The Original Roy's in Hawaii Kai — Restaurant in Honolulu

Wow; first review in years. I can’t remember the last time I felt cheated like this from eating a meal. I have been waiting to dine at Roy’s for many many years. It was our first time in Hawaii and our hotel was downtown Waikiki next to a Roy’s but we took the 20 minute uber to the original location! Had to pay respect to the place that started it all!

We came to the restaurant on Valentine’s Day which I know is not an ideal day to dine out but I could never imagine the experience I received with the price im paying. We were told the hostess were going to call to alert all the diners it was pre fixe only. I was not called.

We don’t mind if the pre fixe is tasty and the price matches the quality. I have dined from hole in the walls to 3 Michelin starred restaurants . Eating and food is my life and passion.

My g/f was trying to steer free from gluten or dairy but was going to splurge on mashed potatoes for the holiday . Surprisingly they were out after a bunch of confusion from being told they have mashed potatoes that use only olive oil and Then being told it’s made with dairy and being told the kitchen wouldn’t give us the mashed potatoes because of her allergy. The manager came over and told us they were out . It’s Valentine’s Day, I understand . But geez she got a piece of dry filet, some soy sauce and rice . The pre fixe for her was 3 piece of sashimi in some ponzu sauce . No garnishes or anything. Very very sad . Second course she got some cut up romaine lettuce with lemon juice . I’m so sad to even type this and really in shock.

I didn’t know what to do or say and the entire meal I wasn’t sure if it was a joke.

I obviously had the pre fixe as well and first course was two golf ball sized “ lobster” cakes . I really don’t want to be the person that says there was barely any lobster in there but I’m not sure if they ran out of cakes and did something on the fly…. It resembled eating fried breadcrumbs wrapped bread. There was no Bread service so I was okay with the breaded bread . Second course was a Caesar salad for me that resembled a salad I would get from a wedding banquet meal serving 260 seared guest. The couple next to me called it very “mid”. I overheard them . I tried to remain optimistic and calm to continue to remember its Valentine’s Day but also i can’t help but be reminded that I’m paying around 120.00 per person for the meal. Which is not extremely expensive BUT WE ARE AT ROYS original restaurant: this can’t be happening lol.

Next my entree comes and I’m praying it’s good…. I’m so let down because I get the trio of fish and it’s supposed to come on top of all these amazing things the awesome server described … forbidden black rice , noodles, Asian veg. Nothing . None of that was there besides a big mount of rice. The rice was supposed to be tossed in something amazing too… it was not . I feel bad for my beautiful girlfriend because I’m livid inside and trying to make the best of this but can’t stand the fact that she still hasn’t gotten her mashed potatoes and there seems to be so much confusion with everything that at this point she has given up and just putting on a smile because I am just in shock at the meal I’m eating.

The server was amazing I must say. The red velvet cake was good too and so were the sorbets . I know that Roy’s has to be good. But tonight …. It was one of the worst if not the worst meal I have had in 2 years.

I’m laying in bed really sad and not really sure what to do so I had to leave this review. I have taken pics on every single sit down meal I have had in years but tonight I didn’t think about it once . It was a joke of an experience especially an iconic place like this . Sad this is my last meal in Hawaii and I cancelled my morimoto reservation to come here. When you play in the big leagues and charge big league prices…. You have to perform. You have to deliver. This was not it .

The pictures are from...

Just to clarify, the management and service was deplorable.

I had finished hanging at my favorite secret beach (less tourists to deal with), and decided to go to Roy’s to get a refreshing to go drink. I personally didn’t want to sit in just to drink some cranberry juice or orange juice.

I was greeted by a light complexed Hispanic transplant who I would assume was a manager, and she said quietly “hi welcome” but did not face me, was a few feet from me and look from the side of her eye with no confidence and in an ignoring manner or feeling intimidated. Although off-putting, I ignored it and asked her a simple common sense question based on context clues:

I asked “Do you guys have to-go drinks or know of any store nearby that sells bottled drinks?”.

Her response was “we don’t do to-go drinks at any restaurant here in Hawaii”. I was confused because I made my statement pretty clear. Only an idiot would ask for to go alcohol drinks, but at the time I was confused by her statement, most restaurants do to-go drinks almost anywhere. Also, the “anywhere in Hawaii”, assuming I’m a tourist in the same sentence when I am Kanaka and local, when she is not, and haole, based on her pronunciation of hawai’i, was laughable.

I said “lol is this place Hawaii, what do mean no where here Hawaii”. It was a very unintelligent response from the manager in my option so I decided to throw that in to make her realize how silly her retort was.

I asked, “so do you guys sell cranberry juice or orange juice or what?”.

She then said “Oh yeeeeeeaa of course” and went behind the bar to grab a menu to hand me.

I would expect that someone who is dressed in sandals, a floral top and jeans shorts with sand on her feet and a messy bun and clearly walking isn’t looking for alcohol, but a refreshing beverage. I don’t like when people act better than others and judge for whatever reason. She knew what I meant and chose to be obtuse.

This happened a few months ago but stuck with me because it felt very pretentious on purpose. Your management needs better house training.

When I come in business attire sometime and dine in, I will see if my experience is the same. Then maybe I will change my review. Until then, if you hire haole, train them with better manners...

Exceptional service! We went to Roy's for our wedding dinner and had a wonderful time. From our hostess to our food runner everyone was so professional and courteous. Our waiter was exceptional, he was knowledgeable of the menu items and enthusiastic about the specials. Very attentive and really top notch. We had my granddaughter who is a toddler with us, and right away he brought us a mini crudite plate for her to nibble on(after checking for allergies of course). Very thoughtful. Our drinks were well thought out and delicious. We were served an amuse-bouche of edamame beans in slightly spicy deliciously seasoned pods. One member of our party had the flat iron "seared shrimp" and they were really just poached and served in a nice creamy sauce but no sear at all which was disappointing. The canoe trio was very good. The Korean ribs in particular have a very nice flavor. Entrée selections included the short ribs which were fantastic, as well as the truffle risotto, creamy and plenty of truffle flavor. The Cajun inspired slow roasted pork dish was fork tender and bursting with flavor.

I ordered the "diver scallops". This title implies that they are harvested daily, also referred to as 'day boat scallops'. This type of scallop has a firm dry texture and tastes of fresh seawater. In all fairness to anyone who knows the difference, these are not them. Although these scallops were browned perfectly and presented nicely, my scallops were not the fresh dry scallops the menu implies. They had a soapy taste and a soft, almost mushy texture. Inedible if you have ever had fresh day boat scallops. On a positive note, I spoke to one of the managers, Jason and he said he would speak to the executive chef and their seafood purveyor. Unsolicited, our server brought a nice ice cream cookie sandwich for my granddaughter. Whether this was noise control or just protocol, it worked. Dessert was phenomenal! We had the pineapple upside down cake. Absolutely delicious. The lava cake is over the top decadent chocolate flavor. Save room for this one! The chef also sent over a congratulatory desert. All around, what a great experience. With the ambience, the thoughtful staff and the menu, this is...