5 of us went there for lunch and ending up neon there for 2.5 hours! The service was slow and the food average at best. We had 5 appetizers, one entree each and 3 desserts to share. The appetizers were pretty to look at but tasted either too salty or bland. I had the pork belly soup, I hardly had any meat in mine and also it was so hot that I had to wait 5 mins before I can taste the too salty soup. One of my co-workers had the hamburger which was too dry and the same goes for the loco moco. They got our dessert order wrong so over all I do not recommend this place. I get the husband-wife team and I support small businesses but this was a horrible experience and I will never go back again. read more

I've been there once for dinner (very expensive) but have gone back for their lunch bentos at $11 a piece. That is a value. We love their Monchong with somen bento. Don't use all the sauce they provide as it gets to be too salty. Just a little will give enough flavoring to an already excellent dish. I haven't had a chance to try their other lunch bentos since I like the fish so much. Parking is awful but they do have valet and they are really nice about letting you sit there to pick up to go. read more

i have a new favorite place to eat ! We went here last Saturday night. Called and got a 7:30 reservation same day. It was a short wait to get seated, meanwhile we ordered a couple drinks from the bar and they met us at the table. It was a little noisy when we arrived but it simmered down after the early crowd cleared out. Aside from a few cosmetic adjustments they could make this place has really nailed it !! The food was brilliant not one complaint. We ordered big this time as we always do on the first trip so we can really get a feel for the menu and service. Dinner for two with cocktails was around $150.00. Now that we know it will be easy to have dinner for two here for under $80.00. And make sure you same room for dessert we have already decided that MW will be a dessert and drink stop at the bar also. The desserts are amazing ! They have some really really good cocktails on the menu also. The service was perfect, everyone was very friendly, charming and well informed about the menu. Everyone seemed vested in the company. Which you don't see very often in Honolulu. You have to go check this place out you wont be disappointed. I can't wait to go back !! read more

The bottom line here is that the food quality does not warrant the premium prices. Dined at MW on 2/3 and was let down by the lack luster food. Prices are on par with Alan Wong or a good NYC restaurant but the dishes decidedly are not. First we were served a piece of toasted bread along with a mayo based spread that was rather palette dulling. We ordered the nairagi cevice which was too salty and had too much vinegar. The overuse of acid here obliterated the delicate fish. Our server had promised to space all our dishes out but soon after we started on the cevice our lobster bisque was plopped on the table. The soup was luke warm. It was rich but needed more sherry or something else to give it nuance. Thumbs down. On to the pickled beet salad which was SO pickle-ee that one couldn't eat more then a few bites. It had dill pickles in it which was odd and cherry tomatoes that were cold and hard. Sadly our lobster carbonara was not much better. Kinda greasy, dull, too much white pepper. Absolutely not worthy of the $45 price tag. We were foolish enough to try some desserts too which were meh. The "candy bar" was tasty but the tropical fruit creme brûlée with chilled tapioca pearls and fruit had a burnt tasting brûlée. All in all a disappointing, overpriced dinner. Luckily my delightful companion and I found humor in it and the evening was not lost but you should dine elsewhere. read more

