Indigo

Among the historic shabby buildings along Nu’uanu Avenue and the hustle and bustle of pedestrians and vendors in Chinatown sits a little dining oasis called Indigo.  In 1994, the owners of the restaurant decided to offer Eurasian cuisine that blended Asian, French, and Mediterranean flavors to attract customers to the area and to diversify the Chinatown dining options other than dim sum and roast duck.  Since then, Indigo has become a glowing example of the urban gentrification efforts in Chinatown and a popular place to dine or hang out with friends during First Fridays.  Indigo’s main entrance is located at 1121 Nu’uanu Avenue, but a convenient alternative entrance is located at the rear of the restaurant next door to the Chinatown Gateway Plaza and the Hawaii Theatre, which makes the restaurant a perfect dining option before or after a show.

 

The back entrance of Indigo next door to the Chinatown Gateway Plaza

 

Indigo offers indoor and outdoor seating as well as a bar lounge that is perfect for pau hana drinks

 

We prefer the outdoor dining section, but be prepared for the flies and mosquitos from time to time

 

Indigo is perfect place for busy downtown workers to conduct a working lunch or for people who want to splurge a little and enjoy a tasty midday buffet.  The lunch buffet offers a variety of salads, vegetables, pancit noodles, chicken, fish, tofu, and meats for $15.95.  The price is a little steep to dine here for lunch on a daily basis, but it’s a great option when you want to splurge or just want to eat something different from the regular take-out lunch dishes in Downtown.  The lunch menu also offers side dishes, including a dim sum sampler, which our glutton bellies decided to order in addition to our buffet plates.

 

The restaurant window blinds were closed, so this picture of the beautifully laid out buffet table is a bit dark. The buffet offers a delicious assortment of veggies, meats, and starch dishes.

 

The buffet also includes an assortment of pizzas and another table of dressings, sauces, and chutneys to accompany your meal.

 

My buffet plate including Asian braised beef, slices of chicken breast with peanut sauce, jasmine rice pilaf, green beans, tossed green salad, pancit noodles, tomatoes, eggplant, and humus with pita bread.

 

His buffet plate including Asian braised beef, slices of chicken breast with peanut sauce, fish, tossed green tossed salad, fruit salad, asparagus, tomatoes, green beans, mushrooms, and chutney.

 

A slice of vegetable and a slice of chicken pizza.

 

Dim Sum Sampler: Goat cheese won tons, crab cakes, and shrimp lumpia with chipotle aioli and four fruit sauce.

 

Indigo’s lunch buffet is one of the few places (that I know of) that has a server pile your plate high with tasty morsels.  There is no need for you to take a refresher course on “Food Construction Engineering 101” before approaching the buffet line because an experienced “buffet engineer” will construct your plate for you and alleviate your fears of food toppling over.  Another positive point:  Someone constructing your plate for you prevents you from overindulging.  After all, you can always go back for seconds and thirds!  The salads and vegetable sides are always delicious and the braised beef was very tender and moist.  Next time, we will pass on the pizza slices because they were bland and doughy.  We will also pass on the dim sum sampler as the price ($10.00) did not match up to our quality and quantity expectations.  All in all, the buffet items are consistent, tasty, and enjoyable.   

Indigo is open for lunch Tuesdays – Fridays 11:30 am to 2:00 pm and for dinner Tuesdays – Thursdays 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm and Fridays – Saturdays 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm.  The bar is open 5:00 pm to midnight on Tuesdays and 5:00 pm to 1:30 am on Wednesdays – Saturdays.  The dinner menu offers a wide assortment of starters, including a very tasty tomato crab soup, and dinner entrees along with an extensive array of wine pairings and cocktails.  Parking during lunch hours is available at Mark’s Garage, the Chinatown municipal parking garage between Nu’uanu Avenue and Smith Street, or on the street.  Valet parking is available during evening hours.  Indigo is great place to avoid the noise and hectic pace of Downtown/Chinatown without actually leaving the area.   

Happy Dining,
The Common Foodie