BluWater Grill - Can an Ambitious Menu Match the Lovely View?
Tenney Kawaminami, Staff Writer
October 2004

This relative newcomer to the restaurant scene in Hawaii Kai is working to carve a niche for itself in a challenging restaurant environment. What may save them from the fate of others who essentially try to compete with Roy's is that they are open for lunch. The menu is ambitious and described as "global island." There was some discussion at the table as to what exactly that means; are the dishes and ingredients specific to islands or does it refer to dishes with "global" inspiration prepared in an island-style? We didn't come up with an answer.

The view is stunning; white boats traversed blue waters sparkling in the early autumn sunlight while greenery ruffled in the steady trade winds. It's one of those scenes that gladdens the hearts of locals and produces extreme envy in tourists. The interior of this waterfront restaurant is comfortable but not distracting - why should it compete with the view anyway? You can choose to sit inside or out and we chose to sit inside. The outside did look inviting and if we hadn't been working we would have sat there.

Service was very good. Our server, Kyleen, worked hard to accommodate our requests and knew the menu well. She willingly answered our question, "If your best friend was coming here to eat, what would you recommend?" and we did take some of her recommendations. When we requested substitutions for the Pupu Sampler, she clearly understood what could be substituted and guided us appropriately. (We should also note that she was unaware we were writing a review until well into the meal.)

All of the dishes were beautifully presented from the serving plates to the arrangement of the food. We especially loved the obliquely-shaped salad bowls which allow you to dig down into the salad without spilling greens, toppings and dressing everywhere.

Pupu Sampler (Modified) - Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce, Curried Crab Cake with a Lime-Coconut Aioli and Ahi Poke. The regular sampler has Teriyaki Beef Skewers, Macadamia Crusted Prawns and Ahi Poke.

The Chicken Satay desperately needed salt and the Peanut Sauce was not spicy. Definitely tasted like peanut butter thinned with chicken stock. Where was the spicy??

Curried Crab Cake had a nice flavor but the texture was mushy and the aioli was lacking in flavor so no redemption there.

Ahi Poke with Ogo and Onions was much better after a stiff dose of soy sauce. The quality of the fish was excellent; it was very fresh.

My thought is that the chef needs to learn when to use salt. Unless all of your customers are on low-sodium diets (perhaps you are a hospital cook preparing food for hypertensives), the judicious use of salt is important.

French Onion Soup - A difference of opinion on this, I thought it was too beefy, tasting like au jus and my partner thought it was hearty and rich.

BluWater Grill Caribbean Cobb Salad - We like variations on Cobb Salad. One of our favorites is the Thai Cobb Salad at The Pineapple Room. We do feel though, that if you're going to do a variation on a Cobb Salad, you need to select a few elements that actually exist in the original - in this version the only common elements were bacon bits and greens. This salad was very sweet with a pronounced curry flavor. There weren't any sharp or high notes to offset the sweetness. The greens and shrimp were fresh, the variety of fruits and vegetables was nice but this would have been better with the addition of a sharp cheese and/or the use of a tart vinaigrette.

Porcini Crusted Ahi with Lemon-Caper Beurre Blanc with Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus - The piece of ahi was quite thin but it was cooked just to medium rare and was surprisingly flavorful with the Porcini crust. The beurre blanc was a bit chunky and the flavors weren't quite as distinct as the same sauce at OnJin's. The potatoes were red skinned and had plenty of texture and flavor. There were three tiny asparagus spears which probably shouldn't have been mentioned as part of the dish since they served primarily as a garnish.

Fire-Grilled Chicken with Ginger-Papaya Glaze - I resisted ordering this but it turned out to be the best dish of the meal. While the overall note of this dish was sweet, it had a lot of dimension and richness to it. The boneless chicken breast had been well rubbed with Chinese Five-Spice before grilling; it had plenty of flavor and was very juicy. It was topped with a Ginger-Papaya Glaze and a fruit compote which was sweet and savory - the compote really set this dish apart. It was also beautiful to behold. The chicken was atop a bed of purple Okinawan potatoes with a few crisp plantain chips standing guard. There was also a tart green and purple cabbage slaw. Beurre blanc sprinkled with toasted nuts coated the plate.

Banana Blintzes with Rum Caramel Glaze - This consisted of two banana slices spread with chocolate ganache wrapped in crepes and plated with some rum caramel glaze and creme fraiche. The only complaint about this is - we wanted more caramel!

So, should you go eat there? Overall we felt the menu is overpriced by about 25% for the quality of the food. That being said, if you live in the area, we'd say check it out and see what you like - we're quite confident you would find something you enjoy. We noticed a lot of people (maybe half of the patrons during the time we were there) eating salads and a significant number enjoying the Norwegian Salmon Chowder in a Bread Bowl. Our general impression is that the menu is reasonably solid with a variety of selections but there is some weakness in the preparation. The trick, of course, is to find the dishes that they do consistently well.

BluWater Grill
377 Keahole St
Hawaii Kai Shopping Center
Hawaii Kai, East Oahu
395-6224
Hours: Mon-Thu 11am to 11pm, Fri & Sat 11am to Midnight, Sunday Brunch 10am to 2:30pm, Sunday 2:30pm to 11pm