My best friend brought me here for dinner last night for my birthday. Parking is valet, and the two attendants were very friendly and welcoming. We entered the front door which is just behind the valet station. As we entered we were greeting by the cashier and the hostess, both smiled and were very friendly. We waited about 5 minutes to be seated, yet there were a good number of seats available. Once seated it took about 10 minutes for the waiter to come to the table to greet us and serve water, yet there were a few of them standing around chatting. When the waiter finally showed up, we ordered drinks and dinner. My friend ordered a Pineapple cocktail, and said it was very good. We ordered two different salads, she the Greek and I the Caesar. She said the Greek salad was okay, however my Caesar was very good. We ordered our entrees from the "Specials Of the Day" menu, she a duck dish, and I a bacon and asparagus wrapped salmon. She said she liked the duck, and my salmon was very good as well, it was tender and moist; however, my salmon was on a bed of garlic quinoa, that was burnt, and tasted burnt! There was also either a balsamic vinegar or red wind reduction that was spread on the plate, that was overly sweet and was too overpowering, and they put much too much on the plate, so much so that the burnt quinoa soaked up most of the reduction which tasted even worse on top of the burnt taste. I know that in Haute Cuisine, chefs try to be artistic when plating dishes, like spreading a reduction on a plate for "appearance" and taste, but often times artistry can be OVERDONE. Sometimes less is more, and when using something as bold as a reduction, be sure that it is in balance with the rest of the dish. The salmon was baked to perfection, but what ended up dominating my palate throughout, was the burnt quinoa, drowning and soaked in the overpowering reduction. Some of the food here was very good, some of it very bad, but the main reason for my low rating, is that the service was very unattentive and bad to say the least. Our waiter seemed very unfocused and uninterested in serving. When we stared with our salads, the waiter told us he would bring us bread, he forgot or didn't care, I wasn't sure as he never apologized for forgetting. While eating our salads we waited and waited for him to come back to remind him that he forgot the bread. He finally came back when we were almost finished with our salads. He then went to get the bread, which we thought would be a bread basket with a few rolls in it. He came back with two very small single pieces of what he said was their focaccia dinner bread, with a garlic aioli on the side. It was very good, but the portion size was appropriate for a small child, and were never offered more. We ordered two salads, two entrees and my friend ordered one drink, and the bill was $103.00; for these kinds of prices service should be impeccable, and it was poor at best. I have received far better service consistently throughout the years from mid-raged restaurants like Ryans, and Black Angus, two of my favorites! Their food quality is also consistently better, and much more affordable. I don't mind spending on quality fine dinning, but the service has to be on par with the price! I would not recommend this establishment. If you want quality fine dinning with excellent service to back it up, I would recommend Hys, Morton's, Michel's, Azure, etc... read more

What an incredible dining experience! Every single dish we had was simply perfection. Not only that, but the servers went out of their way to make us feel welcome and to surprise my husband for the occasion we were celebrating. I don't have a single suggestion for anything they could do better. Can't wait for the next time I return! read more

Very pricey for the small portions served. They only offer valet parking, no self park. I think they court the high end customer.

Went here for a private party and all the food they brought out was awesome. The mimosas and cocktails were also very good

sign on the front door and website say that you open at 4pm on sunday. we arrive only to find out we cant order anything unyil 5pm. have been here 3 times and 2 out of the 3 have had poor customer service. read more

Bad experience. First of all the quality has dropped since we first went to Afternoon Tea. It has gotten smaller and smaller. The people next to us said when the last thing came out, which was cookies, the daughter of the lady said, I can do that! So it was nothing great. Then the Piece de Resistance! We wanted separate checks for the party of 4 to be 3 people and 1 person. So after the waiter brings back a check with 4 people and 1 person. He adds one person more! After 15 minutes trying to locate him, we told him to change it. Comes back and brings the bill and without the other charge credited. We asked him for the credited one and he brings one back but they charged us twice. So he said they cannot check now, which was his fault. So we ended up having to call our credit card company and have them watch our account. I'm sorry, this is last time we will go there. What supposed to be a great experience was like more work for us! Sorry to rant, but you too can be a victim! read more

We made a reservation for 8.30pm. On route, I got a notification from google advising me that the restaurant shut at 9pm. Upon arrival, our table was not ready (8.35pm) and I asked the maî·tre d' whether infact they shut at 9pm. They confirmed and were unapologetic about the fact that they had failed to inform us on the phone at the time of our booking that the kitchen closed at 9pm. I would have thought this was basic courtesy and common sense. The female maî·tre d was also very hurried to try and find a solution for how to seat us. I informed her that we would not want to rush our meal to which she seemed a bit surprised that we did not want to dine here. The two people we spoke to at the restaurant were rude and unapologetic about the fact that they failed to inform us the kitchen would shut soon after our booking start time. We will not be dining here in future even though the food came highly recommended. Service is everything especially when a 15-20% tip is customary! read more

