Smith’s Union Bar

I… guess maybe it gets worse than this as far as bars go on the island? Regardless, don’t go here. The beer sucks, they can’t even be bothered to spring for HD on one of the TVs, I could go on and on. Blech.

Can’t say enough good about this place. Reminded me of everything I miss about the old NYC, only if it was set in Sydney Australia — incredibly mixed & happy, smiling crowd singing karaōke & being disarmingly dumb. Cheap drinks too — what’s not to like?

Great dive bar in Honolulu! Just out checking sights in China Town and stumbled across this place!

This bar is so fun but beware!!! The server is rude and and overcharges you. If you use a credit card make sure you verify the charges the next day. She added in an additional $ 10 tip and overcharged my friend for drinks he never got. Also if you call to dispute the charge no one ever answers. Luckily my
Credit card company is awesome
And credited me the difference. Fun bar but if you go use cash and beware that the bartender is a bitch.

Smiths Union Bar… Oldest bar in Honolulu, defunct brothel on the second floor, seedy characters and plenty 80’s hair metal on the juke box. Great place to quench your thirst after wandering around Chinatown…

I will NEVER go to this bar again. It reminds me of why I don do the bar and club scene anymore.
Went on karaōke night, which should be fun. Libations and bad singing usually equals a good time. Well I ordered a round of drinks for friends including two people celebrating their birthdays, and we never got the drinks. The bartender, a man in his 50’s had to be reminded 4 times, and we still didn’t get the drinks.
Add onto poor service, the temperature inside of the place was plain stupid. Any bar in Chinatown makes a killing on overpriced drinks. Standing at the bar for 20 minutes waiting for the bartender to take my initial order, I had sweat literally dripping off my chin. If it weren’t for the birthday celebrations, I would have walked out within the first 5 minutes.
The karaōke host was rude, but was the saving grace as he was clearing the bar and tables, another job the bartender didn’t seem able to accomplish. If I wasn’t an honest man, I would have helped myself to the drinks in the coolers at the end of the bar as the bartender would have never noticed.
Step up you game Smiths! Invest in a real AC unit, get a few bartenders who know what they are doing, and only deal with companies that have nice and polite people running your music. I’m shocked this place is still in business.

This bar may seem a little intimidating on first glance, but as any regular will tell you, once you go once, you’ll fall in love! Friendly people, a welcoming, non judgmental atmosphere and a fun time any night of the week! Plus dollar karaōke EVERY night and the lowest drink prices in Ctown. You can’t go wrong!

It’s a dive bar so there’s not much in terms of defending it. It is the seediest bar I’ve been in yet and I went fairly early when my «date (?)» had me meet him there. Of all the places to have a girl meet you…
On the plus side the drinks are cheapish and it may be a good place to go if you want to prep for the night: drink a little bit there before you hit Chinatown looking for other places.
There are regulars that come and jam out to karaōke but mostly older Aunties and Uncles it seems. It’s kind of a locals bar in the early hours but gets really mixed as the night progresses. The waitress was pretty nice though even though we we didn’t look like locals.
My rating is unfortunately going to have to be biased by my preferences. At the moment I can’t give much credit and try to be fair because I have never been to a dive bar. It really isn’t my thing and I was creeped out and incredibly out of place for what I was wearing.
Just know, therefore, that this venue may be better than I rated it. For the local boys it’s probably a great spot and if you’re looking for the local kine karaōke bar experience, this is probably the place for it. :)
Just a side note though: Guys, just don’t. There is no excuse for starting your date here. It’s not even a great meeting place. Technically there isn’t anything gravely wrong with it and I’ve found nothing to be very upset about, I was just so uncomfortable that I couldn’t enjoy my time here at all.

Can you do negative stars?
I never wanted to have a bad review on my Unilocal but this place pushed me to the limit.
I had just gotten off work and wanted to grab a pauhana last night. Smith’s was the wrong choice. The aroma was Bum piss heavy. The service was absolutely hideous. I have never been so poorly mistreated by someone who works in the industry. So rude & lazy. Such a shame because I live in Chinatown and I’m looking for my «go to» spot. I can honestly say I won’t be back and I will never recommend this place.

Hahahaha I feel like I am home when I stepped in here, super dive bar it appears to be sketchy but over all I felt safe. I love the sign over the place «Live nude shows» wait! what? Its an old sign from back in the day when strippers would perform. I spent a few hours in there chatting up locals. If you are a girl you might not want to go alone. Come with your crew„ this place was a big hang out for sailors once upon a time., they would come to get laid. I saw a few sailors there but they did not seem to be on the hunt. If you come with a group you will be fine. I think we spent 40 bucks we did not run out of money here, Our bellies ran out of room from all those drinks. If you like high end bars do not come here.

This is a dive bar that has an incredible amount of charm and is the oldest bar on the island.
The drinks are inexpensive, and the beer selection was better than I expected. There were around 20 different choices of bottles.
Lee was our bartender. He was friendly and attentive. He offered up conversation and was happy to have us there.
The patrons are a tad on the seedy side, but they had no lack of character. Everyone was friendly and we felt very welcome.
Only downside… the bathroom. No urinal in the men’s room, but a large trough. Also, no stall door for the toilet. Just a shower curtain seperating you from the general public. Oh well.
I will be back!

