This was amazing. We have 3 birthdays all on one day. We came from California to celebrate…read more The food - amazing The service - amazing The ambiance - amazing It was just great.

Hadn't been to Basalt in many years. Had ocassion to revisit when a friend of mine, who read my…read moreprevious review, wanted to experience. So we came. And boy were we both blown away (so much so that I believe she returned the next day with others!). The menu had been completely revamped and seemed to take on a more local influence while still being very upscale. Since we both enjoy "sampling" we shared two appetizer and a main. Everything was bursting with flavor! This is what we had: Starter salad from the seasonal menu of watermelon, strawberries, blueberries and greens served on a bed of yuzu infused goat cheese and drizzled with a shiso chimmichuri sauce. Yes, bursting with flavor! I would return for just this dish! Next shared was a tempura battered cauliflower served with a robust curry and yogurt reduction. Deeeelicious. I wouldn't say we licked the plate... but I won't deny it. Hahah. Finally shared the seafood in curry soup (think a lighter version of laksa) served with white rice on the side. Holy moly. No words to describe. Portions were generous enough to share still next time, I won't. That memorable you won't want to share. No longer serving volcano black rolls, tho absolutely serving amazingly wonderful dishes. Volcano black pancakes still available at breakfast. We kept on oooing and ahhhing and asking about the chef. Our servers Gale and Lily, who provided the most awesome service told us "Chef Lance" (as he is affectionately called) moved over from the Mariposa (Restaurant in Neiman Marcus) over a year ago. Further research revealed Chef Lance Kosaka has brought experience from noteworthy restaurants: Top of Waikiki, Merriman's, 53 By the Sea, and most recently Mariposa. I am hoping he will bring in a notable creme brulee that I loved at both the Top as well as Mariposa! Not wanting the deliciousness of Chef Steve's cooking to end, I also ordered a warabi salad to go for the next day. It was...just as wonderful as the other dishes we enjoyed. Thank you to Servers Gale and Lily, Chef Steve, actually...the entire staff who elevated a casual evening of dining to be a most memorable experience! Thank you to sister friend Karen who insisted we dine here, for the most wonderful company and meal. Validated parking in the building accessed on Seaside. Validated for either 2 or 3 hours depending on the promotion. Kamaaina discount of 10 percent given. Will we be back? Absolutely. And I won't wait so long this time to return!

I was just on vacation and went to the Monkeypod my first night in Hawaii; and I am so happy I did…read more I had the pleasure of having a server Toto, he was so friendly and professional. He was also very helpful in suggestions as to some of his favorite items were on the menu. Toto was such a great person and is definitely an asset to the establishment. Also, the food was delicious and the drinks were incredible. All of this, and you have a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean as your backdrop. If you have the pleasure of dining here, I would highly recommend requesting Toto as your server. The food, drinks and having him as your server would make for an enjoyable experience. Mahalo Monkeypod and Toto, until next time!!

Shoutout to our server Evan! He was amazing. Very friendly, helpful, and accommodating to our…read moretable. Great food, music, and ambiance in general. Will be back!

Service was amazing. We brought our 8 year son to celebrate mom's birthday. Although he would have…read moreeaten his on entree, they offered to cook him a plain buttermilk chicken and rice which he loved! We enjoyed ourselves and savored every dish. We had the prie fixed menu. The scallop dish was my favorite, and the "baked potato" was my wife's. The dessert brought a smile to all of us and they were nice enough to include a serving for our son. Definitely would recommend eating here!

Came here for my birthday, and unfortunately, the experience was pretty disappointing. The…read morerestaurant was extremely empty. We were there for about two hours and only saw around three other parties, so the whole place just felt really quiet and empty. The one bright spot was the service. There was only one server working, and he was incredibly nice, friendly and attentive throughout the meal. We got the set menu. We started with the hamachi crudo, which was good. The beet dish was really pretty, but I thought it was a little bland and didn't have much flavor. They also had their own take on a baked potato with sour cream and chives, which was actually really yummy. The shrimp/prawn dish with the butter sauce was probably my favorite dish of the night. The bao was okay, and unfortunately, the chicken adobo was extremely salty. It was also basically a huge piece of chicken with adobo sauce, so it wasn't really my favorite. We were really excited to try the rabbit butter mochi because we'd heard so much about it. It was super cute and definitely one of the most unique presentations, but unfortunately, it tasted like soap. We wondered if maybe the mold had been washed right before serving because there was a very strong dish soap-like taste to it. LOL. Obviously, things happen, but it was especially disappointing because I really wanted to enjoy the butter mochi. Also, the tap water was honestly some of the worst restaurant water I've ever had. It tasted very strongly like a pipe or metal. I even asked for lemon wedges, but it still tasted the same. I never complain about water, but this was genuinely difficult to drink.

