1938 Indochine — Restaurant in Honolulu

Ugh, I hate to write a bad review, but with all the other amazing restaurants Oahu has to offer, you should pass.

We had a 7:30 reservation, and they didn’t seat us until 7:38 despite there being ample seating (even with COVID seating restrictions).

It was also raining and they chose to seat us in an uncovered 2 top right next to the road, again, despite there being ample seating both inside and outside with coverage. So we waited in the rain, and were then sat in the rain.

Finally, as we were getting up to go after being tired of sitting in the rain (now around 7:45 with both the manager and host looking on), our server moved us inside.

One of the only good things I can say about this spot is that the decor/setup is beautiful. I only wish they had spent as much time and money on the menu.

We ordered almost half the menu, and were totally underwhelmed.

What we ate:

Ocean Grilled Scallops: tiny scallops smothered in cheese Banh Mi Sliders: farthest thing from banh mi I’ve ever seen, which would be fine if it were good, but it wasn’t. Le Citronelle Fried Chicken: sorry but it tasted like Panda Express orange chicken Lemongrass Pork Ribs: this was excellent! Only thing on the whole menu we liked (if you happen to get stuck eating here please order) Colonial Crab Cakes: words cannot describe the mediocrity Thai Beef Brochette: beef skewers served cold/dry and smothered in sauce Indochine Soup: so tasteless. We didn’t even eat more than a couple of bites, and literally poured all the sauces on the table into the soup praying for something to bring this to life. Spicy Lemongrass Fries: these were okay, but everything tastes good with fried garlic and scallions on top...

Food came before the drinks, and I would tell you about the dessert but we obviously didn’t stay. The restaurant is pretty big, so your kitchen probably is too. I get that it’s hard to execute consistently in such a large space, but still.

I don’t say these things lightly. I absolutely hate online trolls who write obnoxious reviews for no reason. However, my husband and I have ample restaurant experience and I lived extensively in South East Asia after college, so I wouldn’t write this on a whim.

I also grew up most of my life in Hawaii, and can tell you that this restaurant doesn’t hold a candle to any of the restaurants in Chinatown (Pig and the Lady, Lucky Belly, etc.)

Go to Piggie Smalls if you’re in Kaka’ako and wait in line instead.

3 stars for our server who was kind, the lemon grass pork ribs, nice decor, and fair pricing.

This spot gave me chain restaurant vibes/quality when I wanted something that would rival the other restaurants mentioned above. That’s my bad, but you guys also sat us in the rain and just watched without apology or...

This was our nice date night out after getting engaged that day. The food was pretty good, but the service, delivery of food, getting double charged on my card while an insane group going absolutely ham in the private bar made the night a total mess. We were honestly flabbergasted when we left.

My card was charged twice and it took following up three times over two weeks to get the second charge reversed. It was easy to track with one charge including 20% tip and the other just the cost of food.

We were sat right next to the private bar upstairs and there was a group in there RAGING. Loud music, screaming, running to the bathroom next to us and holding the door shut from other customers. We talked to a half dozen people while they awkwardly waited by our table to try and use the bathroom. Anyone who has been around knows what was going on in there. The entire restaurant would stop and look up at the private bar area right next to us constantly as they made insane noise. The GM walking by our table was nice enough and seems new so I’d like to cut some slack, but holy lord. To be honest, he seemed stressed about the insane people in the private bar and was totally aware how much of a disruption they were making to the entire restaurant, but didn’t step up.

We had to ask our sever 3-4 times when some of the other items would arrive. She’d come by and ask if we wanted dessert or the bill and had ask about the remaining food. Bread was missing with one of the dishes, we asked about it and it just never arrived.

The service industry is tough! So we wanted to cut some slack on things but everything compounding was just insane.

Ok, onto the food and drinks. The cast iron ribeye was great. Scallops were moderate. The shishito peppers were awesome. Pork belly buns were OK. Mushroom soup was interesting and good, bread never arrived. The Halo Halo is a weird delicious treat. Our only issue with Halo Halo was the vehicle as serving it in a pint glass was super hard to eat. The ice layer froze over and made it difficult to eat without making a huge mess. We shared a short spoon that couldn’t reach the bottom of the glass. Mai Tai was good and one of the few more traditional Mai Tai’s we have found in the island. Royal Refresher was really tart and not balanced. Thai Margarita was good, nothing to call home about.

It’s a bummer as the menu is pretty solid and whoever runs their drink program has set up well priced flights of allocated bourbon. Everything else...

First the positives: great atmosphere and we love the menu... it's mostly shareable/pupu style, and many of the items were good and decently priced.

HOWEVER, my first item, chicken sate, came out completely raw. We were on the patio with bad lighting AND I've just started eating meat again this month (as I'm trying to get pregnant!! scary that I ate this) so I thought it was just fatty and was second-guessing myself because it tasted strange. I swallowed 2 big pieces before spitting out the third and complaining to my bf. He looked with his phone light and it was barely cooked outside and completely raw inside!! We complained and the waitress took it off the table and off the bill but otherwise did not seem to care. No manager visit, apology, or anything... I was disgusted the rest of our meal and felt completely disregarded. Serving raw chicken is a BIG DEAL and I just can't believe they didn't check on us or make sure to discuss with the cooks so it doesn't happen to someone else?!

Our pork belly skewers were also undercooked, but not enough that my bf wanted to complain as we were just over it (I don't eat pork). It seems the kitchen was just in a rush and not taking any care?? They were steady but not full or busy. We were sat immediately with no wait on Saturday night at 7pm with open tables around us on the patio.

Sadly, service was also bad. We had to look around whenever we needed our waitress and after we finally asked for the check it took 10 minutes before she brought it to us and bounced and another 10 minutes before she came to run our cards.

Just grossed out and hoping I don't get sick at this point. Love the idea, decor, and menu of this place, but it's just absolutely not worth it when they don't take food...