Dining Scene
Escape to Bronson's for unusual, tasty selections

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Need to get away?

Bronson's in the Executive Centre offers an eclectic and tasty menu, including a sandwich named the Ala Wai sandwich. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

As soon as you descend the escalators, you leave downtown behind. Suddenly, it's civilized.

And unlike some restaurants whose ambiance overshadows the food, the year-old Bronson's meets expectations with an eclectic and tasty menu.

Popular lunch dishes include the restaurant's signature soups, salads and sandwiches. The soups are hardly ever the same — or usual — and that's what makes them so appealing, from kalua pig and rice with vegetables to calamari vegetable soup.

Bronson's Ahi Cakes salad ($5.95), with breaded ahi cakes, mixed greens, somen noodles and a creamy soy dressing, is a customer favorite, along with the kalua taco salad ($5.95) with kalua pork, nacho chips, lomi lomi tomato and ranch dressing.

And for sandwiches, pick one, any one. They're all good. We enjoyed the barbecue bacon chicken sandwich ($6.25) with melted swiss cheese and a tangy barbecue sauce.

But there was one sandwich that took us by surprise, so we ordered it out of sheer curiosity. The Ala Wai sandwich ($5.95) — yes, you read that right — was not what it sounded like. The pan-fried fish fillet on a bun was better than expected, despite its name.

"The connotation with Ala Wai and fish doesn't fly well," said manager Brooks Toyama, "but it does make for good conversation."

Hours: 6 a.m.-8 p.m. weekdays. Last seating at 7:30 p.m. Validated parking in the Executive Centre, 1088 Bishop St., is available. 539-3115.