Honolulu Weekly

Diamond Head Grill / New Diamond Head Grill chef Guillaume Burlion loves his pineapple tomatoes. Grown on the Big Island, the big yellow fruit are subtly sweet, and the hale Frenchman slices and stacks them in a juicy tower, sprinkling it with a tangy shiso vinaigrette. It’s just one of the dishes on Burlion’s all-new menu that hails a new era for the W Hotel’s flagging dining room.

David Paul’s Diamond Head Grill made a splash when it opened in the then Colony Surf Hotel in 1998. But when Starwood bought the property a year later, the company didn’t renew his contract. Since then the place has seen a revolving roster of chefs, and the restaurant fell into ‘ahi tartare oblivion. In a smart move, the W brought Paris-trained, nationally recognized Burlion on board last month. (OK, ‘ahi tartare is still on the menu, but dressed up with caramelized shallots.)

Burlion’s classical background–he worked at Paris landmarks Le PrÈ Catelan, Pavillon ElysÈe, Maxim’s and Hotel de Crillon–is evident in his traditional French techniques and touches such as the ages old egg-and-truffle combo, bernaise sauce, white asparagus in a tomato emulsion and seared foie gras in a port reduction. But Burlion has also built up his contemporary cooking arsenal working at such lauded American restaurants as Nashville’s Wild Boar and Flood Tide Restaurant in Mystic, Conn. His last venue was his own La Vie en Rose in New London, Conn. And with surprising swiftness he has deftly added locally grown ingredients to his repertoire.

Before delving into the food, I have a disclosure to make. I visit restaurants incognito, never using my name to make reservations. But at Diamond Head Grill, as my friend and I sat down at our cozy banquette, my eyes widened as my cousin, Derek Sayegusa, sauntered up to my table. ‘I didn’t know you worked here!’ I greeted him, with chagrin. Although I begged him not to tell the kitchen I was there, when I got a special ‘from the chef’ appetizer, I knew the cat was out of the bag. And I was kind of glad–Bourlion sandwiched p‚tÈ de foie gras between two slices of pineapple tomatoes, and the simple light-yet-rich combination was sublime. The dish isn’t on the menu, and it should be–because I want to have it again.

Shortly after, Burlion and restaurant manager, Corey Hanna, came out to introduce themselves. The chef said that he had vacationed in Hawai’i for years and was just waiting for the right opportunity to move here, which explains his familiarity with local ingredients. My waiter later told me that all diners get an amuse bouche and that Burlion often speaks with diners. So he says.

You can have oysters on the half shell for $2.50 a pop. While the restaurant usually serves kumamotos, on this night miyagis were in stock. Burlion drizzles them with a mild lemon-shoyu vinaigrette that doesn’t quash the bivalves’ delicate brininess. His ‘ravioli’ is an haute meat-and-potatoes pleaser–he encases a tender piece of veal in a paper-thin skin of spud, and serves it in a creamy mushroom marsala sauce. But he reaches his luxe comfort-food pinnacle with a pablum of soft-boiled egg, truffle and lobster bits spooned into an eggshell. You spoon the faintly sweet, earthy indulgent mush back out onto tiny toasts and wish it was served in an ostrich egg.

Main courses are more old-school French haute cuisine, with flourishes such as squid-ink squiggles on plates and potato ‘jewel boxes’ (like napkin rings fashioned from tubers and filled with something–in this case pureed Okinawan sweet potato). Burlion marinates duck breasts for four days in orange juice and honey then slowly braises them. The meat, infused with subtly sweet citrus and (on this night) slightly dry, is served thinly sliced atop the aforementioned jewel boxes. Paella is hard to find in this town and Burlion makes individual portions, a metal bowl of saffron-scented rice crowded with a langoustine, lobster tail, prawns, scallops, clams, mussels, squid, a chunk of chicken, chorizo and Cajun sausage–a hearty serving of the Mediterranean.

Burlion has a mission–he wants to join the Halekulani’s La Mer as a AAA five-star restaurant. So now entrÈes are topped by silver domes, which a team of servers theatrically removes. The service is already top-notch, with affable, knowledgable waiters. But the outdated ’90s room, complete with swirling track lighting that looks like it could be used to race Hot Wheels cars, is out of step with the move towards stardom. Which is why the space will undergo a makeover in February.

Burlion has the talent to reach his goal, but while his food is good and makes Diamond Head Grill a destination again, the menu still feels as if it’s in the testing stage. Items like veal Wellington are playfully retro, but not transporting. Stars will come only when the full stage is set.

Diamond Head Grill

Hours: 7am-2:30pm, 6-11pm
Starters: $11-$18
Mains: $25-$45
Recommended dishes: Pineapple tomato salad, duet of
bison and black angus tartare, lobster foie gras, potato ravioli of veal,
potato-crusted opah, paella
Payment: AmEx, MC, V