Uahi Island Grill — Restaurant in Oʻahu

One sleepy late Saturday afternoon, my partner and I ventured out of the house after a brief Kailua downpour. We were looking for something quick without sacrificing a palatable meal. Uahi Island Grill seemed to be the ideal choice and they did not disappoint!

Luckily, we arrived around 5 o'clock before the dinner rush hour and was promptly greeted at our table by Jason, who pleasantly went over the menu with us and recommended some dishes.

A complimentary pupu of steamed edamamae appeared before us shortly thereafter. Wanting to nurse a slight headache, I ordered a cup of coffee while my partner sipped on bright orange Thai iced tea. As a long-time international coffee drinker, I was impressed with their French pressed medium roast! It was the perfect cup of coffee I needed.

Dinner prices are quite reasonable and most entrees under $20. Since their duck is available only on Saturdays, I went for the Mandarin Duck Confit with the optional brown rice while my partner sprang for the Steak Pa'akai served with asparagus and yummy creamy garlic mashed potatoes. The slow-poached duck was tender and juicy of the anise-orange glaze that the meat fell off the bone. Both dinner plates were portioned with just the right amount and we were pleased that we were able to finish our meal completely. It's a personal pet peeve of mine when restaurants are often too generous with their meals as food goes to waste when the diner does not request to take it home.

Being in good company can definitely make a person's dining experience great, but what makes it even exceptional is the superb service. I barely noticed Jason checking up on us and even with perfect timing he delivered our dessert after clearing our table.

Of course, I had to try their popular choices -yes, there were two!- the malasada sundae and the chocolate peanut butter cake. Our taste buds were so ecstatic we didn't even mind the ultra plain, simple...

The restaurant is beautiful and clean. I went with a couple of friends and the service was awful. Both friends, suggested that our food server must be brand new. So I asked if it was her first day. Nope, she'd worked there 2 years. Having owned 3 restaurants including one that was in that exact location years ago, she would not have lasted at all.

She obviously had NO training which is the managements responsibility. I asked for a Pellegrino, or Perrier water, but she didn't know what they were. I asked her to bring mineral water then and she brought Tonic water. We were missing utensils and water, but she kept sweeping the floor instead of getting the things she forgot and we requested. Finally one of my friends got up and asked the bartender for the things we needed. If our server took her job seriously, everytime someone asks her a question she could find the answer and have more knowledge. But she didn't seem to care how things were prepared on the menu. She didn't remove any dishes from our table either. We finally stacked everything up in the middle and asked her to remove them. All of the pupu's we ordered were greasy and lacked imagination putting it mildly. There was nothing healthy to eat there.

We were finishing our wine after she dropped off the check, and then she asked if we'd check out so she could go home. Either she couldn't check out without all of her tickets, or she wanted her tip, which she didn't deserve. My friends in spite of the horrid service and boring food still tipped 20%. I'm writing this in hopes that this restaurant might train their employees and also test them...

When they serve Mai Tai's and have served Guy then you know it's gonna be good! While we were in the area on vacation my wife and I do what we normally do when looking at a restaurant and that is try to find a place that isn't a tourist trap and is off the beaten path so we took to reviews. When we read the buzz around the fact that this was showcased on DDD's then we had to give it a try.

We opted for outdoor seating because, why not. It was a beautiful day and we were anxious to enjoy the weather. There were several very hungry and brazen birds in the patio area that would swoop in, landing on the table or plate to grab food and fly off. I was waiting for one to just pull up a chair and take my whole plate. It wasn't bad but more comical than anything.

We were quickly greeted and orders for drinks were taken. The Mai Tai's hit the spot and were good enough to order a second. For my main I went with the showcased dish of red curry fish. I can say I can clearly see why this dish was showcased. It was absolutely delicious! I just wanted to order more of the curry sauce and keep eating that it was so good. My wife ordered the orange duck confit which was the other dish featured on DDD's. This had a little more of a unique taste as the glaze or sauce was not only and orange sauce but it was made with anise. A very distinctive flavor that really complimented the dish well, not overpowering which anise can easily be.

Overall, great place with a great seating area and great staff. Glad we chose Uahi...