Lucy’s Grill & Bar

What happened to this place?
I loved Lucy’s, and now that it’s under new management, I wouldn’t waste my money. The drinks were bad, service was slow and the portions were small and lacking the flavor they used to.
It’s a beautiful restaurant with friendly people, but just too expensive for what you get… now.
Hopefully they make some changes and improvements, but I’ll probably never go back because there are plenty of other places to eat.

I’ve been here at least 50 times in my life — almost always ordering their famed Ahi Tower app as my meal. I loved that dish — note the past tense.
Apparently they’re under new management — and I don’t know if I just had a bad batch, or if they changed their recipe, but the last time I went, the ahi tower was nothing like it used to be — I didn’t even finish it, which is unheard of. I’m usually sopping up the sauce with anything I can get my hands on.
Overall, I was pretty bummed out about this. The quality of the food seems to have gone down — my husband noticed the same thing in his meal, the pork ribs. They were pretty tough and left quite a bit to be desired. Dessert, the dark chocolate soufflé, my usual highlight of the meal, was mediocre at best.

This is my husband’s favorite place in Kailua. I think it’s just alright… it has changed a lot in the last few months. The most noticeable difference is their menu– it’s a lot simpler. They took the ginger chicken off the menu– which was what I always ordered, so it’s harder for my husband to convince me to go there.
Husband loves and would recommend the ahi tower.
I love and would recommend the chocolate hearts of darkness dessert– it’s delicious.
If you’re a cocktail drinker, their Kailua Passion is really good!
If you’re lucky, you might get to dine with the President while he’s in town. We made reservations one night and ended up being there when Obama showed up for dinner with his large entourage. Pretty cool!
They’re a little pricey for such a casual place. The food is presented nicely and tastes good. I just wish they’d bring back the ginger chicken!

All I have to say is Lucy’s is WAY over-​rated!!!
I have been here on 2 separate occasions one being for dinner and the other on my Birthday for some late night cocktails. Both dining experiences my fiancé’ and I were ignored/​unattended to (1^st time by our waitress) drink and entrée menu are extremely pricey as well and we didn’t notice anything spectacular about our main courses. (The 2^nd time by the bartender on duty) We had stopped in an hour before they closed on my special day after being ignored the whole time then were asked to leave our table on the patio because the waitress wanted to go home early. The restaurant was also not even close to being busy so there should be NO REASON to be receiving poor service.
Ultimately we were both a little disappointed about our dining experiences at Lucy’s because we have read and heard many GREAT things about it in the past… But we have decided we won’t be returning back anytime soon.

Ok I’ve given Lucy’s 3 chances, but they have finally struck out.
Good:
Full bar and strong drinks. I think they make them that way so when you do get your meal, you don’t really care.
Bread basket. It comes with a balsamic-​olive oil-​garlic mixture and crusty bread. YUM!
Never a wait time of over 5min or so.
Lamb Shanks-​My BF had these and they were amazing! Flavors were on point.
Bad:
Kalua pork carnitas-​Gross! Taco shells were stale and the filling was cold. No Bueno! Sent them back and asked for the kalua pork triangles. Much better, tho it did come with some funky white sauce that I did’t love.
Catch of the day-​OPA, herb crusted. Usually when something says «crusted» I expect a «crunch». Not so here. It was a broiled fish with a sautee of herbs on top and a mango salsa. Wouldn’t have been so bad but they served it with Okinawan sweet potatos (purple) and some wilted kale. Two heavy items plus a light item equals belly not being happy. My fish was not done in the middle either. Uggh. Just suffered through because we had already sent back the carnitas.
There are plenty of other complaints that I have about this place, but really, it could be a good restaurant if the ownership stepped up their game and took pride in every dish they served to their customers.
I wish that this pretentious disease that most restaurants in Kailua have would go away. Just because you have a restaurant in Kailua and charge $ 25 an entrée does not make it worthwhile or worth my time again.

Very up and down–
Atmosphere and service– good. The service was a bit slow, but it was friendly and it is Hawaii, so who really cares?
Ahi tower– great, a MUST have.
Butterfish– a must have if you have never had it, it melts in your mouth. The problem…$ 26 for a piece that is the same size as the small portion of butterfish at Roy’s.
Prawns with penne pasta– horrible. I could have made it at home for under $ 10, and I spent $ 20-​something on it.
Chocolate cake with ice cream dessert (forget the exact name) — again, too expensive for a piece of flavorless and dry cake covered with ice cream.
It was a very up and down meal. For the price– I would spend a little more at Roy’s and be 100% sure that I was walking away with a great meal.

