Beachhouse at the Moana — Restaurant in Honolulu

The Pros: #1. Our Server Tim- he was knowledge, kind, friendly, attentive and paid attention to detail.

#2. The Bread and Himalayan salted butter was a delicious way to started and evening.

#3. The Pan Seared Diver Scallops was a good appetizer.

#4. Surfdiver Tai a delicious cocktail.

The Cons: #1. The reservation and Check in process- as soon as you check into you reservation at the front counter the hostess "warns" you the menu is preselected which is 3 course or 4 course style. She came across as though she was warning us of the fee though. It was off putting and classless. This place is considered "Fine Dining" please inform you Customers before they come in if you really think it's an issue ( which wasn't for us foodies)

#2. Seating- After the whole menu debacle my husband said it's our anniversary and we would like a nice table she seem to have understood but still sat us down by the partiers getting drunk and loud. The seates and tables were for people coming in from the beach. I think we needed to spell it out to her that we wanted to have an intimate romantic experience. We asked to be moved up to one of the 5 empty elegant tables under the awning and was moved accordingly.

#3. The Food- let's start with appetizers. I had the Beachhouse Cesar ( Romain, pumpkin seed, pickled shallot, parmesan crisp) My awesome waiter Tim warned me there's Bacon on the Cesar...I was very confused by this and glad he told me bc I don't eat meat and it's not mentioned on the menu. Very little dressing didn't taste like Cesar, no pumpkin seeds. My husband had Kona Lobster Chowder that was all broth nothing that resembled a Chowder. The Entrées, I had the Sweet Pea Risotto (tempura hamakua mushroom, heirloom carrot, cherry tomato relish). The most tasteless under seasoned, flavorless food I have tasted since being in Hawaii (3rd day) nothing sweet or savory about it. And it wasn't just me, my 16 year old had the same and it was hard to eat. My mouth was dry from the underwhelming experience. My husband had the Big Island Steamed Kampachi (hong Kong my sauce, choi sum, shiitake mushroom, lobster fried rice) Sigh Extremely tasteless. The side dish lobster fried rice was not fresh it tasted dry, hard, and needed seasoning. Lobster can lose its flavor if it's over cooked and this lobster may have been imitation. The two dessert options was Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cup and the Haupia Cake. The Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Cup was a short glass layered with ingredients there was too much going on in that little glass and The Haupia Cake was so dry I just wasn't surprised at that point.

A little background. We are in Hawaii for our wedding anniversary from Florida. We are world travelers a family of four ages 12-42. We are foodies. We enjoy to go out to top rated highly recommend restaurants and order their staple dishes, unique dishes and their standard dishes like a Cesar Salad. I hope my reviews...

For the price, a disappointment. Okay food and limited view depending on table. Wine list used to be a Wine Spectator awarded (2019) but is pretty limited now.

✓ outstanding service (our server Pat was fantastic) ✓ Kula Field Greens salad (greens, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, watermelon radish, and umeboshi dressing) A solid salad with an interesting dressing

▪ Deva's Punch (kula dark rum, ferrand dry curacao, pineapple, orange, guava, grenadine) and Upcountry Sunset (pau maui vodka, guava, lime, coconut, orange bitters) Cocktails were good but definitely on the sweet side. Also the website cocktail list is not the same as the in-house list ▪ Poached Shrimp (aji amarillo aioli, chili threads, cilantro cucumber gazpacho) A nice dish but could have used another layer of complexity ▪ Blueberry Whipped Cream Cheesecake (vanilla cake, whipped lemon zest cream cheese, blueberry compote, white chocolate green tea crumble, raspberry lemon tuile) Great blueberry compote and nice texture on the cheesecake. The blueberry gel with jam garnish ball would have been better if it was adding another element rather than more blueberry. The vanilla cake would have been better as a gram crust to give the whole thing some crunch. And the white chocolate green tea (matcha) crumble was lumps so cold they couldn’t be broken open.

Lobster Chowder should be rewritten as corn chowder with lobster garnish. The chowder itself did not taste of lobster and definitely had the flour thickened consistency that feels gloopy Kona Lobster au Gratin (green garlic butter, toasted ciabatta, macadamia nut) Lobster itself wasn’t great. The butter didn’t have the complexity of an escargot butter, which is what this dish was aiming for Macadamia Nut Crusted Scallops (vanilla cauliflower puree, pickled cauliflower, romesco sauce, parmesan crisp) This dish relies on outstanding scallops and these were okay but not up for the challenge Grilled Colorado Lamb Chop (hoisin lamb, maitake mushrooms, sweet potato pave) This dish won a culinary competition award, but they must have gotten a more thoughtful version. Asked for medium-rare and definitely got well-done. The lamb was very gamey. The fried maitake lacked finesse and ate like a rubbery, luke-warm lump. Carrots felt like an afterthought Lobster Rail Dynamite (sriracha aioli, kabayaki) Nothing dynamite here. The lobster should have been less rubbery and sweeter. The aioli wasn’t all that spicy at all Chocolate Banana Crunch Mousse (milk chocolate mousse, peanut butter praline crunch, banana cake, cinnamon oat crumble, red wine jelly) For a dessert featuring the flavor combo of banana and peanut butter it didn’t really taste like either. Eats like a sweet plate without a lot...

On our first night in Honolulu, we went to the Beachhouse because we were staying at the Moana Surfrider. Similar to the hotel, the Beachhouse is all flash and no substance. In the hotel, the lobby is beautiful and in the rooms you cannot walk around the bed (in the historical wing). (Just a note: we didn't even have room for our luggage in our room. Book carefully.)

We went to dinner a little hungry after flying in from Chicago. Now, I am not a grumpy hungry person. I am an everything-tastes-like-the-best-food-I-have-ever-­eaten-even-if-it-is-day-old-bread-when-I-am-hungry person, so this shouldn't have been hard. But, the Beachhouse made it very, very hard.

The house photographer came by before the server. Ugh. No, thank you. There was no obligation, but it would have been a weird 10-minute conversation that we were not in the mood for. The server finally came by and seemed very nervous. He read the special from a piece of paper and shuttled off. We didn't see the drinks we ordered for 16-minutes. Seriously.

He came back (finally) and we ordered steaks (bone-in rib eye and a petite filet), creamed spinach and parmesan potatoes. This is when time slowed down considerably. The night we were there was not busy. There were several tables open next to us, but the kitchen was still behind and, while we waited, I only saw our server once.

The steaks were fine, not great, with a bland seasoning. The creamed spinach was edible and the parmesan potatoes were severely undercooked.

What is shocking about this meal now is that it was one of the most expensive ones we had while in Hawaii for two weeks. This includes Mama's Fish House in Maui and Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant in Kauai. Such a bad start to a great time in Hawaii. It seems that this is a breakfast location that is trying to hurt people with offering dinner. By "hurt", I mean injure. Go to Roy's...