Pasta and Wine! YUMMMMMMMMM :3
We heard about their happy hour specials so we came down to check it out. Unfortunately the bar was packed, so there wasn't enough seats for us. Then again there was four of us, hoping for four seats at the bar was a bit much I guess! LOL, anyway - to get happy hour prices you only can sit at the bar. Â -- So we decided to just order off the regular menu. Â
The waitress said we could pick any table we wanted. So we found an area we felt comfortable in. First impression of the restaurant - very dark, romantic like feel to it. When we were there they didn't have any music playing so it made it a little awkward with silence. After an hour the music finally came on.
Vino has a great selection of wines, from the glass and to order by the bottle. During our meal we went through different whites and reds. All delicious. Some wines worked better then others depending what we were eating. <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vino-italian-tapas-and-wine-bar-honolulu?select=s_VLvqrRdw0jQG5lq97p-g#s_VLvqrRdw0jQG5lq97p-g">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
THE GRUB!!
"Burrata" Housemade Mozzarella --  $13 When I first read this off the menu I was like mehhhhhhhhh doesn't sound that great. But since it was highly recommended, we just HAD to try it. I was super happy we did! It was yummy and I would definitely recommend everyone to try it.  <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vino-italian-tapas-and-wine-bar-honolulu?select=c_8Kf-DaGPpSqWozM7srPA#N8ZEfTNrlZ8csIjXpjSsWg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Cheese & Salumi Platter -- $13 saLUmi? That's an interesting way to say salami? LOL Definietly had to try it just because they call it salumi. Who doesn't love wine, cheese and meat!  <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vino-italian-tapas-and-wine-bar-honolulu?select=zmJNTbANiOQIxa9GbxdlqQ#zmJNTbANiOQIxa9GbxdlqQ">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Twin Bridges Waialua Asparagus Milanese -- $17 This dish was good. I haven't had asparagus in a very long time so I enjoyed this a lot. The asparagus is topped with one egg over easy and some mushrooms. The waiter even cuts it for you! Which is super helpful for sharing, other wise your stuck with long huge pieces. <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vino-italian-tapas-and-wine-bar-honolulu?select=c_8Kf-DaGPpSqWozM7srPA#c_8Kf-DaGPpSqWozM7srPA">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Pan Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras -- $19 I honestly don't care for Foie Gras in general. This one was decent, more on the sweeter side because of the raspberry syrup drizzle.  <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vino-italian-tapas-and-wine-bar-honolulu?select=C6SUL46O7gl5D5D6yNqp4w#C6SUL46O7gl5D5D6yNqp4w">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Big Isand Smoked Pork -- $18 This pasta was good. I enjoyed it and I loved how it came with an egg on top! I love eggs :D Haha. However the photo doesn't make it look that great cause the waiter mixed everything together before I was able to get a photo of it T_T  <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vino-italian-tapas-and-wine-bar-honolulu?select=5g0baFUP4IT-9CVEO5fzIg#5g0baFUP4IT-9CVEO5fzIg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Ligurian Style "Trofie" Pasta -- $15 I cant believe they HAND make and roll this pasta. That looks like a lot of work!! Another thing that makes this pasta interesting is that it is eggless. So it makes the pasta more dense and chewy, but still good.  <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vino-italian-tapas-and-wine-bar-honolulu?select=vZzBc3dokyDE8suDC4fM9w#vZzBc3dokyDE8suDC4fM9w">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Crispy Shrimp that was on special. I thought the shrimp was good. It comes with shell on. The shrimp as crispy but lying on top of some sauce, which tasted great. However I felt the sauce should be on the side because if you let the shrimp sit too long, it would get all soggy and loose its crispy-ness.  <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vino-italian-tapas-and-wine-bar-honolulu?select=bT_JDI5qkqpo3R-kzXfJtQ#bT_JDI5qkqpo3R-kzXfJtQ">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank -- $23 I thought the lamb tasted good, however it was a little dryyyy <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vino-italian-tapas-and-wine-bar-honolulu?select=oPbggtmLXkO5Ph3kgcW2Mw#oPbggtmLXkO5Ph3kgcW2Mw">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Apple Tart - FANTASTIC :3 <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vino-italian-tapas-and-wine-bar-honolulu?select=c_8Kf-DaGPpSqWozM7srPA#slXISP8cF_KtRKenYWdXbg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Chocolate Ice Cream <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/vino-italian-tapas-and-wine-bar-honolulu?select=2_SVoA625ZhnUVdLrqJgbg#2_SVoA625ZhnUVdLrqJgbg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
OVERALL: My overall experience here was good. Â Our waitress for the night was a little slow and not very attentive. When we were there, it wasn't busy so I feel like there wasn't any excuse for making us wait and having to flag you down to order more glasses of wine. Aside from that, I love the selection of wines and the fact I had the opportunity to try so many different dishes. I definitely would like to come back and try more things of course.
