Art's Hideaway

4.5 star service; 1.5 star food.  I'd be willing to give it another try.

It lives up to the name - it truly is a hideaway, located down a staircase off one of the filthiest sidewalks on Bishop Street. I went for lunch at the recommendation of friends and colleagues.  

Service was spot-on.  My water glass was refilled constantly, which I appreciate, and Art came around a couple times, first to take our order and again to check on us.  The guy has personality for days and recognized one of my coworkers, even though she's hardly a regular.  Prices were great for a sit-down place Downtown - veal parmigiana for $9??

My food, however, was uninspiring.  I opted for the burger (probably should have gone for the veal that originally caught my eye) with fries.  No complaints about the fries.  Small burger on a basic white bun - but my burger was overcooked - the interior was fine, but the outside surfaces were charred.  I'm sure I could have brought this to Art's attention and had a replacement made, but we were on a tight lunch-hour time frame.  I'd be willing to try a new dish another time, or possibly pau hana, because the place does have some things going for it.

When you need a downtown spot for lunch, that does not involve eating out of a styrofoam container, your options are limited...and I think Art's is a great choice.

Located in the basement (yes it looks a little dark and sketchy, but it's really not), you walk down a narrow set of stairs and find a bunch of tables.  At peak time, sometimes the place can be packed, but they still are pretty quick.

I like the chicken stir fry when I'm feeling semi-healthy but when I'm going for it, I love anything with brown gravy.  Even if it's not on the menu Art will sometimes let me have brown gravy over it (e.g., chicken katsu + brown gravy = makes my own chicken cutlet plate!).  Salads are good too.  Oh and if Art is there, he will usually let you substitute or make something up as long as it's close to the menu.  Pretty cool.

His BROWN RICE is some of the best.  It's not gourmet or anything but it's cooked just right that I actually order brown rice here, and it's not often that I order brown rice anywhere.

Only thing I'm not really a fan of is the iced tea, but I can deal with just drinking water...

I haven't been here for pau hana, but I hear it's fun.  I usually just sneak in for a quick lunch when I feel like a real meal.

I agree with one reviewer's comment that Art is what makes the experience worthy of 5 stars (although even if he wasn't there, I'd probably still give it a 4).

This is a great place to escape for a quick table service lunch on a work day.  In and out in well under an hour, all with good food and great service.  I've been there twice in the last month...both times being seated immediately upon walking in and provided menus immediately.  In no time someone has brought our drinks and is taking our food order.  

I'm a creature of habit, so both of my recent visits I had the beef cutlet with mashed potatoes.  Want gravy all over?  No problem!  (And talk about good gravy, in the literal sense!)  In the past I've also had the French Dip, which I also enjoyed.

Besides the food being great, Art has the warmest personality ever.  On both my recent visits, he interacted wonderfully with my friend and I and made us feel very comfortable, as if we'd been friends for ages.