Senia
New American restaurant · Chinatown ·
Elevated Hawaiian & New American menus, imaginative drinks, refined surrounds
Elevated Hawaiian & New American menus, imaginative drinks, refined surrounds
"Senia is an elevated American restaurant in Honolulu. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists." - Team Infatuation
"One of Honolulu's most hyped restaurants, this Chinatown nook has powerhouse parents: Local boy Chris Kajioka of Vintage Cave and U.K.-born Anthony Rush of Fera at Claridge's met working at New York City's Per Se. The name Senia plays on the Greek word xenia (hospitality). Belly up to its live-edge chef's counter, carved from monkeypod lumber, for a splendid multicourse tasting menu. The $185 feast might include gems like delicate Kusshi oysters with green apple, a regional venison tartare, or a duck leg wrapped in cabbage. The relaxed exposed-brick dining room also serves à la carte inspirations like mahi-mahi Wellington or Kauai shrimp ravioli with sweet corn and jalapeño."
"Part of a Hawaii-based restaurant group deeply affected by the collapse of tourism, illustrating how destinations reliant on visitors saw local customers replace tourists and had to radically rethink service models to survive." - ByAshlea Halpern
"One of Hawaii’s most celebrated modern restaurants where Eater Young Gun pastry chef Mimi Mendoza crafts refined, fruit-forward desserts that showcase seasonal local produce. Her approach is unfussy and elegant: ripe fruits (she currently favors Concord grapes and relies on Fuji apples for year-round consistency) are often layered over a simple homemade almond cream and finished with techniques like rolling the dough in sugar, brushing the crust with egg wash, sprinkling sugar before baking, adding citrus zest, or topping with homemade streusel for texture. The kitchen prefers light, textural dessert-wine pairings (such as Brachetto d’Asti or Moscato d’Asti) to complement fruit desserts without overpowering them." - Morgan Goldberg
"Mimi Mendoza, who oversees desserts at a Honolulu restaurant, emphasizes organization and efficiency in the pastry station and has standardized the kitchen's use of Pilot FriXion Erasable Gel Pens (recommended by a 2017 Eater Young Gun). She praises them for reducing paper waste by allowing prep sheets to be reused—she and the cooks discovered that briefly putting a sheet in the oven erases it—while also offering smooth gel ink, a comfortable grip, replaceable erasers/ink reservoirs, and a wide range of eclectic colors. Mendoza has convinced the entire kitchen to adopt the pens and has purchased matching erasable highlighters, allowing the team to stretch a single sheet for up to two weeks." - Priya Krishna