Eating House 1849 (Hawaii 2018): Crab Cakes and Paella

One of the many new restaurants that opened up in the new International Marketplace in Waikiki is Eating House 1849. Hawaiian inspired and styled after the original Eating House in the mid-1800’s, this Roy Yamaguchi restaurant looks to compliment the simple flavours of a plantation town with modern twists.

We originally thought to come here for happy hour but they only serve that in the bar area. Instead, we sat in their open-air patio that’s open to the rest of the 3rd floor of the International Marketplace (and next to the large parking structure). We started off our meal with a Plantation Ice Tea ($4) and a Strawberry Lemonade ($4.25).

First up was some complimentary spicy edamame beans while we waited for our meals.

Interestingly, they use cropsticks here (bamboo chopsticks but with a detachable platform, raised on either side, designed to keep chopsticks from resting flat on the table and from rolling away) designed by Hawaiian, Mylen Fe Yamamoto.

Okay, back to the food… The Crispy Shrimp Gyoza ($14) are deep-fried and served with a garlic soy dipping sauce. Once you crack into that shell, you get a hot pocket filled with a mix of shrimp.

While these look more like burger patties, these are actually Roy’s Crab Cakes ($17). I was a bit concerned when I first saw them because they looked a bit like hockey pucks. But the shell actually encased tender crab meat on the inside and this wound up being super good.

Last up for the night was the E.H. Paella ($34) with pork chorizo, clams, tomato, and garlic butter served in a cast iron skillet. This was okay but I feel like they needed larger pieces of chorizo because you could barely see them. This was a filling dish but not as flavourful as some of the other paella I’ve had before.

Since we were in an open-air patio, there wasn’t air conditioning… which can be a concern if it’s really hot outside. We also thought that the service was on the slow side here (suppose you could just chalk that up to “island time”).

2330 Kalakaua Ave #322 (3rd Floor of the International Marketplace)
Honolulu, HI 96815, USA

www.eatinghouse1849.com