| rev:text
| - I first became aware of Roy and his restaurants four years ago while watching season 2 of "Top Chef." At the time I was planning my first visit to Hawaii, and I was specifically avoiding Oahu and making a beeline for the Big Island so the final competitions on the Big Island captured my fancy. Roy was a major judge in the competition.
The loss of my job nearly four years ago caused a major shift in priorities for me, as in no more trips to Hawaii anytime soon. Ditto for dining on haute cuisine.
Somehow I stumbled onto the website for Roy's and learned about the Aloha menu. With a five dollar price ceiling for drinks and food, I reckoned I could once again sample food that was the culinary equivalent of transcendence without feeling guilty about the expenditure afterwards.
So, I cajoled my meat and potatoes Midwestern beau into taking me to Roy's for an early light meal and cocktails.
From the moment we walked in the door, everything was perfect and professional- very professional. I should know, once upon a time I made my living in haute cuisine restaurants. I've always said it's easy to find great food for a commensurate price, the trick is getting great food without a hefty pricetag. Aloha hour at Roy's affords a person such as myself the opportunity to experience innovative cuisine and cocktails without forfeiting a necessity of life such as electricity for a month.
Getting back to the staff, we were greeted and treated as if we had arrived in a limo instead of a Tundra. Once seated in the bar for Aloha hour we were not subjected to thinly veiled contempt from the server who realized that the tab was not going to merit the same gratuity as a several course meal. The hostess, our server, and the manager on duty were all extremely cordial, polite and provided seamless service and even better food.
The original hawaiian martini I ordered was prepared with top shelf liquors, not cheap substitutes to reflect the reduced price.
We loved the salt and pepper calamari, Waygu sliders, potstickers, and the sushi rolls with a spin. For a fraction of the price of the average degustation menu we sampled the gamut of appetizers and several drinks- well, I had several drinks, not the driver. As for ambiance, we were seated at a banquette adjacent to a very large marine fish aquarium. The atmosphere was subdued, urbane, comfortable and the staff was attentive, accommodating, and knowledgeable. Since we were on a date at the time, the server offered to take our photo. It was presented to us in a paper frame shortly afterward. That is a ready indicator of the staff's desire to go above and beyond percentage-motivated tasks for guests.
Kudos to Roy for bringing the true spirit of Aloha to the mainland along with his unique fushion cusine in a sophisticated atmosphere that reflects warmth and the highest level of professional service for guests regardless of the bottom line at the end of the meal.
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