I've Now been to Vino twice and won't be going back unless I can snag a bar seat for happy hour. The prices are a little steep to make this a regular for me.
The first time I went was for a romantic celebration dinner with my fiance we each had a few glasses of wine, the kcc farmers market salad (changes with what's available), pizza of the day, and the kabocha ravioli. The salad was yummy, sweet beets and local greens. Pizza of the day was some version of a margarita with a very thin and friday crispy crust...average. The kabocha ravioli was AH-mazing! Three lil ravioli in a pool of oil and light drizzles of pesto with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and toasted almonds. And three juicy prawns. Inside the soft pillows was a puree of the kabocha and sweet potato which went with the salty oil perfectly. I savored each tiny bite. The Only qualms I had were that there were only three (tear), and they were swimming in a flash flood of oil. The chefs could be a little kinder to my arteries...and my diet for that matter.
The second time I tried an oyster with ponzu sauce, reordered my beloved raviolis (they were better the first time), and had some awesome wine (a great white- not too dry, don't remember the name)! The highlight of my second visit was being able to sample wine before I ordered a glass and getting a glimpse of master sommelier Chuck Furuya hosting a wine dinner the next table over.
The best way to enjoy this place is to dine at the bar during happy hour (5:30 pm - 6:30 pm). Â All food items are 50% off, including food off of Hiroshi's menu (ask your server for the menu). Â The catch is that happy hour only applies to those sitting at the bar, Â there are only about 8 seats at the bar, and it's first come first served. Â So I recommend lining up at the door by 5:15 pm to ensure that you get a seat. Â
Here's what we ate:
Kabocha pumpkin and sweet potato ravioli: <a href="http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=zyufGQQx8DNJYN3tJQJJkw&userid=5iOId572Hr76oucpP1TNCg">http://www.yelp.com/user…</a>
Big Island Smoked Pork: <a href="http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=857GT8v_4bBHl2KRGw3Y8Q&userid=5iOId572Hr76oucpP1TNCg">http://www.yelp.com/user…</a>
Dungeness Crab Alla Chitarra: <a href="http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=gIsjRkrWKyC-vXCZ7cy3ug&userid=5iOId572Hr76oucpP1TNCg">http://www.yelp.com/user…</a>
Braised short ribs (off of Hiroshi's menu): <a href="http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=RbhhOJDe1wd4mhwYgSJSqw&userid=5iOId572Hr76oucpP1TNCg">http://www.yelp.com/user…</a>
Apple Tart: <a href="http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=haeDhuxoIKB-WA0PhK6bAQ&userid=5iOId572Hr76oucpP1TNCg">http://www.yelp.com/user…</a>
Everything was rich, full of flavor, and 50% off! Â It's the best way to enjoy fine dining at a reasonable price.
Pan seared lamb chops FTW!
I came here on my 5th repeat "23rd" birthday with a coup of my closest friends and we feasted like there would be no tomorrow!
THE FOOD:
Twin Bridges Waialua Asparagus Milanese
Crispy Calamari
Fresh Oysters prepared one of 3 ways
Kabocha Pumpkin And Molokai Sweet Potato Ravioli
Pan Seared Scamorza Cheese
Truffled Mac & Cheese
Vintage Natural Meats New York Steak.
Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank
and the night's special: Pan Seared Lamb Chops
This may not seem like a lot of food for 8 people but everything was a multiple order...(I was not kidding when I say we feasted!) Everything was delicious, some more than others. We all agreed that the Pan Seared Lamb Chops were the highlight of the meal.
My vegetarian friend had a moment when she ate some pasta and then pronounced "I think I just ate meat." We searched through the description on the menu to discover that indeed she'd eaten pancetta. Luckily she's not the type that freaks out when this happens. She just eats around the meat. Which was a good thing because we got to reap the rewards of her pancetta picking!
THE ATMOSPHERE:
Vino has a lovely intimate upscale feel. It's "dressy casual" dress code in Hawaii translates to a business casual feel with a slightly older crowd enjoying themselves. My party of 20-something year olds was by far the youngest group in the restaurant.
THE SERVICE:
This is the place where Vino fell short. On previous visits the service has been perfectly acceptable. Occasionally a bit slower than I'd like, but forgivable considering the number of patrons. This night however, was a problem. At one point we actually raised our hands trying to flag down our server (who was standing by the bar chatting with a co-worker). We weren't able to get his attention so I called out to a passing server (whom I know from previous visits) and asked him for some help even though we weren't technically in his section.
