53 By The Sea

There are few things in this world that bring an easy smile to my face that don’t have to do with money, women, good food and drink… but at 53 By the Sea, one thing made me a fan — the urinals in the men’s restroom was positioned at an ideal height for a short, local Japanese guy like me. Awesome.
This is no small

The view is still amazing, the service wonderful, but the loss of the set lunch is a real blow!!! This used to be my GO TO place for a nice lunch. The new set lunch menu and everything else ala carte is a big let down!!!
I’ve brought my mom and family and just friends there… and I don’t even live in Hawaii. I even booked a party there for my mom and I thought about getting my Punahou Alumni class to book our next luncheon reunion there… but not so eager now.
I was all set to take my aunt and cousin to a nice lunch at 53 by the sea this Weds. So good thing I checked online for the menu… BIG SHOCK!!! And now I changed my mind. The choices and options as well as value compared to the previous menu. well suffice it to say I did not make the reservation.
I think that right now I’m a lost customer who EVEN RECOMMENDED THE RESTAURANT TO PERFECT STRANGERS VISITING HAWAII… because of the combo of the view and the great set-​menu. SIGH… PLEASE BRING BACK A COMPARABLE MENU!!! Even if it’s a little more $, the joy and creativity of that menu always brought me back and right now I don’t even want to go… very sad camper.

Ok I admit, I’m a foodie. That might sound bad for some but good for others. If I’m spending over $ 200 for my birthday dinner for two, I have some higher than normal standards.
53 by the Sea came highly recommended by my co-​worker and the overall great ratings. I ordered the chef’s menu of five courses plus dessert with wine while my spouse ordered crab cakes and the sea bass.
Décor and setting: The old brown drab of John Dominis is gone and a beautiful clean lines of 53 makes it such a great view. Please go when there’s light as it’s worth view. The service is spot-​on so expect your water filled up etc.
Crab cake and sea bass — My wife ordered two winners here. Crab cake comes in small portions (smaller than golf ball size) but the lemonade sauce brightened the flavors and make the dish pop. The sea bass was prepared in traditional steamed with shoyu and oil. Delicate fish but yielded a light but flavorful dish.
Sashimi course — The tasting menu began with a sashimi trio that included wasabi tobiko, ikura and chive oil. Totally missed the mark. It lacked the salt and acid that it needed. Ikura could of added the salt but it was more of a decoration than a flavor enhancer.
Hearts of Palm/​watercress salad — Shrimp, orange, grapefruit piece along with hearts of palm with a drop of citrus vinaigrette. Again not enough salt. It felt it was placed in the refrigerator overnight and it lacked the blandness of the hearts of palm with everything else.
Seared Diver Scallop — Wow this was perfectly cooked and flavored with sherry honey gastrique. Too bad it was only one piece of scallop but it was memorable.
Fresh catch — Today it was mon chong. Delicate flavor but rich at the same time as it was prepared in a brown butter sauce. The veggies of squash, zucchini and carrot was also bathed in that wonderful sauce.
Filet Mignon — Nice flavor especially in the red wine reduction. the smooth mashed potato along with the trumpet mushroom made it a wonderful change of pace.
Coconut panna cotta — wonderful light but very flavorful dish to finish the meal.
Yes there were some hits and misses but if you order the right set of dishes, you will be very pleased with this solid experience.

Still a great place to have dinners; however, for a party of five to have set menu dinners with wines would cost some seriously amount of greenback; perhaps, lunch set menu is still the way to go, unless they no longer offer it. The magnificent view of Diamond Head is still priceless, and a great way to entertain and impress out of town friends and guests.
Update! Still love this fine place with fantastic view and super service; however, I was disappointed that the popular pre-​set lunch menu is no longer being offered. The substitute new pre-​set menu cannot match previous offering. Therefore, I hope new management will come up with a better one down the road.

