Saddle up, prepare for a tasty adventure

Grilled Flat Bread ($16)

The Brilliant Ox continues to fire up Honolulu’s dining and pub scene with superb flavors, killer meal deals and even a few new items.

Check out the gastropub for happy hour daily from 3 to 6 p.m. featuring 50 percent off select starters as well as $5 on drinks like hard liquor, wine and beer. You’ll also want to toast to good friends, family and fun with the limited-time holiday cocktails.

Spicy Poke Nachos ($19)

Cheerfully sip on three drinks being offered through January — Christmas in NY Sour, Feliz Navidad Sangria and Naughty List Gingerbread Punch.

Back in the kitchen, chef Ryan Higa and the rest of his crew are churning out enticing plates that will have the whole gang reaching for more. Ready your taste buds for a combination of flavors with a little bit of heat in the Spicy Poke Nachos ($19).

Shigoku Oysters ($23)

“Our spicy ahi poke nachos have crispy fried won ton chips stacked with ahi and pickled jalapenos, freshly cut avocados, and the sauce is a kabayaki sauce. Everything is made in-house, and we even pickle the jalapenos,” shares Higa.

This scintillating dish provides an array of welcoming textures between the fried chips, chunks of avocados and ahi squares, plus it’s generously portioned.

Something a little lighter in variation, but still packing in flavor is Grilled Flat Bread ($16), a nice compilation of several types of mushrooms garnished with watercress and mint.

“We make our own flat-bread dough in-house. We roll it daily and lightly grill it, and then on top we have our king alii mushrooms — aka king oyster mushrooms — and shimeji mushrooms. Both are sauteed with salsa verde and (the spread) is a goat cheese mousse. It’s all local ingredients,” says the chef.

Also, order up a round of Shigoku Oysters ($23). These freshly chucked oysters from Washington state are topped with tobiko, green onion and a side of Brilliant Ox’s ponzu sauce. The refreshing compilation is a joy to taste buds.

There’s much more to be discovered at the Brilliant Ox, all of which will have you coming back time and time again.