In the past the food at Mara has been the star. Tonight it was mediocre. The prawns were tough (maybe underdone?) and nothing especially stood out. Their service today was just "ok", the waitress wasn't friendly although she got the job done. The experience overall was just ok, but when paying the prices they charge one would expect excellent. (3 scallops for $40 with a garnish of parsley - literally nothing else edible on the plate, beet and burrata dip $20 with one piece of pita) read more

Sunday Dinner 6/23 Parking : valet parking at the renaissance hotel (free with validation). We were sitting in the car for a long time before the valet guy got to us. They need more than one guy to do it all. Food: The trio starter is a must. I got the shrimp Pasta as my entree, and it was pretty good! Our entrees took FOREVER to come out though. Our server explained that everything is made in house and to order so I understand it's going to take some time but our food took longer than what it should have. Service: our server was really good. She was friendly and described the menu well and asked if we had any questions since it was our first time there. Ambiance: It's really nice and cozy inside only weird thing is that the host stand is facing the street entrance. You would think that most people are valeting or are guests at the hotel and that the "hotel side" entrance would be where the host stand should be at to check in for your reservation. Also, you need your complete party present to be seated- I find that practice to be unprofessional in the case that the rest of our party was waiting for the one valet attendant to get to their car but he was busy with other cars... This place seems to cater to a more tourist type of environment than locals- can't blame them because they are located in a hotel but the overall location of this hotel + sky condo is more local so it's very interesting. read more

Food definitely a winner. Our server Abel was fantastic. Very personable and attentive. Being that it was my first time he was able to recommend my food and drink by asking questions on my likes. Nice ambiance but it was very loud which didn't bother me but for some people it may be an issue. Would have given five stars, but the excessive wait for our main dishes was a little too much. read more

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Hi everyone, I don't know how to describe this place so confusing to me. Let's start with the menu so bazaar because they have Mediterranean style with Hawaiian cuisine and Asian cuisine and American cuisine so I don't know what they want this restaurant to be. Now the service was ok to bad because they are super slow even it was on a week day and not the weekend and when they bring the utensils to the table they just throw it on the table without napkins or anything even though the table is not clean and wet from the cups as u can see on the picture. Now the food which is the most important part, the first dish came to the table ( the complimentary dish) had a hair on the food WOW that's just shows how the experience will be bad and that's just gave us a red flag how come u have a hair on the food all the way from kitchen with many cheifs and waitresses to the table and when we told them the act as if nothing happens that's crazy . We should have left the place but we said mistakes happen and we will give them a chance and try the food before we judge it. Andddd the food was worst, we ordered almost all the things on the menu ( Hummus was mild with no taste at all and they put hot sauce on the Hummus which is another bazaar thing, cocktails was nasty, the steak has the flavor of the cow and not tinder, lamb tagine is not a tagine because they cooked the lamb then they place it on tagine plate what a joke plus no flavors, falafel was mild no taste also had too much Cumin that's made it bitter, kuba neyah was ok). It was my worst nightmare to try this restaurant and it was the worst experience at a restaurant like that considered as fancy. I wish the owner focused more on choosing the best chiefs than focusing on the design of the place. Of course don't try this restaurant and go to other options. Thanks .... ( every comment had been addressed on the spot to them) read more

Mara - Mediterranean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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We were anticipating a great meal based on Mara's selection for HonMag's 'best restaurants' list. The actual experience at lunchtime was far from impressive. The validated parking (in the adjacent SKY condominium) is confusing to enter and navigate, and the elevator puts you outside on the street, where you must walk to Mara's entrance--which has a sign directing you to enter through the lobby of the hotel which shares the building. The dining room is new, clean and well appointed. Service was less-than-attentive, even though the room was less than 20% occupied. The kebabs we ordered were well-prepared, but at room temperature when they arrived at our table. Prices were more comparable to Waikiki hotels than at sit-down restaurants in Ala Moana shopping center across the street. A "one-and-done". read more

Went back to Mara with some friends and had a much better experience, Ambiance was much improved as the noise level although lively was not as deafening as my first visit. Food was all consistently good but much better service made all the difference. Our waiter was very professional but the key difference was the outstanding service from sommelier, Kale Furuya He happily opened a couple of wines one friend brought for us to enjoy and the recommended a great wine for us to enjoy with dessert. He is a true professional. Made our experience outstanding! read more

