Mariposa — Restaurant in Honolulu

It is VERY difficult for seniors to make reservations. My older cousin wanted to bring her family who were back for the holidays but she didn’t know how to make reservations. I am a senior myself but told her I would try. This was the week before Christmas and she wanted to have lunch on the 27th for 12 PAX. I called Mariposa several times directly- the phone rang & rang and no one answered. So I called Neiman Marcus, explained to the gal who answered and she connected me to the restaurant - again no answer. She came back and took my phone number and said someone would call back. 24hours later and no return call. So my husband drove me to Mariposa. Spoke to the manager and asked if she saw my message to call from the day before and she said “no”. She said that for our party of 12 we needed to order from the Prix Fixe menu with only 2 entrée selections. She said that “they were very busy and the kitchen couldn’t handle alacarte orders for 12 people.” So I made the reservations for 12 and she gave me a copy of the Prix Fixe menu. I went to tell my cousin I made reservations and show her the menu. She was upset because she has been to Mariposa before and wanted her family to select from the regular menu. She said two high school grandnephews would not be happy with either entree on the Prix Fixe menu. I went back and spoke with the manager. I asked if it was possible to make 2 separate reservations of 6 PAX each. Then we could order from the alacarte menu. The manager said we might not be able to seat close together but I said that was okay. So my reservation was changed from 12 to 6 and a new reservation for 6 was made under my cousin’s name - she has a NM account. When I got a new email with update, I inquired if it was possible to be seated near the entrance since there are a couple of seniors with mobility issues.

When I arrived on the day I was surprised to see a table for 12 set up in the middle of the room near the entrance. So we were able to sit together and order from the regular menu. My cousin was so happy. Joey was our waiter and he took excellent care of our party/table. Everyone enjoyed their chosen entrees. In the end it was a wonderful lunch and the family was able to make happy memories.

But something needs to be done to make it easier for seniors or non-techie people to make reservations. Please try and answer the phone and return calls when messages are...

What a great start to the weekend! We were at the Ala Moana center on friday evening and the same question came up...where to eat. Didn't feel like food court and we felt like getting something special to kick off a friday and weekend. We perused the Mariposa menu via yelp and on my phone which looked enticing. I called and made reservations with the hostess for a 5pm seating. When we arrived, the entire place was empty and they asked us to wait while they got ready for dinner service. We were seated the second row from the balcony overlooking a spectacular view of Ala Moana park and the pacific ocean. Our server presented himself and promptly got us served our drinks and their famous monkey bread which I had about 3 pieces with their whipped butter. It was sheer delightful as I enjoyed the warm pull apart and soft buttery bread as an appetizer! We ordered the prime rib loco moco which is served over garlic rice and a starter of corn chowder. The chowder is very rich and flavorful but they serve it with some sprinkling of popcorn over it which I did not care for. One of the main attractions at this Mariposa is the view from the balcony and as the sun started to set during our meal, they raised the shade to unveil a beautiful orange colored sky which appeared to be on fire. All of the camera phones came out and it was picture time for all of the diners. Our main entrees arrived and the loco moco looked spectacular. It came with a side serving of the au jus and the eggs cooked to your preference. I very rarely eat beef but this was a special treat for me and it was tender, portions were very sufficient and I totally enjoyed my dinner entree. The manager (I cannot recall his name) visited all of the tables himself to ensure service and food were up to par. He even stopped by twice which I love to see in a restaurant as this shows that they genuinely care about service. We were very satisfied and full after the entree but who can pass up dessert right? NOT Me! We ordered the "Old Pali Road" dessert and I can totally recommend this. It is a chocolate mousse sitting on top of a oatmeal cookie crust and topped with a marshmellow infusion. This was a real treat! The entire dinner service and food was excellent and a wonderful start to a friday evening and weekend. Thanks Mariposa, we...

If there was an option to give no stars I would have given this place 0/5 stars.

Absolutely HORRENDOUS experience. First of all the manager on duty did not even greet us when we approached the check in, we did not have a reservation but wanted to view the place for possible vendor for my sister's bridal shower. The manager on duty which I won't disclose names YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE could not even accommodate a family of 3 and a baby. She Explained that if we wanted to dine in here we would have to be seated outside. Mind you that it's also hot degree humid weather and I have my 21month old son with me. The restaurant had so many open tables and the manager said that all these tables were reserved for those that had reservations to begin with. So of course we waited... After waiting a good 30 min- NONE OF THE SEATS/TABLES INSIDE THE RESTAURANT WERE OCCUPIED ....!!!! A table that was next to the bathrooms were give to us. No "thank you for waiting" or "enjoy" was said to us.

Absolutely HORRIBLE customer service talk about lying to your customers. Not only did we have issues with the seating but The wait was soooo long to order. I understand we didn't have any reservations but please just let us know if you don't want to SERVE us we would be out our merry way.. Instead it took us

1. 10 min to get water
2. 20 min after that to order
3. we received our food on time but our waiter Mr, Cezar did not refill our waters, remove out appetizer plates after getting our main course meal and did not even offer us a dessert menu.
4. after finally flagging Someone to come to help us at our table since we were dehydrated we asked for the check... It was a 25 minute wait for the check..
5. all in all we were there 2 hours and 5 min for a light brunch meal including wait time and had 1 refill of water... I don't know if it was a bad day to go over to Mariposa. It was a Sunday 1pm brunch...? I am DEFINITELY NOT coming back here and I DEFINITELY WOULD NOT recommend coming here unless you want to be dehydrated and wait for an hour hour or so for a waiter to ask how you are doing. Please save your money and go...