roy's restaurant

Roy’s is a self-proclaimed Hawaiian fusion restaurant. Hawaii, itself a melting pot of pacific island culture and food, was nicely represented in both their dishes and decor. While wholly irrelevant, the choice of location was to honor my arduous, but temporary, return to the west coast.

The establishment was pleasant, though there was more Hawaii in the food than in the restaurant. Not at all a negative, unless you were planning on going there to feel immersed. And if that’s what you are going there for, you’re going to the wrong place. Volume was just fine, but the restaurant was fairly empty while we were there. I hesitate to judge too harshly based on that, since the holidays should be considered unique conditions. Otherwise, the dim lighting and comfortably spaced place settings were fine.

As one would expect, there are several seafood choices. But there is your standard fare as well (of various farm creatures) for those of you with stomachs or palates unsuited for the former. In terms of the “fusion,” dishes generally fell into two categories: Hawaiian ingredients used to flavor food of other cultures or other cultural preparations of Hawaiian products. The Hawaiian taste didn’t feel forced on you, though in the end, our food choices didn’t differ enough to give us all a more thorough assessment of their menu.

Three of us went with their Fall Pre Fixe menu. A decently priced ($35) appetizer, entrée, and dessert meal. Our fourth’s choice was a sushi roll that had the emphatic support of our waiter. All together, the group shared Thai Shumai Meatballs, Kobe Beef Carpaccio, Braised Beef Short Ribs, a “Pulehu” Sirloin, and the Lakanilau Roll. The meatballs came served on sugar cane sticks and from far away looked like frog’s legs. It had a nice tangy and subtly spicy flavor. The Kobe beef was divine, coming served with sliced pears, arugula, and a dab of horseradish sauce. The texture of the short ribs was wonderful, easily pulled apart by the fork alone. The sauce it was served with was too strong, but somehow I finished it anyway. The sirloin ended up being a bit of a miss. The outside was seared a bit too much and the flavor seemed weak. I had wondered if the sauce from my own short ribs affected how the sirloin tasted, but no one seemed to enjoy it that much. My personal favorite of the evening was the sushi roll (Seared Kobe Beef wrapped around Snow Crab, Tempura Asparagus and Avocado). It was as delicious as it sounds.

For dessert, the pumpkin mousse was a subtle sweet, fluffy and light, like pumpkin pie squeezed out of a whipped cream can. And then there was the wonderfully executed chocolate soufflé. The chocolate was smooth and rich. Not being a sweets guy, it tended to be a bit heavy on its own, but eaten with the ice cream that came on the side made it perfect. And should any more evidence is needed, one of our party members completely cleaned off the plates (of all three people who picked the soufflé), stopping just short of picking them up and licking them.

What I was most happy with was the service. It wasn’t flawless, but it was remarkably pleasant. All members of the staff were so cheerful and polite. Even the designated water guy, who is typically as mute as his water is bland, was courteous and vocal about being helpful. And on top of that, our appetizer choices started off as “running a little behind”, which, apparently, warranted a free gift of their delicious Crunchy Golden Lobster Potstickers to tide us over until they arrived.

All in all, Roy’s is a good choice for delicious food with a slightly different flavor, even better service, and an environment that is easy to enjoy your evening in. Don’t expect to spend any less than $15 for a full meal, though.

5/5 for service.
4/5 for food.
4/5 for environment.

(review courtesy of robert t)