I love this place. Food was great. Service was awesome. I see some reviews from haters, whatever. Go eat at Olive Garden, it seems like you like stuff straight from a box. read more

The hype is all true - great service, nice setting and great food. My son and I got the prix fixe menu and we were not disappointed. Heavenly appetizer with shrimp cocktail, a little tomato soup that was perfect and a mushroom taste. The mochi encrusted fish was delicate and delicious with a fantastic sauce. But the topper was the passion fruit creme brûlée which may be one of the best things I've ever tasted. It's a little spendy but so worth it. Really great, helpful service. read more

The only reason I am giving 1 star is because the food was good, However the service was appalling. My boyfriend and I love to try new trendy restaurants and heard great things about MW. We were seated at the bar on a busy friday night and handed menus by the hostess. I had a few questions for items on the menu and when I asked our bartender/server what they were, he replied "he had no idea.." so i asked if a server could come over & explain the dishes to me... to which he replied "none of them would know either." He expressed that the chef had just changed the menu and no one there had any idea of what they were serving..... So i proceeded to use my phone to google the dishes i was unsure about... The waiter could have cared less. I have never experienced such poor customer service ever!!!! I doubt the chef or owner would be happy to hear that no one in their restaurant serving could explain what was being prepared. Disgusted. read more

I honestly never write reviews but this was such an unforgettable experience I couldn't resist to share. I visited this restaurant about two years ago and it was an incredible culinary experience. Last night I went with my family and it was one of the worst experiences I have ever had. First of all, the service was awful. Our waiter was rude and smirky and needless to say his uniform was dirty which for an expensive "gourmet" restaurant this is beyond unacceptable. After he took our orders it took about 30 minutes to get 2 glasses of wine, a beer, and a Sprite. Our appetizers came and it was good, hence my one star. When our main dishes came it was honestly mediocre at best. Their famous dish they recommend (kona kompachi) was described to me as crusted with Mochi flakes to keep the dish moist. Yea, no.. Not moist at all. Really dry. Anyways, we ordered dessert and coffee. Again, coffee took 30 min to get (Why?!).. Then the desserts came and they were pretty good so I'd give them another star, however I take that star back because my sisters dessert came after we were all done with ours. A "gourmet" restaurant is supposed to serve all dishes at once. Common knowledge, no? Oh, and to top it all off, my aunt got food poisoning last night after we had dinner there. So I said all this to say, don't waste your time here. read more

To celebrate a number of recent achievements, my family and I had dinner tonight at MW. We were seated in the private seating area, for which I was thankful at first. Little did I know, however, that we would be ignored or receive poor service for much of the night. Our food was fine, though the waiter forgot to bring the sauce for my bibimbap until I had eaten a quarter of my meal. Three times we asked for bread, twice to the same waitress. The bread did not ever come. We mentioned the bread a fourth time when our waiter brought our dessert menus, at which point I had given up. I also had to serve water to my table on NOT ONE, BUT TWO occasions. I was amazed that I had to wait on myself and my family at a fine dining restaurant. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to celebrate with my family, but am disappointed by MW and its poor service. I hope that they consider hiring more staff or engaging in customer service training. read more

