Let's pretend, just for a moment, that there exists a hotel restaurant that's not mired in rattan and palm-printed upholstery and whose food isn't overwhelmed by pineapple and coconut flavorings that are as artificial as the smiles on the faces of the people who bring your poorly mixed mai-tais.

Instead of the kitsch, there's class: dark wood interiors accented by brilliant shades of amber and setting-sun orange.

Instead of mediocre food that's meant for tourists (poor things) who don't know that there's something better just beyond the front desk, there's a refined menu whose chef knows the value of fresh, local ingredients — and uses them to make good, creative dishes.

Instead of diluted cocktails made from cheap liquor and hangover-causing drink mixes, there's a well-stocked top shelf and a long cocktail menu designed by a world-class mixologist.

It almost sounds too good to be true. And it was, until this year, when the Sheraton Waikiki opened RumFire.

The restaurant/lounge/bar is the only place in Waikiki to get good food and drinks at reasonable prices and still enjoy the best thing about Waikiki: the incredible view of the ocean and Diamond Head. Instead of walls, the beachfront restaurant is brilliantly equipped with floor-to-ceiling windows that open up to one of the most beautiful parcels of land on the island. Add to that the gusty trade winds and the sunsets that should come with a green-flash-every-time guarantee, and Waikiki has finally given us what we always hoped it would: a reason to go.

RumFire is still in its beginning phases and, we're told, will eventually become a one-stop shop for all things hot and hip (trendy food and cocktails all the time and a nightclub vibe after dark), but for now it's functioning primarily as a restaurant and bar. Its name is a nod to its signature feature, a rum bar.

The bar is stocked with more than 100 varieties of rum from more than 20 countries, including a rare collection of five vintage, dated rums. Master mixologist Francesco Lafranconi designed a lengthy cocktail menu to show off the extensive collection of rums.

Drinkers with a sweet tooth, these drinks are for you. Most of the cocktails come very fruity and very sweet. For palates that favor a bit more bite, try the ginger essence white sangria ($11) or go for a glass of wine.

If you go for drinks, you may as well stay for a bite — and you'll be glad you did, especially if you start with chef Colin Hazama's inside-out musubis ($17).

The chef's take on a local favorite comes sushi-style with four rectangles of formed rice, two topped with smoked 'ahi and rolled in shards of seaweed, and two topped with togarashi beef and rolled in the tiniest, sphere-shaped rice crackers to give it a welcome crunch. The dish works on all levels: It's familiar but with an updated touch, it's simple but sophisticated.

Hazama's creativity with the musubi dish is reflected in most of the menu. He's taken his local roots and grafted them with his experience working for renowned chefs such as Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi. The result is a sophisticated and fun menu that, with its local ingredients and occasional tributes to local-style grinds, appeals to palates from both sides of the pond.

Almost everything — from the summer rolls ($12) that are stuffed with lemongrass-broiled beef shortribs, to the charred baby back ribs ($14) whose meat is fall-off-the-bone tender; from the 'ahi poke RumFire style ($15), which comes stuffed in taco-shell-shaped rice crackers and topped with tobiko sour cream and ginger-spiced guacamole, to the garlic wok fried rice ($13) with its sublimely smoky flavor and chunks of kalbi and Portuguese sausage — is good. Order it all for the table and you'll have created the best pupu platter ever.

Hazama missteps with his Indian curry pot ($14), a too-sweet trio of vegetable curries that misses every mark. The veggies arrived undercooked, the curries were bland and missing the complex fragrance Indian curries are known for, and the dish lacked heat, in both spice and temperature. But it's a minor transgression, considering the overall strength of his menu. And the fact that this city is deprived of good Indian food can only work in Hazama's favor: Perhaps people won't know the difference.

Sweet seems to be the theme at RumFire, so it only makes sense that Hazama's dessert menu is mostly a success. The Hot Diggity ($7), a chocolate-hazelnut pot de creme, is divine for chocolate lovers; the Bananas from Havana ($7), a trio of ever-changing cremes brulee (sometimes it's lychee flavored, other times coconut), is good every time, the custard arriving at the perfect temperature, with a solid burnt-sugar crust that's just thick enough to crack with the tip of a spoon; and the Dole Drums ($7), a pineapple upside-down cake served with bamboo-flavored ice-cream. The earthy flavor of the ice-cream tempers the syrupy sweetness of the pineapple dish so perfectly, you'll never want to eat your cake without it.

Let's Get Ready to Rumball ($7) is unfortunately less fun than it sounds. The "adult-inspired" lollipops are rum-infused, truffle-like balls of chocolate, coated in a dark chocolate shell and served on sticks. The consistency of the chocolate was mealy and dry and the flavors were harsh and unrefined. If you want chocolate, go with the pot de creme.

With regard to service, the restaurant is still working out the kinks. On one occasion, we were asked to seat ourselves, only to discover that the one available table hadn't yet been cleared. We sat down and waited 15 minutes before a member of the staff came around to clear the dirty dishes.

The rest of the evening was riddled with minor annoyances: The fries arrived without the sauces that should accompany them, the food came without serving utensils, the drinks took too long to arrive and ... whatever happened to coasters?

The gripes, though, are few. RumFire is, at only a few weeks old, a very good restaurant with sophisticated, well-executed food and always-friendly service: Overlook the slowness and use the extra time to take in the view.