Winner of the Bronze Hale Aina Award for “Best Business Lunch”, the Pineapple Room is an upscale yet casual establishment located on the third floor of Macy’s in Ala Moana. Inspired by the cooking talents of Alan Wong, this restaurant has been immensely popular since it’s opening, and continues to thrive by serving delicious food with great service and a comfortable atmosphere.
The Pineapple Room has a very simple yet elegant decor. The soft colored walls feature a few paintings, and the windows feature light green curtains. The soft and warm tones of the furniture and light fixtures give the Pineapple Room a very relaxing feel, which is very conducive to conversation.
When we arrived for lunch yesterday the restaurant was packed! The hostess informed us that a table for two would be about a 20 minute wait, so we had her take our names and wandered about Macy’s to kill some time. When we returned the hostess was able to seat us promptly.
After being seated our server came by to introduce himself and take drink orders, and then a second server came by and introduced himself. The Pineapple Room typically as two servers assigned to a set of tables, with really enhances the level of service.
The menu at the Pineapple Room changes slightly everyday, varying on what type of fresh ingredients are available. The left side of the two page menu is printed everyday, while the right side features the standard menu offerings.
The Pineapple Room offers a Prix Fix lunch for $29.00 which includes a drink, appetizer, main course, and dessert. I opted to give the Prix Fix a try to sample a variety of items from the menu.
One of things I like about the Pineapple Room is the chili aoili that they give with their house bread. This buttery concoction still retains the smooth and rich taste of dairy, but with a slightly spicy kick to it. If you are a first time patron to the Pineapple Room, I’m sure you’ll find the aoili enjoyable.
One of the daily special menu items was this cup of Baked Potato soup. The soup itself is very simple in appearance, but was rich and creamy to taste. The only complaint we could make is that the soup was served a little colder than we would have liked. Otherwise an enjoyable dish.
My fiancée ordered a popular sandwich item off the menu as her main course. This dish features a tempura battered fish on a hoagie roll with caper mayonnaise and a tempura dipping sauce. The dish comes with French fries and a pickle.
Overall the dish is good, with very simple flavors combining to form a tasty sandwich. Although the presentation is very plain, with just the tempura fish on a roll, the caper mayonnaise and the tempura dipping sauce make for an excellent flavor combination. The fries are crunchy and well seasoned.
The first part of my Prix Fix menu was the Togarashi Seared Ahi with Asian slaw and a soy vinaigrette. The ahi used in this dish was very fresh, and well seared. But the real delight was in eating the Asian slaw along with the fish. The dressing used on the Asian slaw was very good, tangy and refreshing, which worked as a perfect compliment to the slightly spicy ahi.
For my main course I ordered the monchong. This cut of monchong was very generous, and very fresh with no hint of that “fishy” taste you get from lesser establishments. The chili glaze on the fish was complimented by a Togarashi miso butter sauce, which rounded out the plate with a pleasant bitterness.
The dish comes with your choice of starch: garlic mash potatoes, brown rice, or white rice. The mash potatoes I ordered were very creamy, and very buttery! The consistency was almost liked that of a whipped potato, which made this simple starch a real treat.
To end the meal in my Prix Fix course I ordered the Lilikoi Cheesecake which is garnished with three triangular cookies. The cheesecake alone was delicious, light, and creamy. The tart flavor of the lilikoi sorbet and the accompanying sauces complimented the sweetness of the cheesecake well. The flavors of the fruits and sorbet made this dessert refreshing to eat.
Final thoughts: Having been to the Pineapple Room on several occasions, I knew what to expect. Service has always been top notch, and the food has been great. Other than a few minor glitches here and there (soup being a little luke warm and a slightly long wait for the food), this experience at the Pineapple room was a good one. Combined with a great atmosphere it is clear why the Pineapple Room was given a “Best Business Lunch” award. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone in the mood for a casual meal with an upscale flare.
| Service: |   |
Above Average |
| Food: | |
Above Average |
| Atmosphere: | |
Above Average |
| Overall Value: | |
Above Average |
The Pineapple Room
Macy’s Third Floor in the Ala Moana Shopping Center
Phone: 808.945.6573
Tags: Alan Wong, Hawaii Food, Hawaii restaurant, Hawaii restaurant review, Macy's Ala Moana, The Pineapple Room, The Pineapple Room review
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Hi Dale! I really like the lunches at the Pineapple Room! I would totally go for the Prix Fix menu because it looks like a great deal (and you HAVE to get dessert this way!). And OMG, I can just eat the house bread, it is so good! keep up the great posts!