The Bistro — Restaurant in Hawaii

*Response. Yes and that is exactly what we saw. Local clientele. For drinks. As described below in my initial observation. Just look at some of the other, titled "so disappointed" etc reviews on Google and TripAdvisor etc. This is not about us, it is about you and your establishment. 1- I appreciate your wife's taste however I also make dishes at home I wouldn't dare selling to people, let alone charge them after they have returned it for good reason. 2- I looked at some news articles. You also are former "tourists" who decided to move here and open an establishment. So where is that arrogance coming from? Is ripping off 'unwelcomed tourists' on a remote island, who at the end of the day pay your rent, your choice of business?? Your response sure leads me to believe that : "return or not". Aha. After the despicable treatment we have been subjected to today at your eatery, nothing surprises me. *

Great to get hammered. But if you want to have a nice meal, read on. $13.90 for a grilled artichoke appetizer that was nothing more than a charred tree trunk. We informed the server as we were certain this must be a mistake. Nobody would serve this. It's inedible. However: we were lectured by the server this was indeed a delicacy and our grievance was a mere reflection of the fact that we don't know how to eat an artichoke. So far so good, at this point we knew we wouldn't return anyways. Until we asked for the check and were informed that we had to pay for the artichoke dish (the one we had returned earlier) since, according to the server, it was perfectly cooked. After much back and forth we received a 20% discount. Which left us with $11+ to pay for a ruined dish we hadn't even eaten. All in all this place is just a bad reflection of the overall island hospitality we have experienced. Past 5pm this appears more of a washout than a restaurant. And the service...

I’m only giving four stars because of the service, which was not LGBTQIA+ friendly, but the food was absolutely amazing and at reasonable prices especially for the island. I only managed to get two pics because we kept devouring the food. We had 3 drinks, the mushroom soup (possibly the best soup I’ve ever had), kale salad, beet salad, prosciutto wrapped goat cheese, mac-basil crema lobster with risotto and asparagus, and the crème brûlée. All of it, absolutely delicious, depth of flavors, perfectly seasoned. Now the service… when we arrived the lady at the front asked if we had reservations (we did not) then said she could seat us on the patio and gestured toward a beautiful outdoor seating area but then led us to a fenced in area in the back. I just thought her gesturing skills sucked but we were the only ones out there the entire time we were there, watching everyone else get seated inside the restaurant (and there were empty tables inside the whole time we were there). The server came over a little while later and apologized saying she wasn’t told we were out there. She was very nice at first but then her demeanor changed. It’s not something I can easily explain, it’s more body language, the way she said things (and saying them as she walked away with her back to us) and the feeling she gave us, which was uncomfortableness (if you’re lgbtq chances are you know what I’m talking about). I am non-binary and more masculine presenting. I’m an empath and really focus on the good in people but it was obvious that we were being treated differently. Based on my and my wife’s experience tonight, we would not consider the wait staff lgbtq friendly. It’s a shame because I had planned on coming back before we leave because the food was just so amazing but I don’t want to be where I’m...

This WAS our go-to place for dinner, but last Tuesday, Sept 5, 2023, we had a terrible experience. All 4 of us started with onion soup, which was a mistake because it had half a fresh ground pepper mill in it. And nary a crouton on top, let alone the usual bread topped with cheese, just the unadorned soup was delivered. Next, the chili pepper chicken, ordered by 2 in our party, was unedible. It appeared to have been refried, ie. prepared, then sat around, then thrown back into the fryer. The chicken was tough & the excessive bread coating was very dark brown. My partner had the fried chicken wings with fries. The same refried prep was evident in his as well & the fries were, he saud, so, so. Beers: The waitress said they only had 2 taps, that was all there was room for, but we are old customers & knew many more on tap beers were offered in the past. The same limited supply of bottled beers was evident. And when one of us ordered a glass of white wine from the list of whites-by-the-glass, after a brief wait was told, it was not available, so he ordered a Corona from the limited bottled beers available that night. Luckily I ordered grilled Korean shrimp, without the Korean sauce, & it was good. It came over rice & I asked for a vegie instead of the kimchi zucchini & the chef gave me halves of grilled zucchini. My dinner aside from the soup starter was good, but the rest of the group had a...