"It's global infusion with American influences," asserted executive chef Sean Priester, referring to his cuisine at the Top of Waikiki. "It's a little Italian, Hawaiian, Thai and Southern cooking."

And it's a whole lot of flavors.

Huddled around a stainless-steel island in the kitchen, Priester, sous chef Bruce Nacion and a gaggle of cooks towered over their new dishes, which they introduced this past Wednesday as part of the Top's 40th anniversary celebration.

"We now offer the complete experience," said general manager Kit Nagelmann. "Before we were a destination restaurant with great views. But now, the view is secondary to the food, wine and service."

With Priester and Nagelmann on board, changes abound at the Top of Waikiki. First the food, then the service and now the wine list have all gone through extreme makeovers.

"We don't make changes to be mediocre," Priester declared. "We're here to be the best. The point is to distinguish ourselves from the other restaurants."

Priester's way of doing this is through the menu.

His pecan-crusted basa (Vietnamese catfish), for example, is distinguishable because of its fiery kick, which comes from a lemongrass-curry rub that's only slightly tempered by a papaya-mango-and-banana chutney and a colorful Thai ratatouille.

"This menu has been a total collaborative effort," said sous chef Bruce Nacion, formerly of Restaurants Unlimited, which operates Kincaid's, Ryan's Grill and Palomino. "We've got guys back there who've come from such restaurants as Indigo and Mariposa. So there's a lot of creativity among us."

The staff's culinary artistry is apparent in their new dishes, including the herb-crusted lamb chops, propped up against a mound of mashed potatoes and decorated with ribbons of zucchini ($33); the towering steak-and-shrimp Napoleon, stacked with a portobello mushroom and risotto cake ($32); and the espresso-glazed barbecue pork loin chop, accompanied by roasted cornbread and an apple-jicama slaw for added texture ($24).

Kit Nagelmann said he has developed a new wine list that has body.

Reaching new heights is the California roll ($10), which has been vertically re-invented without nori as part of the recipe. This one is an open-faced, cylindrical creation that's "rolled" with bits of shrimp, creamy avocado and pickled cucumber, all set atop a heap of seasoned rice with crispy ogo.

"I think we're now postured to be competitive with the top local restaurants," Priester asserted. "We've hit a substantial level and now it's time to showcase what we can do up here."