Café Miro (Honolulu)

Café Miro is a small little fine-dining restaurant in the heart of uptown Honolulu’s Kaimuki area. I just discovered it a few months ago, although Chef Shigeru Kobayashi opened it in 1997.

It’s an intimate place with a total of maybe 40 seats, plus a bar counter with a couple of stools, plus a party room for a dozen diners.

We went there on a Tuesday night and it ended up being packed. Which is a good sign. In fact, Town Restaurant across the street on Waialae Avenue, and Champa Thai Restaurant across the street on 9^th Avenue were both pretty packed. Not bad. Hopeful signs, perhaps, that the economy is picking up?

They started us off with an amuse-bouche of Chilled Okinawa Sweet Potato Soup. The little cup of lavender soup was almost like melted ice cream on the tongue, accented on top with a gentle swirl of cream. Very tasty indeed and a wonderful little hors d’oeuvre to whet the appetite. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. 

The menu is prix fixe and the wife decided on the three-course choice. Her appetizer was Beer Batter Fried Anago (sea eel), somewhat like unagi (fresh water eel), but a little milder in flavor. Much softer too.

Of course we traded tastes of each other’s selections, so I was able to enjoy the anago. It was beautiful how it melted on the tongue, intermingling its subtle flavors with the familiar taste of the deep-fried tempura batter. 

 

Her entrée selection was Roasted Rack of Lamb with Shiitake Mushrooms and Mint Sauce. Oh my, it was tender. I didn’t particularly swoon over the mint sauce, and in fact, I seldom eat the ubiquitous mint jelly that restaurants usually include as a condiment when you order lamb chops.

The lamb was accompanied by potato gratin, a broccoli floret, and a sprig of mint.

I decided to choose my dishes from the Chef’s Special Menu, a four-selection option (you get an additional appetizer) that is essentially the same at the three-course menu, but with additional choices. Actually, it doesn’t matter if you want the three or four-choice option, you can choose from any of the appetizers or entrées.

My first course was the Appetizer Tasting Plate, consisting of a sampling of five different appetizers: Ahi (Tuna) Carpaccio with Wasabi Mayonnaise, Crab Cake, Uni (Sea Urchin) Aspect on Carrot Soufflé, Marinated Taco (Octopus), Sweet Fig and Potato Salad wrapped in Prosciutto on Wasabi Mayonnaise.

The samples were so very delicious that I lingered and savored, lingered and savored, and the next thing you know, when I opened my eyes, the plate was cleaned up.

My second appetizer was Sautéed Fresh Scallops with Honey Curry Cream Sauce. The waiter asked if we wanted an extra plate so the wife could share. I wanted the scallops all to myself, but since it was her birthday dinner, I relented. Lordie, the things I do for that woman!

The scallop (remember, I was forced to have just one instead of both) was so sweet, so tender, so delicious with the sauce. I was tempted to order another, but I kept my cool. Next time we go there, if I opt for the scallops, and if the wife is with me, I’ll order her own plate for her. How nice of me, no? 

 

My entrée was Braised Short Rib with Port Wine Reduction Sauce. I’ve had some pretty good short ribs in my day – the best to date probably were at Okada in the Wynn Hotel and The Ranch at Harrah’s, both in Las Vegas.

Well, I’m here to tell you the short ribs at Café Miro is right up there, top shelf, with those two restaurants. The beef was so tender. To meld two trite and overused phrases, they were fall-off-the-bone fork tender.

I had the same sides as the wife, plus a little serving of tomato-stewed zucchini. And do you know, I unashamedly sopped up the wine reduction with my sweet bun? By the way, I loved the chewiness of the bun.

For dessert, we both eschewed the fruit and cheese plate, and had instead, the Chef’s Dessert: Crème Brulée, Coffee Ice Cream on crisp, Coconut Soufflé, fruits and cookie stick. A perfect, sweet end to a lovely evening on a special day.

You should know that Café Miro is closed on Mondays, as well as Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Day and the day after. And they’re only open for dinner. Therefore, if you want to make a reservation for Tuesday dinner (and you really should because they apparently fill up fast), don’t wait until Monday because they won’t return to confirm your reservation message until early afternoon on Tuesday.

That’s what happened to me. Not good when the wife kept asking where we were going to dinner on her birthday!

Café Miro: 3446 Waialae Ave. (808) 734-2737.