The Sheraton Waikiki has made little tweaks over the past few years to the Hanohano Room — dubbing the bar the Cobalt Lounge, hosting Jazz Fridays with DeShannon Higa. But as far as dinner went, it was still the same escargot and steaks you'd expect. Now, in the midst of a facelift that includes lobby renovations and the addition of the beachfront bar RumFire, the hotel rethinks the restaurant.

The 30th-floor aerie has been reborn as Twist at Hanohano, with a spiffy modern logo and a sleek cocktail area marked by minimalist white furniture. If a breathtaking view is as important as what's on your plate, Twist is a good mix of both, with better-than-average top-of-a-hotel food.

The Sheraton recruited Hoku's alum Ryan Loo to take over the kitchen. The restaurant's "philosophy" is about "synergy" and features food inspired by islands around the world — from the Seychelles to Sicily — and featuring local ingredients.

You choose a three-, four- or five-course menu (with or without wine pairings) from the regular menu and the specially featured island menu (recent destinations were Mallorca and Santorini).

The regular menu is a solid Hawaiian Regional Cuisine roundup, and two visits yielded two experiences. One night the Hawaiian-style crudo — kampachi sashimi topped with shaved fennel, pickled radish and sea asparagus — arrived with the fish dried out around the edges and the flavors as washed out and uninspiring as the roasted asparagus, soggy and chilled like leftovers from last night's barbecue (shavings of Parmesan would be better than the mountain of grated powder). On another night, the plump, sweet diver scallop, deliciously matched with a morel ragout, and the creamy Kona lobster bisque thick with roasted cauliflower truffle essence prompted thoughts of return visits. The kitchen shows promise — that's exciting for a the-view-is-everything room.

Ask for a table on the Diamond Head side for the sweeping Waikiki view; the other side has you staring straight at the crane-topped Trump Tower monolith.

The menu says the food is a "spinoff of classical interpretations" and the entrees fit the bill, with slices of seven-spiced duck breast on a mound of honey-sweetened pumpkin puree and accented with chutney-like gingered cranberries — comfortingly delicious in a Thanksgiving way. Cassoulet gets a seafood "twist" with a meaty jumbo prawn, a scallop and clams successfully replacing the meat and sausage (though the strange casino treatment of the clams could be nixed). Onaga is beautifully poached, though a little overwhelmed by the Thai-inspired coconut-kaffir lime nage.

The dishes created for the highlighted island of the week seem to be good bets. The Serrano ham and fig salad appetizer, representative of Mallorca, brought Mediterranean flavors together, while Greek week brought medallions of lamb atop orzo.

Then there are little delights that grab your attention, like the champagne cocktail with fresh blood-orange juice, and the must-order chili chocolate Catalan cream — a mix of that Barcelonan favorite crème Catalan and the best chocolate pudding you've ever had, topped with churros.

The restaurant courts a Nihonjin crowd, with a Japanese hostess and a wine list heavy on Napa chardonnays and cabernet sauvignons. On one night, Japanese was spoken at 90 percent of the filled tables.

After the mod chic of the new front lounge area, the dining room disappoints; it hasn't changed much. The booths were reupholstered, and there are new chairs.

Much of the wait staff, which ranges from charming and knowledgeable to tourist-trade-aloha service, is the same as well. For the prices, one might expect napkins to be folded during restroom breaks and crumb removal before dessert, but that didn't happen on two visits.

If you are saving your pennies for a visit to New York's Per Se one day, you may want to know that the four-course dinner at Chef Mavro is $2 less than the one at Twist (although $24 more for wine pairings, because the wines are much better). You may well want to consider carefully just where you want to set your sights in these wallet-squeezing times.

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