Senia

Wait staff and service professionals (including the sommelier) Exceptional!!Snacks, Starters, and Dessert ALL quite beautiful to look at. innovative and delicious. Great bottle of Champagne , too. Loved trying things I've never tasted before, so much fun making for a unique and special experience.

Looking at some of the straight up classics on the ala carte menu wish we would have done this instead of the chef's tableWe did the chef's table for my fiance's birthday. This came sans chef who was away "on Award Tour with Muhammad, my manGoin' each and every place with the mic in their hand. So no chef but the somm did step up and deliver some extra pairings and was some of the best paired wine have had with a meal. Food was good. Kind of what you would get in alot of other upscale fine dining Michelin star adjacent type spots , but nothing wowed me. If I lived here I would certainly go back but save your money and avoid the tastings or prix fixes. Too expensive for what it was.

I had a great time at this dinner. This was my first chefs counter experience. I loved being able to see the cooking to plating to making of drinks in the corner. We did the 10 course experience but skipped the wine pairing, he opted for cocktails (which were very good, and I stayed with Laurent Perrier champagne). The first 3 bites to come out were the canapés-- the basil chip was my favorite. It was light and had a slight crisp and love the flavor was different. I also thought the caviar dish was perfect- it was a super generous portion and paired well with the champagne. The "white guy sushi" was the most unexpected dish for me. This one blew us away. It was a play on fish and chips as the chef is from London and it hit spot on. This was my favorite dish. The foie gras was a nice surprise but I'm not much on terrine, I'm more or a seared type of girl. Nonetheless, it was good. The pasta with truffle and ricotta I believe I also really, really liked. The hamachi was probably my least favorite. The flavor was good but it was a heavy portion and the hot over the cold left the pieces cold to lukewarm in my mouth. The steak was also a slightly heavy portion for a tasting menu. He thought his was slightly dry, and while I do love steak, I've never had one on a tasting menu that blew my mind. I think my piece was better but was extremely full by this point and really wanted to make it to dessert-- which was a good move in my opinion. He loved the next tart but it wasn't for me. The buckthorne pie for me though-- was so good and loved the asparagus ice cream pairing. Lastly, they did send us home with chocolates. Neither of us actually like chocolate so we passed on these and gave them to someone at our hotel. Overall, the food was really good. I think my main thought (which other people may love when spending the price for a tasting menu) is that the portions are too heavy to complete 10 full courses. It was harder for me to appreciate that later dishes because I ate too much or the earlier ones, even with passing food bites to my boyfriend. I think it was a great experience that I would definitely want to do once and super happy I was able to.

I have not really enjoyed dining here in the past. Sitting at a table in the dining room left me feeling like an afterthought and looked down on by non-local servers. I figured out why I had that feeling.The 8 seat Chef's Table on Friday and Saturday is the way to approach Senia. The quenelle of California white sturgeon caviar on a sunchoke custard accented with chive butter was like eating high end kaiseki in Tokyo. Chef Rush's take on fish & chips was a fun play presented as White Guy "Sushi" - Kona kampachi sitting on crisp potato instead of rice, with an English pea tartar, sherry vinegar, and black lava salt. Little truffle ricotta stuffed hats of cappelletti with truffle butter and parmesan foam were just three delicate bites that left me longing for more. I was very satisfied by the time the final seven-sided wood polygon was unfolded to reveal six chocolate truffles. We were given the option of having them boxed to take home, but I just let myself have a final enjoyable indulgence.From my vantage point I got to watch Chef Anthony Rush touching and approving each dish in each course serve to us lucky eight. The timing and expediting of the rest of the room revolved around our courses. Every single server who worked the restaurant divided their attention between the tables and being present to assist Chef with service. I could literally watch the ordering and expediting for the rest of the restaurant timed so Chef and anyone assisting him had space to set up and plate our courses. This is the kind of meal I will willing pay good money for - excellent plating, well coordinated service, and friendly insights from Chef Rush.The only lows were the presentation of wine pairings. When Chef Rush bought us a dish I could not clearly hear him explain what he was presenting because the wine server was talking too long and too loud. There were occasions when Chef Rush was literally waiting on the wine service with plates in both hands - waiting for the wine server to finish talking and get out of the way. This was on par with good meals I have had in other cities. You're in good hand when you have the attention of the chef.