Food was excellent. But our server was the worse. The girl at the register had to take our order. And after we were done the manager had to ask for help from 6 people standing behind the counter. I would come back but would request a different server. read more

Great restaurant next to hotel Renaissance. Nice bar area and lovely restaurant. All the food selection were a variety that will appeal to all palates. We tried everything and all loved their selection. Choc caramel dessert was the bomb!!! read more

Interesting South Asian ambience, but the food is way overpriced and not that great. The staff are very nice, but the service was very slow, even at 5:00pm. My husband and I split the hamburger, which is expensive, but huge and juicy and quite delicious. Nothing else is really worth it, food wise. I guess you have to be in the mood to drink a lot of fancy cocktails and be willing to spend a lot of money. We will not return. read more

The ambiance is nice, the food is good (got the pre-fixe meal & was pleasantly surprised the appetizer was a full serving & not just a small sample), & the staff was really friendly read more

It is Meh. We came, we ate, we paid. Despite the reviews and fanfare, it's decidedly 'mid' and is actually only wowing suburban middle aged island moms or sunburned midwestern tourists wearing Dockers who have never heard of hummus and only know pita bread as a pocket for their chicken salad. The French martini was weak, the hummus was giving Whole Foods chickpea puree vibes and the lamb Wellington was just a $54 identity crisis. Tried many other dishes including the ahi, monchong and the requisite "look at me! I'm a Mediterranean restaurant" grilled octopus with a few beans. I suppose if your only experience with Mediterranean food is a gyro from Don quixote and you never get off the island, you will eagerly rush to dip into the tzatziki and mezze here, but nothing tastes all that great and it's an amateur tasting Asian Mediterranean fusion yawn. The room was cold with AC blowing overhead, loud, in that artificial, boozy, overdone, trying to be trendy way. The female server was pleasant. The twenty min wait to be seated despite having a reservation was not. read more

The food was mediocre and not worth the cost. The best part of the appetizer sampler was the pita bread, and the entrees came out cold. The venue is noisy and not conducive for conversation, and the service was lacking, especially for the prices we paid. It is a loud bar-like atmosphere with chain-restaurant quality food and service at an elevated price. read more

This place is beautiful. Once you enter the doors, it's like you're in a whole different city. It's a city in a city. The food is "chef's kiss". I'll definitely come here again. My friends and I went here for lunch. Everything we ordered was delicious. read more

Extraordinary food ( best meal in years!--deserves five stars!) BUT served in the loudest dining space I have ever been in. Six of us had to huddle together and still craned to hear each other. They've got very high ceilings--baffles or a dropped ceiling are a must. read more

The food is nicely presented and very delicious. The saganaki was surprisingly good and shareable. I enjoyed all of their dips. The prices are reasonable. The large pieces of pita are really a treat. Service was exceptional. Ambience very pleasant except for the noise level. read more

Tried Mara in the Renaissance Hotel for the first time on a Wednesday during their pau hana hours of 4-6pm. They do not take reservations, we had a group of 6, so arrived right at 4pm to snag their only table in the lounge that seats a group of that size. Most seats at the bar were taken by 430p - doesnʻt anybody work 9-5 anymore? Noise level was high - difficult to hear my friends as we chatted. View was of Kapiʻolani Blvd. during rush hour - meh. We ordered several of their small plates off the pau hana menu. The hummus was so-so - not that flavorful and quite oily. The beet dip was outstanding. The pita bread that accompanied the dips was chewy and puffy, but oily. I did not try the calamari and shrimp we ordered since it looked heavily breaded. They will bring extra pita bread if requested. Service was good and wait staff was cheerful and polite. Would I return? No. read more

Good food, service excellent. Ambiance lively, but very loud; we were in the back private room in a large group which was excellent

Great Mediterranean food & good atmosphere. Our server Emma is the best, be sure to ask for her. She was attentive, kind and very knowledgeable. read more

