La Mer — Restaurant in Honolulu

It is said that there are no victims, only volunteers. In life this may be generally true, but my wife, friends and myself were sorely victimized by our experience at La Mer in 2020.

At the risk of sounding like the Ancient Mariner, let me attach myself to your electronic sleeve and regale you with a tale so appalling as might chill your very marrow. I hope this may save you, as I wish someone had us.

First red flag: our first warning sign was that upon arrival at the restaurant, which is extremely capacious, only a few tables were occupied. (Suggestion: in future, if you ever encounter this, RUN). Our friends did not care for the table at which we were first seated, and so we were moved to a private room, for the stated reason that all of the other tables were reserved. Over the course of the evening (which went by very slowly, due to the abysmal service) it became apparent that this was untrue - at most the restaurant was 1/3 full.

Second red flag: the menu was all prix fixe and was about $130 for three courses and $150 for four.

Third red flag: literally nothing on the menu appealed to me. I'm not the most adventurous eater, true, but I'm not a meat and potatoes only guy either. To find absolutely nothing was, for me, a first.

Fourth red flag: the amuse bouche was some sort of semi-liquid concoction which had absolutely no flavor whatsoever. Neither my bouche nor any other part was amused in the least.

Well, at this point our goose was surely cooked, so to speak. Every main course was a disaster, to wit:

My fish was small, fishy, none too hot and horribly unappetizing.

My wife had a fish which measured maybe four inches long; it looked like the kind of fish a small child might catch and then throw back in. It was strongly recommended as one of the chef's specials. Not only was it small, but tasteless. Her appetizer was both small and inedible.

The other couple had a calamari dish - with two pieces of calamari each measuring maybe an inch and a half across - and a steak, which had to be ordered a la carte. That was ok, as I recall, but small.

I chose cheese for dessert. A very impressive cheeseboard was rolled up to the table and I was given a plate upon which five diminutive, not to say Lilliputian, pieces of toast were arranged. The waiter then cut five pieces of cheese of my choice, each of which was precisely hewn to the same tiny dimensions. It was made clear that this was all I was entitled to.

My wife's dessert was a soufflé, which wasn't too bad.

The bill for this farcical semblance of a meal was staggering. We had been truly reamed, creamed and dry-cleaned. Please do yourself a favor - stay well away...

I'd HIGHLY recommend La Mer, especially for any special occasion. My partner and I initially made reservations to celebrate my 40th birthday in HI, which was the occasion noted in our reservation, but I added a twist and decided to propose to my partner during dinner.

I reached out to the restaurant on the side to ask for their help with coordination and received a response with the utmost welcoming and superb hospitality. Where my 4+ star resort hotel lacked in service, La Mer's management stepped in and stepped up to support my proposal planning.

From the initial email, to dropping off my proposal prop on the day of my reservation, upon arrival for dinner, through the whole experience and departure, La Mer's team had brought their A+++++ game, MUCH ABOVE & BEYOND my expectations.

Here's an example: upon arrival for our reservation, starting at the hostess, she knew who I was since I stopped by earlier to drop off my prop, she remained professional and stayed on point that the reservation was noted to celebrate a birthday and asked my partner if it was her birthday (knowing it's actually mine). The entire time, the staff all wished me a happy birthday, to the point that I was starting to forget about my other plan, which was perfect because it helped throw off the upcoming surprise. In the end, the whole team that were involved with our reservation, including management, went way above and beyond my expectations (& I have very high expectations when it comes to my planning, so that says a lot).

My own fault for not asking for a private, but scenic view, considering that my partner and I are truly private people, but I wanted the nice view as my backdrop and we just stiffed up because there were other diners around us. She didn't verbally say yes, but stuck out her hand for the ring and we ended the night with their souffle and the hazelnut cake + the restaurant's complementary desserts.

I am hoping to come back here again with my family and friends to try out more of their delicious food and the multi-course meals, which we did not opt for since she wanted duck and I wanted beef, but I was also full of nerves to really enjoy a 7-course meal as well.

It's a lengthy review, but I wanted to express and share how memorable La Mer made my 40th birthday celebration as well as my overdue proposal to my partner. I hope everyone will enjoy their experience as much as we...

The world food tour duo celebrated the birthday of the better half of the duo at La Mer, in the Halekulani Hotel. We were seated at a table by the railing, so we had killer views of Diamond Head and the ocean.

The wine menu is vast and very comprehensive; it took me a while to select a wine … 2017 Corton Bressandes from Domaine Follin-Arbelet. This wine was a “steal” as it sells for almost $300 in a wine store. It had finesse in spades and was full-bodied, yet lightish in tone … one of the best wines we’ve tried in 2024.

We opted for the Menu du Soir, a four-course tasting menu for $255. It began with an amuse bouche of a green panna cotta made with two vegetables (neither of which I can recall). I thought it tasted like a matcha custard … An interesting start to the evening.

The first course was a Kampachi Tartare, pieces of fish hidden by a Tuile Croustillante, decorated with with uni (sea urchin roe), sitting in a coconut milk / basil oil sauce that was poured by wait staff. This was a visual and taste sensation.

The next course was lightly grilled, smoked monchong served with a mint-green puree, pieces of asparagus and sugar snap peas. I love monchong (AKA sickle pomfret) and the vegetables were perfect.

The main course was roast duck breast with a Cassis red sauce. There were squares of glazed turnip with spinach inside and dollops of black garlic. The duck was flavorful and tender, perfectly cooked. It’s so easy to undercook or overcook duck … Either will make the skin and the underlying fat layer almost inedible.

We opted for two desserts … The La Cabosse de Chocolat (a cacao pod, Guanaja mousse, Kona Coffee caramel and Kalua jelly) and the Vanilla Souffle from the Degustation menu. My dessert was fine … three delectable concoctions to savor. The Vanilla Souffle came with three different sauces: Spiced Caramel, Grand Marnier Anglaise and Milk Chocolate sauce. I sampled the souffle; it was sublime.

Mignardises followed but we were too full, so it went into the take home bag. The finale was a very light birthday cake … A perfect end to a perfect evening.

La Mer is expensive, a special occasion venue … It was our first five-star evening of 2024. The food, atmosphere and service are second to none. Highly...