Thursday, June 6, 2013

Review: HASR Bistro

HASR Bistro was the perfect place for a belated Administrative Professional's Day lunch. This relatively new restaurant is housed at the former Grand Cafe & Bakery location in Honolulu's Chinatown. The atmosphere is casual yet upscale French bistro with their own wine shop in the adjoining store.

I ordered the Grilled Shrimp Puttanesca and although the menu didn't specify the type of pasta, I was surprised when I was served penne instead of spaghetti or linguine which other restaurants normally serve for this dish. The sauce was very tasty, but it only came with 3 shrimps so $18 is a pretty steep price for this dish. One of the managers ordered the Osso Buco, which seemed fairly priced at $18 considering the heartiness of the dish. Two other coworkers ordered the Pesto Chicken ($17) which both said was delicious. Another coworker had to wait a long time for the catch-of-the day entitled, "HB Pier 38" (market price). When his food finally arrived, he devoured it and said that it was one of the best fish dishes he's had in a while.

If you work downtown, the distance to the restaurant is walkable. Although the neighborhood is considered to be The Art District, the area can be a little sketchy especially at night. Fortunately, there is an underground municipal parking lot directly across the street with reasonable parking rates. This restaurant is a good place for a business lunch with the lovely decor and friendly staff. I plan to return with my husband for dinner sometime soon.

According to HASR's website, happy hour is strangely early - 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. I meet regularly with my former classmates after work for happy hour at various locations around town. However, we will have to skip this place because we definitely wouldn't be able to get there in time.

Finally, you may be wondering what "HASR" stands for. According to an article in Honolulu magazine, it stands for "Highly Allocated Spoiled Rotten!"

HASR Bistro
31 N. Pauahi Street
Honolulu, Hawaii 96817
www.hasrbistro.com

Hours:
Lunch: Mon - Sat, 10:30-2:30
Happy Hour: Tue - Sat, 2:30-5:30
Dinner: Tue - Sat, 5:30-9:00

Pesto Chicken

Osso Bucco with Risotto

Shrimp Puttanesca

HB Pier 38

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