Based on recommendations, I brought my parents and cousin to Lucy’s when they were on the island visiting. We were seated by a nice young lady who brought us water and informed us of the night’s specials. She said she would be back in a minute for our orders. A little while later, an older male waiter came up and ran through the exact same spiel again.
I found him to be really pushy, annoying, and he seemed to think the girl hadn’t done a good enough job so he needed to run through it all again. For all his cockiness, he wasn’t a very good waiter. By the time we finally placed our orders, we had waited awhile and were starving. After about 30 minutes, we noticed the people next to us had already gotten their food, eaten, and were getting ready to leave. About 45 minutes later, still no food or sign of our waiter. Of course tonight is the night my cousin has to be at the airport, and we need to go! We keep looking and looking for the waiter to tell him we’ll need to get our food to go. No sign of him.
My dad wants to just leave, but my mom didn’t feel comfortable with that since they’d probably already made our food, but we really need to go! My cousin works her way through the crowd inside the restaurant to find our waiter, she does, tells him we need our food to go, and about 10 minutes later he shows up with our food all flustered that we’re leaving. So after I take my cousin to the airport and drive back to Kailua I finally get the chance to eat my food and it wasn’t worth all the fuss we went to to get it.
I seriously doubt I will ever go to Lucy’s again.

I think service is a big part in the restaurant business and Chad the bartender was the best!
Okay…so we didn’t have the food but only drank martinis… so the more you drink, everything looks better!
We were on our way back from dining at another restaurant and stopped at the bar for only one drink which became more plus shots.

The food would give 5 stars, it was wonderful
The service i would give 2 stars, it was horrible and they took forever to do everything and they were lazy i thought.
The price was way too expensive 2 stars, i ordered the spicy tigers shrimp and it came out to $ 25! most other places would probably charge half that. There are much better places to go to in kailua.

I’ve been to lucy’s a handful of times but I’m never completely satisfied. Last night was no exception.
The service was good throughout the meal, but then we had to ask for the check, although our waters were being constantly refilled which is a must.
I ordered a Demi cesear which I do every time I’m there. I love how they lightly grill the lettuce beforehand and add the papya for an original twist on a great classic. The problem this time was the massive serving of dressing that coated every bite. My friend got the French onion soup which he enjoyed but it was served less than hot. This seemed to be the pattern throughtout the rest of the meal. We got four fish dishes all of which featured hot fresh delicious fish. But nothing else on the plate was served anything above lukewarm. We finished with what they called their chocolate soufflé (it was comped because of my over dressed salad) it was in fact more akin to a dry flourless cake made with great chocolate covered in a heaping scoop of delicious vanilla ice cream, all of it edible but I wouldn’t order it again.
I never feel like this food is really worth the price but when formaggios is to crowded it’s one of the only nice places to eat on the windward side especially after 9 pm so I’m sure I’ll end up going again.

If burgundy, citrus beurre blanc, garam masala demi glacé, and whole grain mustard don’t sound discordant to you, then you’d have most likely enjoyed the braised shortribs that I was served the other evening at Lucy’s. I, however, found the flavors to be a complete culinary cacophany. I guess I should have continued reading the description, but I stopped after «braised shortrib.» (Not only because I usually love braised shortribs, but also because the cluttered menu type was making me cross-​eyed.)
If you like Ahi like you like your poi — day (s)-old, slightly sour, and with oddly purple flesh — you’d have really enjoyed the sesame-​crusted version that my girlfriend was served the other evening at Lucy’s. She, however, only found the accompanying sweet potato mash to be edible.
In fact, I’ve adapted a song to reflect our experience:
I never close my eyes anymore when your food hits my lips. There’s no deliciousness, LIKE BEFORE, in your meats and fish. I’ve been trying hard not to show it, Lucy, but, Lucy, Lucy, I know it: I’ve lost that loving feeling.

My sister was rich for awhile while she was stationed in Kailua. This was the spot we would go to be high-​falutin’. Good wine selection and great fresh fish. A sure fire panty-​droppin’ spot.

Food: We tried 2 variations of the fish specials and they were great. I really like that many items have demi portion options (which was what we ordered) because its so much healthier and/​or you can just try more stuff. It was a holiday weekend, so unfortunately they ran out of the pork ribs (which we really wanted to try as they seemed to be a local favorite) and sliders, but we tried the «pig triangles» (pork filled fried won-​tons) and they were quite tastey. Our drinks were tastey as well, but we were too full to try dessert…
Service: Our waitress was really nice and fairly attentive. Even though the menu cites a charge for substitutions, when we said we wanted to try the sweet potatoes, she offered to swap out the rice on one of our dishes. Lucy herself stopped by to check on us.
Décor/​environment: Like most places in Kailua, the restaurant is in a bland suburban strip mall. We were attracted to the place by descriptions of surfboard and fishtank décor, but ended up sitting outside. No view, but the weather is so nice it’s hard to pass up.
Bottom line: Yummy food locks in a solid all around score even if environment is lacking.

