It’s one thing to visit a tried-and-true restaurant, quite another to check out one of the newbies. Let’s just say, responsible restaurant management and the idea of customer service are not what they once were.
A simple search for lunch recently led me on a wild goose chase of new restaurants, from Kalihi to Kaimuki, where I struck out three times due to restaurants running out of food or failing to maintain stated hours.
When the Kaimuki restaurant I’d hoped to try was closed, I looked down the block toward The Cutlery, an eatery that had been open a year. Maybe it was finally time to try it.
Although it wasn’t open for lunch, cooks were outside grilling meat for the evening’s dinner, and the kiawe smoke smelled so tantalizing that I was back the next night.
What kept me away for so long was its billing as Kaimuki’s neighborhood steakhouse and barbershop. First of all, it struck me as a little gimmicky. And the idea of food and hair in one place was off-putting.
Well, I didn’t have to worry about hair flying around and landing in my food because there’s a full glass partition between the two operations, so that was a relief.
Most people choose to sit outdoors on the sidewalk that doesn’t look like much by day, but it’s quite beautiful at night when the tables are set up and the hedges form a green oasis separating diners from the street. Overhanging lights add to the ambiance.
It’s nice to have a neighborhood steakhouse where you can come as you are without the bother of getting dressed up to go into Waikiki, home to a concentration of steakhouses.
Staffers are warm and welcoming as you’re plied with a wine and cocktail menu, plus a food menu that will make you want everything. That would be quite exorbitant, though, so tough decisions had to be made.
Much of the items are touched by the grill and that starts with a charred Caesar salad ($14) of tender and smoky Kula baby romaine finished with creamy dressing and shaved Parmesan.
It might be hardest to choose from appetizers that range from kiawe-smoked meat ($15), pulehu tako ($22), garlic butter steamed clams ($22) and oysters with cocktail sauce and chili pepper water ($25). I went with the rich, decadent fire-roasted bone marrow ($24) topped with a very spicy Hawaiian chili chimichurri and served with pickled red onions and baguette crostini.
The entrée menu is heavy on red meat, but if there are people in your party who cannot eat it, there is pasta limon with new Caledonian prawns, garlic, butter, capers and lemon ($30); kiawe-roasted half chicken with natural au jus ($30); and fish of the day (market price). Other non-kiawe-grilled dishes include a Kurobuta pork chop with mushroom cream gravy ($45) and slow-braised oxtail ragu served over bucatini pasta in a light San Marzano tomato sauce ($35).
Then comes the piece de resistance, the kiawe-grilled meat. Selections include USDA Prime New York striploin (16 ounces, $55); USDA prime rib-eye (16 ounces, $60); rack of lamb with Hawaiian mint chimichurri ($65); and USDA Prime porterhouse for two ($125 for 40 ounces of New York striploin and filet mignon.
I went with the porterhouse and, of course, the meat closest to the T-bone is the most juicy and supple. It gets drier toward the ends. There’s no sauce accompaniment; the meat stands alone with a pinch of Maldon sea salt and sprigs of thyme.
On Fridays and Saturdays, you can get prime rib served with bone marrow au jus and creamy horseradish ($60 for 16 ounces or $120 for 32 ounces).
And how do you choose from a series of tempting sides such as fingerling potatoes cooked with duck fat, garlic and thyme with a pinch of Maldon salt ($10); duck fat fries ($12); truffle mashed potatoes ($12); fire-roasted, halved corn cobs with butter and Parmesan ($12); crispy Brussels sprouts ($12); charred broccolini ($12); or a mushroom medley of alii, shimeji and shiitakes with browned butter ($12)? I love mashed potatoes in particular, but went with the fingerlings just because I’ve become a bit burned out by overuse of truffle oil. Plain buttered mashed potatoes would be fine.
I would have loved to try a dessert of Hawaiian sweet potato pie ($12) or The Cutlery mud pie with Oreo cookie crust and Dave’s ice cream ($15), but the meal left me so full I will have to wait for the next visit.
The Cutlery
3435 Waialae Ave., Honolulu
Food: ***½
Service: ****
Ambiance: ***½
Value: ***½
Call: 808-260-1321
Hours: 5-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays
Prices: About $130-$180 for two without alcohol
Nadine Kam’s restaurant visits are unannounced and paid for by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Follow Nadine on Instagram (@nadinekam) or on YouTube (youtube.com/nadinekam).
