Popular BluWater Grill has a few rough spots

By Matthew Gray
Advertiser Restaurant Critic

The BluWater Grill in Hawai'i Kai has an experienced staff, an attractive dining room, a water's edge location and a menu that samples cuisines from around the world. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser BluWater Grill 377 Keahole St., Hawai'i Kai 395-6224 (Hawai'i Kai Shopping Center) Lunch: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays Dinner: 5-11 p.m. weekdays; Fridays and Saturdays until midnight; 2:30-11 p.m. Sundays Sunday Brunch: 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Good

The players all were forged in restaurant steel at Ryan's Grill. The owner is Tanya Phillips, a marketer and drinks visionary who helped Ryan's become a true force for Seattle-based Restaurants Unlimited here in Honolulu (the company also owns Kincaid's and Palomino).

Bill Bruhl, who had been executive chef at Ryan's since 1993, presides over the kitchen. He's a friendly gent who spends his time during service on the dining-room side of the open kitchen, overseeing his staff and schmoozing with patrons. He's known for adeptly combining flavors of the world — Asian, Pacific, Southwestern, Caribbean and Mexican, among others.

Rounding out the team are chef de cuisine Harold Beltran, who was with Ryan's for more than seven years; and Deb Costello, who has 34 years in the business, the past 17 with Ryan's. She is in charge of guest services here as manager.

The restaurant's setting is a liquidy landscape on the water's edge in Hawai'i Kai (the water in this case being Kuapa Pond). It's an attractive room with a marble-floor entry way, high ceilings, a well-stocked bar, oversized and colorful artwork and a curved, open kitchen area. Tall windows separate the main dining room and the lanai.

Let's try a few pupu. The inside-out California roll ($12.95) was presented quite creatively: Atop a rounded mold of rice sat avocado, crab and 'ahi, with a drizzle of wasabi cream and tobiko (flying-fish roe). The rice was a bit too stiff and the overall creation was on the dryish side, in need of more sauce and shoyu at the very least.

The curried crab cakes with lime-coconut aioli ($11.95) arrived cool, so we sent them back to be reheated. They returned hot and fresh and were quite good, soft and flavorful but without the expected curry charge. The side salad of greens needed some dressing, however.

The oven-roasted seafood dip ($10.95) combines crabmeat, shrimp and scallops with parmesan and spinach in a creamy base, and was served with tortilla chips. The Norwegian salmon chowder ($7.95) was packed with sweet and soft chunks of salmon, with potatoes and herbs, in a creamy base. It's normally served in a hollowed-out loaf of bread, but if you prefer it in a bowl instead, you'll be charged about $3 less.

The mango- and guava-glazed ribs with Caribbean slaw ($13.95) was a huge portion of tender and flavorful ribs, but for my taste there wasn't enough sauce — ask for extra.

Scallops with soy-mustard butter sauce ($11.95) are pan-seared and presented on a tower of rice, with assorted stir-fried veggies. This is a fairly small portion (maybe five scallops), but the price is right.

Disappointing were the macnut-crusted prawns with Thai coconut aioli ($12.95). They were butterflied with the entire shell on (not just the tails, which would be much more manageable) and were nearly impossible to eat without getting shell in your mouth. They also were quite bland.

Several pastas, sandwiches and meat dishes are on the menu, as are various fresh-fish specials. One night I saw sea bass, striped marlin, 'ahi, ono, and mahi being offered in preparations ranging from simple to more complex.

The white and dark chocolate-chip bread pudding ($4.95) was my favorite dessert, gooey and chocolaty. Next was an eclectic and enjoyable choice of warm banana blintzes ($4.95) with chocolate ganache and a rum-caramel sauce.

Each time I've visited BluWater Grill, the place was hopping with patrons.

BluWater has a lot of kinks to work out. I am confident, though, that with this team they'll smooth over the rough spots with relative ease.

Reach Matthew Gray at mgray@honoluluadvertiser.com.