Moani Waikīkī — Restaurant in Honolulu

Worst experience in Waikiki. We walk in to the smell of distinct and clear B.O., at first I didn’t want to judge thinking it could be me but it was clear after a few walk through the front entrance the smell was from the front of the restaurant. We were sat outside which would have been lovely given they had live music but the speakers were set so loud you had to yell to hear across the table. Thankfully after 20-30 mins someone mentioned to them and they turned the volume down. We weren’t interested in a lot of food so got a family share plate of garlic shrimp and clams and some fried rice thinking it would be quick and easy for the 4 of us. Instead we were left waiting for over 50 mins and when asking about the wait they mentioned the large group that had sat down before us which I understand but at some point either the wait staff or manager should say something as it had taken an obscenely long time for two plates. It had become dark out and our two young kids were now starving and cranky. Finally, the fried rice came which wasn’t bad and the kids were diving into which helped ease things, another 5-10 min and our main dish finally came, the spicy garlic shrimp and clams. It looked delicious and the shrimp were fine and tasty but then we had a bite of the clams and immediately had to spit them out, they were absolutely rotten and inedible. Honestly putting the whole dish into question as we didn’t want to get food poisoning. The wait staff apologized and after asking for the check they comped the inedible main dish and the half eaten $18 fried rice, however we still had to pay for the three drinks we bought despite having wasted the entire night hungry and unsatisfied with kids grumpy from their slow and rotten food. Completely ruined the night and just hoping we don’t get any serious food poisoning given we each had a shrimp out of the same broth the rotten clams were marinating/cooked in. In short, spend your money else where unless you are looking to get food poisoning and waste your...

Our world food tour stopped at Moani Waikiki, on the 3rd floor of the International Marketplace. It’s a large space, with two stages (one inside, one outside), a large bar splitting the restaurant. We sat at a table for two adjacent to the railing, about 40ft from the outer stage. It was a beautiful evening so we looked forward to our experience.

We started with a 2019 Bergstrom Cumberland Reserve Pinot Noir, an earthy wine with lots of fruit. I had the same wine at a different restaurant and it was $30 less at Moani; a very reasonable deal for this bottle.

My fellow foodie had been here before so she recommended Seffer’s Sliders and the Pork Belly Skewers. The sliders were nothing special but the accompanying fries are special. (I’d want the buns toasted.) I didn’t get much hint of truffle but the smoked tomato chutney and the fries were delicious! I’d buy it for just the fries. The pork belly was moist and tender, with a char siu glaze and pieces of kimchi to add crunch. Two winners to start the evening.

Our server (Kanoe) recommended the ahi special and the steamed local fish (mahi). Both were prepared expertly; the ahi was medium rare and served over a bed of fried rice. The steamed fish was perfect; moist and flavorful, in a shiitake, lup cheong and truffle shoyu dashi. This combination could become too salty but this one was just right. After packing away lots of food, we shared the Ube Andagi dessert; six petite balls in a chocolate sauce. Two were enough for me so another container to take home.

The music was low key and not too loud; a singer and guitarist serenaded us and had to compete with something happening on the stage on the ground floor for part of their set. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to try Moani; live music. The restaurant was packed with mostly 20- and 30-somethings out for a good time and we can see why …The prices are very reasonable and the atmosphere is great. We seniors enjoyed our time too....

By far the worst service/experience!…and it was our first and definitely last visit! My family was here for dinner (Sunday) and there was no wait, and quite frankly not very many people dining at the time.

After being seated, it took the male waiter about 10-15 minutes to even greet us…after about another 10 minutes, he takes our order. My daughter orders sliders, and waiter proceeded to tell us that they’re out of fries AND onion rings…wow that’s a first!

After placing our dinner order, I request for an ice tea, and family orders water. I receive my iced tea at a reasonable time, although they glasses of water was never served! After about 20 minutes, no food or the appetizer we ordered, water nowhere to be seen/found, so I flag down the bartender and request for glasses water for my family…he returns to bar and doesn’t even prepare any water glasses for us…after about another 10 minutes, the water alter appears at bar and I observe the bartender tell waiter we named him after…waiter looks very confused and disinterested, continues to do whatever he’s doing at the bar!

We finally decide to leave…but before I exit the restaurant, I decided to approach the bartender and offer to pay for my iced tea. I make eye contact with the server and tell him we’re done. Server seemed fine with our decision and showed no remorse whatsoever for the horrible service!

Oh and another observation…the female host was hanging out at the bar the entire time chatting with a male customer while we were seated…and there were several couples that had been waiting to be greeted/seated, and left after a few minutes.

By the way, this is my very first review post!…so that should show how upset we were...