Tin Roof Maui’s Sheldon Simeon to Open Casual Plate Lunch Spot in Ward Village

Top Chef fan favorite and James Beard semifinalist Sheldon Simeon is bringing his signature Filipino-Hawaiian cooking to Honolulu with a new plate lunch restaurant in Ward Village, slated to open this July.

The restaurant, called Kaukau by Sheldon, will occupy a 2,000-square-foot space in the ground floor of the Ae’o condo tower. The concept draws from Simeon’s wildly popular Tin Roof in Kahului, Maui, which has been a destination for food lovers since 2016.

“Honolulu has been on my radar for a long time,” Simeon told Honolulu Wire. “The plate lunch is sacred here, and I want to honor that tradition while bringing some of the flavors I grew up with in Hilo — the Filipino flavors, the plantation flavors.”

The menu will feature a rotating selection of proteins served plate-lunch style with two scoops of rice and macaroni salad. Signatures from Tin Roof — including the garlic noodles, pork belly bao, and chili pepper chicken — will be joined by Honolulu exclusives like a breakfast plate with longanisa, garlic fried rice, and a runny egg.

Simeon competed on two seasons of Top Chef and won the fan-favorite award both times. His cookbook “Cook Real Hawai’i” was named one of the best cookbooks of 2021 by the New York Times.

Kaukau by Sheldon will be counter-service with indoor and outdoor seating for about 45. Prices will range from $14 to $19 for plate lunches. Simeon said he’ll split his time between Maui and Oahu, with a dedicated chef de cuisine running daily operations in Honolulu.