MW....MW....what can i say, as with most people i feel when they see you on yelp they are excited to go and try the food based on the illusion of the "yelp star review". It is rare to see hawaiian/local food done in a polished and refined matter. So with that being said, i too was excited. BUT unfortunately, excitement is not what i felt once i sat down. Starting with the service itself. Once we were sat down, it took a good while being any waiters came by to our table to give us menus. About 10 minutes go by before a waiter magically appears to hand us the menu. After we ordered our dishes, we asked if we could get a couple of glasses of water, in which he replied yes. But little did WE know, that would pose a challenge for him because after he took our order, 10-15 mins go by and we notice that we still haven't gotten our waters. So, I turned around in search for our illusive waiter and to my surprise he was at the bar having to what seems to be a "deep" conversation with another person. We finally got our waters after flagging another waiter down. BUT our adventure at MW doesnt end there, its just getting started! My gf and I decided to the local pickled beet salad, the "fried chicken" , the mochi crusted fish, and the burger. Once our appetizers came we dove right in. The fried chicken dish came on a rectangular plate with 4 pieces of lettuce topped with 4 squared fried chicken, kim chee, and pickled onions. The presentation looked like it was plated by a culinarily challenged housewife, and the chicken was hard and dry,..the beets were good to some extent, but after a while all i tasted was dill and vinegar. The goat cheese added some contrast but in the end it was a one note dish. The burger was so salty and confusing to eat. The meat had a mushy texture similar to a wet bread.The burger was difficult to eat, everything keep falling out. Imagine a burger stacked like a tower of cheese, guacamole, and what looks and tasted like salty dry pork jerky between two pieces of texas toast. It reminded me of a shitty homemade burger that parents use to make for their kids because they couldnt afford to take you to get a burger somewhere else. Thats essential what the burger here looked and tasted like. The fish was just as salty if not more, i took one bite and i had to finish my whole glass of water. I had high hopes for this place but in the end i left very disappointed. read more

Come here if you plan on spending at least 2 hours for lunch. I work in the area and usually have a 1 hour lunch break. I was having lunch with a guest from the mainland and wanted to take him somewhere a little nicer. We walked in around 11:45 on a weekday. Restaurant was half empty and accepted us without reservations. Told them I only had an hour. They took our order right away. We ordered an appetizer (way overcooked fried chicken...literally could not taste or feel the chicken) which took about 30 minutes to make it to the table. The main course we ordered had not come after 45 minutes so I checked with the server and they said they got behind so they'll bring it out right away. Took another 10 minutes. At this point, I just told them to box it up because I didn't have enough time to eat it as I had to go back to work. So I ended up taking it to back to work without eating and microwaved it for dinner that night. It was a very unsatisfying completely wasted $50. I guess I will continue to go to the Pho restaurant next door which gets me a warm meal for 1/4 of the price and with efficiency. Lesson learned, will not be coming back. If you don't have several hours to kill here, don't bother. read more

This is the first review I've written for this restaurant and decided it was necessary to touch on a few topics. I've dined at MW five times since I was informed the chefs were former employees of Alan Wong's. Being a fan of Asian-Fusion cuisine, I've tried several items on the menu. The fried calamari was delicious, the crab cake quite tasty and the butterfish was very well done. I'll give four stars for the food and the wait staff were professional with the exception of one female waitress (Caucasian with brown hair) who was not friendly at all and never seems to be happy. She served me the first time I ate at MW and I was very disappointed with her lack of enthusiasm and unfriendly attitude. The male servers have all been friendly and professional. If I ever go back I'll request to be seated in any section that she's NOT working. Several times that I've eaten at MW, I've had to wait five minutes to be seated when the restaurant isn't even busy. I'm not joking...there was only one table occupied and I had to wait five minutes to be seated. This has happened three times and it's rather annoying. The hostess needs to be trained a little better and seat people in a more timely manner. Today's dining experience was rather disturbing and I hope Wade (the owner) gets wind of this review at some point. I was sitting at the second table from the kitchen when Wade decided to have a meeting with his wait staff while I was eating my lunch with my mother visiting from CA. He was upset as his staff for NOT knowing what was on the menu and for ten minutes he proceeded to reprimand them in a way that I found very offensive. He was using the "F" Word and dropping "F-Bombs" multiple times at seven of his servers. I heard the entire lecture which was not enjoyable and I felt badly for his employees. This went on for nearly ten minutes until his wife, Michelle stepped in to educate them on the menu. Perhaps he should hold a meeting behind closed doors and talk to his employees with a little more respect if he wants more positive results. I found him to be degrading and left without having dessert. His unprofessionalism left a bad taste in my mouth which is not something you want as a restaurant owner. Maybe next time I'll ask to be seated away from the kitchen. Pretty sad if that's how the owner treats his staff. read more

