Bar Maze — Restaurant in Honolulu

Birthday dinner omakase! Book early on Resy for prime weekend times (Friday/Sat). Seems like a rather casual dresscode but we did go fancy! Bar counter seating recommended to watch the team prep, cook, plate (can add this request on the Resy page). Kitchen is very small but staff are extremely quiet and efficient, motions in practiced synchronicity. Personally do not care for paired drinks with my meal (alcoholic or otherwise) so there is an option to opt out of the full tasting experience ($200). We just added both desserts as ala carte items to our meal, as well as the special supplemental menu item (wagyu musubi).

For the food scene in Hawaii, even the fanciest places have fairly predictable food - it tastes like how it looks or reads on paper and quality is on par with the reputation of the restaurant and prices. I was pleasantly surprised by the food here. Creativity similar to a restaurant vying for a Michelin nod. My favorite dishes were tied between the Scallops (Chef Chong's take on SF clam chowder) and one of the desserts - the Cherry Shaved Ice. The scallops and butter sauce can be a bit too rich towards the end, but it was such a playful and delicious dish!! Would have loved a bit more limu for texture but the crispy chicken skin and finely sliced, almost hair thin celery sticks were a nice addition. Scallops were done marvelously! Briny but also so sweet, cooked perfectly! I am not keen on shaved ice but this Cherry Shaved Ice was so marvelous, my taste buds lit up like a Christmas tree because it agreed that YES the flavors were hitting and that YES this was what good food tasted like. Homemade syrup was a nice blend of cherry, orange blossom and rose water. The lavender cream dollop was a rich note that came out strong - so lovely. The fresh cherries were a nice added texture and natural juice, less sweet than the syrup, contrasting nicely. Pistachio, amaranth, honey toppers tied it all together. Beautiful dish.

Other highlights, the bourbon barrel smoked salmon toast (1 of 3 snack set) - how did they get that texture on the salmon??! It melted in my mouth practically! Toasted bread was crunchy and fresh. The other 2 small bites in the snack trio set were also very well done. The banchan that accompanied the American Wagyu galbi was fire! Loved the watercress *with green tofu sauce and the king oyster mushroom bite. Wagyu musubi was nice as well (much lighter than I imagined in my head). Beautiful interpretation of a 김말이 (a Korean street food item of glass noodles wrapped in seaweed, battered and deep fried. BM swapped the noodles for sushi rice lightly seasoned with truffle (couldn't decide if the truffle flavor was too light or was a perfect complement that didn't overpower the rice vinegar). Wagyu definitely melted in my mouth.

Least favorite was the tayaki dessert with a banana pudding creme brulee. Not a fan of bananas and it didn't really give anything. Tayaki was just...present. This was a throwaway dish. I also didn't really like the American wagyu kalbi shortrib. Banchan was great! Minus the black garlic sauce. Meat wasn't very flavorfully braised in my opinion. It wasn't special, just a well executed piece of meat cooked medium rare (or slightly over). 2 week dry aged kamapachi was fine. Would have liked thicker slices of jokbal (pig feet) because mine were barely existing. The accompanying salad was phenomenal. Could eat a bucket of that.

They ended with a complimentary pair of chocolate truffles resembling pebbles. I did like the truffle itself with a hint of mint, very nice texture, BUT we both hated the charcoal powder the truffles were dusted in. Powder was very irritating in our throats and we couldn't clear it out with drinks. A bit unpleasant.

Overall, solid solid fine dining experience! Vibes, professionalism, phenomenal creativity for the foodie palate. Plating was also beautiful, understated. I would come back again for a new seasonal menu. Sidenote: manager comped 2 dishes as a gift for my birthday....

The world food tour duo visited Bar Maze on Auahi Street, close to SALT. Everything about Bar Maze is subtle and understated, from the signage on the wall adjacent to the door, to the pale wood paneling and simple light wood tables. The space is dominated by a counter (facing Auahi Street) for those that want to view the actions in the open kitchen. Across from the counter there are two small high tables for two and there are three tables for two to four diners to the left of the entrance.

There are two menus to choose from, the Bar Maze Tasting menu ($125pp) consisting of four courses, and the Bar Maze Experience which builds upon the Tasting Menu with the addition of two desserts. There was one optional item, a Wagyu “musubi” for $32. There is a cocktail pairing available for $60. There is a cocktail menu and a limited selection of wines by the glass. Full bottles of wine are not available.

