Looking for a spot to have drinks and tapas in an upscale speakeasy? Look no further than Blind Ox in Honolulu. On a recent girl’s night out, we tried a variety of tapas and some of their specialty cocktails.
Find out what we tasted off the menu, restaurant details, and more!
The Food
We tried a variety of items off the tapas menu, including the Kampachi Tartare Tacos and Blind Ox Blue Balls. The tacos were made with locally caught kampachi, fish sauce chilis, and smashed lime avocado in a furikake won-ton shell. The lime added a light, tangy bit of acid, while the won-ton shell gave a crunchy texture to the otherwise soft and delicate kampachi.
The Blind Ox Blue Balls were actually crispy mac and blue cheese balls, served with spicy Sriracha sambal oelek sauce (a spicy Indonesian chili paste made with red peppers). It was definitely a step way above your regular mac and cheese, and the sauce really added some spice.
One of my favorite dishes was the Salmon Mousse. With smoked salmon, Ossetra caviar, citrus dill cream cheese, preserved egg, and salted cucumber on a black sesame tuile cracker, it was flavorful, beautiful and had great texture.
The Petite Lobster Rolls had wine poached lobster, Sriracha, lemon chive aioli, lobster jus, and a mini brioche bun. Each roll was packed with flavor.
We also got an order of the Blind Ox French Fries. Prepared with white truffle oil, crispy garlic, parmesan, and parsley, it was served with serrano salsa and garlic aioli. The serrano salsa was quite spicy, and we all definitely preferred the aioli.
The Escargot was served in a parmesan champagne garlic butter and came with a sourdough baguette. Also a delicious choice if you like escargot.
I would say we enjoyed everything we got. Although there’s an element of spice to most dishes, the hotter items tended to be sauces, where you could choose how much you wanted.
Drinks
As for the drinks, I opted for a Kapahulu Sunrise. Made with Hawaiian Agricole Rums, falernum (a syrup from the Carribbean), honeydew, cinnamon, mint, and lime, it actually had a lot of flavor from the cinnamon and other spices in the syrup. I would recommend trying it, but when I go back, I’d like to try a different drink from their cocktail menu, as they all sounded really good.
If you’re a whiskey drinker, they’ve got a wide variety to choose from, as well as flights of whiskey, too.
Service
I would say the service was attentive and friendly throughout the evening. From the hostess to the bartenders (who posed for a picture), there was always someone to answer questions for us and get us what we needed.
Would I go back?
I think the consensus was that we really liked the food. I enjoyed the fact that we could try so many different bites, and of course my friends accommodated me quite a bit by sticking to the seafood items for my pescatarian needs. It was a bit pricey, so I’d probably wait for another special occasion to indulge, but I would definitely go back!
Restaurant Notes and Information
- The restaurant has a covered outdoor area that was really cute and spacious. You pass through it between the hostess and the inside of the restaurant.
- They have a private room that can be reserved for special dinner parties.
- They do not have their own parking lot. So it’s either street parking or valet for $5 plus tip.
- Blind Ox website
- 829 Kapahulu Ave, Honolulu, HI 96816
- Make reservations on Open Table
- Open Sun-Thur 5pm-11pm and Sat-Sun 5pm-midnight
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