Worst experience in years at this restaurant. It took 1 hour and 20 minutes after sitting down before food was brought out. I told the waiter that i don't eat meat or shellfish. He said there was none in the dish I ordered. When the fish dish came, it had bits of pork in it. After waiting over an hour for this dish, I was not about to order another dish, but filled up on rice. The quality of food is excellent, but that does not balance the worst service and worst management I have seen in an upscale restaurant. read more

Such a difference in customer service from my very first visit. I believe the last visit, we waited over 30 mins, never got seated and then left without a word from the hostess - who watched us leave. Fast forward to a few weeks ago and we had the most casual yet romantic 9yr anniversary lunch and left with complimentary menus to commemorate the experience. Getting the reservation - easy, parking - they have valet, being seated - seconds from walking in the door. Everything about this visit exceeded our last one. We ordered from the pre-fixe lunch menu - I opted for the mochi fish and Gem got the mochi crusted Tofu (apparently her absolute favorite thing she's ever eaten and she doesn't like tofu). I often judge restaurants by their bread - crunch, density, texture, etc. and MW did not disappoint. The wasabi aioli spread was a nice touch as well. The appetizers were great, the entrees were exceptional and the dessert were so light and refreshing. $50 (not including tip) for two people is well worth it. I highly recommend having lunch or dinner here, it's busy but the space is so well designed that the noise level doesn't ever rise and your not constantly distracted with the conversations that are taking place right next to you. After our lunch we were given complimentary banana bread to take home. I had once slice lol - Gem at the rest. This was the very first time we've celebrated our anniversary (weird I know) and what a great place to start a new tradition. Thank you MW. read more

The service was very good. But the food was disappointing. The $60 ribeye tasted like it was poor quality. Almost like it was from a cheap grocery store.. The bread was great but they serve it one piece at a time so we had to constantly ask for more bread. The desserts were tiny. The chocolate bar was delicious but was ridiculously small. The fried chicken was excellent however. But both salads were meh, just ok. The absolute worst part of the evening was seeing the condition of the restroom. My husband came back and told me that the men's bathroom was a fail, paper towels, water and garbage everywhere. When I went to the women's it was the same. One stall and it reminded me of a gas station bathroom. The paper towels dispenser was broken and there was a ripped up and tattered sign taped up telling the machine was broken. It was embarrassing. Like I said our server was good and knowledgeable about the menu. Most of the good was ok but the $60 ribeye was not up to par and was terribly disappointing. The desserts were good but so small. Our bill was $250 with tip for 2 people and I left just feeling like unfortunately it was a waste of money. We both agreed that there was no point in going back. I'm sorry, but just wasn't worth it. I'm really surprised they have 4 stars on yelp with such good reviews. Maybe we ordered all the wrong menu items. But no way was this a four star experience. read more

Love Elizabeth who works the bar! She is attentive, courteous, pays attention to detail and truly makes you feel like the most important guests there! Had another lovely evening at MW not only because of the fab food, but especially because of Elizabeth! Mahalo!!! read more

I've been wanting to try out MW for over a year now and I was so happy to get a last minute reservation for dinner tonight! I've tried in the past with no luck. Everything from appetizers, entrees and amazing deserts were awesome! And the service was also excellent....very professional, warm, courteous and attentive. Especially liked how they re-explained everything on the plate including the colorful mix of ingredients and relish. The poki nachos is not like any other on both won ton fried chips and rice crackers with avocado and unique spices. Their most popular dish is Mochi Crusted Kampachi and super ono. Desserts were so amazing --- Wailua Coffee Affogato, Kula Strawberry with mochi and boba at the bottom, and Tropical Fruit Creamsicle Brulee....OMG with lilikoi sorbet, lilikoi custard and more. I can keep on going. On the pricey side but worth it -- party of 7 was $400 (we had 3 pupus, 7 entrees, 1 soup, 3 desserts and 1 bottle of wine). read more