He took our orders for the 3rd round of drinks and passed the information back to our now (visibly annoyed) waiter. Our waiter came back to bring us the drinks and was much more attentive after the incident but he carried an air of resentment toward us that was fairly obvious (to me at least). He wasn't outwardly rude or anything like that so it's possible that I'm just overly sensitive or something.
What always brings me back to Vino is the food. (and the wine.) Let's be honest sometimes a girl just needs a couple of glasses of wine and some fancy cheese at the end of the work week. And Vino is the perfect place to get just that!
My experience here was mixed, but they were busy for a Saturday night. If I wasn't patient that night, I'd be annoyed - but how can you fault a restaurant for being busy? I'm glad they're doing well in this economy.
Wine Selections:
Very nice. Chuck Furuya knows his stuff, and he spends the night going from table to table interacting with customers. He didn't stop by our table, however. But this place stocks a nice wine selection.
My drink, however, had a splash of bourbon in a short glass of water with ice. Ideally, it would be the other way around so that you can actually taste the liquor. Had to send it back, and they got it right after that.
Assorted Cheese Platter:
This was pretty good. It went well with the wine offerings that night.
Penne Pasta Rigate:
The GF got this, and said it was pretty good. I've always found any form of penne pasta to be boring, but it wasn't bad. I'm wondering if the kitchen needs to season their dishes a bit more, because I've had tastier selections.
House-made Agnolotti & Langoustine:
Skip this dish at all costs. This pasta had NO flavor, and should never had been sent to us at all. The langoustines were small and overcooked, and the "pillows" of goat cheese were black holes of taste - they sucked in any available flavor never to be seen again. Even the GF was surprised at how tasteless this dish was.
If you order this dish, you're stupid. So I guess I'm stupid for believing the menu.
Ambiance:
The ambiance was predictable: loud and drunk with everyone throwing back wine.
Service:
Very slow, but I'm going to attribute this to them being busy.
Conclusion:
I can see why some people would love to come here, but it can't be for the food from what I've experienced.
Cyndy's BOTTOM LINE: Â wine selection is great because of sommelier Chuck Furuya! Â Food is equally great too.
This is what we ate: Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Twin Bridges Waialua Asparagus Milanese
Roasted Hamakua mushrooms, local organic egg, shaved parmesan cheese and white truffle oil
          Â
Ligurian Style "Trofie" Pasta
House-made "country" pasta, Hamakua mushrooms, sun-dried Hau'ula tomatoes, Â Genovese pesto & Ligurian olive oil
House Made Three Cheese Gnocchi
Jumbo lump crab, roasted wild mushrooms, sugar snap peas, sage brown butter sauce & kabocha pumpkin puree                       Â
                         Â
Burrata Housemade Mozzarella                                    Â
Marscapone cheese, pesto and fresh locally grown tomato concasse
Dungeness Crab Alla Chitarra              Â
Hand-cut fresh linguine, Dungeness crab, jalapeno, basil, sweet corn & lobster- uni buerre blanc
House-made Agnolotti & Langoustine                               Â
Pillows of Big Island goat cheese & ricotta with sautéed  langoustine and brown sage butter
                    Â
Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank                                          Â
Roasted local root vegetables, parsnip puree, salsa verde & natural jus
    Â
Vintage Natural Meats New York Steak                      Â
Roasted shallot red wine demi glace, broccolini and Tuscan mashed potatoes
            Â
Tiramisu with chocolate gelato
Apple tart with vanilla ice cream
I'll be honest, it's been over a year since I tried Vino during one of our girls nights. Â
In Restaurant Row, this spot is a great pau hana location. Â It is very lowkey with food best described by its name, tapas and wine. Â The staff was knowledgable about their wine, knowing the pairing for every tapa we ordered. Â
This was my first time at a tapa bar, but don't let the menu fool you. Â It might seem reasonably priced, but the tapas are small. Â Luckily we are tiny women and a tapa size was enough for a meal, but if we brought our men along, each tapa is maybe 2 bites worth of food to them. Â This meal could get pricy if allowed.
I had the pumpkin & sweet potato ravioli. Â What a fantastic healthy version to cheese ravioli. Â I used to use ravioli as my baseline comparison for all italian restaurants until I decided to change my diet. Â Some restaurants clearly use frozen ravioli and canned sauce. Â The better ones have hand rolled ravioli with flavorful sauces. Â This one took ravioli to the next level, best on the island so far! Â Highly recommend! Â
I'll have to update this with more specifics when I return.
Thursday night, Girls' Night...We definitely had the right idea...let's start with food and the rest of the evening will take off from there!
