Michael Mina’s Fish House just opened at Ko Olina

Whole local fish, lobster and oysters with Egyptian-style grilled bread

December 20, 2017

Kelli Shiroma Braiotta,

Mina’s Fish House replaces the old Fish House at the Four Seasons Resort, next to the pool and La Hiki Kitchen.

Mina’s Fish House opened last week at the Four Seasons Resort at Ko Olina and while some decor details aren’t finalized yet, the menu’s ready for seafood lovers. Frolic stopped in for a taste with Michelin-starred chef Michael Mina on hand to explain his sea-to-table concept.

It’s no surprise that local seafood is the highlight of this menu.

Mina’s Fish House is the San Francisco-based chef’s third restaurant concept in Hawaii. The other two, Stripsteak and The Street food hall, are at International Market Place in Waikiki. And while Michael Mina Group includes about 30 restaurants around the country, no other is centered around seafood.

Amid the oysters, lobsters, poke and other dishes, whole fish is Fish House’s crowning glory. The fish is prepared in two ways — woodfired and broiled, or what Mina calls an “Indian fish fry” with Middle Eastern flair.

Coriander-crusted fish fry, made with chickpea flour, is one option for whole fish.

Another option: whole fish that’s butterflied open. Choices include grilled swordfish, opah or ahi or pan-roasted onaga.

Lafa bread brushed with herbs, olive oil and light garlic — a nod to Mina’s Egyptian roots — is meant to go with island-style fish.

“You can take the pieces of the fish off, wrap it in the lafa bread and eat it individually,” Mina says. “I always like to be as thoughtful as I can to what’s already going on here, but I want to bring some of my own style to it.”

Garlic butter herb lafa bread—served with garlic hummus, olive tapenade, dill tzatziki—comes to your table at dinner.

Good for cooler weather: a wood-fired shellfish platter, served cooked and hot. It’s the polar opposite of the traditional shellfish on ice with cocktail sauce and lemon, which is also on the menu.

Wood-fired shellfish platter ($85) includes a half lobster, half-pound cracked crab, four shrimp and four oysters.

“We brush miso butter onto the shellfish, cook it, serve it on hot rocks with smoked rock salt with this nice herbal tea that gets poured tableside,” Mina says. “You get both the grill and the steam on the shellfish.”

There are classic Mina dishes that you’ll recognize from Stripsteak, like the ahi tartare ($26), grilled yellowfin tuna & sear foie gras ($57), and steamed lobster pot pie ($95). Fans of Stripsteak’s garlic & duck fat French fries ($9) will be thrilled to see they’re available as sides at Fish House, complete with volcano onion ketchup, dijonnaise and tartar sauce.

Mina’s ahi tartare features Asian pear, mint, garlic, pine nuts, ancho chili and habanero-sesame oil.

The garlic and duck fat fries taste the same as they do at Stripsteak – addictive. – Photo by Melissa Chang.

The char-grilled Pono pork chop ($40) comes with lemongrass-infused sausage and clams that burst with flavor and steal the show.

The clams are stuffed with a risotto-like filling.

A tiki-inspired cocktail menu features drinks like If Can, Can ($15) and the Tranquilizer ($18). If you’ve been to Mina’s The Street in Waikiki you might recognize the former, which comes in an iconic SPAM can. The Tranquilizer includes Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, Espolon Blanco Tequila, pineapple, kiwi and banana liqueur.

If Can, Can includes your choice of spirit, lilikoi, pineapple, orange curacao orgeat and lime.

Coming in the next few months is a 12-foot iced fish display. “The idea behind this restaurant is the amazing fish that are caught, brought in daily and prepared with the proper handling and cooking techniques,” Mina says. “Above the fish display will be a 10-foot-tall live tank for live lobster, abalone and shrimp — whatever we can get live and can live in the tank! You can walk up to the tank and say, ‘I want that opakapaka.’”

Live seafood will eventually be in a huge tank within the restaurant.

“We’re continuing to evolve Fish House,” Mina says. “It’s a concept that, with each month, we’re going to get better and better with what fish we’re getting and how we’re going to handle it.”

Mina’s Fish House – A Michael Mina Restaurant
Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina
92-1001 Olani St.
679-0079
Lunch 12-3 p.m., dinner 5-10 p.m.
Happy hour 3-6 p.m. daily