This restaurant truly proves that if customer service is amazing, the product can be bleh and customers will still leave happy. I finally got to dine here with my husby-to-be and I was just so excited. All the hype and we finally were able to get a reservation! We started with the fried unagi balls. I know the name is much more elegant, but alas, I only remember the taste (excellent). Although I wish the $12 appetizer came with more than three balls, that's pretty standard for an upscale restaurant. Then we ordered the shrimp pasta with uni sauce and the braised beef with foie gras. Again, apologies for the improvised menu item names. The shrimp were overcooked and disappointing, as was the uni sauce. The braised beef was cooked perfectly and the accompanying mushrooms were amaze, but the foie gras was undercooked :( Much sad. The biggest disappointment was the tepid state of both of our dishes. Why was the food so cold? Whhhyyyyyyy? We ordered the chocolate candy sampler for dessert and all I can say is, weird tasting. Why did the chocolate truffles have truffle oil in them? I mean they sound like they go together, but the end result was basically eating mushroom-flavored chocolate. Another side note was that our sampler had two truffles and they were described by our server as two different flavors, but they were the exact same. So blah. So why the three stars? Well the service was truly delightful. They are super attentive and are very generous with the free bread, always a plus. They do not carb-shame you at all for wanting more and more and more. Their flavors are creative, which still made the dining experience stand out from other restaurants. And another great thing was that our actual entrees were decently sized. I want to come back as soon as my wallet recovers and try those delicious-looking pork buns and a different dessert. read more

This place was so disappointing that I actually joined yelp just to tell everyone how horrible the place is. From the food, value, experience nothing could have fallen further from the "hype" this place had. We started with the unagi arancini and they were extremely bland. The risotto was cooked well the presentation was nice but the unagi was almost non existent and none of the flavors you would try to embellish jumped out. I thought I would taste tare sauce or the Kabayaki would pop but no bland and flavorless. Main dishes were also flavorless had the lemon grass chicken which had almost no lemongrass flavor I could have lemongrass chicken from any Vietnamese restaurant and it would have been ten times better at a third if the price. Even the side of quinoa was bland and flavorless. My wife had the blt and it sucked. Their house made bacon was almost Like a poorly braised piece of pork belly the whole sandwich was a soggy disappointment. They were trying to be edgy and innovative but just made a sad crappy dish. The only thing even halfway enjoyable to eat on the plate was the tomato and I'm surprised they didn't find a way to screw that up. Desert was another giant let down had the lemon brûlée. Way too tart poorly assembled just bad all the way around. I strongly recommend you avoid this place and it's hype unless you like expensive bland bad food. read more

We were trying to decide where to go for dinner last night. Had absolutely no idea. So we were driving on Keeaumoku headed towards Kapiolani. On a whim we decided to go here. Fortunately there was a table that was open until 8:00pm. We took on the basis that as hour and a half would be more than sufficient. We put every minute to good use. We had the fried oysters, ceviche, goat cheese salad, along with the Wagyu beef sliders and the pan fried salmon. Finished with the creamsicle brulee and the coffee shaved ice. All very good, except the ceviche was a little different than we are used to, but it was good in a different way. We finished right on time at 8:00. A nice finish to a great meal. read more

Possibly my new favorite restaurant on the island. I heard about MW from a friend whose parents frequent there so I decided to take my girlfriend on her birthday. From the time we walked in for our reservation, the hostess greeted us and we were seated right away but not till after the she wished my girlfriend happy birthday and showed her the menu which has your name printed on it for the occasion. This was a good start to an even better dinner. We began with some oysters and then had the soy braised pork belly. Both of which, were delicious. The pork belly had a tiny bit on jalapeño on top which complimented it perfectly. For the entrees we went with the onaga red tail snapper and a special of the night which was a petite beef cut with foie gras on top. Both were amazing and also paired well with the wines recommended by our server. Dessert was on the house and was the four layer tropical fruit brulee which hit the spot and was a nice way to end the dinner. When we asked for the check, the server then dropped off three different sets of cookies prepared by the chef for us to take home and enjoy later. Upon leaving they present you with the menu to take as a souvenir as well as offer to take a photo for you. Overall it was a great dining experience and only the first of many. If you are looking for great Asian fusion and amazing service, this is a definitely the place to go! read more

