Pau Hana Patrol: Setting, scenery shore up T’s at Fifty Three

Pau Hana Patrol: Setting, scenery shore up T’s at Fifty Three

Appetizers on the menu at T’s at Fifty Three include a seafood platter for two with lobster, king crab, hamachi sashimi and oysters. –Christie Wilson / cwilson@staradvertiser.com

You’d be hard pressed to find a more stunning and unique perspective of Diamond Head and Waikiki than at 53 by the Sea.

The location at Kewalo Basin, at the former site of John Dominis, positions you out in the surf break and away from the blinding glare of the setting sun as you gaze eastward at the famed landmark and South Shore.

During my recent visit the surf was up — and there was plenty of entertainment to be had watching surfers carve up the waves or wipe out in spectacular fashion. At times it seemed I could reach out and touch the sailboats bounding in and out of the harbor.

To take full advantage of the view, the lounge — dubbed T’s at Fifty Three — offers floor-to-ceiling windows and a few tables outdoors, where see-through panels preserve the panorama. It really is not to be missed.

The view is the best thing about happy hour, which runs from daily in the afternoons and late-night Thursdays through Saturdays.

The lounge’s dark tones and marble decor are formal and understated but also lacking warmth. This isn’t a place to cut loose after a hard day’s work. In fact, there’s a dress code that requires collared shirts for guys.

Happy-hour prices are $7 for martinis and special cocktails, and $6.50 for a glass of wine. Beer is regularly priced at $5 for domestic brands and $6.75 for imported brews. Mai tais, margaritas and Manhattans are $10, and “signature cocktails,” $12. Among the special cocktails on this day were a mint julep, mango margarita, Sangria Splash, “Ginger and Morgan” (spiced rum and ginger beer) and “The Embrace” (gin, white apricot and fresh citrus juice).

The bar menu offered five selections, each one straight from the restaurant’s appetizer menu with no price discount. We ordered the Cayenne Sea Salt Calamari ($14) with green onion and bell pepper. It was light and tasty but didn’t take us anywhere we hadn’t been in the countless other bars that serve fried calamari. Other choices were lobster roll ($23), Lemonade Crab Cake ($19), braised short rib ($17) and a dried fruit and cheese plate ($17).

We turned next to the full appetizer menu, splurging on the Seafood Showcase for two ($53), a platter featuring lobster, king crab, hamachi sashimi and oysters. It was quite a production. Four of the friendly and efficient staff assembled for the presentation, with the one in white gloves setting down a doughnut-shaped platter on our table. The seafood was attractively arranged around the edge of the platter, with dry ice hidden inside a ti leaf cone in the center. With much fanfare, water was poured into the cone, creating a pool of frosty vapor. Impressive.

The seafood was fresh and ample, but with so much care put into the dish, we were baffled by the tiny tray of condiments that contained about a teaspoon each of cocktail sauce and plain soy sauce, along with a small glob of wasabi. And about that cocktail sauce — it could have easily come out of a bottle. A single lemon wedge was provided, stashed inside the lobster. Purists may approve of the spare treatment, but we asked for refills.

There was no entertainment. A pianist was promised at 6:30 p.m. but arrived 15 minutes late.

Yet every time I began to feel disappointed by our experience, I looked out over the rolling waves and changing contours of Diamond Head, and all was forgiven.

If you have guests in town or are trying to impress a business associate, T’s at Fifty Three is worth consideration for that view. (And don’t deny yourself a trip to the state-of-the-art loo!)