SHOR AMERICAN SEAFOOD GRILL - HYATT REGENCY WAIKIKI

  

SHOR

HYATT REGENCY WAIKIKI

2424 KALAKAUA AVENUE

HONOLULU, HAWAII  96815

808-237-6145

HOURS: Breakfast 6:00 AM - 11:30 AM

                Dinner 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM

www.shorgrill.com

After a great meal at Japengo in the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, I decided to take a gamble and try the Seafood restaurant located in the same hotel.  Believe it or not, there are not many really good seafood restaurants in Waikiki so I was a bit skeptical on how a major hotel chain would pull this one off.  We arrived promptly at 6:00 PM to find the entire patio seating area closed due to gloomy weather and a chance of showers.  We checked in at the hostess station where we were greeted by a hostess.  After taking our name, she said that another person would be coming to seat us.  Since the large outdoor patio was closed the host explained that we would be seated inside.  The inside seating is quite bland and the tables are close to each other.  Not really any atmosphere if you sit inside.  This restaurant was built around outdoor dining overlooking Waikiki Beach.  Take this away and you could be eating at any Hyatt around the world.  We were greeted by our waiter named Tony.  He welcomed us by name which was nice and then proceeded to present me with an IPad that was loaded with the wine list.  How cool is this I thought.  I clicked on Wines by the glass and a variety of wines with descriptions and price.  Click on the wine you like and a complete description of the wine comes up.  I loved it but could not stop thinking about our family policy of no Smart Phones or IPad's at the dinner table.  Here we are trying not to use technology while dining and the restaurant gives us an IPad.  Tony our waiter stopped by again to take our drink order and explain the menu and daily fresh fish specials.  Fresh Opah and Swordfish were available on this day.  We decided on a few appetizers and fired away our order to Tony.  Before our appetizers arrived, we were presented with a freshly cooked warm and crunchy loaf of Sour Dough Bread served with salted butter.  The bread was amazing.  Crunchy on the outside and warm and fluffy inside.  This was the perfect bread.  So delicious.  Could have eaten five loaves of this.  Next came the Trio of Poke ($11).  Three types of Ahi Poke.  The first was Hawaiian style with seaweed.  Then there was what was supposed to be a Spicy Ahi.  This was nothing but a bunch of mayonnaise loaded on fresh Ahi.  Yuck....tasted like mayonnaise.  The last of the trio was Ahi with onions which I liked the best.  Both my wife and myself said that we would not order the Poke here again.  Next up was the Abalone from Kona ($16).  Each piece sets you back $4.  Served hot or cold.  We chose to have ours served warm and they were delicious.  Loaded with garlic butter.  If I did not have more food coming I would have ordered more of these farmed raised little treats.  When I saw a Watermelon and Tomato Salad on the menu I thought that would be nice to try so I ordered it.  The salad is $12 but there is more than enough on the plate for two.  I loved it.  The watermelon was perfectly salted and the sweetness paired with the tomato was perfect.  A light balsamic dressing was drizzled on top along with some pistachios. The nuts really did not do anything for the dish.  The melon and tomato are the stars here.  Would order this again and again.  Next we tried the Mesculin Salad ($14) with Avocado, Crab and Mango.  Served with a Maui Onion Sesame Vinaigrette.  Great salad that really is meal size and big enough to share.  My wife said the Mango paired with the dressing was perfect and delicious.  I was full at this point and could have thrown in the towel and not eaten another bite.  I had already ordered an entree which was the Fresh Local Catch ($30).  

I went with the fresh Opah and was not disappointed.  The fish was cooked perfectly and you could taste the grill marks. There were two really nice pieces of fish on the plate so I took one home.  You can pick a sauce for your fish but for some reason our waiter did not ask me or offer the sauce options.  The fish was good on its own and really did not need any thing to cover the flavor.  Really liked the fact that you get to choose a side dish with your entree.  This makes the price quite reasonable in my mind.  I went with the Truffle Mac n' Cheese as my side dish.  Took one bite and loved it.  I was so full though that I could only eat a few bites.  I wanted to finish the hot pot of pasta and cheese but had to stop.  My daughter ordered of the Kids Menu and went with Pasta ($8.95).  She was able to build her own dish and added Turkey Meat Balls, Tomato Sauce and Carrots.  The Kids Meal was served with a small salad and bowl of Edamame. My daughter loved the meat balls but said the pasta sauce was too sweet.  I tasted it and agreed.  At this point the Chef appears from the kitchen and approaches our table to see if everything was tasting good.  I told him that the food was great except my daughter thought the pasta sauce was too sweet.  He took interest and said that he appreciated the comments because that was something they were working on for the kids.  He offered to get her another dish and I quickly said "Twin Lobster Tails would be nice".  The chef thanked us for dining at Shor and returned to the kitchen.  A few minutes later two desserts arrived at our table compliments of the chef.  We were all full but after one bite of the Chocolate Hazelnut Haupia Cake we devoured it all.  Thick mousse like texture bursting with chocolate flavor.  Loved it.  The Shor Cheesecake was dense and delicious.  Even before the chef offered up the desserts we had all decided that we really enjoyed the food and service and Shor.  The service, food and quality are all good here.  This was a great dinner and experience at the Hyatt.  With Japengo and Shor both winning over our stomachs I can say that the Hyatt Regency Waikiki is now two for two for great food.  Both Japengo and Shor are winners in my book.  Thanks to Tony our waiter, the Chef and everyone at Shor for making this a great evening before heading off to a James Taylor concert.

SHOR AMERICAN SEAFOOD GRILL

WATERFALL INSIDE LOBBY AT THE HYATT REGENCY WAIKIKI

SHOR AMERICAN SEAFOOD GRILL IS LOCATED ON THE THIRD FLOOR OF THE HYATT IN WAIKIKI

ENTRANCE TO SHORE AMERICAN SEAFOOD GRILL

SMALL BAR AND EATING AREA ADJACENT TO ENTRANCE OF SHOR

BAR AREA HAS LARGE COMMUNAL TABLE

OUTDOOR DINING NOT AVAILABLE WHEN IT IS RAINING

GREAT VIEW OF WAIKIKI BEACH FROM SHOR

RAW BAR INSIDE THE BAR AREA AT SHOR

WEST COAST OYSTERS

LOBSTER AND MORE OYSTERS

MUSSELS ON THE RAW BAR

KING CRAB

IPAD FOR RESEARCHING DRINKS

I CLICKED ON WINES BY THE GLASS

LABEL, DESCRIPTION AND PRICES BY VARIETY

COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE WINE YOU ORDER ON THE IPAD

FRESH SEAFOOD AND STEAKS

CHOOSE YOUR SEASONING AND SAUCE

APPETIZERS, SALADS AND SIDES

SHOR SWEETS

SEAFOOD TOWER AND CHEF'S TASTING MENUS

BEST SOUR DOUGH BREAD IN WAIKIKI

TRIO OF POKE

KONA ABALONE

WATERMELON AND TOMATO SALAD

THE COMBINATION OF WATERMELON AND TOMATO REALLY WORKS AND IS REFRESHING

MESCULIN SALAD WITH AVOCADO, CRAB AND MANGO - PLUS A FEW TARO CHIPS

FRESH OPAH

TRUFFLE MAC N' CHEESE SIDE DISH INCLUDED WITH YOUR ENTREE

KIDS PASTA MEAL

KIDS MEAL COMES WITH SALAD AND SOY BEANS

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT HAUPIA CAKE - YUMMY!

SHOR CHEESECAKE