Love happy hour – who doesn’t?! Great food at reduced prices. So this very Japanesy European place – imposing château like façade on the outside and all crème, marble and ocean views on the inside. Valet only, but no set fee. You tip what you want. Walked in and there were at least 7 staffers to greet, welcome and walk me in… you must sit at the bar only to partake in happy hour prices/​menu. We were so pleased with the selections and food! High quality and tasty! All the fancy drinks were $ 8 with beer and wine too (many selections at different prices). The food prices started at $ 4 and up, but not much. We had the ahi roll lightly battered and deep fried outside, raw inside. The ahi poke was flavored with a soy combo not overwhelming. Slightly spicy calamari (would have liked it served warmer and crispier), goat cheese and cherry tomato on toasted baguette slices. Being a Japanese/​European place of course they had gratin –very tasty mushroom and spinach gratin served with toasted banguette. The beef tacos were the best-​nicely grilled beef pieces in an avocado, cilantro mini corn tortilla envelope. Recommended by the waiter-​excellent suggestion. Plus on Friday nights fireworks at 7:45 across the water as you enjoy in the dark of the restaurant.
Live piano at the bar – pianist also plays at Lewers Lounge at the Halekulani.
The thing is, this place seems like it would be stuffy and formal given the imposing outside façade. But it’s not! Local, friendly but «formal «staff dressed in uniform. (they do host a lot of weddings). Filled with diners but not crowded. Happy hour from 4 – 6:30 here is well worth it!

Nice views and atmosphere!
KUSHI Oysters are good small size and so flavorful!
I had a FILET MIGNON with Potato Purée, Seasonal Vegetables, Red Wine Sauce. Overall good lunch spot for business meeting, company lunch, etc.

First time here, and now I can say, been there, done that.
Let’s begin, shall we?
Parking is valet only. The attendant will welcome you to the restaurant and will open the large exterior doors. A
The reception desk is behind the large curtain, and across the grand staircase. The area has a high ceiling and feels really cold. Not sure how I feel about it, so no rating.
Dining area is located in an area that faces Diamond Head and Waikiki. Large plate glass windows give diners an exceptional view of the ocean. Awesome view on a clear day. A+
Seating is important to me for places like this because I know I will be sitting there for quite some time. The seats were very comfortable and at the right height for the table. Though the seat were fabric, there seat wasn’t saggy in the middle like some. Very nice. A
The lunch menu isn’t bad and offers a good variety of choices. I actually had difficulty choosing what to eat. My biggest fear, going in.

Ok so ambience and atmosphere is GORGEOUS here! Yes I could see myself having a wedding here or a really fancy baby shower. The view is amazing and you can see Diamond Head!
My girlfriend and I came here for lunch one Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t busy at all. Our server was great. friendly and very helpful in recommending some of the popular dishes. I had a hard time deciding but settled on the fresh catch of the day which was monchong. My friend ordered the mushroom chicken. We also both ordered the French onion soup. it’s my fav!
So the soup was surprisingly very tiny and had no cheese :(which is actually my favorite part of a French onion soup. The soup itself was good but just not what I was expecting.
The fish was good. Came with some broccolini and tomatoes on a foamy type sauce. Perfect for you low carb dieters. It was good but nothing special. My friend’s chicken also was okay. actually kind of on the dryer side.
Thank goodness we had a gift card to 53 By the Sea or we would of had an expensive lunch. I don’t think for the price it was worth it. I do love the atmosphere of this place but probably wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here. It was worth a try though!

I had a very small wedding in which very close friends attended. My friend actually made the reservations for us to come here for dinner. It was definitely a great surprise especially because I didn’t plan this. Although, it was not the most elaborate of weddings nor the one in which hundreds of people attended, it was the best day of my life. I got to spend it with great friends and with the love of my life. That to me means the world.
It’s a beautiful place with a beautiful view and delicious food!

