Three Places to Eat and Drink at Downtown’s New AC Hotel

With the opening of the new AC Hotel on Bishop Street in Downtown Honolulu comes three new spots to fuel up: Common Ground, a coffee shop serving a house blend of local coffee and fresh pastries; The Dotted Line, serving European breakfast, a power-hour lunch, dinner and drinks; and Yours Truly, a two-part bar that gives a nod to Downtown’s history. 

For those who live or work in Downtown, this is one of the most exciting openings in a while (besides Paris Baguette). Downtowners also have the parking advantage. The hotel offers valet parking; otherwise there are parking structures nearby. Here’s what to expect at 1111 Bishop St. 

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Common Ground

Photo: Katrina Valcourt

Common Ground replaced the former Aloha Poke Shop at street level of the AC Hotel’s former incarnation as Remington College. It conveys the hotel’s minimal aesthetic with thoughtful touches. Find your standard coffee offerings with additional sweeteners like black sesame, mac nut and coconut, plus specialty lattes and tea. An early favorite is the seasonal vanilla lavender oat milk latte, with house-made lavender syrup and vanilla from Pono Potions.

Everything’s served in disposable to-go cups, but a fenced off section through the side door makes for a cool, quiet nook to get some work done with free Wi-Fi (or people watch). Drinks, featuring Ka‘ū and Kona coffee from Big Island Coffee Roasters, run $4 to $8. House-made pastries such as croissants and kouign amann, parfaits, toasts and breakfast sandwiches are between $6 and $15. You’ll also see why the spot is referred to as the Bougie Bodega, with items like Momofuku chile crisp, Big Island Coffee Roasters espresso bites and other haute snackables for sale in partnership with Mana Up. 

Open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday 7 to 11 a.m., @commongroundhnl 

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The Dotted Line 

The main hub of activity is The Dotted Line, where the motto of “more is more” means you can add indulgent supplements of uni, black truffle, caviar and foie gras to your heart’s content. Breakfast is lighter fare, and lunch features an array of salads and sandwiches that range from a burger or chicken sandwich to a butter-poached lobster roll or eggplant katsu sando. At dinner, if pork belly’s on the menu, get it. Same if you see kabocha-banana curry or steak frites. Your best bet is to ask—we hear dishes may rotate.

Vegan kabocha squash and banana curry with choy sum, long beans, beets and black sesame ($28). Photo: Katrina Valcourt

Our pick, especially during daylight and evening hours when you’re insulated from the Bishop Street scene by the restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling glass walls, is happy hour. This comes with discounts on wines by the glass, pūpū like deviled eggs and house-fried chips with fun dips, and live music on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

An assortment of local beers on tap range from $8 to $12, with bottles and cans of everything else from $6 to $8. More than a dozen wines are available by the glass, from a $14 rosé to $30 Champagne. A better choice is a signature cocktail. We tried an assortment and discovered our typical favorites ranked lower than new creations such as the Jane Bond ($18): Hapa Hibiscus vodka, Empress elderflower rose gin, Italicus and lychee.

From left: Smoked Manhattan, Signature Gintonic, Nene in Paradise, Jane Bond. Photo: Katrina Valcourt

Open daily at various hours, dottedlinehawaii.com, @thedottedlinehnl

Yours Truly

Photo: Katrina Valcourt

Downstairs at the AC Hotel, the bar is an inviting space with a commissioned painting on the wall of the three-story hotel that sat on this spot 100 years ago. Opposite, a row of mailboxes harks back to when it was a post office and curio print shop. The mailboxes are functional: Anyone wishing to join the bar’s membership program can store their bottles there. Director of mixology Jojo Twiford and her team put together a menu we’re particularly excited about, with hints of tropical flavors that go beyond tiki to in-depth, interesting cocktails that are as visually rewarding as they are tasty. 

From left: Leave No Orchid Behind, Mint To Be, Return To Sender. Photos: Katrina Valcourt

We love the Return to Sender, a Japanese whiskey-forward drink with spiced pear and violet liqueurs, cacao and coffee bitters, and applewood smoke through a skull topper; The Monk’s Uncle, made with chartreuse that Twiford lights on fire before extinguishing with gin, pineapple and lime; the Leave No Orchid Behind, which features an orchid garnish plus orchid-infused vodka and an impressive slice of fresh ginger; and the dessert-worthy Mint To Be, akin to a boozy Andes mint served in a teacup. Cocktails run the steep prices of $19 to $21, but the mocktails, only $10, aren’t lacking in anything other than alcohol. Try the Yours Truly Spark with cold-brewed yerba mate, liliko‘i, lime and agave for a tasty pick-me-up. The bar also serves a few food items, such as tallow truffle fries ($10), a burger ($28) and falafel bao ($10).

For an extra special experience, book an online reservation, select your time and then “Speakeasy Tiki Bar.” You’ll be led into a secret room and given a mailbox key—use it to “mail” your bartender an illustrated postcard with your order. Your mailbox lights up when the drink is ready. 

Photo: Aaron K. Yoshino

Choices back here are equally thoughtful in their flavor profiles but lean a bit more tropical. Go with a group for the best array of aquatic barware. The Queen Lili‘u in a seahorse mug is too fun to skip, as is the P. Sherman, a laid-back turtle whose condensed milk looks a little like sunscreen (but tastes so much better). We also recommend the Chinatown’s Choice, a weekly feature of market ingredients. Classic tiki drinks (mai tai, zombie, etc.) are $17 to $18. 

Chinatown’s Choice, P. Sherman and Queen Lili‘u. Photo: Katrina Valcourt

Hotel owner Patricia Chang Moad made the tables herself, commissioned the artwork and spent two years combing online sites and garage sales to find items for the space. Many pieces are one of a kind and can’t be purchased (or smuggled out—just don’t). You can, however, buy glassware, T-shirts and temporary tattoos listed on the back of the menu. 

Open Wednesday to Thursday 5 to 11 p.m., Friday to Saturday 5 p.m. to midnight, yourstrulyhawaii.com, @yourstrulyhnl