It was a little overdone for my liking was a nice meal. Would repeat. Wait was long and system for…read morekeeping track of the wait list was malfunctioning or they were intentionally pushing me down on the list. Service was excellent. Shout out to Andy for the excellent service. Live music was a nice touch.

Food was decent, but the main issue which ruined our experience was that the server was hassling us…read moreabout giving my wife a complimentary dessert . We spent over a $135 on our food, but he was saying that we needed to spend more money to get the dessert and he just made us feel bad. So ruined the night for my wife on her birthday really disappointed.

Located off Nimitz Hwy on a pier 38 we went to Niko's, which they do not take reservations…read more We got there on a Tuesday which was good, not much customers and lots of open seating. We got seated outside which was okay and we had a small dog with us. We went to celebrate our daughter Birthday and nobody asked even with her wearing a Lei is there a special occasion? Nothing from the check in counter to the waitress? We ordered appetizers Oyster shooters, Chicken Caesar salad, Truffle French Fries, Crab Artichoke dip, besides the main courses. The Oyster Shooter was fresh and tasty with a quail egg on top, only 1 of mind had 2 pretty good size pieces of oyster shells inside good thing I didn't choke on them. The Truffle French Fries was good except for it wasn't crispy, maybe due to the truffle oil. The Chicken Caesar salad with pesto was very good and the homemade croutons were very tasty light and crunchy, the pesto chicken was tasty and moist and the romaine lettuce was fresh. The Crab Artichoke dip with baked bread was good. I also ordered the fish and chip which was delicious and the fish was crispy on the outside and moist inside. The French fries were crispy and good. My wife ordered the braise belly pork and most of the portion was fat which she only ate 1 piece. Our daughter had the braised short ribs and she enjoyed her meal. Our son in law ordered the short ribs with Kim Chee and he enjoyed his ribs, but didn't eat the large pile of Kim Chee he said the Kim Chee was sour, but enjoyed the short ribs and beans and mash potatoes. They do have indoor and outdoor seating with live music. You can park in the unpaved parking lot right across the entrance, but if you have bad eye sight or walking because of the large holes and uneven surfaces, better to park along side of the building.

Was there last week for a high school reunion. Those of us who went towards the end of the line to…read moreget our food at the buffet discovered that there were crab cakes and cheesecake that had run out and were not resupplied. We were told they made one per person and there was no signage nor was it served so that each person would get one. A small bowl of poke was placed on the buffet as a substitute for the crab cakes. That also ran out with no refill! I understand that the poke was not very good and the fish was a bit mushy. Sorry to say that I would not go back to dine at Nico's Upstairs. If they had done a good job with quality and quantity of food, imagine how many people would return and patronize them. The actual service was acceptable as it was a no host bar and beverage service.

Took our friend here for her birthday and what a hidden gem this place was. Tucked away in the…read moreheart of Kaimuki, Carte Blanche was definitely a delightful surprise! When our party first walked in, we were a tiny bit skeptical because of the empty room (which was beautifully decorated). However as each course came out, we were blown away and didn't know how the restaurant was not way busier for a Saturday night! Each dish/course was well thought out and prepared to perfection. We were all taken by surprise in a great way. The head chef Anthony was very passionate and excited about his work and that was very refreshing! Overall a wonderful experience and we will be back!

Wow!! I really loved this restaurant. We had a big group in our reservation. My boyfriend and I…read morehave many dietary restrictions and the chef accommodated even though we told the chef about our dietary restrictions only when we got to the restaurant. Service is amazing and everyone was very nice. The restaurant is so cute and I really liked the decor. The food was INCREDIBLE! I would come back to Hawaii just to eat here again. Thank you so much!

Amazing food, Amazing view, & Amazing customer service! Thx to Schaniece & Shaydee!…read more I had the Cuban and my GF had the salmon all while overlooking the water and great music playing 10/10 would recommend!!!

This my 4th visit to 604 Restaurant....food,cocktails, and service are GREAT.....no complaints....I…read moremean this my 5th visit there....that should explain how very much myself and company Love this place

My favorite grab and go spot before heading to the airport! I really appreciate getting a nice warm…read moremeal reminiscent of a home cooked meal, made with so much love and care, so I'm prepared for a long flight ahead. There are so many items to choose from on the menu but I really like the pork adobo, longanisa, and Portuguese sausage. Such a hearty meal for a good deal. There is shared parking with the plaza and limited spots inside to eat on the window side bar table. The restaurant staff are very kind and helpful if you're not sure what to get! Definitely a place you should drop by for a good meal.

