December 31, 2017

Try Misoyaki Butterfish in Downtown at Roy’s Restaurant- Pasadena

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Downtown ’s Roy’s Restaurant- Pasadena.

Every restaurant has its own history, backstory, etc. We’d love to hear yours.
Chef Partner, Adam Palffy

I honestly never thought that I would become a chef. My grandparents were attorneys, my father is an attorney so naturally I thought I would become an attorney. Though I was predestined to be an attorney I wanted to choose my own path, to make my own mark on the world. I initially started at a brokerage firm in aspirations in becoming a financial adviser, which I found to be very interesting and lucrative. Though as much as I enjoyed that profession I wasn’t in love with it. My father had always told me that if you do want you love to do then it will never be work. Seems like a rather simplistic view on life but the more I thought about it became a profound mission statement. So I thought to myself what are the things I love to do. I love sports, however as talented as I at sports I knew that would not become as professional athlete. Okay, what’s next? I love to party, and who doesn’t, but how would I translate that into a career? Be a club promoter and maybe a club owner, possibly. There’s a start, but still wasn’t sure if that was the right career for me. I decided to ask the advice of my family.
Growing up as kid my family would always have a “Sunday Family Dinner” and thought to myself that would be the perfect time to ask. Before dinner I was mentally preparing myself to respond to the potentially skepticism of my family because I thought I had figured out my career and wasn’t going to allow anyone to deter me from my goal. So right after grace I posed the question, “What do you guys think about me being a club owner/entertainment company?” At first I was met with silence, then everyone started giving there opinion at once. Some stared to bicker among themselves in support or in their reluctance of my choice. Which is normal at my family dinner, considering that I come a large family, I myself being the oldest of children. During all the commotion, which was rather humorous, I realized that true passion was happening before my eyes! I attempt to settle everyone down so that I could speak but to no avail. I then proceeded to place my thumb and middle finger in my mouth and whistle as loud as i could to get everyone’s attention, my family quickly covered their ears to protect themselves from the high pitched sound. They began to protest my action with colorful language and hand signals, which didn’t bother me because I got them to pay attention. I said to them, forget the club thing, what if I became a chef and opened a restaurant? All of them looked at me and had a puzzled look on their faces. I said think about it, being a chef and owning a restaurant comprises a variety of my passions. I love to entertain, I love to eat, and I love to cook! Though my love for cooking began as an excuse to get out of my chores, stating that Mom needs help getting ready for Sunday Dinner. I told them what I believed to be a successful formula or ideology to my career, “Good food + Good Friends + Good Wine = Great Memories”, which at the end of the day is all we have. It quickly became quiet and was unsure of what everyone thought, then the response from everyone was to go for it. So I did, and now am the Chef Partner at Roy’s Restaurant in Pasadena.

About Roy’s
Blending classic techniques with adventurous Pacific Rim flavors, culinary pioneer Roy Yamaguchi created an entirely new approach to fine dining. The first Roy’s opened in Honolulu in 1988 and we’ve spread our warm hospitality and passion for innovative and creative cuisine around the world ever since. Indulge in one of our spectacular cocktails or choose a glass from our award-winning wine list while you discover the fresh ingredients and outstanding seafood, expertly prepared by our team that made us famous.

We invite you to join us at Roy’s Pasadena located in the heart of picturesque and historic Old Pasadena, featuring an inviting atmosphere showcasing an exhibition kitchen, spacious bar and lounge area, and patio dining.

Tell us about the challenges of running a food service / restaurant business.
It was not easy by any means. It took blood, sweat and tears to get here. Not to mention culinary school doesn’t prepare you for the real world. Yes it teaches you fundamental techniques and verbiage, but the speed and pressure of an actual restaurant is insane compared to school. It took coming in early off the clock and coming on my days off to learn from my chefs. Pretty much eliminating any social life I had to get better and further my knowledge. I knew that if I dedicated myself that one day there would be a pay off. Fortunately for me I was able to learn from chefs like Roy Yamaguchi and my personal mentor Chris George, Roy’s Director of Culinary, Without them God only knows if I would still be in this industry.

What separates Roy’s Restaurant- Pasadena from the other similar spots?
There are a variety of unique features to this restaurant. One being that we are a chef driven restaurant, and we have a core menu of signature items created by Roy Yamaguchi, I am given the opportunity to be creative with a few of my own dishes on the menu which are found only at my particular location here in Pasadena. We offer dishes that won’t be found anywhere else because of our founder Roy Yamaguchi’s innovative Asian Fusion Concept, combining his Asian heritage with his classic French training. One of the coolest aspects of Roy’s is that if you want something that is not on our menu but we have the product to make it, we’ll do it. Our philosophy of Ohana (Hawaiian for Family) is one of the reasons why I have been with Roy’s for over 8 years. We treat our patrons as if they were guests in our home, and our staff isn’t a group of employees, we truly are a family.