I've been a fan of celebrity chef Brian Malarkey even since sampling his food (twice) at Searsucker in San Diego several years ago. I enjoyed Searsucker so much, I returned for a 2nd visit the evening after my first visit sitting on the same Chef's Counter stool for both visits where you could see all the action goin' on in the open kitchen.
Well fast forward several years to the revamped and rebuilt International Marketplace in Waikiki where the Hakkasan Group has opened their high-end dim-sum restaurant Yauatcha along with another Chef Malarkey inspired restaurant, Herringbone Waikiki. We did dine back in September and I initially thought about highlighting our meal in a Hawaii Herald column but low and behold, about a month later, the restaurant was hit with several cases of Norovirus sickening diners... Not a good idea for a column at the time...
As is customary, we started our evening with a round of cocktails including the That's One Hot Cucumber ($13) with Herradura silver tequila, cucumber juice, lime, agave and chili pepper...
The Just About Pearfect ($14) with Grey Goose vodka, St George spice pear liqueur, pear can sugar and lemon...
And my Bitter Is Coming ($14) with Plymouth gin, Campari, grapefruit 3 ways and lime juice...
We then moved on to our heavy starters including the Yellowtail Crudo ($23) with truffled yuzu, crispy garlic and green onions... while had yellowtail with truffled this or that, the crispy garlic tied the dish together...
The Big Island Hearts of Palm ($16) salad with green papaya, avocado, tomato, cucumber and bleu cheese... you got a double crunch with the cubed hearts of palm and julienne green papaya... this salad ranks up there with Livestock Tavern's chopped salad...
And the Buffalo Octopus ($18) on black eyed peas and Ranch... their take on the usual Buffalo chicken wings but in this case, very tender octopus tossed with the Buffalo sauce and paired unexpectedly with the creamy slightly smoky black eyed peas...
I also ordered a bottle of 2014 Elk Cove Vineyards Pinot Noir ($74) from Willamette Valley in Oregon... this paired nicely with both of our shared mains including...
the Ahi ($41) with blackening spice, Castelvetrano olives, Romesco and oranges...
And the Pono Pork Chop ($38) with roasted local squash and kukui and macadamia nut vinaigrette... it was cooked perfectly with a hint of pink and flowing with clear juices...
Most of the seating area is outside though it does appear that a roof can be positioned into place for inclement weather... but we preferred the inside seating for the AC... I took a shot while it was still lighted and later in the evening...
The girls split a dessert, a Chocolate Mousse ($10) with caramelized popcorn...
While I simply ended the evening with a half dozen oysters ($21)...
And an Eastside ($14) with Nolet gin, cucumber, mint and cane sugar...
All in all, it was a very enjoyable and delicious meal. Would I come for a 2nd visit? Eventually (and that's even considering the unfortunate bout of Norovirus) but it'll probably have to wait since there's a load of new restaurants at the International Marketplace and we haven't even scratched the surface yet...
Herringbone Waikiki
2330 Kalakaua Ave
Honolulu, HI 96815
(808) 797-2435
Weekend Brunch:
Friday-Sunday, 10:30am-2:30pm
Oyster Hour:
Daily, 4:00pm-6:00pm
Dinner:
Sunday-Thursday, 5:00pm-10:00pm
Friday-Saturday, 5:00pm-11:00pm
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