Since we knew that we were both craving Italian, Vino seemed to be the suggestion of the evening. I having never dined there before decided quickly that we should give the place a try.
BOO HOO...so sad that we did :(
Normally, there are two trains of thought when it comes to Chef's Specials:
1. Either it's whatever they need to get rid of
or
2. This is something that the Chef is introducing and would like to highlight for special attention.
Whether or not either of these was the case, I was soooo sorely disappointed with my Entree.
Opting for the Carbonara, I was really all abuzz with anticipation for my meal to arrive. It is remarkably difficult to find a great rendition of Carbonara these days and in these parts. I have been fortunate to have found some success at other establishments to I was really optimistic that this would be the case here.
NOT!
My Parparadelle Noodles were defintiely fresh made however the overall execution of the dish fell short. The flavors were bland, the serving size was almost more like a tapas plate than an entree. So disheartening.
My girlie friend opted for the seafood Chef Special with the same amount of entusiasm but I think it's safe to say that her dish failed to hit the mark as well.
On the bright side, the service is AMAZING and their wine list is rather impressive.
After a rough week at work, I decided I wanted to go for a glass of wine and some tapas. This was the first place that kept popping up on Yelp, so grabbed the hubby and said "let go". Set in the dying shell of Restaurant Row, which used to be a hip popular place to hang out, but is now filled with closed lease available areas, it was nice to see a bit of life in the corner of the area. It was like walking into a place we used to go to in Boulder Colorado - an attempt to look like Tuscany, not realistic, but fun. The place was buzzing! We were asked to sit on a leather couch as they worked on putting out more tables. The hostess quickly too our wine orders and then asked to take a tapas order so we would have something to nibble on while we waited. We ordered a Lambrusco and a Sangiovese. Wonderful! For our waiting tapas order, we chose the goat cheese agnolotti and langoustine. very expensive, but a larger serving than most tapas, so it did make the pocketbook scream as loud. Very good dish - an perfect example of how garlic should be used - not to overpower a dish but to bring out a contrast, especially with the goat cheese. Â After about 20 min , we were seated and immediately had our entire order taken, more wine and fresh bread with really good olive oil and balsamic . My second glass was a Pinot Nero - never heard of it, but it was nice, light, went with the food well. We ordered a pan seared Foie Gras on Brioche. It was really really good, came with a sunny side up quail egg (cute) and this awesome duck proscuitto. OMG! Delish! Savory, smooth, irony at the same time. We then had the salami and cheese platter which was really good as well. One of the better charcuterie platters I have had. Finally my husband's favorite was the mini veal osso bucco...melt in your mouth....and marrow! We finished the meal with an apple tart your Grandmother would wrestle you over.
We are going back, and taking some friends. Great wine, great food, fun atmosphere - what is not to love
First of, let's get it out of the way, we saw Daniel Dae Kim when we went and had dinner over there. haha
okay, back to the food. We ordered the butternut squash and sweet potato ravioli, and they were delicious, but $14 for three raviolis and three shrimps?! I think one of the shrimps just got stuck in my throat! Then we got the gnocchi. Same, really tasty, great execution, love it all. Just quite pricey. But it's an every now and then treat, right?
Also the wines were really good. for wine by the glass, we were not disappointed. Got the Malbec and the Shiraz and we loved them both, for $3 a glass this was a great deal :)
We REALLY enjoyed our dinner at Vino! We ventured to vino after a Kakaako Night Market...
Located in Restaurant Row. Vino is part of the same company as DK Steakhouse and Sansei Sushi. Very cute little restaurant. Doesn't feel like you are in Hawaii, but maybe a small fancy cafe in Italy.
They know their wines! Wines by the glass are offered as 2oz and 5oz pours. (They have a dishwasher that ONLY washes their wine glasses)
The homemade pasta is really fantastic. We left fat and happy, and had no complaints at all!
Must try!
Ambiance: It gets loud. Chuck is loud (but in a good way.) The servers are busy. This place can get very busy but still intimate. You have the option to sit at a table, the bar or in the couch area. I also think it's interesting that ou can get to Hiroshi's from their restaurant.
Service: Hit or miss. The last time we went here the server forgot to get us our drinks so we waited for  a little bit to get refills and our orders. We also wanted to order more food but our server was extremely busy.
Food: I've been here a few times and I've always been impressed with everything I've gotten. I recommend trying one of their specials of the evening because its usually a different take on something they already have on their menu. My favorite so far is their Agnolotti & Langoustine. Their lamb shank falls off the bone, their calamari is very crispy and not full of breading, I would skip their cioppino, too much work for not enough seafood and it was over cooked, and their New York Steak is cooked perfectly to order.
Wine: I suggest you let Chuck pick for you.