If I could give this restaurant 10 stars I would. Myself and 7 of my girl friends had such a great dining experience this afternoon for brunch at Mara. We all live here and for all of us, it was our fist time at the restaurant. I selected this restaurant since I had several other friends tell me the food and ambience was amazing. Since it was my birthday, I love trying new restaurants, and love mediterranean food, this place was the perfect find. For drinks to start: all of us got either their maramosa, espresso martini, and/or Mama Mia. The drinks were great, they seem very generous with their pour of alcohol in the drinks, cheers to that. We ordered the Spreads Tasting Trio and it was SO delicious. The pita was absolute perfection, I don't know how else to describe it. The spreads were also very appetizing. My friend ended up knowing one of the chef's (Chef Mike) and he so kindly gave us a gracious amount of caviar to top off one of the spreads. Truly so generous, he also had us try their yuzu pancakes (which was so heavenly, the taste was light but sweet, it was divine). They also treated us with another round of drinks. We all truly felt special and were so appreciative of Chef Mike and all of the staff at the restaurant. We interacted with several of their staff from the front of house and back of house and everyone was patient and friendly with our group. The owner came out to introduce himself as well which was nice. Outside of that, we ordered some of their Pitzas (pizza+pita), their Ahi crudo, and Kona Kampachi. My favorite was... ALL lol. The Grilled Small Kine Mushroom Pizza was SO full of flavor, honestly you would have thought there was some kind of protein in the pizza for how well seasoned and delicious it was. Ahi Crudo and Kampachi was also very flavorful, very fresh, and had very tasty citrus flavors. To end the evening they brought out a delicious piece of chocolate cake with salted caramel ice cream topped with a candle as a birthday treat for us to share. We will definitely be back and are excited to try some of the items from their lunch and dinner menu. Highly recommend and will absolutely spread the message to other friends and colleagues as they did with me, seeing as it exceeded my expectations. They did not disappoint one bit. Great customer service, beautiful restaurant, easy parking, 10/10! read more

Mara - Tasting trio - Mediterranean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Super fun and energetic restaurant and bar. Drinks and food are reasonably priced for such a nice restaurant. Friends and I have gone for happy hour and for dinner. All good with excellent service. My favorite is the fresh oysters. Best to valet at the front of new Renaissance hotel. Valley attendants are super nice too! read more

Just took my Honey (Wife) to MARA in the Hotel, and it was GOOD. Boy I love GOOD FOOD, and it was EXCEPTIONAL. You go out to have an EXCEPTIONAL FOOD EXPERIENCE and MARA does not disappoint. The lamb shank I had was fall off the bone tender not over cooked and that pomegranate glaze was outstanding also the lamb was not at all gamy. A must have is the trio starter with their freshly fire made pitas it was DA BOMB. Hummus, tzatziki, and a roasted pepper spread to die for. The pitas were hot fresh and had a garlic butter and a little coarse salt to accent the flavors. Valet parking at the entrance to the hotel, then just walk into the hotel MARA entrance is to the right and ENJOY. Appetizers, main coarse and a little extra, like I said I LOVE GOOD FOOD, and dessert came out to a little over $200 , but it was well worth it, Brandon are server was professional, kind and polite. We don't go out much but when we do having an exceptional food experience makes the cost well worth the expense. Thank you MARA staff for making our dining experience an exceptional one. Oh and having an open kitchen platform so you can see the hard work that goes into the preparation of your meal make this an AWESOME experience as well. The kitchen staff works hard so that your meal comes out hot, fresh, and to order. I can't wait till I can save enough to go back to MARA at the Renaissance Hotel. Like I said ENJOY. And may God bless us ALL. read more

Mediocre food, overpriced for the serving and menu . The server was the best of the entire experience, the hostess looked disgruntled, the GM walked around, no acknowledgments to the guests. The busser cleaned out table, made a comment about us being a messy eater. She wiped the table and left it wet. Another busser came to deliver the food made a comment why the table was wet. We'd the soggy calamari, overcooked jidori chicken and a very average Mara burger. read more

We came for breakfast and ordered the Yuzu pancakes and Shakshuka. It was very delicious. The staff were very kind and accommodating. The restaurant itself has a very calm and modern ambiance. The tables were very nicely set up and the dining experience felt very fancy. Will definitely be coming back for lunch and dinner! read more

