From the Big Apple to Waikiki
Columns What's Cooking?August 30, 2015
Story By: Lindsey Appleton |
Music pumping, diners chatting, flavorful food being devoured — all are ingredients to a classic New York-style steakhouse. Wolfgang’s Steakhouse exudes New York elegance and flavor, but this restaurant rests atop Royal Hawaiian Center in the heart of Waikiki.
“Wolfgang Zwiener opened his steakhouse with inspiration from the famous Peter Luger’s Steakhouse in New York, where he was the head waiter,” explains general manager Bill Nickerson, who has been with Wolfgang’s in Waikiki since its opening almost seven years ago. “Wolfgang brought to Waikiki a steak house like it had never seen, a metropolitan feel and its very own dry-aging room.”
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- Seafood Platter ($34.95 per person)
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- Porterhouse Steak for Two ($115.95) with Steamed Asparagus ($14.95) and German Potatoes ($15.95) side dishes. LAWRENCE TABUDLO PHOTOS
When dining at Wolfgang’s, start with a Seafood Platter ($34.95 per person) appetizer. Not found on the menu, this not-so-secret chilled selection serves up hearty portions of jumbo shrimp, specialty cut blue-fin back-lump crabmeat and lobster. By choosing to keep this delectable dish off the menu, Wolfgang’s top-notch waiters get to personally engage diners through describing the item.
“It’s important for us that our waiters have a relationship with each table,” says Nickerson. “Explaining the Seafood Platter opens up a conversation with our guests. At Wolfgang’s we don’t just serve you, we wine and dine you.”
Dig into Wolfgang’s cut-with-a-butter-knife tender selection of steaks, all dry aged for 28 days in the eatery’s own in-house lockers. Wolfgang’s artisan dry-aging process is unique, as it creates juicy, tender steaks with condensed marbling for a nutty and earthy flavor. Enjoy the Steak for Two: Porterhouse Steak ($115.95). Served sizzling in clarified butter and its own juices, it encompasses the best cuts, filet mignon and sirloin. Pair your steak with shareable side dishes such as Steamed Asparagus with hollandaise sauce ($14.95), German Potatoes ($15.95) or Creamed Spinach ($11.95) — rendered down with chicken stock and butter.
Though diners may come for the steak, everyone stays for the desserts. Treat yourself to Junior’s NY Cheesecake or Mylo’s Tiramisu, both flown in from New York. Enjoy house-made Key Lime Pie or Chocolate Mousse. With floor to ceiling windows overlooking the hustle and bustle of Waikiki, this classy but homey, five-star but stomach-filling restaurant gives its patrons a new standard of dining.
Wolfgang’s Steakhouse
Royal Hawaiian Center
2301 Kalakaua Ave., Waikiki
922-3600
Daily, 11 a.m.-11:30 p.m.;
Weekend brunch, 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m.;
Happy hour daily, 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Honolulu, HI 96815
