Morton’s renovates look, retains signature cocktails

With new options like Shirokiya’s Japan Village Walk and the new R. Field wine bar at Foodland Farms, it’s easy to forget some of the more established watering holes at Ala Moana Center.

Sure, there’s no ignoring pitchers of beer at the Mai Tai Bar or a few glasses of wine at Mariposa inside Neiman Marcus. And Longhi’s offered sweeping views of Ala Moana Beach Park to go with pau hana cocktails until Park Lane Ala Moana started construction on the makai side of the mall and forced the restaurant’s closure at the end of July.

But what about Morton’s The Steakhouse? The mainland chain restaurant celebrated 15 years of business at Ala Moana last month and recently completed a round of renovations that updated the main dining room as well as the restaurant’s bar/lounge area. This columnist used to visit pretty regularly more than a decade ago, when the bar’s “Mortini Nights” happy hour offered $3 cocktails and complimentary sandwiches made with the same cuts of filet mignon you’ll pay $46 for an entree-sized portion of these days.

Now happy hour means $8.50 cocktails — and the free sandwiches are long gone. That doesn’t mean Morton’s isn’t worth a visit in 2017, but somebody has to pay for the updated entry, bar, seating area and private dining room.

A wall separating the old lounge was removed and new carpeting and seating accompany updated lighting and an upgraded bar top. Other tweaks include additional television screens and a re-engineered back bar to better showcase the liquor served here. Like any good steakhouse, there is still plenty of polished wood throughout the room and the lighting is dim enough so you could easily overlook the recent changes if you weren’t hip to them.

“In renovating this space, our goal was to make this location one of the most comfortable and inviting dining settings in the Honolulu area,” said Tim Whitlock, senior vice president of operations and chief operating officer for Morton’s The Steakhouse. “This new look creates the perfect setting for any business dinner, family gathering or special occasion.”

I don’t know about business dinners or family gatherings, but making it through another shift at work is a pretty special occasion for me — and celebrating at Morton’s with one of their “Morton’s Mixology” cocktails or “Modern Mortinis” is guaranteed to take the edge off after a long day. I’ve been drinking the Morton’s Lemon Drop ($15) for at least a decade, and it still doesn’t disappoint with a blend of Ketel One Citroen, Caravella Limoncello liqueur, simple syrup and lemon juice served in a sugar-rimmed glass. An even guiltier pleasure is the Key Lime Pie Mortini ($15), made with Absolut Citron vodka and Licor 43 liqueur along with fresh lime juice and cream, especially when served with a graham cracker crumble rim to complete the experience.

What I like about Morton’s, however, is that the bartenders here can make you the most frou-frou martini, then turn around and represent classic mixology with a cocktail your great-grandparents would be familiar with. Classics like the Negroni, Sidecar and Sazerac (all $16) are on the menu here, and you can dive even deeper into cocktail history with an Aviation ($16) made with Tanqueray gin, The Bitter Truth violet liqueur and Luxardo maraschino liqueur. Few cocktails really match the hue of this one when made properly; it’s a beautiful drink to look at and even more enjoyable to drink.

It’s worth a trip to Morton’s just for the Blood and Sand ($16), which traces its history to the 1922 bullfighting movie of the same name. Morton’s makes it these days with Glenmorangie 10-year single malt Scotch with Luxardo cherry liqueur and Carpano Antica sweet vermouth. While regular orange juice doesn’t give this one the more reddish hue the drink would have if made with blood oranges, it’s a well-balanced drink worth trying at least once for the historic value alone.

Sure, the prices at Morton’s aren’t what they used to be (and we can agree that the disappearance of free filet mignon sandwiches is never a good thing, right?), but this is still one of the classier rooms in Honolulu to grab a drink. I can’t think of a better place at Ala Moana to sneak off and relax in a dimly lit, air-conditioned room surrounded by lots of good booze. Remodeling the restaurant was a smart move and should help attract customers for years to come.

Jason Genegabus covers all things alcohol-related for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and has written about the local bar scene since 2001. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram or email jason@staradvertiser.com.