{"id":45046,"date":"2026-10-25T03:30:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T03:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/45046\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T03:30:58","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T03:30:58","slug":"el-cielo-is-an-oasis-of-spanish-tapas-in-waikiki","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/45046\/","title":{"rendered":"El Cielo Is an Oasis of Spanish Tapas in Waik\u012bk\u012b"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"El<\/p>\n

Photo: Melissa Chang<\/p>\n

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I think people are sometimes surprised to see a very Japanese-looking chef at the helm of the very Spanish El Cielo in Waik\u012bk\u012b. The food is more authentic than they might realize. Chef Masa Arnaldo Gushiken was born in Argentina, and when he moved to Honolulu almost 10 years ago, he could (mostly) only speak Spanish or Japanese. Which culture does he identify with more? I ask. \u201cSpanish,\u201d he says definitely.<\/p>\n

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So while Gushiken has cooked at restaurants in Japan and California and was the opening chef at now-closed Bread + Butter in Honolulu, when he finally decided to open his own place on Lewers Street, he headed to Spain first and spent six month studying different restaurants. It was no surprise that the first one of his own would be a Spanish tapas restaurant. Which is even better for us because we only have one other Spanish restaurant on the island.<\/p>\n

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SEE ALSO: There\u2019s a New Japanese Food Hall Inside This Waik\u012bk\u012b Grocery Store<\/p>\n

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Cielo means \u201csky\u201d or \u201cheaven\u201d in Spanish, but it also represents Gushiken\u2019s vision of endless possibilities. When you first visit, the menu seems endless as well. I haven\u2019t had anything that I didn\u2019t like; the following are simply my favorites.<\/p>\n

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\"Bacon-wrapped<\/p>\n

Bacon-wrapped dates. Photo: Melissa Chang<\/p>\n

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I often like to just enjoy wine and pintxos (snacks) and tapas and make that my meal. Definitely get the bacon-wrapped dates ($6 for two), bu\u00f1uelos (black cod fritters, $7) and some charcuterie ($28). These are universal grazing basics that go well with wine or cocktails.<\/p>\n

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\"Charcuterie<\/p>\n

Charcuterie. Photo: Melissa Chang<\/p>\n

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The tapas are most interesting. The Gallega-style octopus ($22) is grilled, then drizzled with olive oil and paprika powder. This smoky tentacle is beautifully complemented by house-made chimichurri, using Gushiken\u2019s mom\u2019s recipe.<\/p>\n

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\"grilled<\/p>\n

Grilled octopus. Photo: Melissa Chang<\/p>\n

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I also love the shrimp ajillo ($19), which looks spicy but is actually more garlicky\u2014I use every bit of the accompanying baguette to get all the sauce.<\/p>\n

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\"El<\/p>\n

Tripe stew. Photo: Melissa Chang<\/p>\n

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Tripe lovers, of which I am one, will enjoy the callos ($18), composed of a tripe tomato stew, garbanzo beans, sausage and mint. As I\u2019m writing this, I don\u2019t recall tasting mint. Or maybe I was focused on trying not to share it with my tablemates.<\/p>\n

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Mushrooms. Photo: Melissa Chang<\/p>\n

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The other staple on my order is the chicken liver p\u00e2t\u00e9 ($12), served with truffle oil and a house-made baguette. It\u2019s simple and elegant. Need I say more? Round it all out with the marinated mushrooms ($12) and an \u2018ahi ni\u00e7oise salad ($20) so you can be a little healthy.<\/p>\n

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\"shrimp,<\/p>\n

Seafood paella. Photo: Melissa Chang<\/p>\n

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For entr\u00e9es, you can\u2019t go wrong with any of the paellas, which are tasty rice pans with savory toppings. I usually get the seafood ($38), but the chicken ($36) is almost as good\u2014I get that if I\u2019m with people with seafood allergies.<\/p>\n

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\"El<\/p>\n

Uni crab pasta. Photo: Melissa Chang<\/p>\n

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By now I\u2019ve been to El Cielo so many times that I\u2019ve had all the entr\u00e9es except the Iberico pork shoulder. The uni and crab pasta ($37) is subtly briny and very luxurious. If I\u2019m hungry, I opt for the heartier lamb chops ($52), which are amazingly tender and almost don\u2019t need the rioja red wine sauce. If I\u2019m feeling spendy, the washugyu steak ($58) is, of course, a sumptuous option. It doesn\u2019t look as filling as the lamb, but remember, there\u2019s a lot of marbling in washugyu that makes it extremely rich and filling. The lightest dish is probably the Basque-style sea bream ($40), saut\u00e9ed so the skin and scales are delicately crisp. The flavor is bumped up with a tomato and clam white wine sauce and Manchego cheese.<\/p>\n

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\"filet<\/p>\n

Sea bream. Photo: Melissa Chang<\/p>\n

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Desserts are always so subjective. Most of my Japanese friends prefer the Mont Blanc ($16), which features a chestnut pur\u00e9e infused with house-pressed hojicha (roasted green tea). My local friends love the ube Basque cheesecake ($12), which is heavier and lightened by the whipped mascarpone. My personal favorite is the frozen turon ($8), which is composed of almond, honey meringue and milky ice candy. Alas, that one isn\u2019t very photogenic.<\/p>\n

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\"slice<\/p>\n

Ube Basque cheesecake. Photo: Melissa Chang<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m not gonna lie, the parking situation does suck. The restaurant doesn\u2019t have a dedicated lot, so you will have to find a space in the metered lot behind or on the street.<\/p>\n

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SEE ALSO: Where to Park in Waik\u012bk\u012b<\/p>\n

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But the hunt for parking is worth it. I\u2019ve been back to El Cielo several times on my own because I like it so much. After my first dinner there, Gushiken beamed and said, \u201cThis is really food from my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Open nightly from 5 p.m. to midnight, 346 Lewers St., (808) 772-4533, @elcielo_hawaii<\/p>\n

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\u00a0 Photo: Melissa Chang \u00a0 I think people are sometimes surprised to see a very Japanese-looking chef at the helm of the very Spanish El Cielo in Waik\u012bk\u012b. The food is more authentic than they might realize. Chef Masa Arnaldo Gushiken was born in Argentina, and when he moved to Honolulu almost 10 years ago,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[268],"tags":[557,558,559,560],"class_list":["post-45046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spanish-restaurants","tag-spanish-tapas-bar","tag-spanish-tapas-bars","tag-spanish-restaurant","tag-spanish-restaurants"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/vive.im\/@dnc\/117499436972150285","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diningandcooking.com\/restaurants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}