Popular eatery serves up nutritious meals that are enjoyable

Signature Salad with Steak ($14.80)

GRYLT, which is located within Ala Moana Center, Kahala Mall and Kailua Shopping Center, is known across the island for fresh-grilled food that tastes great and is good for you, too.

“It’s all about the ingredients at our store. We’re always making very simple food and you know what’s going inside your body,” explains Jose Arias, corporate executive chef. He adds that GRYLT uses straightforward cooking techniques that let the ingredients shine.

For example, he said the restaurant only uses Hawaiian sea salt and pepper to season all its proteins, because their quality is so good. Plus, the grilling process creates a lot of flavor in GRYLT’s dishes without adding extra unnecessary calories.

Fish Tacos ($10.98 ahi, $12.41 salmon)

“We’re more of a transparent concept,” shares Arias. This means that staff members at the restaurant can explain all the ingredients in dishes and help guide customers who have allergies or special diets. The company also has nutritious chef-crafted prepared meals called Built By GRYLT that can be ordered by people on the go, wanting to make the right eating decisions.

GRYLT owners Allen and Mayu Farinas created their restaurants with the idea of making healthy food that’s also delicious.

One of the best “catches” at GRYLT is Fish Tacos ($10.98 ahi or $12.41 salmon), which start with succulent fresh pieces of either wild, local line-caught ahi or salmon, cooked to customers’ preference. Many people like their ahi seared and their salmon medium-well, notes Arias. The two fish tacos (either ahi or salmon, customers cannot pick one of each) feature a house-made coleslaw made from locally sourced cabbage, pickled cranberries, honey, lime and roasted garlic chili sauce. Everything is wrapped in two local Sinaloa corn tortillas, which are grilled to perfection, and topped with in-house crafted wasabi aioli. A bed of Waipoli farm lettuce cradles both of these tasty tacos.

Angus Cheeseburger ($10.98)

Another popular item on the menu is Signature Salad ($10.05, $14.80 topped with steak). This dish features grilled veggies such as Waipoli baby romaine lettuce and other greats from the garden, such as local tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, red onions and mushrooms all sauteed together and topped with shaved Parmesan cheese. Dressing options include honey lime, apple cider or Caesar. Signature Salads can be ordered with steak or other proteins on top.

GRYLT also offers its mouthwatering Angus Cheeseburger ($10.98), featuring a hefty hand-created beef patty on a locally baked bun. This juicy burger is piled high with Tillamook cheese, red onions, lettuce, tomatoes and GRYLT’s roasted garlic aioli sauce.

Originally from New York, chef Arias attended Johnson & Wales University and earned degrees in wellness and sustainability and food service management. Prior to arriving on Oahu, he worked as a chef in Alaska. He says he loves fish so much, he decided his next step would be to move to Hawaii.

“This place has been great — the fish, the love for the land and the love for the sea. It’s unlike anywhere I’ve ever been,” shares Arias.