Upstairs at Pier 38

This was my third time at Upstairs and it was even better than the first two times. Two of us had the Monchong special of the day, another had apps for an entre and one had a steak. Everyone was very happy with their dish and we enjoyed the evening immensely. Our server, Anthony, was excellent (as well as the other staff members serving us). He did a great job explaining the preparations and answered our questions without a problem. Much appreciated.One last thing: we all really appreciated the fact that the noise level in the restaurant is very low. It was easy to converse and nice to enjoy an entire meal without someone leaning across the table and shouting "What did you say? I can't hear!"

Went for Valentine's Day dinner. There were quite a few tables with guests when we arrived for ours 5:15 reservations. Many were families with one or more children, didn't affect the nice ambiance. The ladies were also given a red rose. We were also served a complimentary amuse bouche of herbed cheese atop jam in a tiny waffle type of cone. Service was 5+ stars. Drinks were good. Hubs had whisky, I had bourbon, both on the rocks with the large ice cube, which we prefer since it chills your drink faster and doesn't water it down as quickly. Drinks came quickly. Food - 4 to 4.5 to 5 stars.Besides the regular menu they had a fixed prix menu but you could pick and choose courses from both menus. Really liked that!Appetizers were good. Hubs had lobster bisque, I had bone marrow. Hubs really liked the bisque, more on the bisque later. Bone marrow was served with rolls. Probably sweet bread rolls buttered and warmed. Bone could have been roasted slightly more to give the marrow more flavor, but it was good, topped with thin radish slices, sprouts, and crunchy bread crumbs or nuts. Rolls tasted awesome on their own with great buttery flavor but the butter slightly overpowered the marrow and made the dish a little too rich. But I enjoyed it. Hubs had the 12 oz ribeye, medium rare, and it came cooked exactly to order, with a side of furikake topped rice. He was very pleased, ate it all so 5 stars for his meal. I opted for two appetizers as my main - escargots and lobster bisque. Lobster bisque came out first and the flavor was excellent, nice sized portion, too. It was topped with soft croutons. Slightly toasty on the outside and soft on the inside. Would have preferred crunchy toasty croutons to give a better contrast in textures. Ample lobster pieces but they were slightly overcooked, not succulent. Escargots came before I finished the lobster bisque, which was a good thing because it was still bubbly hot and needed to cool a bit. Was served with their rolls (must be signature rolls because they were the same as those with the bone marrow?). Escargots were slightly overcooked, leaning towards mushy, no texture or chew but the flavor of butter and garlic was spot on. Lobster bisque favor was excellent and there were plenty of lobster pieces but they were a little overcooked. Croutons were different, slightly toasty on the outside, soft inside. Would have preferred regular croutons, all toasty and crunchy to add more contrast in textures but overall was good. Hubs had chocolate gelato which he said was nice and rich, I had their basque cheesecake topped with berries, raspberry coulis, and I think caramel sauce. All the flavors went together extremely well. Cheesecake needed the slight char/caramelization basque cheesecakes are known for, which would have taken it over the top. Overall, if you want amazing and friendly service where they check on you at all the proper intervals, and make you feel very special, with good food, this place is worth a try since the ambiance is also great and you will have a great experience.

My mom and I had a great new years dinner here! Service was so good, and the timing of every course was perfect! We especially loved the Brie with fig jam. The steak was seasoned well, and the fish was a hit too. Their salad was so pretty! All the of the plating was really impressive

This is one of my favorite Happy Hour spot!! Services are always great and the best Happy Hour food and drink items!

This place knows how to celebrate a special occasion! I am so happy we found this place. We came here for my birthday celebration dinner and it was amazing. Loved it. Service 5 stars !!! Food 5 star !!! and love the ambiance. I have know idea why I have heard of this place before. We will be back even just to have some appetizers at the bar or lounge area.