Reservations were made for 5pm on 12/22/14, I arrive 30 minutes early due to rain and traffic. First issue, The couple that enter after us, got seated at the bar first. In fact we had to wait 15 minutes to be seated in an empty restaurant. When I made the reservation, I was sure to inform MW that I would have one infant. My 6 week old daughter was in her car seat, MW does not provide a sling for infant. I was offered a toddler high chair. Even Zippys has a sling! Negative -2 pts so far and we haven't even ordered. We were offered the happy hour menu which was reasonably priced and the food was good, 1 star. After the appetizers, I decide to go to the bathroom and change my baby, guess what... No baby changing station! Now as a professional adult with a growing family, who enjoys the occasional nice meal, why would a restaurant as nice as MW be so neglectful in providing diaper changing station? Negative -2 more points cause now I'm pissed, that we had to go outside in the rain, to change our daughter in the car, but whatever's! Now dinner, I can't tell you how long it was from the time we order to the time the food arrived, however I can say that I was there for an hour and a half, and was still waiting for my dinner. Although my dinner was good, I especially loved the asparagus, my husband foie gras (duck liver) was burnt. It was after 7 by the time we were down with dinner and even though the desserts are usually the highlight of dining experience, we realized the restaurant was busy and we didn't want to wait another half hour. We have definitely had better experiences at MW, unfortunately this may have just been the deal breaker. read more

Food is good, however portions are small and pricey. One star rating is for lack of service. Deliberate and intentional lack of attention by server and managers. It was busy, however, it took 20 minutes to take our drink order and 45 minutes to take our order for a pre fixed menu! Managers were roaming around the restaurant attentive to other guests, but chose not to address our situation. Recommend a review of order system - when guests arrive, orders taken and received. The results may be revealing! read more

Tonight was our first time here and we celebrated my future father-in-law's birthday with my fiance's family. We were lucky to get reservations for an 8:30 dinner on a Saturday night for 6 people! The restaurant is on the smaller side, but the service is amazing and it's pretty cool to see the kitchen and the servers right there on the floor. My fiance and his brother ordered the special wagyu steak and it was so moist and delicious! I had the mochi crusted onaga with the somen and the flavor was perfect. Future mother-in-law ordered the Hokkaido scallops which just melted in your mouth... The portion sizes were really good for the price that went along with it. The only downside I would say is the parking situation, although the valet guys were fast to serve us, I can see the lot getting full very fast and the street parking is not in the best area. Another thing was because we were there pretty late, they were out of a few appetizers, specials, and desserts :( But I can see myself coming back in the future to try more of the food and the desserts I missed out on tonight. Worth the drive from the west-side to come out to town! read more

Wow! We were here for our honeymoon and luckily our friend told us to come check it out. Sure glad we did as it was very very enjoyable. The service was top notch and the food was delicious to the core. The food explanations are pin point accurate as the animals they use for meals go on specific diets to compliment the design of the food. I had the miso butterfish and the creme brûlée. Fish was a good amount of food if you don't want to feel heavy. Go for the duck confit if you want something a little more savory. Cheers! read more

One of the best meals we've had in Honolulu. Lao did an excellent job of helping us through the menu and making appropriate substitutions to accommodate gluten free. We both had the special 3- course menu which included chilled tomato soup, spicy ahi with uni, and pork and four wonton. Lao noted that they were known for their mochi crusted Kona Kampachi which was outstanding. Dessert was a tropical fruit brûlée. Definitely a new go to restaurant for us. read more