Mara - Shakshuka and Yuzu Pancakes - Mediterranean Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Avery aspect of our experience was extremely excellent. Food were new is us but super tasty. Nothing overpoweringly ethnic. Ambiance was comparable to Istanbul and the service was best I had in years. A definite spot for a special occasion. read more

Been trying to book a 25 person corporate event with this place and emails and phone calls Go unanswered. I also tried to get an a two person reservation at some point and it's voice mail You can do better or you don't care. read more

I love Mediterranean food and this restaurant definitely brought it with these meals. Excellent and attentive service

I think the price is high considering the quality and quantity of the food. Probably the hotel restaurant price. For this price and taste, I think it would be better to go to another restaurant. Kumamoto oyster's seasoning is not tasty at all. The cauliflower I ordered as a side to my steak was a little cold. The fillet mignon steak is perfectly grilled and delicious. I didn't think the garnish that came with it was delicious. While the level of restaurant service throughout Hawaii has been declining, the service here was generally good, but the wait time between appetizer and main dish was about 40 minutes, which was too long and the wait time before the main dish arrived. The atmosphere was lively and good. So It's good to go to experience it once, but I don't want to go there a second time. read more

The service wad great. We stopped by for Sunday brunch. We had calamari, lamb kofta pizza and shakshuka. The calamari was perfectly prepared with very light breading. Shakshuka was delicious and something we never had before, definitely worth trying. Pizza was very good. Very large bar area. Will be back to try the other items on the menu. read more

Food is average but service is sub par. The employees wonder around like a deer in the head light. It takes 45 minutes to get seated and another hour to get the food. If you don't have 3 hours for a meal you won't make it here. read more

Came here on our wedding Anniversary. We are from Seattle. Saw this restaurant on Instagram and viewing their food selection it looked amazing. I would say the food is great. We got the calamari, oysters, the trio and linguine. All the dishes came out in a timely matter except the linguine. We waited for more than 30 mins for the last dish. If a dish is going to take longer you should definitely inform your customers. We got here pretty early sat at our table at 6:15pm pasta came at 7:40pm. Our server was nice. Was hoping to get dessert for the evening but we were already upset about the situation. read more

Food was a 10/10. The pita bread was to die for! The highlight of the meal for definitely our server Emma. Best service you will find on the island. She was so kind, made sure our meal was a great experience, and gave us the best advice on the menu and enjoying the island. We went back the same week! Ask for Emma! read more

Food was excellent. Service was decently good. Music was a bit loud. No problems for small parties (up to 6 people). More difficult for larger groups. read more

Food was good, liked the apps more than the entrees. Went the Saturday before Mother's Day for lunch so choices were limited with the Mother's Day menu we chose. Want to come back to try more items. Service was the issue. Don't know if she was new, had too many tables, or was not great at her job but it seemed like she had more than four tables in her section, kept walking to the other dining room past the host stand to where the bar was and back. She was late to greet us, no mention of the note on our reservation about the three mom's I had at the table for an early Mother's Day, no offer of dessert or coffee at the end of the meal, and after dropping the check, she went to FOUR other tables to take orders one of them being a large table that had just sat, then went to the POS, holding us hostage. I had to wave the checkbook around and a manager looking type came by to grab it for me. If managers have to run around helping servers as their back server the whole time, the server either can't handle their section or they're giving them too many tables. Will be back but will make sure to request a different server when I do. Side note that has nothing to do with Mara, but the hotel's valet system is not great. They have to drive the car out of the parking lot and REVERSE it back to the hotel entrance since the driveway is a one way back towards the street behind the hotel. I would suggest offering the valet guy to walk across the driveway to wait in front of the entrance to the Sky Residences and drive out onto Kapiolani so they can just drive down the parking ramp and not have to do a ridiculous reverse move. read more

Food is tasty but high price with small portions. Service is okay. still need to train people .