53 By The Sea was great! As soon as you drive in there, surrounded by nothingness around it, beautiful building with a tiny round about. Valet parking is the only parking but it is complimentary, so basically only tip for the valet drivers.
Upon entering the building, hostess greets you and opens the door for you, very classy and the staff is all but smiles and friendliness. As soon as you enter the grand staircase is there dead center. Perfect for taking photos, so me and my wife was offered to have our photo taken at the end by the hostess in the front. We had already booked a reservation, I booked it for my wife’s birthday, so getting seated was quick. We got led to the left where the view was spectacular showing surfers and a view of Waikiki and diamond head. The atmosphere is very elegant. A very nice ambiance. Although one thing I had wished was that we were to be seated at the window, for where we were seated was great where it is a pull out table and a half moon couch with pillows, very comfortable. Hostess lays the napkins on you elegantly and hands you the menus. But the only thing was when we look out to the window to see this magnificent view, the other couple by the window really hindered the view. Maybe perhaps recommending putting the seats by the window diagonal to the couch seats? But hey I get it, need to utilize more space in a restaurant and to have it orderly. But that’s just a speculation, for other than that, great atmosphere.
The server’s assistant was really nice, friendly, and pretty down to earth about which drinks are good. I love that honesty and he was a pretty cool local guy for he obviously knew we were not tourists haha. He gave us our drink menu. While sitting there wondering what is for dinner since they actually hand the menus after the drinks, makes sense. We kind of cheated by looking at the slight menu online oops lol. But anyways, the server was good, polite, stern, very professional like, not as friendly as the server assistant who did our drinks, but a cool person as well. I had ordered the mahi mahi macadamia nut crusted. And my wife ordered the surf and surf which had already peeled crab and peeled jumbo shrimp with mash potatoes. One recommendation here to anyone that so happens to read this long review, is that if you are extremely hungry, the portion sizes here are a bit smaller. My mahi mahi was excellent, don’t get me wrong, but I was still hungry of course. And even the server was honest with me for I asked bout between the scallops and mahi mahi, he had told me straight up that the scallops were not as filling. I appreciated the honesty. We had nice warm lilikoi nut bread and I think a guava sweet bread. That was nice.
After dinner or during when the sun was going down outside, lights got dimmer inside, more romantico for those that want the nice romantic setting. And for dessert my wife was treated to a nice square Japanese style looking strawberry cake. When we got up to leave at the front, that is when the hostess offered to take our picture on the grand staircase. She had opened the door as we left and gave us a nice goodbye. The valet person was very nice as well. My wife commented and asked what was upstairs and he had explained that they do weddings here for he said there is a chapel next door. He said if we ever wanted to do like a wedding type occasions, the managers would love to show us the facility. We had gotten married already but maybe if we have friends who are getting married we are sure to let them know about having a wedding here. We tipped the valet driver and off we went.
Again, great atmosphere, amazing staff, elegant atmosphere, I felt like a Disney prince lol and hopefully my wife felt like a Disney princess. But for real though a nice place to take you significant other on a special occasion or anniversary. Again make sure you are willing to spend a little more but for the ambiance and view is a experience and sight to see.

I’m from las vegas, been in Hawaii for a week and been at this place twice already. Excellent ambiance, service and food. Coming from a place where chef’s all over the cater to, this place stands up to that standard and some. A must when you come to Hawaii!!!
I was craving lamb chop foi gras n scallops, they didn’t have as entrée w all 3 but they had it those items on the menus n the chef catered to my craving. …Muah. thank you

I’ve been meaning to come here for awhile, and I finally had a chance to celebrate my birthday dinner last month with my friends. First of all, it was amazing!
The only con I could think of is just making your way to the location. I do like that fact that it’s in the beginning of Kakaako and not deep into Waikiki, but it’s an area where you’ll see homeless roaming the streets. But once you get into their lot, it automatically changed your point of view. You’re greeted with valet parking (pretty small) but let them take care of it. And you’re welcomed through these big doors with the host ready to greet you as well. It’s just like the pictures but being there made it 10 times better! The ambiance and the setting just made my night spectacular. Wow, I didn’t even get to the food yet!
So for the food, you can have your choice of getting the 5 or 7 course menu or just opt to get from their regular dining menu. My friends just ordered from the menu & got a couple of drinks.
I completely forgot the names of our drinks, but all of them were very tasteful and refreshing. Also, I didn’t think the food would fill me up, but with my main course which was a lobster and shrimp dish (sorry, not very helpful with remembering the names), but I could not finish it.
However, all in all, I loved this place. It was clean, staff were nice, a little pricey, but you get what you pay for.

Nice décor!
Service was great! (Thank you Jordan)
The view was awesome!
For the food? It was a light affaire; my wife had two apps (oysters and a sushi platter) and I had the special poached chicken salad.
Dessert was awesome; some strawberry, mild kanten, condensed milk gelato with lots of fresh berries. We are also coffee lovers and appreciated the bold flavorful coffee! We will be back for a full dinner one of these days!

