The place looks fund, but the food was mostly just okay, and the prices made the experience harder…read moreto appreciate. Our bill came to around $230 for a table of five. To be fair, that was the total for the group, so the number alone isn't what bothered me. What bothered me was looking at the food, the portions, and how much we actually enjoyed everything, then feeling like the value wasn't there.
The chips and guacamole were probably the clearest example. For $15, the amount of guacamole looked like roughly three tablespoons, and it had a dark greenish-brown appearance that wasn't particularly appetizing. I'm not going to make assumptions about how it was prepared or how long it had been sitting, but the presentation and portion were disappointing. At that price, I expected something more generous and appealing.
The pu pu platter was $35 and came with an assortment of items, but the portion looked appropriate for about two people. A platter doesn't necessarily have to feed an entire table of five, but even with that in mind, it didn't feel like a particularly good value. The $15 buffalo cauliflower also failed to impress. There just wasn't enough about it to make me feel that it justified the price.
The Caesar salad was probably the best thing I tasted, although I only had a couple of bites. That says quite a bit about how underwhelming the rest of the food felt. There was one positive comment from our table about the Kalua pork tacos, so I want to give those some credit, but I didn't personally try them. They were $18 for two tacos à la carte, which still struck me as a fairly steep price.
After reading other diners' reviews, I noticed some similar reactions: people who enjoyed parts of the experience but felt the food was only okay, or that the prices added up quickly. Experiences clearly vary, and some customers really enjoy the food here, but the comments questioning the value made sense to me after our meal.
I don't expect every restaurant to be inexpensive, and I'm happy to pay more when the quality and portions make it feel worthwhile. Here, too many items landed in the "fine, but nothing special" category while being priced high enough to create bigger expectations. Three stars feels fair because there were a few things to enjoy, but the food and overall value left me wanting more. At these prices, I'd need a more consistently satisfying meal to feel excited about coming back.