's number is (808) 687-3450. It takes reservations, parties, and catering, and catering also runs through ezCater.
The Rest of the Renton Road Loop
What makes the tavern useful is what's around it. The Hawaiian Railway Society runs its train yard at 91-1001 Renton Road. The ʻEwa Villages Historical Society lists a string of plantation-era landmarks on the same road. Here is a week around ʻEwa Villages based on the schedules posted now:
| Day | Fairway Tavern | Hawaiian Railway Society | Toy Train Museum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 7 a.m.–6 p.m. | No standard ride | Not listed |
| Tuesday | 7 a.m.–6 p.m. | No standard ride | Not listed |
| Wednesday | 7 a.m.–6 p.m. | Standard ride, $20 | Noon–1 p.m. |
| Thursday | 7 a.m.–10 p.m. | No standard ride | Not listed |
| Friday | 7 a.m.–10 p.m. | No standard ride | Not listed |
| Saturday | 7 a.m.–10 p.m. | Standard ride, $20 | 11 a.m.–3 p.m. |
| Sunday | 7 a.m.–6 p.m. | Standard ride, $20; Parlor Car 64 on the second Sunday, $35 | Noon–3 p.m. |
The Society's site describes the standard ride as a two-hour round trip. It doesn't post regular departure times on the main page, so check before you plan a morning around it. The Toy Train Museum is free, with donations welcome, and closes for lunch from noon to 1 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 to 2 p.m. on Sundays. Parlor Car 64 was built in 1900 for Benjamin F. Dillingham, founder of the Oahu Railway & Land Company. If the second-Sunday pattern holds, the next Parlor Car rides fall on November 8 and December 13.
The two-hour train ride and a tavern open since 7 a.m. fit easily into the same Saturday or Sunday. On Wednesdays, the ride lines up with the tavern's standard daytime hours.
Renton Road, Address by Address
The ʻEwa Villages Historical Society's landmark list reads like a short drive down one road. These are the stops along it, with the Society's listed sites plus the train yard:
- ʻEwa Plantation Manager's House, 91 Renton Road
- Hawaiian Railway Society train yard, 91-1001 Renton Road
- ʻEwa Hongwanji Mission, 91-1133 Renton Road
- ʻEwa Community Church, 91-1258 Renton Road
- Immaculate Conception Church, 91-1296 Renton Road
The Society also lists Tenney Village and Varona Village among the area's historic plantation villages. It says the Plantation Manager's House has deteriorated and calls its restoration a Society priority. The Society's page gives no visiting hours or public access details for these buildings. Treat them as sights from the street, and keep in mind that the churches are active congregations.
These landmarks are the "original plantation buildings" Gilbert meant when he talked about pulling in off Renton Road. He told the outlet the plantation setting is why the tavern concept fits better here than it did in Kapolei.
What's Coming Up This Fall
The railway's Halloween event, Spookapalooza 2026, runs October 23 and 24 at the Renton Road train yard. It has four departures each night and a $5 cash fare for riders age two and up, and children under 24 months ride free on a lap. Reservations opened September 15, and the flyer now says the event is sold out. The Holiday Express flyer still says "information coming soon," so watch the Society's site for dates and fares.
If golf is the reason for your visit, the City's tee-time reservation page explains booking windows. Golf ID holders can book seven days ahead, non-cardholders three days, and same-day tee times can be booked online.
A Note on Getting There From the Kapolei Side
Since September 14, the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation has kept Farrington Highway fully closed around the clock between the east and west ends of Old Fort Weaver Road. Crews are rebuilding the Honouliuli Stream Bridge, and traffic is detoured onto Old Fort Weaver Road. HDOT's notice estimates the closure will last about a year. The bus stop on the closed stretch has moved to Old Fort Weaver Road. The full $138 million widening project, which runs from Fort Weaver Road to Kapolei Golf Course, is estimated to finish in April 2028. Friends driving in from Kapolei for a Thursday dinner should take the detour into account.
The ʻEwa Villages area has some of Oʻahu's oldest homes, on the same streets as the restaurant, the train yard, and the plantation churches. If you live in one of them and want to know what your house is worth now, Tia Perez knows these streets and can tell you. Get your free home valuation, then go try the poke nachos.
