Mariposa – Honolulu, HI

I was going to start this post with a guess where I am post and then quickly realized that I tell you where I am in the post title. It’s okay, just enjoy this beautiful view with me. What a beautiful day it was. My friend decided to treat me to a wonderful birthday dinner at Mariposa. For those who don’t know, Mariposa is located in Neiman Marcus and I think that should already give you a warning of the prices to come. While I enjoyed my meal immensely, it wouldn’t be a blog of mine without complete honesty. So to my friend who generously and graciously treated me to this meal, please know that I enjoyed it (really!!!).

Complimentary Popovers with Strawberry Butter

I can see why they are known for this. Fresh piping hot popovers served with strawberry infused butter (hello, you can’t go wrong with butter of any sort). You bet your bottom dollar I went for a second serving, it’s free and this ain’t no buffet I have to save room in my tummy for (lol). My only complaint from the various popovers I’ve had over the years (not from Mariposa) is that it always seems to be a bit doughy in the middle which leads me to believe it is still raw. Same thing happened here but I didn’t get a stomachache so I guess we were in the clear.

Sesame Seared Ahi Salad | MP ($31.00)
mari’s greens, shaved maui onions, ho farms tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, radish sprouts, onion-soy dressing

I got you for this post, I had no shame in asking for the actual price of both our MP items. You know it’s gonna be pricey when it reads MP. Delicious starter salad, the ahi was good quality and perfectly seared. I love their onion soy dressing, wish they gave a bit more of the dressing but I think if you asked for more, they would have abided. A little pricey but I enjoyed this salad quite a bit.

Smoked Brisket Sandwich | $20.00 (Thursday Special)
house smoked beef brisket, toasted brioche, slaw, house pickled cucumbers, onions, mustard sauce, french fries

Was excited to try their special, was also told they were running low on the special so we put the order in. Well, I hope you like salt. This sandwich was SALTY. The fries are good, glad they give you their hurricane seasoned fries with their sandwiches but ah this sandwich was not good. Is it because it was the last one so it had all the sauce soaked in? I don’t know, I would not get this again unless I had a sodium deficiency.

Lobster Club Sandwich | MP ($39.00)
bacon, roasted peppers, avocado, mari’s butter lettuce, mayonnaise, french fries

Was this sandwich good? Yes. It’s lobster and bacon for god’s sake! Was it worth $40?? Well, I can’t say it was. I think for $40, I almost want them to just serve the sandwich open face with like the entire lobster in full view for me to see. To me it’s not worth $40 even though it was delicious. It was a wonderful treat to eat (indulge in) with a beautiful view.

I think due to covid, Neiman Marcus has been operating on special hours. If you want to eat dinner here, you basically have to book a table for 4:30 PM so you can be out by 6:00 PM (their closing time). I know I’ve been adapting to a lot more senior citizen stuff but this was early for me. It’s okay, I planned early so I ate an early lunch to be ready for my early dinner. I made my reservation on Open Table and asked for outdoor seating in the notes because of the rising Covid cases. I tried to call them to confirm my seating but they never answered their phone…seems like they only want you to book through Open Table. Outdoor seating was pretty empty when we went so it was no problem .

It’s a nice restaurant with pretty attentive service, I think it’s worth another visit when the sun sets earlier to get a nice sunset view. A lovely dinner, thank you!