The notion of an upscale Thai restaurant is a novel one for Honolulu, which has long had a handful of places ranging from hole-in-the-wall to mid-range and white tablecloth. Additional choices are always welcome.

Noi Thai Cuisine, owned by the Bai Tong family of restaurants, aims to elevate Thai food to a level of fine dining. Bai Tong has a Noi Thai restaurant in Seattle and the somewhat unusual location of Bend, Ore. The Honolulu location officially opened earlier this year at the former space occupied by Five Star International Buffet at the Royal Hawaiian Center in Waikiki. It’s already received a bit of attention after President Barack Obama made an impromptu visit there in March.

Noi Thai’s happy hour offers just a taste of the full experience.

The experience

It’s a good trek getting from Royal Hawaiian Center’s parking garage, on the Ewa side of the center, to Noi Thai, on the opposite end of the complex, on the third floor. It’s a lot of effort, but still a pleasant stroll, particularly crossing the bridge over the Royal Grove. And you get an hour of free parking, with $2 per hour afterward.

Happy hour is served at either the bar near the entrance, which is decorated with a shimmery, metal backdrop and flat-screen televisions, or on the lanai, which faces the inside of Royal Hawaiian Center, offering no particularly scenic view but some cover. You can dine in the restaurant’s beautiful interior, modeled after the central palace of a Thai royal estate, for a $4 fee, but the lanai is quite comfortable.

Tabletop settings are the same, with black cloth napkins in gold rings. Service was hospitable as the dishes were brought out and our water attentively refilled. Without requesting it, the restaurant also asked if we would like a condiment tray for additional spices and flavors.

The food

Usually I assume happy hour dishes are appetizer size, but these are large enough to fill you up. The crispy garlic chicken ($9) was a meal in itself, deliciously crisp and garlicky-sweet, served with a scoop of jasmine rice and my favorite part — fried basil leaves. The dishes were beautifully presented, though at a simpler level than for the main entrees, I imagine. They were garnished with orchid flowers, sprouts and a carrot carved like a flower.

It wasn’t a happy hour menu item, but I couldn’t resist ordering a favorite. Noi Thai calls them Fresh Rolls ($12) — a delight of lettuce greens, basil leaves, cilantro, sprouts, prawns and rice vermicelli wrapped in translucent rice paper with a peanut sauce dip. I know them as summer rolls, and they were what I craved, offering a freshness with each bite.

The pork jerky (fried sun-dried pork marinated in Thai herbs) was flavorful enough on its own, even without the Sriracha dip. The item on my list to try on the next visit: crispy taro roll with prawns.

If you’ve been to Noi Thai’s happy hour recently, you might want to go again in a few weeks, as staff told us there will be some new items coming.

The drinks

Happy hour drink options are simply a house wine, red or white ($8), Singha beer ($5) or specialty cocktail ($8). If it’s a cocktail that you want, happy hour offers only one option for the day, but you can still order anything from a hibiscus whisky sour to a mango mojito for $10 to $12. For me, a house riesling was just fine, served in an extra tall wine glass.

The verdict

The food and service were nice enough for a return visit if I were already in the Waikiki neighborhood and looking for an early dinner. If I was looking to celebrate a special occasion, like an anniversary, then I’m definitely intrigued enough to return for a full Noi Thai experience.