Lucy’s has a fun open air bar. The only one of its types in Kailua. Filled with a mix of locals and tourist alike, its a great place to grab a drink. Since my last visit I was charged $ 9.50 for a kettle one rocks, its also a great place to flirt with someone so that THEY will buy you a drink. I was told by the bartender «yeah, Kettle one is a premium drink» and I asked «you premium drinks are 9.50?» and his reply was «well I pretty much poured you a double»… insert blank stare here…
are you kidding me? really? thats your response? I mean dont get me wrong, I love a good stiff drink. I will not give it back if its a double, yummy for me. But you really charged me double, when I just asked for a single? W-​O-​W!
Lucy’s is hit or miss. I find when the owner is there, staff is better. MY BF lives near the place so I have attempted often. The prices are high for what you get. I am a foodie, and I know the taste of fresh vs frozen. I don’t understand the price point since so much of the food was previously frozen. I also don’t understand paper napkins anywhere with $ 30 – 40 price points for dinners. My salad (the large) had 5 strips of lettuce, nuts and dressing, lots of dressing, for $ 9– I was not paying so I tried to hide my shock, but wow.
A couple of tips:
if you like the taste of salad, ask for light dressing.
If you want water: get the pitcher on your table so you can refill your glass.
if you don’t like your food well done, ask for it rare.
The ahi tower is delish!
if there is a special get it! Its worth it…
Go on WEDNESDAY for half price wine. The wine list is not great but a bargain at ½ price.

Grandma took the family here one night for dinner on a recent trip back home, because she had been to Lucy’s before and had had an enjoyable time.
Lucy’s is a pleasant restaurant with a casual island theme, and a nice, open-​air bar.
The service was excellent. We had a very friendly and attentive server. The restaurant was crowded and fairly loud on the Saturday night that we went here. We were seated closer to the open-​air bar, and it was nice to feel the evening breeze as we dined.
The food overall was good, but not outstanding, although Sis loved her ribeye and Grandma and hubby loved their lilikoi ribs. I ordered the lamb shanks. They were good, but just not fabulous. Mom ordered the Hawaiian butterfish, but what she received seemed more like cod or some other type of white fish. Mom asked the server if he was sure it was butterfish, and he said it was. Mom told us it was very bland, and definately did not taste like any butterfish she had eaten before.
Cocktails were ordered by everyone besides preggo me, and were thoroughly enjoyed. Since I’m preggo, I ordered my standard non-​alcoholic dining out beverage (which I’ve enjoyed since I was a kid), a Shirley Temple. Hubby noted that the restaurant did not skimp on their cocktails at all. Everyone thought the drinks were quite strong and good.
Overall, our experience at Lucy’s was pleasant enough, but the food was not worth the expensive price. I don’t think we’ll be going back to dine in the restaurant again. I do think that Lucy’s open-​air bar would be nice for an evening out with the hubby on a future trip home, however.

I ordered a calamari steak out of curiosity and looked like a fried chicken breast with sauce all over it. It tasted okay, but it didn’t seem like calamari.
I ordered a fish with a bacon and avocado «stuffing». The fish was not stuffed it just had something like a purée of avocado on top with a few bits of bacon. It tasted good, but it wasn’t what I was expecting.
I live in NYC and I was not so happy with the atmosphere was pretty bad. There weren’t that many people inside, but it sounded like a loud and crowded NYC restaurant.

The most recent visit was disappointing. Jezz music was great, however, it was way too loud for this restaurant, we had already requested to sit far away from the band, and we can not talk at all when music was playing. It was not busy around 8:45 pm, and service was not good,(water has to be asked to be refilled). I was told by the waiter that 6 scallops came with the bigger order, and when the ordered arrived, there were only 5 pieces of scallops instead, and I informed our waiter and he confirmed it should be 6. However, the mistaked was not corrected, the missing piece was never put back.
Y. Robinson

Lucys! I do like what they do with the seafood. The thing with this restaurant is that its a hit and miss. You never know. I can’t say that I have had bad service ever. The food is good. My biggest issues is the acoustics in the place. It is SO LOUD. You do best sitting outside.
The Ahi tower is my favorite and the whole tai snapper. Really nice.

The prices here are a bit shocking for a «bar & grill» and I was disappointed that the bar didn’t come with beer. We adjusted, though, and ended up having a pretty good meal. The service was very good throughout the meal (we got there pretty early in the evening), though we did have to wait a while for our check (by then it had gotten a bit busier).
I had the sashimi appetizer and the «demi» portion of the sea bass special. The sashimi was decent, though I had better in Waikiki and in Haleiwa, and I wish that they’d provided plain old soy sauce and wasabi — one of the provided sauces was way too spicy, one was way too sweet, and one sufficed. The sea bass was just divine and the perfect size. Definitely do not overlook the demi portions, especially if you’re having an appetizer.
My partner had the demi portion of the gorgonzola salad with walnuts — to me it looked like three leaves of lettuce with cheese on them, but she says it was quite good. She had the chicken breast as her entrée, which she also enjoyed.
We came in search of burgers and beer and ended up spending $ 100+ with tip on apps, entrees and martinis, but I’d definitely come here again.

There are better restaurants in Kailua.
The ONLY reason you should go here is for the AHI TOWER!
The Ahi Tower is Rice, Avocado, Fresh Ahi stacked on top of each other with fish eggs and wasabi sauce drizzled on top. Delicious!
I typically take out order the Ahi Tower and enjoy it at home since the restaurant tends to be very noisy. Don’t eat here with the intention of good, audible conversation.