53 By The Sea. (4 stars)
The first thing that you see when you arrive at 53 Ahui Street (restaurant location) is a beautiful mansion sized building in which 53 By the Sea resides in. The front doors are majestic and give you just a taste of the views and backdrop that this restaurant has become known for!
Once you step into the floor to ceiling height double doors you breath will be taken away by the absolutely gorgeous staircase! It always reminds me of the «Great Gatsby» era! The highlight for me (I have now been here 4 times!).
Before last night, I had been to 53 By the Sea about 5 years ago (3 times!). I never went back because I kept paying $ 300+ and the fish and seafood was always overcooked!
However, this time I was pleasantly surprised! The fish (both raw and cooked) came out beautifully AND FRESH!!! Aside from the diver sea scallop I would say the Mahi Mahi was my favorite!
(NOTE: The bar area has a happy hour menu and if your reservations are around 17:00, you can come in a little early and enjoy the bar, the view of Diamond Head, and the beautiful grand piano!!)
Before I go any further, our party of 6 all ordered the Tasting Menu (some of us with wine pairing). The Tasting Menu is $ 100 and $ 50 more for the wine pairing. The Tasting Menu consists of Sashimi (raw fish), Heart of Palm Tree, Diver Sea Scallop with Black Truffle, Lilikoi (Passion Fruit) sorbet (palate cleanser), Mahi Mahi, Petite Filet Mignon (wish they had just stuck to S&P and infused butter — just seemed grilled and that was it??), and a Lilikoi panna cotta for dessert.
My favorites were the Heart of Palm Tree which was surprisingly light and infused a flavored oil and yet crunchy. The textures together were surprisingly refreshing and delicious! Texturally the palm tree tastes like daikon (Japanese radish). I also really enjoyed the diver sea scallop as it was cooked to perfection! Not rubbery or chewy like the last few times I had been here. Last but not least I really enjoyed the Mahi Mahi! It was steamed perfectly with just the right amount of seasoning (S&P)!! The Mahi Mahi was fork tender and flaky and didn’t smell like fish! Which means it was fresh! The fish melted in my mouth! The rest of the tasting menu for me was OK. I’m not a huge fan of Lilikoi so I didn’t care for the two dishes that came with it but luckily some others in my party did!
All in all, 53 By the Sea is a beautiful place to enjoy a special occasion! Definitely a place to get dressed up for! But if I ever come back I would order a few different plates vice the Tasting Menu as I left a little hungry. But I in no way blame the restaurant for this as it is a TASTING MENU and it was definitely a good variety of what 53 by the sea offers!
For Happy Hour, Tasting Menu with wine pairing, and Tip for Two, I paid $ 450. Was worth it to have a nice night out!

Finally got to try this place out as surprise for my birthday! My boyfriend dragged me all the way out here to see the fireworks. The grand entrance is spectacular with the massive double doors and double marble staircase upon entrance. The sweet hostess, Chelsea, sat us at the most perfect table right along the windows for a perfect view of the fireworks.
Our two serving staff Eric and Devin, were attentive, but not very social. I have to admit they simply moved through the motions not adding any of their own personality to the dinner. They were both very quick and helpful throughout the entire dinner.
As for our food, we started with the escargot stuffed mushrooms which were delicious. I enjoyed the seared scallops and my boyfriend the Colorado lamb chops. The lamb chops were perfect and I cannot wait to go back and have the scallops again!
I would highly recommend this for Friday night fireworks as they turn down off the lights and make a complete show out of Hilton’s firework display. Will recommend this place to all of my friends for the food and service, but not for the location. The building is quite out of place against its industrial surrounding. Nonetheless, I cannot wait to drag my roommate there to eat again!

Celebrated my birthday here and wow what a fantastic experience! To start off the view of diamond head and the ocean was amazing! The employees saw us taking photos and offered to take our photo outdoors which we gladly accepted!
We then started off with drinks. I got the plantation ice tea which had mango purée in it and so yummy! We then got the crab cake appetizers which was so good! Real crab inside! I then got the surf and surf which was $ 39 for dinner. It comprised of broccolini, 4 huge shrimps and 4 pieces of peeled king crab with a side of masked potato. To top it off they have me a complimentary strawberry shortcake dessert s. Candle and happy birthday Written on the plate.
All in all a 5 star experience from the fantastic employees to the great food. I’ll be back!

