After being named a James Beard Award semi-finalist four times, Bar Leather Apron recently made it to the finals and won in its category.
Earlier this month, owners Justin Park and Tom Park attended the awards in Chicago and learned they’d won the James Beard Foundation’s 2023 Outstanding Bar award as best in the nation.
The win puts them in elite company. Hawaiʻi’s five past winners include Len Allison in 1984; Roy Yamaguchi in 1993; Alan Wong, who won it twice; George Mavrothalassitis, who won it three times; and, most recently, Robynne Maii last year.
You can find Bar Leather Apron in a 1,200-square-foot mezzanine space in Topa Tower.
If the award has you curious, be prepared to wait. Seatings are by reservation only, by the month, through the online app Resy.
Tom Park says the spots all get spoken for in about half an hour.
What has people willing to wait are carefully crafted cocktails, such as the Matcha Old Fashioned, Yuzu Sour and the E Ho‘o Pau Mai Tai — which includes raisin-infused rum, coconut water syrup, lime and wood smoke.
Cocktails go for $16 to $28 each. The bar also boasts a whisky list of more than 500 varieties.
In fact, it was a shared interest in rare whiskies that inspired Justin Park and Tom Park — no relation — to go into business together.
Tom Park also owns the high-end men’s shoe store, Leather Soul, where Justin noticed a number of very rare whiskies on display and struck up a conversation. Now the partners are carefully considering expanding, including to the mainland and Japan.
