Affordable Splurge: Basalt’s $50 3-Course Prix Fixe

Yes, Honolulu, delicious deals can still be found. Frolic’s Affordable Splurge series is an all-new reboot of our popular 2018–19 series Eating Is Believing. Each post highlights a current lunch or dinner deal that’s not only a good value, it’ll make you feel just a little bit spoiled.

What: Seventh anniversary three-course dinner
Where: Basalt Waikīkī in Dukes Lane Market & Eatery, 2255 Kūhiō Ave.
When: 5 to 9 p.m. daily except Wednesdays
Price: $50
Compare: This prix fixe is usually $60; its entrée choices of miso butterfish or a 12-ounce rib-eye are $45 and $49 on the regular dinner menu
Fullness factor: 10 out of 10

The Details

Trying to find a stellar meal at a decent price seems like a herculean task these days. Still, some restaurants are offering excellent deals that fill you up without emptying your wallet. Take Basalt Waikīkī: Nestled in the heart of the tourist district, ABC Stores’ flagship restaurant is celebrating its seventh anniversary with special deals, including a three-course prix fixe dinner, which is now $10 less than its usual $60. In case you’re counting, that’s a 16% discount—not bad for foodies on a budget.

Charcoal pandesal rolls to start. Photo: Dane Marumoto

Dinner at Basalt comes with two hours of live entertainment at its outside tables. On a rare cool Waikīkī evening, we elect to dine inside, with the music adding to a relaxing, chill background vibe.

Photo: Dane Marumoto

For the first course, the menu offers a choice between soup of the day or a Waipoli mixed green salad. The night’s chicken minestrone soup brims with shredded chicken, chickpeas, tomato and arugula. It’s just right. The salad is a symphony of crisp greens, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and radish highlighted by the tropical twist of a balsamic coconut dressing. The lettuce bursts with freshness, and the initial boldness of balsamic yields to fragrant coconut by the second bite.

Photo: Dane Marumoto

The main event is a difficult choice between Basalt’s 12-ounce grilled rib-eye steak or the miso black cod. We treat ourselves to what proves to be a great steak—juicy, perfectly cooked beef highlighted by grill marks and accented with Basalt’s steak rub, which allows the quality of the meat to shine. The steak is paired with a medley of haricots verts green beans, firm carrots and indulgent garlic mashed potatoes. Each bite satisfies the yum factor.

Photo: Dane Marumoto

We are completely satiated by now, but for the finale, given a choice between Basque cheesecake and a Grand Marnier chocolate mousse cake, we choose the cheesecake. Dense, smokey and crustless, it delivers straightforward yumminess with a vanilla flan profile. Complementing the richness is a tasty smear of Chambord-blueberry sauce. An elegant conclusion to a sumptuous meal.

Plus Tip

Basalt’s validation covers four hours of parking at the Hyatt Centric next door, so at $50 for friendly service, a delicious meal and a couple extra hours to saunter around Waikīkī, we might just return to try the miso black cod. We’ll call first—the special will run only until a still-unspecified date.

SEE ALSO: Shokudo Opens an Old-School Izakaya in Waikīkī

Dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. daily, brunch and happy hour available at other times, 2255 Kūhiō Ave., (808) 923-5689, basaltwaikiki.com, @basaltwaikiki