We came for an early Valentine's dinner to avoid the madness of the actual Valentine's Day. The place is absolutely beautiful to look at when you're inside. Everything from the tables to the lighting to the utensil holder. Service is impeccable. We were seated right at the front so we could see a lot of what's happening between servers.We started with the "snacks" aka appetizers. The cigars were delicious and I wish I had more. This was probably the most savory item that I had from all our orders. It was more on the saltier side but not too salty. mind you, I am more sensitive to salt. The tarts were not what I expected. I thought it was a whole mushroom that was stuffed or something within the tart that had mushroom pieces. I really wanted to love this but sadly I was not enthralled. The filling was lighter than a moose almost like a foam. You are encouraged to take one bite. So I felt like a mouthful of foam in my mouth. An explosion of taste happened but again, I wish the texture was more chewable.For entrées we split everything. The sea scallops were delicious. Lots of different flavors on that plate. I am not a fan of kambocha in drink so I thought I would not like this. However I had had a taste of whipped sweet potato. I enjoyed this as a side and not paired with my scallop. I could've eaten the whole plate by myself. The tagliatelli was delicious with almost a light cream sauce. The sea asparagus was nice and and light and crunchy and added a nice balance with the sauce. And lastly the salmon. My Mr. fishes for salmon in Alaska every summer so we were excited to see how this was prepared since he also smokes his at home. Mind you it does say it takes 30 minutes to prepare. It all came in perfect timing as we sat and drank so everything flowed well. when we were ready for the salmon it came right in time. All right here we go: I would not say this even pushes feeding four people. Two at Best. I literally could've eaten it all by myself and the only reason why I ate most of it on my own was my Mr. said it was too rich for him. Hey that's more for me! The salmon was cooked perfectly in my opinion and melted in your mouth. My Mr. felt he could taste fake smoke which bothered him a bit. We like the set up as it was almost like a breakfast for dinner with the waffle, crème fraîche, compote, and cucumbers. However, I am not gonna lie we would rather have rice lol but I get it this is not L&L. This seemed more of a talk piece by layering ingredients on top of the waffle. I actually was not a fan of all of that on top of the waffle so I just used the salmon alone.We had the sommelier come by and give us suggestions for a riesling. I was given suggestions as well as a taste. He came back later on and said he thought about other alternatives based on my liking and I actually chose one of his suggestions which was a great choice. Not too sweet and not too dry. He also said whoever orders the wine the server should always serve them first and if that doesn't happen to scold them. We giggled throughout the dinner because the server always poured Mr. man's drink first. And no we did not scold the server.Would we come back again? Absolutely. It's a beautiful restaurant and the booth that we were sitting on offered some privacy where we did not see others dining. It is clear the chef put lots of thought to the menu with different ingredients.

My group was real excited to come here and while I think the food was good, it fell a little flat from our expectations.We had a reservation for a Thursday night so we were seated quickly but there also didn't seem to be a wait. We ordered the falafel fries, duck liver parfait, farmers market salad, sea scallops, gnocchi, wagyu short rib, and crushed fingerling potatoes. Our favorites ended up being the duck liver parfait and the scallops. The gnocchi seemed a bit overcooked and broke apart easily with our fork, the farmers market salad was just standard, and the wagyu short rib was probably not worth the price point.We did have a good time though. The interior is dim and food came out dish after dish so our group had a chance to catch up with each other. I think this would be a cute place to do date night!

Just a quick update since I came here with a friend a month or so ago and had a few dishes that I haven't had before...One was the Maui Venison Tartare and the other was the Duck Liver Parfait...loved both of them. For the large plate we got the Duck Confit, loved this one, too.The Venison had indian curry flavors along with pickled mango and some chopped roasted macadamia nuts, very tasty. The Duck Liver was super smooth and came on a cigar of grilled bread and topped with some sweet blackberry reduction...also super tasty.The Duck Confit was a half duck, foie gras, and a plum and sumac chutney...wonderful.Along with these we ordered some of my go-tos like the Roasted Bone Marrow and Ahi Cigars and the my favorite cocktail the Freddie.Still my favorite restaurant on the island and hopefully one day will get to try the tasting menu on the counter.

