Upscale, live entertainment, booze, and great food, Nico Pier 38 is a must go experience for locals, tourists, business luncheons, and dinners. Nico Piers 38 or “Nicos” for short, is widely known for their amazing pier scenery, fresh cut poke, and amazing food. The first time I went to Nicos was in 2010. It was a tiny venue in which customers yell out their orders over a counter and sit at a small but shaded seating area near the entrance In my head I saw it as a pretty good hole in the wall plate lunch place. Today, Nico Pier 38 has come a long way from its tiny shack. As you pull into their parking lot you will notice the roof decorated with swimming Marlin. The

Parking lot is so huge that you will never have to worry about limited space. In order to get to the restaurant, you would have to walk towards the harbor on the side of the building where you will be greeted with their “Nico’s Pier 38” sign, the scent of the ocean, and the buzzing noise of customers chatting over their food and beer. Today, Nicos has live music entertainment, an island bar where customers can enjoy and pint of beer with their plate lunch. They also have a side fish market where you can get a hefty poke bowl and a beautiful outdoors awning with the view of the harbor horizon. There are two main doors. The first leads to the fish market and the other door leads to the main lunch/dinner area. Both areas have a door connecting to each other so you don’t have to exit the building to get to the other place. Let us talk about the fish market first. 

The fish market is a little on the tiny side but its cozy. The store is supplied with beverages, candy, Nico’s dressings, and coffee just to name a few. I usually come during lunch time around 1 or 2, and I’ve never experience a long line. At the back of the room there you will find the fish counter where you can order fish, build your own poke bowl or order a Hawaiian plate. One of the things that I consider it to be a “pidgin” dish is a poke bowl. A poke bowl is a kind of Hawaiian and Japanese fused dish that consist of cubed raw fish, furikake, some ginger, and maybe tegu. “Poke” in Hawaiian means to cut into cube pieces. The thing that I love about Nico’s fish market is that they give two choices of poke and an assortment of garnishes for my poke bowl giving me control of what and how much to decorate my dish. Three toppings limited thou. Still good. My personal favorite is the spicy ahi and limu poke combo garnished with furikake paired with a bottle of Bundaberg ginger beer. You can find it in the beverage cooler. It’s nonalcoholic and tastes like a sweeter version of ginger ale. According to the website, the fish market buys their fish from the boats early morning everyday so its super fresh and as a person who loves stuffing his face with fish, that’s important. Trust me, you wouldn’t like previously frozen fish. Now let’s talk about the main dining area. 

As you enter the door you go straight down towards the order line bypassing the first counter. There, depending the time of day like if it is lunch time or dinner time, you can order food. On the right side of the entrance you will find the dining area filled with numerous tables and chairs. During lunch time its pretty much open seating. I’ve only been here during lunch time so I’m not too sure what the seating arrangement is during dinner hours. When you pay for your meal the person at the register will hand you’re a square device that will go off when the food is ready to be picked up. The pick-up counter is on the right side of where you paid. Sitting in the middle of the dining area is the island bar. The island bar is equipped with beer on tap, a counter and the menu. One of the things that I found interesting was a picture places on a pillar eye level. In the picture there was a women working behind the counter smiling who died. I was astonished because for one thing, I don’t see a lot of these things around. The idea that the company took the time and money to create a beautiful engraving and frame of an old worker shows that the company really cares. It has that island intimate community to it that I loved. It was definitely a sight to see in the dining area. The last dining area is the outside area. It’s a small outside area where one can sit down under one of the table umbrellas while enjoying the outside breeze, the warmth of the sun, and the harbor horizon. It’s a really great experience. 

For myself, I usually come to Nicos at the very least three times a month. All though I live in Kalihi and Nicos is close by I’m usually at UH Manoa. If you don’t know where to start as far as lunch options go I really recommend the Hoisin BBQ. It’s like almost $10 and I swear it feeds two people. You get five pieces of BBQ chicken noodles, rice and your choice of mac or green salad. If you haven’t tried this place yet, go at your next lunch.