MW Restaurant

This review is for the CARROT CAKE take out.It was not part of their dessert menu whenever we've dined in. I also did not see it served per slice at Artizen downstairs.Seems like it's only available via pre-order. Premium cake 6" for $85. To those of who you are carrot cake connoisseurs or you just love Carrot cake, this is THE.BEST.CARROT.CAKE.IN.HAWAII.PERIOD.5 layers, delicious cream cheese frosting - very good balance between cheese and sweet, topped off with a crispy wafer base. Reminds me of the Carrot Cake at our fav Steakhouse in San Diego - Born and Raised.Yea I'll be ordering it again!

Service is great but the food is really so-so. Maybe I ordered the wrong things?Inari appetizer was too rice heavy and the color of the fish was a bit grey. The tuna nachos were ok. Too much gojujan sauce IMO. I ordered the seafood cioppino and it was okay. I've never had so many potatoes in a seafood soup. Steak came out lukewarm. Tomato salad was unmemorable. For the price of $290 I expected more.

MW Restaurant in Honolulu is my go-to spot because of Its convenient location - makes it hard to resist, especially when I'm craving something delicious. Most of the time, the food is on point--like the mochi-crusted kampachi that's basically a hug on a plate. The drinks? Let's just say they're consistently pretty good. The truffle braised short rib is a solid option and most of the time it's cooked damn well. I also like the MW candy bar for dessert. If there's events in town or at the Blaisdell then good luck getting in but most times it's not an issue.

I have a sweet tooth, so I have always loved the M-side of MW. Artizen cookie bar? Already added to the calendar. All you can eat MW candy bars at Food & Wine? How many times is too many times to get in line? Asking for a friend.I don't always think of the W-side of MW, but I should. We recently went back for dinner with friends and here are the notes. Do try the arancini. Light, crispy, with the scent of truffles. This is a nice appetizer. The corn chowder was less exciting and served just barely warm.The entrees are classic bistro favorites, the King Salmon had a soft, melt in your mouth texture and was served with a generous amount of beurre blanc. The braised short ribs are fork tender with a rich truffle sauce and foie gras. And the Steak Au Poivre was better than some steakhouses. The steak had a deep beef flavor, had a nice sear, and the sauce was heavily seasoned--I would suggest getting the sauce on the side.We finally made it to dessert and coffee--French press of course--and why stop at just one? Michelle's signature dessert, the brûlée is a fun mix of textures, the crispy burnt sugar balancing out the tangy lilikoi. The tiramisu is the coffee version of the brûlée with the same brûléed top and the same textures of pearls, cream, and jellies. The MW candy bar is perfect if you like chocolate and peanut butter. Lightly crisp and so indulgent. Strawberry Napoleon is puff pastry, strawberries, ume and shiso sorbet, it's crunchy and refreshing. We enjoyed ourselves and it reminded me MW is still a lovely way to wile away an evening.

A lot of this rating comes from our experience with server Tyler. He deserves all the accolades in that even if we were to have a terrible meal (which we didn't) he would still be able to turn this around. He shows empathy and care for his customers. Knows when to lean in and lean out of conversations and is not awkward about it. Commands the floor and should be a manager if he's not by now. But nevertheless MW, has been at this location for about 3 years now. Drive your car up to the valet located on the 2nd floor, but come with a smaller car because there are tight turns in the parking lot, the way the cars are tandem parked on a busy night. Valet parking is $6 (not including tip and no validation is necessary). The restaurant is located on the same floor, less than a minute away from valet. Bar is to the right, check-in counter to the left, and more dining tables around the check-in corner on the left. Restrooms are located in the hallway of velocity, by the elevators. Came here for the restaurant week menu which was good! Was torn between the chowder and arancini as the starting course. Noticed that the chowder was on their ala carte menu, so opted for the restaurant week menu arancini and got an order of the chowder as well. Didn't think the arancini was going to come with 7 pieces! Already full by the time both items were consumed, but kept pushing through. The chicken cordon bleu came with a duck pastrami which wasn't too gamey, which I liked. Though the sauce was a little too salty for my liking. The corn was sweet and veggies were crunchy. Huge portion, so took half of that home, to save room for dessert. My dining partner opted for the salmon which had a nice Beurre blanc sauce, also a huge portion. As for the desserts, I liked the strawberry napoleon far more than the tiramisu. The tiramisu wasn't bad. It had a creme brulee type of crust on it, and under that had a chocolate mousse with a coconut espresso tapioca, that part I liked the most. That strawberry napoleon though, needs to be on your menu permanently! Just the right amount of crisp/crunch for the puff pastry, and just the right amount of creme to strawberry and when you mix it together with that ume, strawberry, shiso sorbet, perfection. Thank you for the lovely restaurant week menu, well done!

