Pau Hana Patrol: Stripsteak Waikiki adds new pau hana items

I do love a luxe happy hour. If I can slip out of work early enough to sip a cocktail at a well-run temple of taste, and it doesn’t break my wallet, life is good.

Stripsteak Waikiki offers up this option, and I’m grateful. The restaurant has become one of my pau hana favorites since it opened a little more than two years ago, serving up small plates with the panache and imagination for which esteemed chef/restaurateur Micheal Mina is known.

Last month, Stripsteak expanded its happy hour menu to include a few more substantial options. Guys, groups of friends and those looking to make a dinner out of an early meet-up are bound to find it attractive.

THE EXPERIENCE

It feels good to step in to Stripsteak. The design is contemporary, with clean lines and comfortable seating. You’ll find it on the third-level Grand Lanai at the International Market Place, a well-groomed, open-air setting.

Happy hour is served at the bar as well as at outdoor tables, if space permits. On a breezy afternoon, as the sun lowers, that outdoor setting is a pleasure.

The bar separates Stripsteak’s outdoor and indoor areas, with seats on both sides; choose the indoor seats if you prefer air-conditioning.

Under Mina’s direction, the restaurant has exacting standards, which include never letting you see anyone sweat.

Stripsteak is well-staffed, and the servers, hosts, bartenders and managers exude a calm confidence.

THE FOOD

Three menu items are new and notable.

The marquee attraction is Between the Bread ($12), a creation from the chef which will change monthly. On my visit, it was a set of three pork belly bao, distinguished by its bright tastes and balance between the crisped, fatty pork, black pepper soy glaze and asian slaw.

If you haven’t been to happy hour at Stripsteak yet, or since the menu was embellished, searching out this feature gives you a good reason.

I loved the rich, baked king crab dip ($14); served with bread, it had plenty of substance to quell an appetite. Also new is an impressive plate of charred edamame ($7) topped with almonds, sesame and caramelized soy sauce.

Don’t sleep, either, on the Stripsteak Sunset Supper: an ahi hand roll, 12-ounce New York stripsteak, duck fat fries and a side of spinach, all for $40 during happy hour. Gym rats and marathon runners might find this a fine solo meal, but for this desk-sitter, it’s the perfect size for two — as long as I get the hand roll!

Just add another hand roll, perhaps the negihama (yellowtail and scallion), for $4 if you need to even it out.

Since we last visited Stripsteak for Pau Hana Patrol, the Chirashi option, which I prize, has actually become a better bargain at $18. For my appetite, this bowl with sashimi-grade fish, perfect rice, ikura (roe) and kizami (shredded nori, or seaweed) is exactly perfect for a dinner, and also nice to share with the right dining partner.

One more note: Given this opportunity to revisit the restaurant, I’ve revised my assessment of Stripsteak’s Loco Moco Sliders ($9). They’re delicious! On a previous visit, the diminutive mini-burgers were too well-done and had lost some flavor.

This time around, the sliders were cooked just right — and when ensconced in their small sweet-bread buns and topped with a quail egg and truffle gravy, they served as an ultimate small bite. The serving of two was full of flavor and quite satisfying. Match the sliders with Stripsteak’s trio of duck fat fries and dipping sauces ($7) for a pau hana success story.

THE DRINK

I will return again and again for the Le Chiffre cocktail of shochu, lavender and dolin blanc. It’s charmingly served in a coupe, and appeals to the senses with its delicate lavender look. May it always stay on Stripsteak’s menu.

The $7 cocktail menu for happy hour has been expanded from two to four selections: Le Chiffre; Gala Brand, made with prosecco and aperol, and flavored with passion fruit; a White Tai made with rum and coconut; and “Down the Hatch,” a daily selection. We sampled (er, swallowed down) a daily drink made with whiskey that was just the right mix of rough and smooth.

Beer options when I visited included a Honolulu Beerworks “Hop Island” IPA, at $4, along with Firestone lager and Miller High Life. Nice range!

House wine or sake by the glass is $7 during happy hour. You can also choose between two variations on a beer and a shot, both a clever $8.08: Heineken and chilled Crown Royal with a pineapple chaser; or Miller with Jameson and a ginger ale back.

Stripsteak’s wine selection will take you beyond the typical happy hour budget, but if you’re a connoisseur, I note that the restaurant earned a place on Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s “100 Best Wine Restaurants” list this year.

THE VERDICT

With luscious choices, amiable service and a pleasing setting, Stripsteak is a great option for happy hour.