BEACHHOUSE AT THE MOANA SURFRIDER

BEACHHOUSE AT THE 

WESTIN MOANA SURF RIDER

HONOLULU, HI

I was quite surprised when the Westin made their elegant and beautiful veranda into a steak house.  How could a major tourist hotel on Waikiki beach compete with Mortons, Ruth Chris and the other steak places in town.  Well, the Beachhouse does it well with their food, but quite frankly the service sucks.  The service is nowhere near what you receive and Mortons or Ruth Chris.  From the time we arrived to the time we left the service was way under par.  We had been seated for thirty minutes before our drink order was taken.  And we had to flag down the busboy to get the drinks rolling.  When the waiter finally arrived he was out of touch.  Did not know the menu and had zero personality.  Thank goodness for the beautiful view of the ocean from our great table near the end of the Veranda.  I was totally surprised when the wine came.  They poured just a few ounces into the glass.  Huge glass with very little wine.  There was about one ounce left in the bottle and instead of pouring it in the glass the waiter pulled back the bottle.  My guest asked what he was going to do with such a small amount of wine and politely asked him to pour it.  He did.  The service here is really bad.  Employees stand around and talk rather than take care of customers.  There is no feeling that you are appreciated as a guest.  The food is good but very expensive.  A bone in Rib Eye runs around $45.  This is just for the steak which is served ala cart with some terrible tasting seaweed thing.  The steak was cooked to perfection and delicious.  Made up for the poor service.  I tried the Ceaser Salad.  It was absolutely huge and big enough for two.  It was topped off with three large and fresh anchovies and a pretty good dressing.  My friends tried the tomato and onion salad with balsamic dressing.  They both loved it but said the tomato was too hard.  The Beachhouse is one of the most beautiful places to eat in Waikiki.  Sitting out on the Veranda overlooking the ocean is a great experience.  If they can only get the service on par with their competitors this place would be great.  I recommend the management dine at Ruth Chris in Waikiki.  Then they can experience what service is all about.