Impressed.
It’s like driving up to a mansion of a local millionaire. It’s complementary valet only. My car is parked among porches and BMW’s. I ask the valet if we could tour the side of the building to get a view of Diamond Head before we headed inside.
The valet will open the huge door for you to expose the grant staircase. Kind of a bummer it doesn’t lead to our table on the second floor. The restaurant is nice and bright, but after sunset they dim the lights. They offer magnifying glasses with led lights in case you can’t read the menu.
I came here when it was John Dominis. My memories of the place was dark with low ceilings. They seemed to have changed a lot from what I remember, because there are high ceilings and it’s very bright inside. Our table was more like a booth/​bed facing diamondhead. There were pillows on the seats. I could fall asleep in the seats.
The appetizers were amazing. We got the braised short rib, which melted in my mouth. The best braised beef ever. It was probably slow cooked for 40 hours. I also got the zucchini talalfal (spelled that wrong), but that was also great! The zucchini us deep fried with some sort of noodle with a butter sauce and avocado crème fraîche. The appetizers are perfect to share between two people. I got the ribeye, which tasted great too. The ribeye has a good amount of fat that really adds to the flavor of the meat. The ribeye came with broccoli and mashed potatoes. The banana bread pudding is also amazing. All the dishes were great!
When it comes to high end dinning, service has to be perfect. 53 by the Sea’s service is impeccable. We had one main server but also another guy to help out. My gf can’t eat dairy, so they were able to make suggestions and also change the dishes to allow her to eat them. It was her birthday dinner and they also changed up their birthday surprise with a highly decorated fruit plate instead of a strawberry shortcake.
When you got to a nice restaurant, you gotta at least wash your hands in their restroom. This place did not disappoint. Their toilets are Toto. Toilet heaven, nuff said.
The cost per person for our dinner was about $ 80 per person. This is the perfect place to celebrate an important event or if you make pretty good money a place to eat for no good reason.

53 By The Sea is the perfect restaurant to have a romantic night out! The food is good, but the view is what makes this restaurant really special! When you make reservations, be sure to ask for a table in front of the window. You’ll have the perfect view of Diamond Head, Waikiki, and Kakaako. My husband and I had a little loveseat couch at our table to share instead of sitting separately on chairs. It definitely made dinner feel more intimate and romantic. This restaurant is also a great place for bigger groups. In fact, most of the patrons were families or groups of Japanese tourists.
Food is on the pricier side since it’s fine dining. I think you’re really just paying more for the view and ambiance. We ordered the crab cakes, soup of the day (creamy tomato soup), surf & surf, mushroom chicken, and banana bread pudding. Surprisingly, our favorite foods were the complimentary homemade bread and tomato soup. The sweet bread was so soft and warm and they’ll refill your basket for free if you want more! The creamy tomato soup had to be one of the best tomato soups I’ve ever had. It’s pretty similar to Nordstrom’s, but better! Everything else we ate was good, but nothing was super special or outstanding.
Parking is valet only, but it is complimentary. Don’t forget to tip though! Service is what you’d expect for a fining dining restaurant. Everyone is very knowledgable and attentive. I would definitely come back to 53 By The Sea on special occasions!

For the view and the bread, no just kidding… this is actually a very nice redo of the old JD restaurant.
Tips:
1) Aim for the Friday night spot to catch a sunset and the Hilton firework display
2) Note there’s a very nice bar area to grab a drink before dinner
3) The property wraps around so there are some photo worthy corners to snap a few pictures with your dining companions
4) The bread is really good
5) Order off the menu vs pre fixe to try more
6) You can reserve a private room upstairs for parties and often you can find something in a reasonable amount of time (several weeks) for a prime date/​time
7) Enjoy the modern and chic restaurant for those occasions!

I went for lunch with my cousin for the first time. The first thing you see is a beautiful estate. Then you enter and you’re immediately charmed by the view and then by the décor. Did I mention the VEIW!
All lunch items include an amuse bouche and dessert. The amuse bouche was light and refreshing. As was my drink. Our server Kristie suggested the Heat Wave, nice citrus flavors with just the right amount of heat. For our entrees we choose to share the lobster sandwich with side salad and the chicken with creamy mushroom risotto and veg. Both plates were delicious. The sandwich had clean flavors, very good crab meat. The chicken was very well cooked and not too rich.
Dessert was a mix plate, coconut gelato, strawberry short cake, blueberry cheesecake, and fresh fruit. My fav was the coconut gelato.
Service was nicely paced and our server Kristie was awesome. I’ll definitely be back.