Michel's Restaurant of Honolulu

Weaving my way through the heavily touristed Waikiki Beach area and into the park near the Honolulu Zoo, I came upon the somewhat dated Colony Surf Condominium Resort, which housed Michel’s Restaurant, a French restaurant under the tutelage of Executive Chef Eberhard Kintscher.  I walked through the lobby and around back to the Restaurant’s entrance where I was greeted and taken to my table.

The restaurant was open air to the ocean and a wonderful sunset view.  However, the sunset view was the only saving grace for an obvious lack of any other ambiance.  The decorations are garish and the place is very loud, not only due to the ocean but because of the diners talking loudly so that they can be heard above the ocean’s roar.

The service was very good and the staff was very friendly.  The staff was elegantly dressed, as if from another era, but the patrons demonstrated that this was a casual place.  Also, I must admit that I was surprised when the quality of the food greatly outshone the quality of the establishment.  While it was not gourmet food, it was nicely presented and well prepared.

The restaurant had a very limited wine list but the 2007 Hahn Meritage was very nice with the courses I had selected.  I began with a very French Helix Escargots Bourgogne.  The snails were tender and the butter was very nicely spiced.  Next I selected the Steak Tartare.  One of the three staff that served me, Nolan, prepared the dish at tableside.  He prepared the raw, chopped Snake River Farm Sirloin and did an excellent preparation.  The dish was perfectly seasoned and simply delicious.  Lastly, based on the recommendation of the staff, I selected the Prime New York Café de Paris.  The sliced beef had been smoke-roasted and glazed with a delicious truffle butter sauce with a topping of lightly battered, crisply fried sweet onions.  This course included nicely prepared vegetables and bits of gnocchi.  The steak was placed on a bed of mashed potatoes.  The course was drizzled with a very nice cabernet reduction sauce.  It was a great recommendation.  The final course was rich and perfectly prepared, as well as nicely presented.  I finished my meal with a dessert of a very nice Hennessey XO Cognac and a cup of espresso.

While I would not rush back to this restaurant, I did have a very nice meal at a price that was not outrageous.  The ambiance was less than desirable but the service was very good.  It was a nice evening.