Very disappointed.Food was mediocre tasting but presentation was good. Please see my pics for what I ate.Open kitchen is not such a good idea because you can see all the students cooking, literally they looked like students.Very over priced for the taste because our meal came out to $1,200 including tip.Probably will not go back.

Book a table on Saturday at 6:30pm but called and able to push to 7:15pm due to the Christmas lighting parade. Hostess showed us the table. There is a HB card with a team signature. Nice first impression. Tôm served us with a clear instruction of the drink and food menu. Ice cold water served readily. Since we are on the light side, we decided to go with the small plates menu. Too bad, the signature cigar dish could not be served due to the mis delivery of the crepe but chef try to replace with his own fantasy replacement. Else we enjoyed the Kona Kampachi, I would prefer the marlin. Roasted bone marrow. The Hawaiian sweet rolls are really good. Sea scallops are nicely grilled with crunchy kale. Tagliatelle green onion is very fresh with nice texture. Kauai shrimp is not that special. Every dish is very well presented and personally served with descriptions one by one. Team keep track and clearing and changing utensils as needed. We also ordered the 007 and mango/nlood orange Senia spritzer. Nothing special but very well presented. All in one, very pleasant fine dining experience. Good job Obama team

The world food tour duo made a return visit to Senia, where chef Anthony Rush showcases his take on regional American cuisine. The restaurant hasn't changed since our last visit; it remains an intimate space with a bar to your right as you enter, tables to the left, all leading to the open kitchen and the Chef's Counter for diners wishing an intimate experience with the chef and his kitchen.I perused their extensive wine book and selected a 2020 Domaine Méo-Camuzet, Vosne-Romanée, as it was priced well ($335). A rich, redolent wine, full of red fruit ... earthy, floral and spicy in the best way, an excellent start.We ordered the Duck Liver Parfait ($12), Maui Nui Venison Tartare ($34), and Roasted Bone Marrow ($34) as our starters. The liver mousse was piped onto pieces of grilled bread, with dollops of blackberry jam and stems of parsley atop. It was rich and creamy; almost like a luxurious version of peanut butter and jelly on toast. The venison tartare came with naan bread and was surrounded by toasted macadamia nuts. The venison was mixed with curry and covered with some kind of jellied skin and decorated with leaves of herbs and edible flowers. The curry flavoring almost overpowered the delicate venison ... It was delicious, but I wanted the gaminess of the venison to play a more prominent role. The bone marrow came with four pieces of sliced Hawaiian sweet rolls, three salts, a dish of piccalilli, and a dish of oxtail marmalade. The marrow wasn't split along the bone like others we've had; it was sitting in an unroasted(?) bone acting as a holder for the marrow. The piccalilli (relish of chopped vegetables and mustard) and the sweetish oxtail marmalade were very strong flavors, and if one used either of them in excess, they would overpower the delicate marrow. Everything was delicious but I wanted the marrow to play a more prominent role.We chose the Maple Leaf Farms Confit Duck ($110) and the Braised Okra ($12) as our shared entrée. The duck was so tender and delicious and whitish in coloration; it almost didn't seem like duck. Sitting in a saffron jus, it was topped with a piece of foie gras, plum and sumac chutney and micro greens. This is a fabulous dish, and we were so full of the appetizers, we ended up taking half of it home.The braised okra was interesting. More baked than braised, whole pieces of okra was in a San Marzano tomato sauce with gremolata and oregano ... Almost like a gratin. I liked it; my food partner did not.We ended our meal by sharing a Yuzu Tart ($18) and a cup of Guatemalan coffee ($5) for me. The tart came with a quenelle of ice cream (flavor unknown ... I can't eat ice cream). The tart was rich and reminded me of key lime pie.We enjoyed our meal and time at Senia. We're happy to see it remain one of the successes in downtown Honolulu. It doesn't hurt that it's a block from my office as parking can be an issue.