53 by the Sea

Review summary

1. m

   mark

   San Francisco

   5 reviews

   5.0

   5 reviews

   Dined today

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Delicious Christmas Dinner menu. Exceeded our expectations! Would revisit and recommend to others.
   

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2. A

   Antoine

   VIP

   Philadelphia

   8 reviews

   2.0

   8 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 5

   Aloha 53 By the Sea Management Staff. I hope you all are having a wonderful Mele Kalikimaka. I wanted to share the experience my husband and I had dining at your restaurant last night for Christmas Eve. It was unfortunately a very very bad one, especially when spending nearly $500 for Christmas Eve dinner. What made it even worse was we were celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary. We were married at 53 By the sea and had been visiting the restaurant long before when it was John Dominis. The service has always been impeccable. So, we didn’t give it a second thought to spend what we did because we’ve always seen the value. Not this time. We waited almost for our courses 3 hours. They were all cold. The staff kept apologizing for the service. They said the kitchen was backed up. I know it’s Christmas and you have a lot of people to serve, but I would have thought that, for the price, we would have received better. Just wanted you to know. I didn’t even receive what I had ordered but didn’t dare say anything because we were already too tired of waiting and my husband’s food (a very bad and cold vegetarian arrangement ) had already arrived. I tried to share this privately with you but was unable to reach any management staff. What makes this even more disappointing is that this is the 2nd really bad experience we have had with a high end restaurant this week. I get that this is a busy time of year, however if you can’t accommodate a large crowd at scale while offering the same impeccable service, then don’t do it. It only tarnishes your brand. We actually had to find something else to eat after our dinner. You all can do better.
   

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3. H

   Hannes

   Hamburg

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 5

   The location is stunning. The service was incredibly poor. We preordered a Christmas menu. After 1h being there we just got water. No bread, no drinks, nothing. Did not get better. Many waiter and waitresses running around. Mostly empty handed. Neither them nor management had anything under control there. Every course took ages. In between no waiter that came to the table to ask for drinks, pooring wine or water. Finally we asked another waiter to help out, which he did also helped in a forthcoming way. Would be good if in future management trains there people better. How on earths can you mess up a Christmas Eve dinner, pre-ordered and set menu so much???
   

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4. B

   Barton

   VIP

   Hawaii

   4 reviews

   1.0

   4 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   The dinner for 4 took over 3 hours. They were orally over whelmed and over booked. Such a disappointment comparing to prior years. The bathrooms were a wreck. Several tables were complaint about the wait and food quality. It is not the place it used to be.
   

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5. H

   HIDEKO

   Hawaii

   5 reviews

   5.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   毎年利用するレストランです。立地が不便ではありますが、雰囲気やお料理は最高です。2024年12月の時点でセルフパーキングに切り替わっており、セルフパーキングの方が気軽に利用しやすいと思いました。
   

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6. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Hawaii

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Outstanding experience from the hostess all the way to the servers and food, everything was just fantastic. We appreciate you all taking such good care of us.
   

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7. N

   Nicole

   Orange County

   5 reviews

   5.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Beautiful hidden gem! A must experience when in Waikiki!
   

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8. M

   Michael

   VIP

   Las Vegas

   21 reviews

   5.0

   21 reviews

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Food was alsome and the staff was friendly and great
   

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9. C

   Christopher

   VIP

   New York City

   21 reviews

   3.0

   21 reviews

   Dined on 9 December 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Find the menu limiting and maybe too focused on combining local fare together- hard to consider basic rice as a separate side dish - scallop dish had been adjusted to hand made pasta and the chicken dish was changed saying they couldn’t make handmade pasta
   

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10. V

    Vanessa

    Hawaii

    3 reviews

    4.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on 8 December 2024

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3

    Service was at the level expected of establishment. Beautiful view and ambiance. Disappointed that there were flies throughout the meal.
    

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