For this Valentine’s Day, we will enjoy a rare evening at home together with wine, chocolate and the newest episodes of Netflix’s House of Cards.
If we were dining out tonight, however, we’d want to be in Honolulu, Hawaii at the Azure Restaurant on Waikiki Beach in the pink-colored, historic Royal Hawaiian hotel.
We found this romantic restaurant right next door to our Sheraton Waikiki hotel on a quick weekend trip in late January, thanks to Yelp.
Dinner at Azure was a delightful and delicious dining experience, just as all of those Yelpers had reported.
Our 8:30 pm reservation was the only time slot available on a Saturday night, booked less than 24 hours ahead. We arrived about 25 minutes early, and were seated immediately by agreeing to dine inside rather than out on the beach. Beach dining at sunset here would be amazing.
While we were browsing the menu, our waiter served a complimentary appetizer of clam dip and lavash. It was a great start.
Azure is known for its fresh fish and seafood. One part of the menu focuses on fresh fish selected each morning from the Honolulu Fish Auction where Hawaiian fisherman auction off their day’s catch.
We could not, however, resist the five-course tasting menu with a wine pairing.
The first course was Azure Sashimi with Hawaiian Yellow Fin Ahi and Japanese Hamachi served with avocado and watermelon radish salad with a ginger vinaigrette. This was perfectly paired with a Crios de Susana Balbo Malbec Rose wine.
The second course “Ocean Cappuccino” filled with Dungeness crab and black tiger shrimp in a bouillabaisse arrived in a large cappuccino cup but was served with a spoon. We downed every sip.
Kona Lobster Tail Risotto with tomato, saffron and asparagus made up the third course, paired with a BEX Riesling. This wasn’t our favorite wine pairing but the risotto and lobster was our favorite course.
The fourth course was a butter poached fillet of beef with mushroom, taro and brandy puree in Madeira & Black Truffle sauce. I noticed this was usually served with a raw quail egg on top, which I requested be left of my steak. Mr. Jones loved the egg on top. The beef was perfectly paired with a Vita Nova Merlot by Jim Clendenen.
Thank goodness this was a leisurely-paced dinner, allowing us to rest a little before the dessert of strawberries and Fior Di Latte with balsamic and cinnamon sauce.
Our waiter was a hospitality superstar. He made each course and the wine paired with it a special event.
Azure is the most romantic, delicious and delightful restaurant that we’ve been too in a long time.
What is your favorite romantic restaurant? Please share in comments below.
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