I've been back a few times and I'll probably come back again. Great place to grab italian food, there's plenty of parking (validated) and good wine selection.
Amazing food, great service, nice ambiance.
I feel like Restaurant Row gets over looked a lot... Or maybe is bc when you walk around there, it looks dead.... But looks can be deceiving. Â
Peek inside the restaurants and you'll see a much different scenario. Vino for example was bustling with business, and after dining here, I can see why....
the FOOD:
cheese and salumi platter
brezolla (air dried beef carpaccio)
truffle mac and cheese
osso buco
lamb shank
kabocha ravioli with pesto shrimp
tiramisu with chocolate gelato
warm apple tart
in the cheese and salumi platter, the 3 cheeses were Manchego, black diamond cheddar, and gorgonzola, but unfortunately i cannot remember what the salumi's were.... i can tell you, all were delicious, and perfect paired together.
brezolla (i know i'm probably butchering the spelling) was a different take on carpaccio. Â while it was different, it was good. Â it was a little bit like beef jerky, but not tough at all. Â the air drying "beefs up" the beef flavor.
the truffle mac was super fragrant and nice and gooey.... just how mac and cheese should be!
osso buco was delicious - i could probably eat 3 of these it was so good. Â and DON'T FORGET TO EAT THAT BONE MARROW! i was shocked and amazed that my friend had never had marrow before.... it is the best part, so please dont leave it behind!!
the lamb shank is amazing. Â not too gamy, and BIG. Â you feel like you want to pick it up by the bone and eat it like a caveman! Â
kabocha ravioli and shrimp were great - the kabocha was slightly sweet, and the shrimp were good, but slightly over-cooked. Â
if you're getting dessert, the tiramisu and gelato are good, but beware... the amount of cocoa powder they put on top could get you coughing if you inhale at the wrong moment! Â the gelato was decadent.
and the warm apple tart was caramel-tastic.....
look at the wines too - they come in different ounces, and there is no over-pouring at this place - they literally mark the glasses!!!
Yummy! Went here for the first time the other day with my girlfriends, this place was pretty good for groups. Its a small place but there was 6 of us, a huge party of like 12 next to us, and still enough room to accommodate like 6 more tables of 4. I like the vibe here and the food was delicious! Tapas style. We ordered pretty much everything!
Pleaseeee get the cheese plate. 3 types of delicious cheese, mortadella, salami and some other cured meat which name I did not get but ate it all anyway. Such good stuff. Mmm... Black Diamond Chedder with a port reduction sauce...to die for!
In addition to the cheese plate,the truffle mac and cheese was sinfully good with all the mushrooms and creamy cheesy goodness, and the kabocha ravioli is definitely a must try! And their mini osso buco was dip-the-bread-in-the-gravy good! There is only one problem with their mini osso bucco and that's that it's MINI! i'm supposed to share that tapas style? Nope, next time I'm ordering one just for me!
And please don't leave without dessert! Their gelato is really good, and I LOVED their tiramisu. A little too much cocoa powder on top, but very delicious. Â Everything was yummy, including the wine!
I asked for something delicious and got this carbonated red wine that I couldn't stop drinking! I swear, I would've drank the whole bottle if they let me. I can't say the name of it, but I will post a picture :)
When  I eat, I enjoy having many different dishes besides just my own entrée.  This place was perfect for that.  I went with 3 other people so there was enough of us where we could order a decent amount or dishes. Â
I enjoy wines that are on the sweeter side most of the time, so our server brought us a wine called Birbet. Â It was sweet but didn't feel so heavy. Â
We tried the cheese and salumi platter first. Â I most enjoyed the cheese which was drizzled with a sweeter jam type sauce. Â It was very good. Â
We then had the Truffled Mac and Cheese. Â It had just the right amount of Truffle flavor, it was really rich but not thick just the right amount of creamy. Â It was good but probably not my favorite dish of the night. Â
We then ordered the Pan Seared Fois Gras. Â I did taste the dish but I'm not a Fois Gras person so didn't eat too much of it. Â It had a nice crust from being seared then melted in your mouth. Â The others that I was there with seemed to thoroughly enjoy the dish. Â
The Dungeness Crab "Alla Chitarra" was pretty okay. Â I almost feel like there was some truffle oil in the oil sauce that was drizzled around the plate which somewhat overpowered the taste of the crab and basil etc. Â
Finally, we had the Ligurian Style "Trofie" Pasta, which had mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes pesto and olive oil. Â This was probably my favorite dish of the night although it may be because I'm more of a pasta person. Â
We finally also tried the pizza for that night which was a thin crust pizza with basil, prosciutto and mozzarella cheese. Â It wasn't anything outstanding but it was light and very fresh. Â The pieces of prosciutto were small and not really prominent in the dish. Â
As you can tell, we had no room for dessert in our tummy's so we didn't get that far. Â But the server did highly recommend the dessert (I forgot the actual name). Â In any case, my overall experience was good, if the menu were to be updated, I'd probably go back since we were already able to try most of what we wanted to in this one visit. Â Service was good and the ambiance was "romantic". Â Definitely make reservations if you plan on going, especially on the weekend. Â I'm giving this a 3 because I think my expectations were high based on the yelp reviews.
