Page 3 - Dining Out - March 7, 2021
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     SKY Waikiki
Waikiki Business Plaza 2270 Kalakaua Ave., 19th floor
Hours: 4-10 p.m. daily; call for updated hours Validated parking when spending $50 or more skywaikiki.com
AL: What do you think makes SKY Waikiki unique to the restaurant scene here in Hawaii?
HS: Traditionally, the local com- munity would come to Waikiki for celebrations, especially when they have out-of-town guests. I really want this experience to be acces- sible to the locals any day of the week. The uniqueness of this roof- top experience, offering a seafood raw bar and delicious cocktails in a beautiful setting on a premier one- of-a-kind setting.
AL: Do you have an executive chef?
HS: Chef Arnoldo Masa Gushik- en. He has been with me since my Diamond Dining days at Bread + Butter. Chef Masa was born and raised in Argentina, he has Jap- anese blood, and speaks fluent Japanese and Spanish, and just a bit of English.
AL: Can you tell me more about the overall menu?
HS: We both collaborate on the menu. I create the framework and he executes it well. Our seafood is fresh, we get some from Hokkaido, some from the West Coast or East
Restaurant Insider with Anne Lee
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AL: SKY Waikiki opened in August 2015, and recently, you have taken over. How have you elevated the guest experience here?
HS: SKY is very marketable. You can see the blue ocean, blue sky during the day and catch a beautiful sunset. During the evening you can see a sky of stars. That is the vision that I saw when taking on the task of ownership in March, right before the pandemic hit.
This was definitely a place that tourists like to visit. My intention was really enticing locals to come here — that is first and foremost something that I wanted to change.
I incorporated the concept of an oyster bar, a raw bar and also offer- ing things unique to Hawaii, such as sashimi, poke, shrimp cocktail, blue crab — more seafood options.
Every major city has an oyster bar, so I wanted to also incorporate a “Bubble Bar” which is a cham- pagne/sparkling wine bar. Due to the pandemic, we are offering varieties of bubbles by the glass instead of a bar.We have a red bub- bly from Italy: Emiglia Romagna, a deep purple and elegantly fizzy drink, with aromas of crushed ber- ries and a savory richness for $15 a glass or $65 a bottle.
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Coast. It just depends on what the item is.We aim to get the best items to provide to our guests.
AL: What are the bestselling items and customer favorites?
HS: We will be featuring our fresh seafood platter consisting of local ahi sashimi ($17), local chu-toro sashimi ($28), hamachi sashimi from Japan ($18), shrimp cocktail ($5), oyster of the day (starting at $4), and salted ginger scallion hamachi poke ($12).
Our Wagyu Steak ($45) is very popular and chef Masa knows how to prepare meats. It’s a 10-ounce coulotte-roasted wagyu steak with seasonal vegetables, shiso chi- michurri and homemade truffle soy butter.
Off our signature cocktails menu, one of our bestsellers is the Icy Mai Tai ($12). It’s a slushy drink made with light and dark rums, orange Curaçao, orgeat, lime and lilikoi, and rimmed with macadamia salt.
Mezcal is on the rise, and our Smoke On The Water ($14) is a combination of Blanco tequila, mez-
1. Wagyu Steak ($45)
2. Libation-lovers can look forward to signature craft cocktails.
3. Seafood platter (price varies)
cal, lime, yuzu zest, pineapple and a touch of serrano pepper.
Our Rye’m & Reason ($14) is made with Bulleit rye, local orange, lemon, orgeat, mint and angostu- ra, and topped with bubbles and bitters.
My personal favorite is the Bottex Vin Du Bugey Cerdon ($16, glass) from France. It’s a sparkling bubbly rosé made with mountain apples and has a touch of sweetness.
AL: Can you please tell me a lit- tle bit more about the new dining concept you are currently working on for the indoor portion of the restaurant?
HS: We are planning to open a new restaurant later this year. Named La Bettola, the forthcoming space will be located on the same floor, and will feature Italian cuisine by chef Tsutomu Ochiai.
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