Outstanding service and food is excellent. Appetizers, entrees and desserts can't be beat. Wait staff is so efficient and friendly. It was a special occasion and everyone congratulated us repeatedly. They also provided a customized menu that they presented to us after the dinner along with a special bag of cookies. This is now my favorite restaurant in town. I will be back often. read more

I got the loin katsu.. the pieces were HUGE! Biggest katsu I've ever eaten! Wow! The katsu sauce was delicious. When the manager came by to see if everything was okay, I got more katsu sauce ;) I was surprised to find there were 3 managers working on a Tuesday night. Well, at least the service was great! Whenever my drink was empty, there was another one on it's way! The bar took a while to make the drinks though.. We had the ahi and hamachi appetizer, which was wonderful because the fish was fresh and there wasn't that stringy white crap in the fish. It came with crunchy chips too. The dessert was soooo good! I would just come here for the dessert! Hahaha.. I got the strawberry cheesecake dessert. There was li-hing in the strawberries and the cheesecake was all deconstructed on my plate. Every bite was flavorful and different. It's not what you expect. I would definitely come back for just the dessert if anything :) read more

seemed pretty good, until trying Alan Wong's, which has been doing this kindof thing for 30 or so years

Over rated. dining room overlooks the parking lot. Dumpster visible. Food was good. Wait staff was terrible. I never realized how much poorly trained staff and ambiance can detract from the overall dining experience. Better restaurants elsewhere for less money. read more

We dropped in without reservations about 5:00 on a Friday late September. The dining room was empty except for two tables. After a lot of discussion we were seated at the bar where the happy hour extended to 6pm. We were able to order a number of dishes for $5 although several offerings were out. The arancini was the most memorable and the spareribs the most forgettable. But all in all a very good dining experience with an amiable bar tender. We escaped with a tab of about $50 with tip for 2 when the pris fixe menu was more than that. We left about 6:15 with the dining room half empty. What's the deal? read more

went on Saturday night, we sat at our reserved seats at the bar because all regular seating was reserved. The toast was delicious, as was our appetizer. As soon as my appetizer came, two minutes later came the entrees. The bartender or I should have spoke up, but I didn't and looked at the nori wilting on my entrée as I tried to enjoy the appetizer. I will wait awhile before returning, by then they will have their timing improved. read more

I decided on MW when I was trying to find an upscale restaurant to celebrate my girlfriends birthday. Their website is nice and I was able to make reservations online. I was wooed by all the talk of 'Alan Wong's former chef' and was expecting excellent food... and I was not disappointed. The food is excellent- I had the Miso Butterfish and my girlfriend had the Opakapaka. We had Ahi Nachos for an appetizer and extravagant desserts that I've forgotten the title of. My gf's dessert was not good for her and she thought her fish was overcooked and tough. My food was quite good. But for me it ended there. When I made the reservation I notated that we were celebrating a birthday and we would like a table off in the corner where we could have relative privacy. To my surprise we were seated right up front in the middle of everything where everyone was passing by. There was no acknowledgement of her birthday (other's have said things about a specialized menu and some sort of concoction with a candle on top and singing busboys, etc) and the servers did not have a working knowledge of the menu. It seemed like they hadn't experienced the food at all and were just working off of what they were told. Service was slow to refill drinks and our spent cocktail glasses were never collected. Also- and this is a biggie- they clear the tables and wipe all the tables with the same dirty rag and put the (seemingly) clean silverware right on the table! We noticed our utensils were placed on the wood tabletop directly without a napkin or buffer of some kind. We watched in horror as spent tables were cleared and cleaned with the same rag and fresh utensils put right on the table. And since we had the busiest table in the place, it was easy to see what was happening around us. Also the atmosphere was lacking. A bit plain with nothing on the walls and tables lined up cafeteria style. The lighting was very bright- almost overpowering. The prices and the level of food was not befitting the atmosphere or the service. Zippy's is more quaint and a tad more romantic. I hope this place makes it- the food is brilliant- but the bad atmosphere and lackluster service may be too much to overcome. read more