Hmmm, Italian food in Hawaii..... Scary thoughts of spam spaghetti come to mind, but Vino actually has a good reputation for its wine list and spam-free small plates, so we gave it a try!
We had a flight of 3 great wines and shared:
Bread basket- pretty dull, but free, so I guess I shouldn't WHINE... haha pun intended
House made ravioli  ($8) sausage, spinach, ricotta, marinara - very tasty, nicely done!
Cheese and Salumi ($13) impressive lineup of Petit Basque, St. Andre and Purple Haze alongside charcuterie of Coppa, Proscuitto and Calabrese
Pizza (daily special/ $11)- Blah! A sad rendition of a classic margherita... dry cracker-like crust and overly sweet sauce
Despite the cheesy Italian décor and strip mall-ish look, it feels very homey and service is outstanding. If you need a break from kalua pig and pineapple,  I recommend coming here strictly for wine, cheese and charcuterie.
I think this place is way better than Hiroshi's (same owner). The pasta is super tasty, but not quite sure if it tasted authentic. I've yet to find an Italian mama making pasta in the kitchen on this island (like Osteria Mama). They seem to put their own spin on their pastas. My favorites are the gnocchi and the local style pasta. All the other pastas are really delicious too like the pork pasta and the crab fettuccine. They have a good selection of alcohol at the bar (scotch selection is great). The staff is attentive and very friendly.
I would definitely come back again.
A place that serves gnocchi... LOVE!
I had their gnocchi, ravioli, and pizza.
They were all really good... but eat the food as quickly as you can because if you wait around and let the food get cold, it's not so good anymore. LoL
They have an extensive choice in wine... you'll be sure to find something you like.
Yelp 365 Challenge #350/365
It took a dear friend's birthday to bring me back to Vino's, and I was delighted to see that one of my favorite items is still on the menu -- the gnocchi with sugar snap peas, mushrooms, tomatoes and pumpkin puree! Â
Love the ambience, the attentive service (turns out one of my pilates instructors works there!), and most definitely the food. Â Some standouts from my friends' orders: Â the lobster risotto (creamy and decadently rich with a big piece of lobster!), the steak, a caprese salad, asparagus topped with egg (sounds odd, but a surprisingly delicious combination), and a medley of seafood. Â Oysters were also on special that night, though I am not fond of the slippery aphrodisiac. Â Chocolate would be so much better!
Chuck Furuya visited our table frequently, regaling us with funny stories and a quick lesson on the best growing conditions to ensure the physiological maturity of grapes. Â I think I got that right, chocolate I know, wine .... not so much. Â
Parking was a breeze on a Saturday night as there's no need for validation and lots of open stalls. Â Only shortcoming is that I could smell cigarette smoke wafting through the restaurant doors every time they opened. Â Sort of an appetite killer, so I ate an entire order of broccolini to ensure I got my antioxidants. Despite that minor irritation, even after all this time, I realized that Vino's is still one of my favorite places to dine!
How have I not written a review yet?! Â I've been here probably 20+ times in recent memory but the number could be much higher since many memorable evenings have become hazy blurs after copious amounts of delicious wine.
There is a pecking order when you come to Hiroshi's or Vino's...
1. Make fun of Chuck Furuya
2. Order fantastic, unique and rare bottles of wine
3. Enjoy great food with a changing and evolving menu
4. Make fun of Chuck Furuya
Repeat 1 and 4 as often as possible. Â I swear, Chuck makes this place what it is... his sense of humor, his demeanor with all of his guests, his wealth of knowledge of wines and most importantly, his willingness to share and teach you about the wines you are drinking. Â
Vino's is as much about the food and wine as it is about learning what makes a good pairing. Â You need to walk in here ready to learn, when you do... you will question why there isn't a 6-star option for this place.
It is best to bring a group of friends so you can eat through the menu, Tapa's style dining is a rare but beautiful event and best done with bottles of wine picked by Chuck. Â Always ask him for something unique, always try something different and learn why you can come back here time and time again and never have the same experience twice.