Place is over priced. Eggplant side dish is bland, cauliflower side dish is bland, lamb is cooked perfectly but needs more flavor. No value to the high price items overall, food is mediocre at best. All the hype with performance below average overall. Servers were pleasant but too high nose for that location or that they aren't humble enough to serve. Atmosphere seems too richly rich but truly a trying to be wannabes. Overall bad experience from the beginning. Food came out all late at least 30-40 minutes from the main course to desserts. Nan bread was amazing but the spread is missing the oomph for the price you pay. People walking around wearing coats are a little short of demeaning, discriminating and not friendly at all. I'd say this place will not succeed it they don't shape up. From the service, to the food this place needs major improvements. read more

Aloha! Second time trying this place and it happened to be during Mother's Day for dinner. First time was a few weeks during brunch. I'll start with Ambience and it was always a nice vibe. Night time seemed to be a bit more busier and louder within the restaurant. Service was pretty good although the staff seems very new and always tentative with not knowing how to explain the dishes for recommendations. Our meals and drinks as listed below- * SHAKSHUKA*baked eggs, chickpeas, harissa, greek yogurt, flatbread. (My baked eggs were completely raw and never allowed to cook within the oven! Trying to eat my eggs was like 2 eggs being cracked open and dumped into the red yogurt sauce!) After looking at this and trying to understand I lost all desire to eat anything else! Managers took my plate and apologized but at the end tried to charge me for this meal which I never touched to eat! Horrible! * COCONUT FRENCH TOASTjapanese milk bread, lilikoi curd, coconut latik (bread was huge and didn't taste like coconut but strong lilikoi, nothing special with this dish) * KATAIFI FRIED EGGS*mushroom kebab, green chermoula, tzatziki (nothing special) * FRIED CALAMARIoregano, caper & dill remoulade, sweet pepper relish (was good but could be hotter when served) * BEET & CITRUS SALADwhipped manouri cheese, kalamata vinaigrette (this was pretty good with flavors) * AHI CRUDO* chili crisp, crush castelvetrano olives, lemon gel (was good and fresh with good flavors) * SPREADS TASTING TRIO hummus, tzatziki, stracciatella (our favorite dish including their pita bread) PENICILLIN Drink- monkey shoulder scotch, lemon, ginger, honey (this drink was full of ice and it was pretty much an expensive lemonade) OPA! Drink- Free Spirit seedlip, fennel, lime, rosemary, fever tree mediterranean tonic (The flavors was all lime and nothing else) DESSERT KÜNEFE fresh farmer's cheese, pistachio, orange blossom, honey (pretty bad; like a stiff and dry fried cheese! that seemed to be left out under a heat lamp all day and later served. For sure it was not a freshly made dish. And this was suppose to be their signature pick!) Honestly this second time was our hope for the best wanting it to really like this place. Unfortunately we will not be returning and will not suggest it to our friends on the island. read more

Great food, great service, great atmosphere, cool open kitchen. Bar area was busy with a DJ. We ate in the dining room. We spent about $240 for two. Tip and valet added plus three cocktails. But we had Two appetizers (hamachi, triple hummus with naan bread) beet salad, hand cut pasta, mushroom skewers so the price wasn't bad. the only thing was they gave no attention to my gf birthday. They asked when I made the reservations and she had on multiple leis. No biggie. read more

Amazing lunch. Crunchy chicken was yummy and perfectly prepared. Excellent service. The entire restaurant as well as the hotel have a cool vibe. read more

The vibe: The service and food IS fine dining, but it doesnt feel stuffy. It's cool, modern, and sexy. The inside is buzzing with good energy and people enjoying each others company with loungy beats pumping in the background. This is a place where you can dress up and get cute; great for a date night or a fancy girls dinner. Our server, Charissa was absolutely lovely and knowledgeable about the menu. Our food came out at a perfect pace. Giving us enough time between courses to enjoy our drinks and each other's company. The pita and hummus were so flavorful and a wonderful starter. And all the desserts were to die for too but my favorite is the Manoa Chocolate cake and the Pavlova. The menu is completely unique to other restaurants with flavors and dishes unlike other restaurants in the area. A good idea to check out the menu and prices before you go so you have an idea of what to get. They offer 3 comped hours of valet too or you can park at the mall/Target and walk across the street. Overall 10/10 recommend for a night out on the town. read more

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Food was awesome... service was great. Close to bar which noise level high. Getting in out of garage was difficult to find elevators.... No signs directing to elevators read more