THE NIGHT STUFF
Jazzy and snazzy at the Lewers Lounge

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Stuart Doi of Moanalua and Kate Ahia of Hilo were at the Lewers Lounge on a recent Saturday evening. Photos by Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

Rockford Holmes was among the performers that night.

Lenny Keyes was at the piano. The Lewers Lounge, inside the Halekulani hotel, has a varied menu of cocktails — overseen by the hotel's "beverage arts" director.

Lewers Lounge Where: Halekulani, 2199 Kalia Road, 923-2311 Hours: 7:30 p.m.-midnight Sundays-Thursdays; 7:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays; live music nightly from 8:30 p.m. Age of crowd: 20s-60s What to wear: Dressy evening wear Don't miss Dale DeGroff behind the Lewers Lounge bar: 7:30-10 tonight Don't skip: The fromage d'Affinois martini ($12), a wedge of mild double-cream French cheese slipped into a martini glass, drizzled with fragrant truffle honey, and served with fresh raspberries The cosmopolitan. As dictated by DeGroff, "It should be pink and opaque. Red and clear? That's not a cosmo you've got, my friend." ($9)

Consistently classy, if slightly underappreciated by local folk in recent years, the decidedly untouristy jazz hideaway kept it real mostly by keeping things comfortably same. Not a bad thing, really.

But that all changed late last year when renowned mixologist Dale DeGroff was hired by the hotel as its director of beverage arts.

DeGroff created new hotel-wide cocktail menus reclaiming the pre-Prohibition "golden age of the cocktail" era's reliance on natural ingredients and fresh-made syrups instead of prepared mixes. He imparted to the entire Halekulani beverage staff his view of cocktail mixing as a craft, not unlike cooking.

One of his biggest tasks, however, was mixing both of the above into a re-imagining of Lewers as a cocktails-and-music destination locals would journey to Waikiki for. A couple of months of interior furnishing, lighting and layout retooling last spring have resulted in a new Lewers that's about as modern-sophisticated-jazz-lounge-cool as it gets. A DeGroff-designed cocktail menu full of classic libations and new Lewers signature drinks seals the deal.

The changes seem to be paying off. On a recent Saturday 'round 10 p.m., Lewers was busier than I'd ever seen it; the crowd was a near-even mix of residents and visitors.

The dressy gathering of twenty- to sixtysomethings mostly claimed indoor tables and banquettes near quick-witted clarinetist/flutist Rockford Holmes and pianist Lenny Keyes. Others took boisterous conversations out to a quieter outdoor lanai, while several couples retreated to comfy, candle-lit corner couches for hushed discussions away from the jazz and pop standards.

Even seats around the Lewers Lounge bar were filled.

Much of what made Lewers Lounge great is still there. The service remains attentive and impeccable. The decor, though new, is intimate and low-key.

If you can find more refreshing cocktails to while away a warm summer night of live jazz with than the caipirinha (a mix of Brazilian cachaca, quartered limes, brown-sugar syrup and muddled grapes) or aöejo highball (lively aged rum, orange curacao, ginger beer, fresh lime juice and Angostura bitters), call me.

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.

NIGHTSPOTTING ...

RUNNING DMC

The good folks at DMC — London-based Dance Music Community — make it a cool five years of bringing its American Battleground Pacific regional DJ competition to Honolulu. Indigo's weekly Get Fresh! event hosts the 10 p.m.-to-2 a.m. contest tonight. The Battleground winner moves on to September's DMC World DJ Championships in London. Free signup at www.dmcworld.us, or just show up at Indigo by 10:30 p.m. The rest of us ... $10 to $12.

NOW AND DEN

DJ Rebel Girl's Cleopatra's Den monthly returns to thirtyninehotel tonight with former Sisters In Sound sister and now San Francisco-based DJ Zita headlining. Also in the mix: Capoeira Senzala; African drum and dance by Sewa Fare; turntablists Lady J, Missy and J Star; and live music by X-Factor. From 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.; 21 and older. Entry is $10.

SATURDAY NIGHT NOTES

Electro-Lyfe launches at Indigo with DJed electro, dub, drum-n-bass, techno and punk-disco, 10 p.m. ... Unity Crayons auctions music equipment, hosts live bands at Coffee Talk, 7 p.m.