The Crouching Lion — Restaurant in Oʻahu

Overall 9/10 For a first experience, The Crouching Lion delivered across the board on every measurable metric!

We live in Makaha, so we drove literally halfway across the island based on a recommendation by a friend who lives close. The parking lot is awkward because it's a small gravel lot and people don't understand spacing or how to park so that the next cars aren't misaligned.

Ambiance/seating 9/10 We showed up 45 minutes early for our reservation, expecting to sit at the bar and wait, but were shown to a table immediately. The patio dining area was very spacious and had a good compliment of small/large party accommodations.

Drinks 7/10 My wife ordered the Crouching Lion Mai Tai and I got a bottle of Yogurt Soju. Her mai tai was very strong and had good flavor. She was forced to drink it slowly due to the amount of rum, but that was a good thing. I can't rate my drink because it was just a bottle of Soju, but the fact that they offered Soju and two glasses was great!

Appetizer 8.5/10 I ordered the brisket tacos and shared with my wife. The tacos were well balanced with a subtle to semi-powerful hit of heat at times. The portion size was also massive! The meat on its own was decent, but could have been replaced by any shredded meat. It was maybe the least impactful part of the tacos, but was still good overall.

Sides 10/10 The only side I ordered was rice, and when I saw that rice is made to order in a pressure cooker, I got very excited. I'm a massive rice nerd, so I had high hopes. The rice for 2 came delivered by the chef in a mini pressure cooker, which he then fluffed. It was a premium Japanese short grain that reminded me of a Hitomebore type rice. Semi-wet and sticky, but not overly wet or sticky. Great flavor and cooked to perfection. Rice is not rice!

Mains 10/10 My wife ordered The Crouching Lion Pasta, and after she had some poor experiences with seafood recently, we didn't know what to expect. Every single part of the dish was immaculate, down to the very bright and fresh tomatoes. The lobster tail was perfectly cooked/seasoned and came in the half shell. The scallops were her favorite, as the sear was perfect and the texture was to die for. The shrimp was large and tasted fresh, rather than drown in butter/garlic.

I ordered the Kalbi from the Robata grill. It was really cool to be able to watch the chefs cook on an open grill feet from where we were sitting. The waiter told me that the portion size was small and most people order two items from the grill. The kalbi was well marinated and seared. Most kalbi on island is over marinated and very teriyaki forward. This is exactly how kalbi should be...

The view was beautiful… but that’s about it. The food was not very good, our steak was mostly fat and rubbery. It also did not look like a 12oz steak.

Service was HORRIBLE. I usually don’t get on her and write reviews. But when I first arrived with a reservation of 4 to be seated in the patio, the hostess took us to a table in a corner. There was 3 other tables open to accommodate us. Just regular tables like where she was seating us, just with a better view. I asked her if we could sit at one of the other tables and she said we may possibly have another reservation for those. So I’m baffled, I told her excuse me but we also have a reservation and there was absolutely nobody else. That was my first bad taste about this place. Then we asked for some spicy peppers to be brought out with our steak… the server came out and said they had them but the chef would not accommodate giving us any type of peppers. Again I’m left baffled after this. I had a coke ordered, and at the beginning of our meal our server said I’ll keep you refilled so I said ok thank you. He passed our table atleast 5 times and did not ever once stop or ask if I wanted a refill, EVEN THOUGH HE SEEN MY EMPTY GLASS. He just chose to keep walking by. I really did want to drink my coke with my meal. I’m already over the service at this point. It was my birthday that I said in the reservation that I was celebrating my birthday. Someone at the table behind us got a cute scoop of ice cream with a little candle. I didn’t get acknowledged for my birthday at all. To put the cherry on top of a meal that wasn’t that good, the horrible service. I ask for my check… the server was quick to bring that and I paid. I left no tip. He opens the check book right in front of us and finds no tip and slams it closed. Then walks away. He comes back a few minutes later with a crumbled receipt and asked if there was a problem with the service. And I said no, just because of how awkward the situation was. He left and came back with that crumbled receipt and said did you know gratuity is not included in the bill… so I asked if it was mandatory to leave gratuity… he said no and proceeded to explain how all servers share a tip and how I should leave a tip. I have NEVER ever had an experience like this. Overall not worth it, would not...

Been waiting a while since they opened to dine at The Crouching Lion. Was happy and sad to see they had condensed menu since they first opened. I felt the original menu was a little too extensive especially with new opperation/staff... but was so sad to see the one dish (cold noodle) that I was most excited to try was eliminated! (Snooze you lose, I guess!). We went for lunch and didn't need reservations- and we got seated in less than 5 min of checking in! I would still recommend making a reservation, even during lunch time and requesting a spot in the shade! Felt a little like dining in a green house in the heat of the day (again, my fault!). The server seemed a little annoyed it was just me and two kids (I get it, working for dem tips!) But I was more disappointed when my water cup sat empty for more than 10-15min until I flagged her down (especiallysince it was SO HOT). Waited forever for an Avocado sushi roll. We were informed food comes out as its ready.... but after 45 min of waiting (done with other food) I just asked to have the sushi to go. I was told it's a new sushi chef and they are still getting the hang of it. Meanwhile a 12 top was seated and had a bunch of food come out. Just 45 min wait for one sushi roll... kind of ridiculous. The BBQ chicken was very delicious, but the server did spill the bbq sauce off of the plate when setting it down. Didnt offer or attempt to clean it up. It proceeded to drip all over my foot and get my sandles super messy and sticky! I used the last of my water refill (that i finally got) to dump on my feet to clean them off! My kids were entertained by the baby mouse running around at our feet while we waited... and waited for the rest of our food to come out... I get that is outside dining and it's Hawaii (and we have bugs and pests that are sometimes unavoidable/hard to control)... but, after everything else, I just wasn't that impressed with a baby mouse running around at our feet! Over all the food (that came out) was really good, the views are great, and the staff was over-all nice (even if I could tell server was slightly annoyed). I did leave a 25% tip, although our bill was small ($50 bucks). Will be back to hangout at the bar. Not sure about dining in...