If you’re looking for an idyllic pau hana spot, you’re in luck — Mariposa is launching its updated Sunset Lounge experience this week.
The Sunset Lounge at Mariposa is offered every Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 5 to 7:30 p.m. (last seating is at 7:30 p.m.). Customers are invited to relax and enjoy the featured live music, lounge menu and, of course, the stunning sunset views.
The Sunset Lounge debuted in 2022. For the last two months, it was closed on Thursdays — only open on Fridays and Saturdays — but this is the first week it will be open on Thursday evenings as well. Its refreshed offerings reflect the eatery’s commitment to fresh, seasonal ingredients.
Mariposa’s Sunset Lounge menu was updated by returning executive chef Marc Freiberg. Freiberg was the chef at Mariposa from 2007 to 2017, then left the restaurant to start his own catering company. He also served as a private chef for the last four years.
Prior to his initial tenure at the Neiman Marcus eatery, Freiberg was the executive chef at Sarento’s at the Top of the Ilikai and Sergio’s Italian Restaurant at Hilton Hawaiian Village. He graduated from Johnson & Wales Culinary School in Charleston and launched his career in 1991. Freiberg says a culinary experience in Milan, Italy shaped his cooking style, as he learned to cook seasonal dishes using local ingredients there.
Freiberg has been back at Mariposa for about a month. He describes the new menu as “New American, but Old World.”
“A lot of it is really simple — high-quality ingredients, and seasonal,” he says. “Nothing crazy, just highlighting the ingredients themselves.”
At a recent media preview, we tried some of the new dishes coming to the revamped Sunset Lounge’s menu. The enhanced lounge menu was created to provide an upscale happy hour experience with a curated wine list, refined selection of craft cocktails and a variety of elevated bites.
We started with two salads — farm tomato salad and spinach salad.
The farm tomato salad includes organic greens, burrata cheese, Big Island tomatoes, olive tapenade, fig balsamic and prosciutto di parma. The local greens are wrapped in the prosciutto to make a bouquet. The creamy cheese is balanced nicely by the savory flavors, especially the saltiness from the tapenade.
“It’s just simple, but delicious food,” Freiberg says.
Meanwhile, the spinach salad features baby spinach with pipikaula, grilled onions, papaya, goat cheese, pine nuts and a balsamic-molasses vinaigrette. Freiberg likens this to a steakhouse salad, but with pipikaula instead of steak.
The pipikaula strips are nice and meaty, and the balsamic-molasses vinaigrette is addictive.
The grilled steak sliders are simple, hearty and one of my favorite dishes on the new menu. They include melted brie, caramelized onions, arugula and horseradish aioli between soft buns. Each slider boasts a generous portion of steak.
This elevated bruschetta is a fork-and-knife dish, rather than a classic finger food appetizer. Grilled ciabatta is topped with sauteed “super food” Lion’s mane mushrooms, brandy green peppercorn sauce, oyster mushrooms and truffle whipped cream.
“I wanted to highlight the lion’s mane mushrooms, which are like a superfood,” Freiberg says. “They’re really nice, fresh and spongy; kind of like an oyster mushroom. The sauce is a brandy green peppercorn sauce — almost like a steak sauce — and the truffle whipped cream on top will melt into the mushrooms.”
If you love dishes with lots of texture, this is right up your alley. The mushroom medley is delightful, but the truffle whipped cream steals the show.
This dish features tender pork belly and scallops served with watercress, lilikoʻi brown butter and pickled onions. The pork belly is braised in a marinade that’s char siu-like, according to Freiberg.
“It’s seared and paired with a seared scallop, which I found to be a really nice match,” Freiberg says.
Both the lilikoʻi brown butter sauce and pickled onions give the dish a nice, bright flavor.
If you’re looking for a dish that’s unique and summery, go for the grilled octopus. The Spanish octopus is served with pistachio gremolata, pickled onions, zaatar potatoes, Castelvetrano olives and heirloom tomato romesco.
“Romesco is normally heavy on the roasted peppers, but this is more on the tomato side,” Freiberg says. “It’s really nice, light and refreshing, and goes well with the octopus.”
The potatoes, garlic, lemon, parsley and pistachios pair nicely together, making this dish an explosion of flavor.
The last featured dish was a heavier one, in the form of grilled Australian lamb chops. Each order features three pieces and comes with grilled vegetables, herb yogurt, pomegranate molasses and naan bread.
The dish is inspired by Mediterranean flavors, according to Freiberg, who pairs the meat with grilled vegetables like baby carrots, eggplant, squash and zucchini.
“It comes with an herb yogurt sauce and pomegranate molasses, which is a tangy, wonderful match with the yogurt,” he says. “There’s a little bit of naan bread but no real starch, just all meat.”
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CONTACT
Mariposa (within Neiman Marcus)
Ala Moana Center
1450 Ala Moana Blvd. level three, Honolulu
808-951-3420
neimanmarcus.com
Instagram: @mariposahawaii
Sunset Lounge from 5-7 p.m., Thursdays-Saturdays
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
