Hawaiian Restaurant Near Me in North Miami: Makana's Musubi Until 2am

Makana Kava Bar & Hawaiian Kitchen serves Spam musubi, huli huli chicken sliders and haupia from noon to 2am every day, and nothing on its drinks list contains alcohol. The lounge sits at 12009 NW 7th Ave, North Miami, FL 33168, on the US 441 corridor at NW 120th Street. A three-piece Musubi Trio costs $10 and a half shell of the house Loloma kava is $4. For anyone typing Hawaiian restaurant near me north of the Design District, it is a Miami-Dade kitchen built around island comfort food.

Makana occupies a storefront on NW 7th Avenue, the stretch of US 441 that runs through North Miami, just north of the NW 120th Street intersection. Its own arrival guide tells drivers to aim for that corner and then look for the 12009 number, and notes that map apps sometimes label the area Miami rather than North Miami. Parking is a small private lot at the back and side of the building, with street spaces nearby once that fills.

Without a car, Metrobus Route 77, the Norwood to Downtown line that runs up NW 7th Avenue, stops at NW 7 Av and NW 120 St, a short walk from the door. Because the lounge stays open until 2am, the house guide suggests rideshare for anyone trying kava for the first time, and recommends stepping out to the right side of NW 7th Avenue for pickup so the driver does not need to U-turn across traffic.

The name means gift of kava, and the founders describe themselves as proud members of the LGBTQ community who had been drinking kava for nearly a decade before opening their own bar. Plan review paperwork filed by Golden Brew LLC put the project at this address in July 2024, and the lounge opened that year. On Google the business identifies as women-owned, Latino-owned and LGBTQ+ owned, and it carries a 4.9-star rating.

Inside, the look leans on natural wood, greenery and warm lighting, with indoor tables, a long bar and a back patio. The house calls it the first spot to combine a traditional kava bar with a gastrobar kitchen, and the room really does run two shifts: laptops and quiet tables between noon and 5pm, then groups, karaoke and live music after dark. Regular guests single out bartenders Anthony, Luis, Rus and Jimmy by name for walking newcomers through the menu.

The Musubi Trio is the dish to judge the kitchen by: three pieces of marinated fried Spam on sushi rice, wrapped in nori and finished with togarashi aioli, for $10. Huli Huli Chicken Sliders bring shredded huli huli chicken with pineapple marmalade and togarashi aioli on three toasted Hawaiian sweet rolls for $14. Both travel well to a patio table and pair easily with a shell of kava or a frozen mocktail.

Loco Moco Loaded Fries, $14, move the loco moco toppings onto a shareable plate: crispy fries under marinated beef, brown gravy, jack cheese and a sunny side egg, with a green avocado sauce on top. Chicken Katsu Tenders, $13, are panko strips with toasted coconut, togarashi aioli and a guava barbecue dip. Watermelon Poke, $15, swaps the tuna for marinated watermelon over sushi rice with edamame, cucumber, carrot and pineapple marmalade, the kitchen's only meatless main.

Sides keep the island accent going. Hawaiian Mac Salad, $5, is made the plate-lunch way with Hellmann's mayonnaise, shredded carrot and hard-boiled egg, and Li Hing Sweet Potato Fries, $6, are dusted with Hawaiian li hing mui seasoning, the salty-sour dried plum powder. Dessert is haupia, $7, the traditional Hawaiian coconut milk pudding with a smooth, firm set, drizzled here with pineapple syrup and toasted coconut. Beef empanadas, $3 each or two for $5, are the nod to the neighborhood.

The bar pours three kavas by the shell. Loloma, the balanced house blend, is $4 for a half shell and $7 for a full one, while Vanuatu, sold for body effects, and Tongan, sold for a clear head, are $5 and $8. A Ceremonial Kava Bowl, $60, arrives in a traditional tanoa bowl with fresh pineapple and coconut and serves three to four people, which makes it the move for a birthday table on the patio.

For anyone not ready for kava's earthy, numbing taste, the mocktail list does the work. The Nu-Bae, $12, mixes toasted jasmine syrup, ube, coconut and pineapple; the Soursop Mojito, $10, is soursop, mint and lime; the Mangohawa, $12, is blended frozen mango with a li hing mui drizzle and costs $8 more served inside a whole pineapple. The beer and wine list is non-alcoholic only, including Athletic Run Wild IPA and Stella Rosa, and brewed kratom comes in red, green and white.

Doors open at noon and close at 2am seven days a week. Happy hour runs Monday to Friday from 3pm to 6pm and again from 11pm to 1am, which makes the late window the cheapest time to try a shell. The quietest hours for working are noon to 5pm, when the outlets under the bar and along the wall behind it are free; the patio and front tables have fewer plugs.

Fridays bring karaoke, Saturdays usually bring live music and Tuesdays run a taco special, so weekend nights after 8pm are loud and the larger tables go to groups. The house advice for newcomers is to order one drink, wait 15 to 20 minutes and eat before a second round, and not to drive after a heavy session. Skip the Mozzarella Slims, $9: they are the one plate with no island angle, and the same money buys most of a Musubi Trio.

Be clear about what Makana is not. There is no classic plate lunch of kalua pork with two scoops of rice and mac salad, and the menu is built around shareable bites rather than full entrees. If a crowded karaoke night fills the room, Poke & More at 12892 Biscayne Blvd, in a North Miami shopping center, is a calmer Hawaiian-style counter for bowls; it opens at 11am and closes on Mondays.

NoMi Village, an arts and entertainment event center at 12351 NW 7th Ave, sits a few blocks north on the same avenue, so a concert or market there flows straight into a late snack and a mocktail at Makana. For art, the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami is at 770 NE 125th St, open Wednesday noon to 7pm and Thursday through Sunday 10am to 5pm, with $10 general admission and free entry for North Miami residents with ID.

MOCA's galleries closed starting Monday, Oct. 5, while its next exhibition is installed, so the courtyard and shop are the draw until that show opens. For an outdoor reset, Enchanted Forest Elaine Gordon Park at 1725 NE 135th St is a 22-acre city park bordering Arch Creek, with shaded trails and picnic facilities. A late-afternoon walk there, then sliders and a Loloma half shell at Makana during the 3pm to 6pm happy hour, makes an easy North Miami evening.

Makana Kava Bar & Hawaiian Kitchen, 12009 NW 7th Ave, North Miami, FL 33168. Open daily noon to 2am; happy hour Monday to Friday 3pm to 6pm and 11pm to 1am. Musubi Trio $10, Huli Huli Chicken Sliders $14, Loco Moco Loaded Fries $14, Hawaiian Mac Salad $5, haupia $7, Loloma kava $4 half shell. Alcohol-free venue. Private lot plus street parking; Metrobus 77 stops at NW 7 Av and NW 120 St. Online ordering runs through Clover.