Letto

You want me to go to McCully to hit up a dance club? Are you kidding me? Well that is exactly what you think of when you here of Letto. Where Zap (and an American Savings Bank) once was home, Letto has taken over and while they claim they have changed the concept, I find that it is still the same Zap with a few changes. Overall, they offer a decent venue, decent drinks and prices, and ok service. Is it worth it for me to head to an unusual spot for a drink? Only time will tell.
Located right off McCully between King Street and Beretania, Letto is not exactly in the mainstream part of town for drinks and dancing. It’s off the beaten path makes it a convenient alternative to the neighbors, while a bigger to do for those who don’t. Parking can be a bit of a challenge if their lot fills up, as you are competing with the neighborhood crowd for street parking. Suck it up and pay for parking across the street at the CPB lot.
The ambiance is still the same Zap where the dark tones and tables abound. Rather than shorter tables they have gone with bar height seating and sofa sections which make for a more club feel rather than the neighborhood pub. Music abounds on certain nights which are rather good for the crowd.
Service is good with the wait staff working the room and the bartenders aiming to please. Are their drinks great, not so much in this humble reviewer’s opinion. I found my vodka/​tonic just a tad watery and a little lackluster. Drink specials typically abound so that helps take the pain of it all off just a bit.
Overall, it has lots of potential and it is certainly a nice spot to check out. Dance club, it is definitely not yet. Bar it is getting there. I just hope they get their act together and quick in order for them to become a longer-​term establishment on our nightlife scene.

Letto has SO much potential, and for some reason people still don’t come here!
Ended up going to a gay event on a Thursday night and it was alright.
PRICES
There was no cover (albeit a Thursday night), $ 6 Margaritas, $ 5 Grey Goose and Juice.
SERVICE
Hands-​down excellent. I’m so sick of going to bars and having to deal with bouncers that are so rude and condescending. It’s annoying when a bartender throws me a nasty look and a curt «What d’ya want?!!» when I approach the bar to order a drink. All of that, does not happen here. The bouncers aren’t pushy. The bartenders are really friendly and the staff was overall very polite!
AMBIANCE
Letto has a dark, clubby type of atmosphere. When you enter, to the left is an open area with low seating on large cushions. To the immediate right is the DJ Booth, and straight ahead is an area with tables, chairs, and the bar behind it. Go-​go dancers grind on two platforms; the music is loud and the bass is heavy.
LOCATION
Parking was a bit confusing. I ended up parking in the neighborhood, but if you park in the lot across the street you have to pay for it. Letto is situated on McCully street, right behind Jack in the Box on King St. Warning: The neighborhood is really sketchy… I wouldn’t park farther than a block from the club.
THE BAD
I guess people just haven’t discovered the secret of «Letto». If more people came I’d definitely be down to spend more of my few and precious weekend nights at this place.

So I just got home from this bar and Im still drunk, so excuse me for any spelling and grammar error. —like that one
Tonight was my first night going to Letto and all I can say is $ 6 MARGARITAS! Drinks were very reasonable and I had a few or so haha.
Its a small setting but very stylish. Might need a little more work but they are definitely getting there. The bartenders are very friendly and worth tipping.
Thursday night had no cover… so all the more better right?
Gogo dancers were fun and were definitely worth tipping cus they were WERKIN it tonight! Gotta help out the entertainment right?
Will definitely go again on a Thursday night.
4 Stars for a great beginning! Keep it up Letto!

I came here with a few friends on a Friday. The place was straight Ryan Dunn aka dead. The pictures on their website are a little deceptive (not as classy as I thought it was going to be). My friends that I dragged out were disappointed that the place was dead. There were maybe 15 people (not including employees) in the whole place and 11 of them were in our party. When I arrived they were playing house music. I thought music didn’t match the atmosphere.
The staff was very friendly. The prices for drinks were reasonable. The location of this lounge may be a reason it was dead. They also have a friendly neighborhood creeper that roams the area and hits on the female workers there.

I came here on a regular friday night and it was pretty empty — didn’t get too crowded later in the night either. But it has a very chill atmosphere, great for lounging with plenty of seating. There are few tall tables near the bar, and super comfy couch seating on the other side with tranquil lighting. Their service was good, the waiter /​waitress were very attentive. They have pretty cheap drinks too — it was $ 3 — $ 3.50 drafts and $ 4 for Heineken. However, they were out of blue moon. So I ordered Speights — they were out of that too. uhh so I was stuck with some random dark beer, bleh. Oh and also, when I later ordered a Corona, they were out of lime. what the. :/
Overall this place is good if you want to feel like you just rented out the whole place for a private party for you & your friends — but it isn’t great, its A-​OK, literally.

I’ve never been to the café/​lounge, when it was called Zap Café. I went to Letto during it’s grand opening night because a friend, Caleb Shinobi, had invited me for his eXpression magazine premier party and fashion show.
The location is a little off. You wouldn’t expect a nightclub to be situated right there pretty much next to a Jack-​in-​the box and a bank across the street. Well I guess that definitely helps those midnight after-​club munchies, without the out of the way drive or walk. For parking, they have valet, which seems to be an ample amount, but luckily I parked for free across the street and Central Pacific Bank.
The event itself was wonderful. I loved the seating and décor inside, seemed very hip and modern. I did notice however, that the floor needed a rework or something because it wasn’t cutting it. I think there was a black floor a little bit messed up and there was kitchen tiles near the bar area… that’s not too hot.
Drinks were okay… nothing out of the ordinary of what you would expect in Honolulu. There is only one bar.
The fashion show was amazing and super fun to watch. There was a lot of floor space, so if people want to do a fashion show, i’d say this would be a pretty cool place to do it, if it’s small… the weird part is that they come walking out of a kitchen, which is probably why they had this little curtain thing hiding the doors I guess…
The music was really cool. Not your typical mainstream, but it had a lot of good mixes.
Overall, great place to mingle, cute décor, lovely entryway especially for pictures and such (great for that night) and good parking.
Wasn’t too fond of the floor or waiting a while for a drink. The location is a little off too…

Seeya later Zap Café, café/​lounges are so 2000’s. We’re now in the 2010’s, and according to 20 year trend cycles, techno dance clubs are back!
Letto is located at where Zap Café used to be, on the corner of Young and McCully. At first (read my review of The Villa) I was apprehensive about the thought of moving clubbing spots outside of their already sketchy Waikiki and Chinatown locations, but somehow this works. Perhaps because it’s not so out of the way like The Villa, you can still hop into Waikiki and Chinatown on a whim. The other thing is that street parking is much more ample and less sketchy in this area.
I found out about this when I was invited by a friend to Expression Magazine’s «Pull-​In Underwear Fashion Show.» So one can assume, like Zap, Letto is LGBT friendly.
After finding some street parking, I arrive to a pretty packed venue. Right off the bat, it’s far warmer inside than outside. Letto may not have accounted for their A/​C to work on a higher capacity than Zap’s. Getting a drink proved to be difficult, as the bar is in the back of the room and I had to maneuver through the crowd. The people here were a little disgruntled — two bartenders working on a large event night? What is this — Wang Chungs (no offense wangs!)? So drinks took a while to get. I didn’t even bother.
After the fashion show I decided to leave. It was too warm inside and everyone seemed to agree. This place was emptied faster than a stomach full of olestra.
The reason I gave this place 4 stars instead of 3 is because I honestly feel with a little more preparation — this place could really excel.