Finally made it here on my birthday. This place was a little hard to find as you'd have to go through the car dealer and cafe.The Mac Mai Tai was good and refreshing. The Kauai Shrimp Escargot Style was simple yet delicious. The Seafood Gumbo was tasty, but it was a little different from what I had expected. Still very good though.The service was great and I appreciated the chocolate cake for my birthday!

Birthday Dinner with a TwistCelebrating my bestie's birthday at MW Restaurant was a unique experience from start to finish. Set in an upscale car dealership, this isn't your usual dining location--it's part fine dining, part luxury car showroom, and that's what makes it memorable.Our table was a large one by the bar and a window, perfect for people-watching. We kicked things off with appetizers and drinks. The food was delicious, beautifully presented, and each bite felt like a thoughtful balance of flavors. Drinks were solid, though not quite as memorable as the food itself.There was one hiccup: our water glasses had an odd, fishy scent, likely from the dishwasher. (Therefore Minus a ) But our server was fantastic--apologized right away, hand-washed fresh glasses, and made sure we were comfortable. Service throughout was attentive and friendly, showing true professionalism.After dinner, we took a walk around the dealership to check out the race cars and motorcycles on display--a fun ending to a one-of-a-kind dinner setting. Overall, MW Restaurant is a great spot for good food, attentive service, and a truly unique ambiance.

I had the opportunity to dine in at MW restaurant for a work function when we hosted a VIP visiting from Okinawa. We knew the food and service was excellent when we catered lunch bentos for another set of visitors a couple of months ago. Our group at the time had a variety of dietary restrictions, which Executive Manager Kathy accommodated with so much grace and patience. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their lunch bentos, and MW was the natural choice this time!Our reservation was for a Tuesday and it was a relatively big group. I noticed there was a lot of space between each group of diners, which is not common in my experience (don't restaurants usually fill their floor with as many tables as possible for higher yields?) so there was adequate privacy. The dining room had big windows along one wall which looked out at the Blaisdell (I think) but I admit I barely looked out! The interior was brightly lit and classy and modern and simple at the same time. The food was SO GOOD. For appetizers we had the ahi poke nachos (so fresh and delicious), unagi arancini (delicious, esp with the seaweed sauce thing at the bottom - omg), pork hash dumplings (super super good, so dense and juicy and perfectly seasoned), and seasonal persimmon salad (I didn't sample). I had the duck confit while everyone else had the signature kanpachi and butterfish. I had had the kanpachi bento before and knew it was good, but seeing it served hot and fresh and hearing the crunch of the crispy mochi is another matter! (I took a bite from my colleague's fish hehe.) My duck was super crispy outside and super tender inside and so so delicious. It was a mini Thanksgiving meal with the arabiki stuffing and cranberry sauce and truffle mashed potatoes. SO SO GOOD. I thought I wouldn't be able to fit anything else but the folks at MW timed it so well; between clearing our plates and whipping out the dessert menu and letting us peruse it, somehow my stomach made room for a banana cream pie, which was just the right amount of sweetness and richness. I swear I gained 5 lbs from that meal.Service was stellar, from the cheerful hostess who doubled as server/busser, to our main guy Kyle who was prompt, courteous, and appeared like magic when we needed him, and to exec manager Kathy who once again accommodated us! The price points may seem high at first glance but for the overall quality (taste, portion size, execution) they are quite reasonable, in my humble opinion. Definitely worth the treat for special occasions. It is valet parking only, $6 for 3 hours. Getting to the restaurant is straightforward but also tricky for first-timers. Directions are clearly written on their website.

We went there on a Saturday night and we just waited for 5 mins. The manager and stuff were very nice! Food was delicious and their dessert was bomb! This is actually my 2nd time eating there and would go back again!

Restaurant was recommended by a local. Went there for my daughters birthday, very nice staff. Thought the food could get better. It was so unbelievably subpar. Miso butterfish was good, but have a few bites and get ready to feel bored. The pork belly tacos was delicious, would actually drown in that mole sauce. The steak was not worth its price, and its au poivre sauce was so inessential. The "spam musubi" was an odd texture, and tasted like a crunchy piece of sea coral. The chocolate cake was delicious, an embodiment of a ferrero rocher chocolate. Over all, wouldn't recommend especially for the price.