The girlfriend want to do some karaōke on a lazy tuesday. The locals recomended this gem. This place exemplified dive bar. Very diverse clientel. You had, Y. your preppy Asian couples, town drunks and even bikers. This was a slurfest.
Oh and i do not, under any cirumstances do karaōke. The lady, consistantly sked me to sing. So at some point the. Ruffiecoladas must have gotten to me asI did a song or two, and did the OHIO State song.
Oh and the bartender was from Euclid Ohio.

Apparently this place is one of the only places in Chinatown (according to a bartender) that has karaōke. Smith’s union bar is a hideous dive bar, but what it lacks in appearance, it definitely makes up for in fun and crazy people.
There weren’t too many fancy drinks from what I remember, just your regular drink selection of beer and house wine so if you want to get fancy shots but stay in the divey atmosphere, I recommend Hank’s. I think it’s pretty safe to say that you’ll guaranteed have a good time if you stop by Smith’s Union Bar. Or you’ll at least meet very interesting people ;)

Every single time I come here I am guaranteed to have fun. Cheap drinks, nice people and great Karaōke. It can get packed sometimes so its tough to get your song in but its so much fun listening to other people sing and singing with them. Unlike other Karaōke bars, its not full of old uncles singing country songs. The crowd here usually sings stuff that everyone can sing to. Never had a problem with the crowds here. No punchy people. The only thing that sucks is that they are pretty understaffed. The poor barternders are running around like wild animals trying to fill orders. It wouldnt hurt to have two bartenders. Also, it would be nice if they had pupus. Nonetheless, whenever I come to town I am guaranteed to stop at Smith’s Union for some pre-​party Karaōke action. This place was such a sketch-​hole before but now it’s the place to be!

Friendly, cheap, full of locals, and the best karaōke singers ever! This place is so unassuming but I’m so happy that my BF and I stumbled in here because it was the perfect way to spend our Sunday. I’d write more but I wanna keep this dive bar a dive bar!

Dive bar? Yes.
Sketchy? A bit.
Should a girl go in there alone? No.
You want to buy a forty? You’re in the right place!
I found myself in this little bar last week in celebration of a friend’s birthday. When I first walked in I almost walked back out thinking no one in their right mind would organize a shindig in such a seedy place. Fortunately, I spotted my friends at the end of the bar and thus began a pretty fun night.
Songs are a dollar a piece, bartender was fantastic, regulars varied from charming to downright creepy, and we were allowed to dance like crazy people in the little space between the bar and the subpar bathrooms. One of our girls kept being friendly to creepers, STOP IT, but we were mostly left alone thought stared at quite a bit. I don’t think there’s usually a gaggle of girls dancing Broadway style to Queen Mary in Smith’s.
So would I go there again? Maybe. With my husband or some other manly man or with a group of at least four ladies or one really manly lady. Would I choose it over other karaōke bars? Not at all. But if I’m already downtown it’s pretty much the only offering. Sing a few songs and move on. Good times.

The place is always friendly, which makes up for the lack of air conditioning. It gets a little crowded during First Friday but I usually manage to find a seat at the bar. The bartenders are always great. Too bad the one last night got stiffed by a guy whose date happened to be the best friend of the bartender… OOPs the bartender and the date left the cheapskate at the bar after the bartender’s shift was over. Karaōke is food they have it set up so you can sit at the bar and sign, looking at the words on a TV behind the bar.
The restroom is legendary, no door and only privacy is given by standing with your back toward the entryway.

Likes: Jello shots, friendly bar karaōke set up. No pressure to sing or be good at singing. Bar video games that can be played in groups.
Dislikes: It’s a legit dive bar. A little claustrophobic with a long and narrow bar.
Try: Jello shots! + karaōke + cheap booze + friendly bartender + weekday/​non-​FF night + good group of friends.
Bottom line: Iconic Chinatown dive bar with a mixed group of regulars including scruffy bar flies, HPU pseudo-​hipsters, and the young professional crowd. With it’s kitschy tiki-​themed interior, Smith’s does not pretend to be anything it’s not. Ladies might want to hop over to one of the surrounding bars to use the bathroom. Five stars for a consistently fun time.

This is the best dive bar in Chinatown, it’s also one of the oldest. There are occasionally some undesirables out front, but the staff is pretty good about chasing them away.
You have to drink to sing karaōke, but that won’t be a problem if this is where you want to be! The songs are $ 1 each, and you can pick them from books kept behind the bar. Don’t hesitate to ask for them if they’re not out.
Slurp some jello shots (grape’s the best!) and rub elbows with an eclectic crowd. The bathrooms are a little gross and aren’t for the modest; the men’s urinal is a doorless trough.

This is a great dive karaōke bar. When you walk by it — you may think to yourself «there is no way in h-​e-​double hockey sticks I will ever go in there.» But relax, give in to $ 1 karaōke, good service and stiff drinks.
The place isn’t as scary as it looks. It looks like it used to be a Tiki bar and the new owner decided to keep the decorations but change the name.
The bartender (Craig) is awesome! Jello shots are great — I never thought of trying them with whipped cream until I had them at this place.
Worth checking out at least once.
WARNING — CASH ONLY. They do have an ATM on site.