Never thought id find another place similar to K & M Drive Inn when it comes to cheap bentos but…read morethis place has em! Its a few cents more expensive and the portion feels just a tad bit smaller but its still one hell of a deal. Lately I've been coming here after seeing some insta videos and I've been hooked on their omelettes. The price for their breakfast plates and Omelettes are very good and they open very early "0430". They serve both their lunch and breakfast menu at open but i havent tried their lunch items yet tho seeing from pictures ahhh def gonna try em before i Judge em. They also ask to preorder a day ahead if you want more than 5 Bentos. Cashier always friendly and just like K&M they tap the no tip option before asking you to tap your card A+ on that. They have a tip jar for cash tips if you want to. I though i should mention this too but just like K&M their spam and sometimes their other breakfast meats in the bento just have a weird funk taste to em. maybe its a different brand? Unsure so I dont get them as much any more but if its actually bad im sure someone would have complained or gotten sick. I had their spam omelette and it tasted just fine. So very weird.

I come here once a month. Great view, great service, both of servers I have gotten are excellent!!…read morePaka and Josh. They both always remember what I like/order, and cater to my needs. Food is great and reasonably priced and served in good portions too. Because many other Waikiki restaurants would jack the prices up simply because they could, the fact Deck's price points are lower than the most and the quality is better than the most is awesome. Highly recommend it.

the location itself is gorgeous but the service and food left a lot to be wished for. We were…read morecelebrating my sons birthday and it really left a sour taste in my mouth. Reservation was at 8:45 place was empty by the way yet it took 20 + minutes to be seated. I was seated outside but it was dark so the view was gone and it was cold and raining. The server didn't come for about 10 minutes where I asked to be moved. I was moved to a covered table and we got a new server where we promptly ordered. My sons kids meal came out and his tenders were actually delicious as well as the fries . My food took over 20 minutes to arrive only after I made eye contact with my server and he rushed to the back to grab my food, I'm guessing he had forgotten about it because my short rib arrived cold. Like literally cold to the touch. The mashed potatoes were warm and those were great as well as the veggies . I didn't complain because nobody ever came back to check us on or offer a refill or anything . To pay was a hassle also as they only had 1 server helping and he was tied up with a big table for over 20 minutes that was arguing how to split up a bill. I eventually flagged down a bartender and she went and grabbed my original server from the back. The whole night things kept going wrong . I did have a mai tai earlier in the day from their happy hour which was great but dinner is a no-go for me here now.

I had the chance to dine at Scratch Kitchen in Kapolei back in 2024 for a special Mother's Day…read morelunch with my youngest daughter. I'd never been to their other locations, so this was my first experience -- and honestly, it left an impression. That spot in Kapolei has seen a few restaurants come and go over the years. Before Scratch Kitchen, there was Sugar Cane, and if I reach far enough back, I'm pretty sure a Mexican restaurant lived there too. It's one of those spaces where you hope the next place finally sticks. But the food at Scratch Kitchen? Absolutely delicious. The kind of meal where the pictures alone make your mouth water. If "smell‑a‑vision" or "lick‑your‑screen" technology existed, everyone would understand exactly what I mean. Every dish was full of flavor, beautifully done, and perfect for a Mother's Day treat. Which is why I can't help but wonder what happened -- like so many restaurants before them in that same location. With food that good, you'd hope they'd be the ones to break the cycle. All in all, I'm grateful I got to enjoy that meal with my daughter. It was memorable, delicious, and one of those small moments you hold onto. Marie

Stopped by Scratch Kitchen in Honolulu for brunch, and honestly, I'm surprised it wasn't packed. We…read morewent mid-morning on a weekday and the place was nearly empty--not sure if it was just good timing or an underrated gem. Either way, it made for a super relaxed experience with no wait and plenty of space to spread out and enjoy the food. Loved: The street tacos with the tempura shrimp were easily the star of the meal. 100% worth it. Light, crispy shrimp with a flavorful slaw and just the right amount of heat--basically a flavor party in every bite. The burger was another quiet star. Juicy patties, nicely seasoned, and stacked just right. Nothing super flashy, but really satisfying. Definitely a good pick if you're not in the mood for brunchy stuff. The Miss: Tried the French toast and... meh. It looked great on the plate but tasted dry and definitely didn't live up to the level of the other dishes. Might've just been an off day or a matter of personal taste, but I'd skip it next time.