RumFire — Restaurant in Honolulu

I’ve been to Hawaii several times over the years, and RumFire has been a regular stop for me on nearly every trip. This time, I went with my wife and three kids, and honestly, a few things really caught me off guard. When you walk into a place like this, you know what you’re getting; vacation vibe, scenic views, elevated pricing. That’s fine. I expected to drop a decent amount on dinner for the five of us. What I didn’t expect was to be hit with a mandatory 20 percent gratuity. I want to be clear, I’m not against tipping. But forcing a tip on a standard family-sized table feels unnecessary. RumFire forces a "service charge" on parties of 5 or more, whilst the rest of the island (from my observations) is 8. Tipping is meant to show appreciation, not to be mandated, especially when the service doesn’t reflect that level of effort. They call it a “large party service charge,” which is clever wording to make it sound like something other than a forced tip. At least the waiter pointed it out, which I appreciated, and yes, that earned him a little extra and a positive note here. What made it worse is the fact that our server came to the table a grand total of three times: once for drinks (mostly water and two adult beverages), once for the food order, and once to check how the meal was. For that level of service, a required 20 percent feels steep. The food itself? Pretty underwhelming. The steak lacked seasoning and the braised rib my daughter had was just as bland. It’s disappointing to see the quality slip, especially with the prices climbing year after year. To end on a good note: the atmosphere was, as always, outstanding. And the waiter’s transparency about the tip did not...

Not good for adult birthday parties!

I wanted to come here to celebrate my 30th birthday party this year and after pursuing through the photos (which looked amazing), I was excited to try it out. I had noticed some mixed reviews about not-great service for some but I usually like to make my own judgment calls. Sad to say I won't even make it that far.

I found out, this is NOT the place for you if you're looking for places that can accommodate groups while staying within a reasonable price range. Their website is deceptive because there is a place at the top of the page to reserve a table for yourself and a group for specific dates. I later found that out that you can't actually reserve a table unless it's the Bottle Service, which I don't recommend. I found out that not only can you not call to reserve a table for a party, but if you want to reserve anything, they will try to charge you $300 for a party of 6 or more (not including the additional 19% gratuity they put on top of that). I had a party of around 10 people, and they recommended I get two cabanas (for $500 each) just to reserve a spot for my group. In all my years of making birthday reservations, I've never encountered a place that tries to charge you just to reserve a table for a small party. If it were a large group, I could understand a little more, but just for 10 people? Not happening.

I ended up changing my reservation to Tommy Bahama which did not charge me to reserve anything and they promised a free slice of cake for me on my birthday. Needless to say, if I ever come to Rumfire, I'd have to be invited by...

So we play a game and dance with random strangers. If I get a person to dance w me I get a point. After spending a couple hours here I must of danced w 10 people myself. Probaly had dances w 30 people through out our time here.They all loved us as several from my party were playing. I had so many people enjoying themselves and thanking us for the amazing spirits we brought here. Shortly after we were asked by the staff to leave for disrupting someone. It pisses me off because it's alot of work and energy to dance and make people laugh. As we laft several people and families appreciated us and thanked us for making their day. It was all worth it ,however all of us felt like this place missed it's mark on doing the right thing. Instead of buying my company a drink for all the love and laughes we got we were scrutinized. For that reason this place will never get a dollar from me and everyone riding w me. If you can't have pro social fun w/o getting punished this isn't for me. Sorry for not leaving a tip. But it's disgusting to me that someone who brought so much fun and love to your business gets treated in this fashion. You are not for me and I recommend anyone who's traveling and having fun to not spend your money here. Have a great time somewhere else and make sure to dance your heart out! Ps. All of you amazing people who braved the spontaneous dancing, I love you all and thank you for loving our party. Your all amazing and will never forget ya! As i know from your comments that we touched your lives too and won't be forgotten in your lives as well!...