We opted for the Tasting Menu as the better half of the duo knew that the Experience would be too much food for both of us. We each added the Wagyu “musubi”. I ordered the cocktail pairing, and my better half ordered a non-alcoholic cocktail based upon tea ($20).

The amuse bouche (Snack) consisted of three bites: a raw oyster with white kimchi, a potato croquette with piped egg over beef tartare, topped with ikura, and a piece of toast or crispy rice topped by a smoked piece of salmon. I loved the oyster and the salmon, the one with piped egg was okay. The cocktail was a mix of stonefruit, pomegranate, rose, sake and Champagne … think of a fruity sparkling wine.

The first course was three pieces of dry-aged Kampachi and a herb salad atop a hot mustard vinaigrette. The cocktail was a mixture of strawberry, elderflower, tomato water, shochu, and reposado tequila, topped with citrus bubbles. This cocktail complemented the pieces of fish.

The optional Wagyu “musubi” was next. It was more a Wagyu nigiri than musubi. A large, thin slice of Wagyu over preserved black truffle rice, topped with tare (sweetened, thickened soy sauce). This was the highlight of the evening for me. I wanted two or three more.

The second course was modified for each of us. Mine had two pieces of grilled scallops amongst julienned spring onion(?) sitting on sauce without butter. My tablemate was given one with a grilled piece of peacock razorfish in a butter sauce because she can’t eat shellfish of any kind. Her dish was wonderful; mine was overseasoned and I didn’t like it. The cocktail was a combination of mandarin, yuzu, lilikoi, aloe, shishito pepper, and gin, topped by whipped egg white. I didn’t care for this cocktail as it looked too similar to the previous one and I’m not a fan of egg white on cocktails.

The third course was two slices of grilled duck breast, served with a plate containing five kinds of banchan (cucumber kimchi, maitake mushroom, julienned beets, julienned onion on mayonnaise, daikon kimchi and a dollop of mustard for the duck. I opted for a glass of 2022 The Prisoner red blend wine as my cocktail. The duck was flavorful and tender. Some of the banchan was nice; others just so-so.

A dish of rocks was presented to us ... there were two "rocks" that were chocolate truffles.

Dessert for the Tasting Menu was optional, and we demurred because we were full. I asked for a cup of coffee or tea. They didn’t have coffee so I got the tea. Alas, it was a glass of hot water and a tea bag. Uh, that’s just not acceptable (to me). While we enjoyed our meal and service from Jordan and others was fine, I can’t help thinking that our meal at P* H** nearby was better, and less expensive too. For me: a...

Came here on a date night during our vacation in Oahu. Had high hopes for this restaurant as it is featured on EaterHonolulu. We ordered the Omakase with A5 wagyu. Here are my thoughts on each course: Snacks: pretty enjoyable especially the kushi oyster and salmon over wasabi cream and cracker Course 1 features hokkaido scallop on top of a vinegar, olive oil, calamansi and wasabi dressing along with crushed pistacio. Although the "dressing" was overpowering that it buried the sweetness and freshness of the scallop it is my favorite dish of the night. Course 2 features sou vous cooked sablefish in a dashi butter sauce. This dish was is extremely heavy and salty. The tenderized diced up daikon and raddish could not save the dish whatsoever. The cocktail paired with this dish was equally unenjoyable as it has egg white and melon yogurt. It didn't balance the heavy and rich flavor of the dashi butter sauce whatsoever. This dish just didn't work for me...... Triple A5 wagyu came with lukewarm tsuyahime rice and 2 slices of raw mushroom served in a small dutch oven. After the sablefish, I was hoping for something less powerful. I would've been happy with the wagyu and pinot noir. The black garlic sauce was unnecessary. So was the heart of palm and charred and overseasoned baby gem. I appreciate the thoughts put into this course but they just don't go well together. It was also not a good transition from the sablefish either. Maybe something like raw jicama would be better than heart of palm and charred baby gem? Shaved ice was a much needed refreshment. I really appreciated the mint and raspberry to cleanse my pallettes from the previous 2 courses. Personally, i didn't like the crushed meringue. It made the dessert overly sweet.

Hope you find this review helpful. I will not be going back to Bar Maze or recommend to friends if you want my...