Dinner in Honolulu, Hawaii...My friend had Tuesday evening off from work. Her birthday was on Thursday, so we celebrated a couple of days early. She chose Upstairs at Pier 38. I had seen Jaymi's ROTD recently on the Yelp app... it looked like a great place!Parking was free and easy in the open areas around the buildings. We found the entrance and went up the elevator instead of the stairs. The reception area looked very familiar. It turns out that this restaurant had another name a while ago. It's really beautifully decorated and is very spacious with different areas such as a wall nook for a more private setting and a lounge area for a cocktail experience.We were led to a table by the window so we could see the sunset. Philip was our knowledgeable, efficient server. He asked if we were celebrating anything special - yes! He described the Special of the Day: monchong, which my friend ordered. I had a taste and it was spicy for me.I felt like having the Lobster Bisque, Caesar salad, French Onion Soup, and the beet salad. My friend tasted some of each. We both enjoyed everything!We were given a dessert menu, but we were stuffed! However, Philip brought a complimentary birthday dessert for my friend! It was a fancy Basque Cheesecake! Wow! Thank you!This is a very high-class, but casual place with excellent service! Come check it out!

Spot right above Nico's pier, love how the restaurant is nice and spacious. Food was delicious and service was exceptional. All though our food took a while to come out, I would say it was worth it. I would recommend the poke and tiger shrimp cocktail for starters.

Dined here for the 1st time since Nico's took it over. The ambiance is beautiful and service was top notch. Kudos to the host and staff.My rating is based more on the food. For being a more upscale restaurant focusing on French cuisine, the taste was average. Usually, I love French cooking. The New York Steak was cooked to a perfect medium, but my first bite had that gummy part on it that I had to gracefully spit out and put back on my plate. The steak was extremely chewy and I usually love New York for its tenderness. I was excited about the kampachi, but the taste was subpar. Mac and cheese tasted very bland. The star for me was their roasted potatoes - thanks to the waitress for the suggestion. Also the escargot was very tasty with the bread.Will I eat here again? Probably not. However, my taste in food may be different than others.

Someone explain to me how a restaurant located in Hawaii has Safron Rice and Sushi Rice but doesn't have plain white rice to accompany their steaks like every other steak and seafood restaurant in Hawaii. Seems like an oversight by the restaurant owner. Please take notes. This place was empty on a Saturday. I will say this, the server we had was super friendly and helpful. They even helped us avoid the saffron rice as this was an item he didn't recommend. The atmosphere is very nice and the tables are nicely spaced out. The food wasn't too bad, but the portions are like a 4 star restaurant aka small for a lot of dishes. Definitely not a local spot. This is more for tourists.

Overall: *** ok ***Food: **Value: ***Menu: ***Ambiance: *****Service: ****Parking: *****When I review & rate a restaurant, the most important thing is the tastiness of the food and the value (price for the portion). When I order a dish, I hope that it's a "Wow! That's delicious!" The restaurant is nice, the view is spectacular, the service was great, the parking is great, but the food ??? I just read another Yelp review that wrote, "Everything was perfect except the food." Sadly, the dishes at Upstairs restaurant was disappointing. We had a party of 8 and when I went around the table and asked what they though of their food, I got mostly "ok". One of my close friends and fellow foodie, who had the French onion soup & ribeye steak texted me "Don't even know if worth reviewing that place ." I ordered the Spanish Octopus & Poelee de Le Mar (lobster, scallops, shrimp) and I would rate them a **Not Very Good** Both dishes were submerged in a heavy tomatoe sauce that ruined the dish. I couldn't even enjoy the saffron rice. A simple butter, garlic, salt, with lemon on the side would have tasted way better! The seafood was also over cooked. As I drove home and thought about it, my recommendation to the owners would be to change the chef, re-brand with "New Chef! New Menu!, bring in the Instagram Foodies, and try again. At minimum the owners should look at all the Yelp Elite reviews and only serve the dishes that have a lot of raging reviews. RATINGS & RECOMMENDED ORDER:Filet mignon steak = B (by DB)Cold Seafood Platter = BRibeye steak = C (by BN) cut too thin so over cooked Spanish Octopus = DPoelee de Le Mar = F (drowned with tomato sauce)Yelp: https://yelp.to/TYb5BPsK_KWebsite: https://upstairspier38.com/Google: https://maps.app.goo.gl/G3zLd37vu1VWnhba9?g_st=icRATINGS KEY: A = Really Good - one of the best B = Good - would order again C = ok - similar, nothing special D = Not very good - wouldn't order F = Terrible - avoid @upstairspier38