Solera — Restaurant in Honolulu

If you're thinking of eating here, Please save your money, and if you have a lot of that, please save your time and skip this place.

Visiting Hawaii from Canada, and girlfriend wanted a nice dress up occasion on one of our nights here. This restaurant was conveniently located near our hotel. Hotel restaurants at this level usually mean hiked up prices and mediocre food, in exchange for very good ambience, and exceptional hospitality. So I kept my expectations exactly that. Sadly this place fell very short and I paid the price for it.

The Good: -Host, Servers, Bartenders - all quite friendly -Our drinks were very good. We enjoyed the special cocktail of the day (margarita) and the shirley temple. Props to whoever is running the bar program here, and the talented bartender.

The Bad: -We ordered the washugyu striploin ($120), seafood koshihikari ($55), and sides of Charred Broccoli with crispy garlic, Wagyu Gold Potato Puree, local mushrooms ($15 each). About 5 minutes after we ordered, the server informed us that there would be a bit of the wait on the food because some bigger groups ahead of us ordered before us. He offered us some foccaccia and butter for $15. I appreciated the upfront noticed, and accepted the foccaccia.

Foccaccia: for $15, I was expecting a bit more. The bread was just 3 slices of dry foccaccia, butter was just plain cultured butter. The highlight of it was that it came with these strips of origami paper, so we decided to try origami, since he informed us the wait would be long.

By long wait, I didn't expect 70 minutes. That is quite long especially when you are hungry. From the 40 minute mark onwards, they check on us periodically and saying the food should be coming out shortly. We tried to stay excited, telling each other that our food at least be fresh and hot, assuming the team is trying their hardest to get the food out.

Unfortunately, when our food came out, all our food was cold. Plates were also barely lukewarm.

-Seafood risotto was very salty, and cold. -Mushrooms texture were rubbery, and cold. -Wagyu Potatoes were overworked and gloopy, and cold. -Charred Broccoli with crispy garlic was not charred, just in a convention fryer with no steam(can tell by the way the broccoli ends browned, and wasnt even blanched. Also they forgot to season it, and forgot the crispy garlic. -The Steak actually tasted good and they cooked it well, it was just also cold. -They forgot the garlic parmesan potatoes that is suppose to accompany the steak (I didn't mention this because I didnt want to wait another hour for potatoes) We were really hungry but ended only eating steak and leaving most of the rest because it was just bad, and cold. I am just so confused on how everything was so cold after a 80 minute wait. Also if food does get cold, its usually because they are waiting for an item or two to finish so they can send it out all together. But in this instance, every single item was cold.

Non-food nitpicks: They have a huge mirror as a center piece for their bar, which obviously was not cleaned in a long time. We ordered 2 entrees and 2 sides, for 2 people (3 sides if they gave us our parmesan potatoes). There were share plates when we sat down, but they took these away after the bread, and never gave us new ones for our food. We had to ask for share plates.

For context, I own a few restaurants as well, and my whole family in the food & beverage industry, so I am very passionate about hospitality. It just seemed for a hotel of this calibre, it just fell short.

This is most definitely a management issue and not a staff issue. Yes protect your margins and hit your quotas but don't do it at the expense of your guest experiences. You're damaging not only the restaurant, but the Ritz Brand as well.

Our bill came out to be $270, after the comped bread. I still left a 20% tip as I want to believe the team today tried their best, and I asked the server to relay my feedback to management.

Management,...

Pros: Good craft cocktails. Really nice views.

Cons: My husband and I were staying at the Ritz for five nights in celebration of our honeymoon. Although we did not have a reservation to eat here for dinner, we simply wanted to enjoy a cocktail. If you do not have a reservation here, you are treated like a second-class citizen.

The vibe was so strange and standoffish from the moment we arrived. As someone who has worked the front of house at a three Michelin star restaurant, I was flabbergasted by the lack of “thinking outside the box” skills and five-star hospitality.

The situation: we noticed the restaurant and bar were barely 1/4 full. We are well aware of Hawaii’s uber strict COVID rules and have enjoyed supported Hawaii’s local economy by eating out as often as possible.

La Vie had by far the strictest rules we encountered during our ten-day stay. The rules really didn’t make sense all things considered- the restaurant wasn’t even half full, we had to test negative for COVID in order to fly to Hawaii, and we have to wear masks everywhere and sanitize constantly. Apparently, all of those factors don’t matter!

Instead of being greeted with a warm smile and welcome, a hostess with a nasty attitude gave us a look and really phony rejection response to our super simple, nice request to grab ONE drink at the literally empty bar.

Knowing how outlandish it was to tell hotel guests they couldn’t have one drink at an empty bar which spanned about 20 feet, I requested to speak with the manager.

The manager tried reasoning that they were expecting a reservation and since they hold reservations for 15 minutes they can’t seat us. I had to be the one to proactively request that if said party is a no-show, can we please be seated instead.

It was such a struggle. We sat on the bench outside for 20 minutes (meanwhile the restaurant is still pretty dead inside). Lo and behold...a party of one arrives at the bar. Somehow miraculously the manager found us a table and said we had to be out at 8. No problem- obviously we can have a drink in 1.5 hours (in fact, we each had 2 drinks in less time).

Here was the issue- the huge fuss they made and the plethora of nonsensical excuses they made, all with a really fake smile, just to accommodate us for our honeymoon as hotel guests. The manager then said literally five times “thank you so much for your patience” which made it feel really disingenuous because of how repetitive it was.

We had way better experiences at some of Honolulu’s more authentic dive bars and felt way more welcome. This was the strangest restaurant experience ever.

My advice to management: reevaluate your business model. We’re willing to dish out good money, but you need to be more accommodating. Work on...

An exceptional contemporary French restaurant where culinary innovation meets impeccable service.

Recently came here to celebrate my dad’s birthday. We were ushered into an unexpectedly serene dining room on our first night in Hawaii. It was the aesthetic backdrop to what would be an outstanding dining experience.

Our culinary journey commenced with the seasonal menu. To kick off, we were treated to a selection of light and sophisticated amuse bouchés - a comforting mushroom brioche with goat cheese & pesto, a delicate gougère, flavorful oysters topped with an icy vinaigrette sorbet, and an adventurous nibble of fried frog legs. Each morsel was a testament to the artistry and flavor-profile balance La Vie exemplifies.

Our first course, Fruits de Mer, was a carefully curated medley of high-quality seafood. Harmonisouly fused with a vadouvan curry spice sauce, the dish showcased light yet impactful flavors. Another highlight was the hearts of palm salad. The subtle acidity from the hearts of palm, wrapped around fresh baby romaine, was flawlessly offset by the creamy Maui onion soubise.

For the first time, I tried a fish-based Milanaise and though it didn't strike me as exceptionally unique, it was pleasing to the palate. The black truffle risotto, on the other hand, while sweet rather than savory, was a flavorful indulgence.

The crowning glory of our meal was undoubtedly the A5 Miyazaki Wagyu. It was executed to absolute perfection - the tender meat, with its buttery consistency, melted immediately upon contact with the tongue. The aromatic whisper of lavender heightened the gastronomic experience. Generously portioned into two long strips, this was a dish that truly celebrated the art of fine dining. The grand finale was the Vacherin Exotique - a beautiful and refreshing medley of mango sorbet, poached pineapple wrapped in a cloud of meringue. It was the perfect close to our meal.

All things considered, La Vie delivered one of the most memorable contemporary French courses I've ever had. If you find yourself in Waikiki, looking for an exquisite culinary experience to celebrate a special occasion, La Vie is undoubtedly...