My spouse and I dined at Roy’s for dinner on a Friday
evening in early June 2018. Roy’s is open for daily for lunch and dinner from
approximately 11:00 am until 10:00 pm. (Friday evening hours are extended, and
Sunday evening hours are shortened.) You can
make a reservation using the online Open Table system.
Tokyo-born chef Roy Yamaguchi opened
his first restaurant in 1988 in Honolulu. The group has since expanded to
include over 25+ locations, including Arizona,
California, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Texas, Guam, and Japan. Once owned by Bloomin’
Brands (of Bonefish, Carrabba’s, Fleming’s, Outback, Cheeseburger in Paradise, and
Lee Roy Selmon’s fame), the mainland locations of Roy’s are currently operated
by United Ohana. Only the Hawaiian locations, as well as one California
location (Pebble Beach), remain under original ownership. Chef Yamaguchi attended New York’s Culinary
Institute of America and is a James Beard Award winner, television host, and
cookbook author.
The Baltimore location of Roy’s is located in the Harbor
East neighborhood, located between
Fells Point and the Inner Harbor, near hotels including the Four
Seasons, Marriott, Homewood Suites, and Hilton Garden Inn. The restaurant
occupies the corner street-level space of a multi-story office building/parking
garage. The space includes a large bar area (with happy hour specials), an
elegant dining room with windows that overlook the bustling street scene, a
private dining room, and a dining bar in front of the open exhibition kitchen.
(We dined at the chef’s bar and enjoyed watching them work.)
Roy’s features Hawaiian/Pacific Rim fusion cuisine,
including sushi, seafood, and steaks. We shared the steamed duck buns and the
lobster pot stickers (dumplings) as appetizers, followed by a blue cheese wedge
salad (not very adventurous, but we couldn’t resist). As our entrée, at our server’s
recommendation, we shared the “classic four” so that we could sample smaller
portions of four favorite dishes (although we knew the dishes in advance, we
had no choice in which four). For dessert, we pre-ordered (because it is
baked-to-order and takes about 15 minutes) the pineapple cake, accompanied by
coconut ice cream set on a bed of toasted coconut – yum!
We enjoyed our delicious dinner at Roy’s. Although we
generally avoid chain restaurants, our meal at this small-scale brand was a
success.
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