I’m taking a break from my SF trip review this week to cover a new restaurant at home: Thirty Eight Honolulu. Now, before we get into it, the chef at Thirty Eight is someone I know personally. That said, this review will be impartial and truly represent how I’d judge any other restaurant. It’s also worth noting that they’re still in soft opening.
So, who’s this chef that I know? It’s none other than Dayson Masuda. You may remember this talented, Hilo-born chef from his phenomenal FoodxJitsu omakase take aways that he used to run out of his home in Hilo, the former Izakaya Agaru in Waikiki, and the former Leila in Kaimuki. All of these dining experiences were fantastic, so seeing braddah pop up somewhere else set some pretty lofty expectations in my mind. But, of course, Dayson easily met my preconceived notions.
Thirty Eight Honolulu Location + Ambiance
As its name suggests, Thirty Eight Honolulu is located at Pier 38, which many probably recognize for Nico’s Pier 38. More specifically, Thirty Eight has taken over the space once occupied by popular restaurant, Nami Kaze. If you’ve been to Nami Kaze in their relatively brief run, the space will be entirely recognizable to you – the interior has been left the same, which isn’t a bad thing at all. I quite liked the interior of Nami Kaze, so it makes sense to keep it.
The vibe remains the same as Nami Kaze, too. Thirty Eight has a lively atmosphere, filled with couples, small groups, and large parties, all enjoying a night out. Service is well intentioned, but a little rough around the edges, which is to be expected for any new restaurant. This is something that will improve over time as the staff gets into the groove.
Menu
The menu at Thirty Eight Honolulu is, as is the case with most restaurants at Pier 38, focused primarily on seafood. There are a few dishes for land lovers, but the focus is definitely on fish. Keep this in mind if you plan on visiting. It’s also worth noting that, while they have cocktails, they’re pre-mixed, so you cannot make changes.
What We Ordered
To kick the night off, I got a Paradise 2002 (Hennessey, rye, passion fruit, lime), while Mrs. Island Miler got the Dock Brorker (rye, bourbon, genmai mochi rice syrup). Both drinks were great, with mine being akin to a whiskey sour, while the Dock Broker was much more bourbon-forward.
For small bites, we ended up ordering three. First up was the Spicy Ahi Cracker, which is comprised of diced bigeye ahi in a spicy aioli atop a piece of senbei with avocado and tare. This was a nice, fresh way to start the night, with a nice balance of spiciness. It just below the threshold of being too spicy for me, though it wasn’t spicy enough for the Mrs. Either way, it was delicious.
Next up is the Spanish Octopus with shiso chimichurri and snow peas. Contrasting the first dish, this one came out hot and packed with bold flavors. The octopus is perfectly tender and meaty, and is enhanced by the umami-packed, slightly spicy, herbaceous chimichurri. These are all offset by the sweet, cooling crunch of the snow peas.
The last of our starters was the Hamachi Crudo – sinigang gazpacho, Ho Farms tomatoes, and micro cilantro. For those who don’t know. sinigang is a tart Filipino soup made with tamarind. This pairing is a genius one, as the sinigang helps to tame the strong, rich flavors of hamachi, and differentiates this dish from the usual ponzu.
For her main, Mrs. Island Miler went with the Black Cod. This dish is going to be very familiar to most locals, as the butterfish is marinated in miso and grilled. The difference here is that Dayson ensures each piece has a great amount of caramelization, and serves the fish over squid ink rice and fried leeks. The sweet-allium crunch of the leeks helps to punch up the savoriness of the dish and adds a nice contrast to the rich, flaky fish.
For my main, I was torn between the Ahi Steak and Furikake King Salmon, but ended up going with the later. Like the above, the salmon’s inspiration will be familiar to all locals who grew up eating salmon baked with mayo and furikake. Here, however, Dayson perfectly sears Glory Bay king salmon paired with scallion aioli, truffle tare aioli, salmon skin furikake, and choy sum. This was black-out good. The unctuous fish is enhanced by the umami of the furikake and flavor aiolis. SO MUCH better than the typical dish we all grew up with.
Dessert at Thirty Eight currently consists of yuzu sorbet or two choices from Kailua’s fantastic Please Come Again ice cream: Vietnamese Coffee or Shisho Mint Chip. We got one of each ice cream flavor. The Vietnamese Coffee came topped with crushed cacao nibs, which helps to enhance the coffee flavor, while the shiso mint came topped with freeze-dried strawberries. The tart-fruitiness of the strawberries provided an interesting contrast to the shiso mint chip, which I actually like better than the (great) ice cream on its own.
Thirty Eight, Final Thoughts
In an age when dining out has become quite unaffordable to most, Thirty Eight is a shining beacon of hope. All dishes, with the exception of the Moi (which is a rare find nowadays), comes in at under $42 as of this writing. Combine this with the quality of the ingredients and the perfect execution by Dayson and his team, this is probably the best deal you’ll find in all of Honolulu. Even if I didn’t know Dayson, I’d wholeheartedly recommend Thirty Eight to anyone looking for a quality meal, regardless of the price point.
That said, do remember that they’re currently in soft opening. Go in expecting some minor service hiccups, and be mindful that the menu is continuing to evolve.
At any rate, I loved our meal at Thirty Eight, and I’ll definitely be back. I still want to try the Ahi Steak and the shrimp toast, among others, and I can’t wait to see how things continue to evolve.
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