Baseball is a bar sport. It just is. The pace of the game — the rhythm between pitches, the slow build of a rally, the sudden explosion of a home run — is built for having a cold beer in front of you and food on the way. And if you're going to watch baseball at a bar in Waikiki, Skybox Taphouse is the place to do it.
The Hawaii Time Zone Makes Baseball Better
Here's something mainland baseball fans don't get to experience: daytime baseball without taking the afternoon off. The Hawaii time zone shifts every MLB game earlier in the day. A 7:10 PM Eastern first pitch — the standard weeknight game — starts at 1:10 PM in Hawaii. West Coast evening games that start at 6:40 PM Pacific begin at 3:40 PM here. Even Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, which starts at 7 PM Eastern, kicks off at 1 PM in Waikiki.
What this means in practice: you can watch a full nine-inning game during the afternoon, and your entire evening is free. No falling asleep during extra innings. No dragging yourself to work after a 4-hour rain delay. In Hawaii, baseball is a daytime activity — and Skybox is the daytime bar built for it.
The early games are even better. When the first pitch is at 1 PM Eastern — which happens most weekends and on getaway days — that's 7 AM in Hawaii. Skybox opens early for major sporting events, and the breakfast menu means you can watch first-pitch with coffee and eggs.
20+ Screens, Every Game
Skybox has over 20 TVs with state-of-the-art picture and sound spread across the venue. During baseball season, every game is available. If there are six games on simultaneously on a Saturday afternoon — which happens regularly — you can see them all. And if the game you want isn't on a screen near you, just ask. The staff will switch it.
Sound is on for the biggest games — rivalry matchups, pennant race clinchers, and of course the postseason. During the regular season, the screens are running with crowd energy filling in the audio. The layout gives you sightlines from every seat — bar, table, indoor, and outdoor — so you're never craning your neck or asking someone to move.
The Pennant Race and Postseason
August and September is when baseball gets serious. The pennant race is in full swing, wild card spots are up for grabs, and every game matters. This is when watching at a bar becomes essential — you want to see the scoreboard for the other games, you want to be around people who are tracking the same standings, and you want to react to walk-offs and collapses in real time with a crowd.
When the MLB Postseason begins in late September, Skybox will have every game — Wild Card, Division Series, Championship Series, and the World Series — live on every screen with full sound. The MLB Postseason page will have the full schedule and game times in Hawaii Standard Time. Most postseason games start at 5 PM or 8 PM Eastern, which translates to 11 AM or 2 PM here — right in the sweet spot of daytime viewing.
Wings, Beer, and Baseball
There's a reason wings and baseball go together. The Skybox menu has the Upper-Cut jumbo wings — not the small floppy bar wings, these are jumbo — in Buffalo, Honey Sriracha, or Hawaiian BBQ. Order a basket, grab a beer, and settle in for a few innings. They come with celery sticks and dipping sauce, and they're big enough to share or keep for yourself.
Beyond wings, the full kitchen runs throughout every game. Hand-crafted pizzas (whole pies or by the slice), Triple Play nachos for the table, fish tacos, cheese curds, sliders, burgers, quesadillas — everything you want at a baseball bar. The kitchen stays open until 1 AM every night, so extra-inning games and late West Coast starts are covered.
On the drink side, Skybox has two house-brewed beers on tap — the Skybox Blonde and a Hazy IPA with mango and guava notes — plus local Hawaiian drafts from Kona Brewing, Maui Brewing, and Ola Brew. For a long afternoon of baseball, pitchers ($25 domestic, $30 local) and towers ($37 domestic, $41 local) keep the table supplied.
Happy Hour and Afternoon Baseball
This is where the Hawaii time zone and Skybox's happy hour align perfectly. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday, 3-6 PM — and most evening MLB games on the mainland are starting between 1 and 4 PM Hawaii time. That means you're watching live baseball during happy hour: $5 domestic pints, $7 local drafts, and $11 signature cocktails while a pennant race game unfolds on the big screen.
There's genuinely no better deal in Waikiki than a $7 pint of Kona Longboard and a competitive baseball game at 3 in the afternoon.
The Atmosphere
Skybox seats 275 on the third-floor Grand Lanai of International Market Place, with open-air seating, palm trees, and views across Waikiki. The indoor area has the main bar with the big screens, framed jerseys on the walls, and helmets hanging from the ceiling. The outdoor area lets you watch the game with a breeze and open sky.
The crowd on any given afternoon is a mix of locals who came for the game, tourists who stumbled into the best sports bar in Waikiki, and groups having lunch who end up staying for five more innings because the game got good. That mix — and the shared reactions when something big happens — is what makes watching baseball at a bar better than watching it alone.
After the Last Out
When the game ends, Skybox keeps going. Karaoke runs every night from 9 PM to 2 AM, Wednesday is trivia night at 7 PM, and the bar pours until 2 AM. The kitchen stays open until 1 AM. An afternoon baseball game can easily turn into dinner, then karaoke, then one more round — all without leaving.
Getting There
Skybox Taphouse is at 2330 Kalakaua Ave #302, third floor of International Market Place in Waikiki. Open daily 11 AM to 2 AM, kitchen until 1 AM. Walk-ins are always welcome, or save a table for bigger groups or postseason games. Parking available in the International Market Place garage. Call 808-378-8542 for game schedules or to check what's on tonight.