Sorry to say, I was disappointed. Â
So much build up from my friends on the wine here, I assumed I could order anything on the wine-by-the-glass list and be happy. Â What I got was a weak and insipid white that might as well have been a cheap pinot grigio from Costco (not saying it was, just might as well have been).
I came here a while ago with a bunch of friends. It's a pretty awesome restaurant with tons of wines to taste.
We ordered some red wines to sample and also got the caprese salad, ceasar salad and some ravioli type dish. The caprese salad had an awesome dressing. It was topped with fresh juicy tomatoes and basil and the mozarella was divine. The ceasar salad was presented uniquely with each leaf seperated and not cut up. It looked like baby romaine lettuce and the dressing was on point. I did not eat the ravioli dish as my friend ate it and it was her dish. I am afraid to say we didn't order much that night because we weren't that hungry. I'd definitely come back here again. Loved the food and ambiance.
Crrackk! Pick out crab meat. Suck juicy garlic-y flavor off fingers. Repeat. Over. And over.
O
M
G
The best crab ever.
Went to Vino's Fisherman's Wharf Dinner on May 5. What a delectably scrumptious evening. The special menu was a tribute to one of my favorite eating cities - San Francisco. Chef Keith conjured up four spectacular dishes: Sautéed Monterey calamari flown in from Seven Hills Restaurant, shellfish cannelloni served in a ciopino  sauce, homemade linguine tossed with tender rock shrimp and Sicilian cracked crab.
BF had a flight that evening so I went with two friends. One look at the menu and we decided to order all four items family style. All were yum but it was the homemade linguine and Sicilian  Cracked Crab that had us ordering seconds. This was the best crab I have ever had. EVER.
The garlic was there but not overpowering. You could taste the roastiness (is that a word?) of the garlic, crab and green onions. The meat was flakey but not dried out. It was...perfect. My only complaint is I have no idea when I'll ever be able to have this dish again. If only it could be ordered with Vino's vintage steak - that would be true food fantasy...
Well, boys and girls, it was just OK. Â I had heard such great things and wanted Vino to knock it out of the park. Â Really. Â It just didn't come together that well.
The wines by the glass were, again, just OK. Â I love a big, jammy red and they had one...one. Â I sampled the pizza, gnocchi, calamari, salumi plate and the red velvet (yes, sir). Â Everything was just OK. Â It wasn't epic or special, and there are so many good choices in the area that it's hard for me give Vino another chance. Â Maybe for a tasting...
On to the next adventure.
This was my second attempt to go to Vino's (first time it was close so my girlfriend and I ended at Hiroshis, which wasn't bad at all). Â Well I have to say it was great! Â The restaurant is small, cozy and inviting (and the wait staff isn't too bad looking girls but I digress). Â We were sat promptly and served pretty much as soon as we sat down.
**note: no reservations after 6pm. Â The only time they take reservations is at 530pm and 6pm.
Our waiter, I'm sorry I forgot his name, was very good. Â Attentive and also helpful in helping us decide what was good on the menu.
For drink:
We went with glasses of their mid-range cabernet sauvignon from France, Fontsainte "Les Demoiselles" 2008. Â It was delicious and went well with all our dishes. Â At the end of the meal we followed it with a tasting of another cabernet sauvignon from Australia, Mollydooker "Maitre'D" 2009. Â Nice and bold yet fruity. Â Perfect as a dessert.
For food:
They serve a white french bread by the way which was soft on the inside and crunchy flaky on the outside...
Starter:
$14 - Kabocha Pumpkin and Molokai Sweet Potato Ravioli                              Â
Pesto marinated prawns, sliced almonds and sage brown butter
Rest of the meal:
$8 - House Made Three Cheese Gnocchi - Vegetarian
Roasted wild mushrooms, sugar snap peas, sage brown butter                  sauce & kabocha pumpkin puree
$7 - Hiraoka Farms broccoli rabe-garlic butter
$10 - KCC Farmers' Market Salad
Maunawili Farms hydroponically farmed greens, sweet Kahuku corn, Pit Farms organic carrots, Hiraoka Farms baby bok choy, Naked Cow Dairy feta cheese and lemon herb vinaigrette
Everything was delicious and because it's tapas style, the items we chose weren't too big. Â Perfect for two people. Â Plus majority of our dishes were made up of vegetable so it was nice and light. Â There are dishes on the menu that are bigger to be shared by more people.
I wanted to take Mom and Dad to somewhere nice. So after reading reviews from some of my favorite Elite Yelpers like Kalani C., Seleena H., Beth I., and Kelly J. I decided this was the place.
Dad was being fussy and opted out. That's good and bad. (I'll explain why later.)
I've taken them to Hiroshi and they loved it. Naturely, we wanted to sit at the bar and do the hapy hour. Mom and I show up before they open, obviously. We seat second, order first.
