Roy's - Hawaii Kai

 

15

36

Levy O.

Honolulu, HI

I'm a bit hesitant to write a review for this particular Roy's location, Hawaii Kai. Supposedly, this one is the best among all the Roy's chain (hate to think that it's a chain..sigh) and seeing everyone's enthusiasm for this restaurant makes me feel a little bad inside.
Anyhow, don't take me wrong. I think Roy's is great in general (so far I've been to SF and Waikiki locations), but not this particular Hawaii Kai location. Ok here we go...

I was there for the day after Valentine's dinner. Eventhough I tried to avoid V day's rush hour but I still anticipated a bit of crowds that night.
Our reservation was for 8 PM and we were seated around 8.30 PM. We followed our hostes to the 2nd floor and to way..way...way..waaay at the end of the small alley way of the 2nd floor..definetely THE end of the restaurant. Our view was the bland white wall next to an emergency exit door. All I could think for that first 10 seconds was like " Oh my, where would I sit if I didn't make any reservation?". But I thought, oh well whatever, the foods should be fabulous.

After greeting us, our waiter didn't come back until around 30 min later. And I immediately thought in my head "Hurry, order everything you want before he dissapeared". And I was right...=)
Another guy came by apologizing and promised to bring our drinks asap. And so he came and brought almost everything that we ordered all at once. Between him and the busboy pouring water and cleaning up my half empty plates (hey, I was trying to eat slower and to be bit more elegant since it's V day), I felt like I was watching Energizer Bunnies working. I kept telling my hubbie " I think they're high on Red Bull". Talking about the foods, I have to say I've had it better at other Roy's location. The crab cakes was bit bland that night (just like the wall in front of us) and the sushi rolls was just so-so.

I'm not going to write longer....in conclusion, I left Roy's dissapointed that night. I guess my expectation was too high before coming in since this is the original Roy's location.
Maybe next time will be better....but as much as I would hope Roy's to be as great as Alan Wong's...it's not. And that's the truth in it folks! Sorry...

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Elite '08

157

399

stella c.

Oakland, CA

Dear Roy,

I expect that you frequent this location quite often, so I wanted to mention a few things. First of all, your staff is phenomenal and accommodated my friends' wedding quite well. And the view at sunset was beautiful!!! Having our own room was not at all disruptive to the other guests in the restaurant and we were a bit off to the side where we could have our privacy and be noisy at the same time. I hope you enjoyed a taste of Oakland in Hawaii.

Thank you for serving the bridal party first, as I am a very hungry person and must devour food before anyone else gets theirs. I was quite pleased when you brought me an extra piece of cake as if I didn't eat one already. Thank you for endlessly pouring wine & champagne into my glass, I did not know when to stop. Your food was so delicious, unfortunately I was not able to take it all with me. Three portions ended up in your toilet (which I cleaned off by the way, out of courtesy). Do you know who was in the stall next to me? THE BRIDE and another bridesmaid - disgusted at who could lack so much class and throw up at the wedding. A bridesmaid (carefully chosen by the way) who has hardly eaten all day paired with several glasses of wine/champagne make for a not so classy scene in the bathroom. I appreciate your staff for bringing me tazo teas to get myself together.

Everything was perfect for a special night for one of my best friends, no hiccups whatsoever (sorry for the drunk bridesmaid). Thanks for taking good care of my friend and her husband on the most important day of her life! :)

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Elite '08

28

668

Kymberli C.

Clayton, CA

i absolutely loveeeeee ROY's! I am having my wedding banquet dinner here :) The staff is so friendly! The food is OH SO GOOD! and the dessert is just orgasmic... the chocolate molten lava cake is to die for!  I always come out of Roy's with food coma because it's just so good I can not stop eating.

07/2007:  I had my wedding banquet here and it was everything I dreamt of and more!  Roy's has the best staff!  They kept in contact with me the entire year that I was planning my wedding.  The banquet menu is also superb and it ended up being a lot better than I thought it would be.  The banquet room is small but it was perfect for my size wedding and the view was fantastic!

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13

40

Mini m.

Honolulu, HI

Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry Creme Brulee!  It was to die for.  So rich and creamy and there was a big whole strawberry in the middle.  
Lived in Hawaii all my life, but only went to Roy's for the first time last night.  Sat in the downstairs bar/casual seating area.  Upstairs is the "fine-dining" area.  It was nice, service was good, food was excellent.  The softshell crab rolls and inside out beef (yup - meat) rolls with salmon on the inside - great stuff.  Seared ahi melts in your mouth like butter.  Will be going back.

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