Now this is where everything falls apart. The bar quickly fills up. Why wouldn't it? It's opening hour and 50% off the entire menu. Everyone else follows suit and orders. Right here I feel like a champ. I got my order in first, suckers! At least that's what I was thinking.
The owner comes up and greets the couple next to us. Then suddenly the food starts to show up. Everyone gets their food BUT us. Wha-the-hell?! The couple next to us showed up last, ordered the same thing as us, and got it first. Finally half our order shows up. We're starving and scarf it down. Then proceeded to wait...and wait...and wait.
We look impatiently at the bartender. Poor bartender. Half an hour goes by before the other half of our order comes out.
We were treated like second-rate customers. All because of a VIP. I'm was embarrassed to have taken my mother here. I'm debating boycotting the whole chain: Hiroshi, Vino, DK, & Sansei. Sorry but this type of service deserves no love from me and definitely not my hard-earned monies. Good bye.
Wow, this is is just GREAT!!!
I've heard about hiroshi, i've heard dk, maybe a mention about vino, but this place is legit!!! We got here a little after 9pm and people started leaving so there wasn't a wait. We started the night with a glass of wine, which might i add is cheaply priced compared to other places. looking at5 5-8 dollars a glass. They do have nightly specials so if you want to try them, i suggest getting there early, since by the time we got there, they were sold out :(
The atmosphere is pretty dark, but kind of like a winery, dining feel. We got seated and service was quick. Â We ordered a cheese & salumi appetizer which is delicious! the cheese that they serve with the salumi just complements each other. Â Our entrees came out pretty fast. Â I had the pesto with sundried tomatos & hamakua mushrooms and my bf had the veal. It doesn't come with any starch so i recommend ordering a side of something. Although the portions are a bit small, price wise i feel you're paying for the quality of the food. Ranges anywhere from 8-25 dollars. Definitely coming back here again!
The sting of disappointment is acute. Led astray by the rave reviews of fellow Yelpers, I had high hopes for Vino. Alas, the reality did not live up to the expectation.
Hubby and I dined here rather late one evening recently. It's nice that they are open a bit later than some restaurants, and we enjoyed the food, for the most part. What ruined it for us was our snarky waiter, who seemed to use every trip to our table as another way to express his imagined superiority and generally made us feel uncomfortable.
He started by making fun of me when I didn't order any wine. Call me crazy, but last I checked, it's bad manners for wait staff to offer opinions about one's menu selections unless specifically called upon to do so. Even then, it should be done professionally and courteously.
Mr. Sourpuss further embarrassed us when he made a snide remark to his fellow server, who accidentally bumped into him while he was standing at our table. On a positive note, our expediter was extremely courteous and professional. Wish she had been our server.
The food was good, but not spectacular by any means. (One entree was extremely oily and salty, for example.) The interior of the restaurant is casual and rather kitchy, not in keeping with the upscale menu and pricing this place aspires to.
Vino is rather small, and since there was a party dining at the same time that was enjoying the wine a LOT, the amount of noise was irritating. Plus, they were playing a really weird, eclectic mix of music, a lot of which was not conducive to a fine dining experience.
Food = 4 stars, service = 1 star, atmosphere  = 3 stars, overall value for price = 2 stars. I might come back during happy hour when the price drops by half, but not while the bad taste still lingers in my mouth, so to speak.
Vino is located in Restaurant Row, next to Hiroshi. Parking is free with validation.
Yelp 365 Challenge #073/365
5 stars!
After reading the reviews (esp. by Seleena H), we made the decision to come here before seeing opera diva, Kiri Te Kanawa at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. Â So glad we did!
For starters, their Happy Hour (at the bar only) from 5:30-6:30 pm is a stupendous deal! Â It's 50% off the food menu (sorry, not the wine) and a 17% gratuity is built into your bill (reasonable). Â Not too shabby at all! Â The service by Isaiah was excellent! Â We especially enjoyed his obvious passion for wine and appreciation for centuries' old production techniques (Old World). Â Mahalo for sharing!
We also were able to chat with owner and Master Sommelier, Chuck Furuya, regarding his 2001 red that he personally co-produced a decade ago.  We drank up as much as we could, knowing this delicately structured gem was going fast and would be unavailable by the end of the night.  He also provided us some helpful insight into our search for Italian and Slovenian produced "orange wines":  <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FOrange_wine&s=39d42ee412912a073246eaf11db74856947b12347fc00e4a4d7e66575c6268e7" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/…</a>  Come to find out, he offers two here by the bottle.  Thank you Baby Jesus!
The ambiance here is a facsimile of an Italian enoteca of warm tones and vineyard scenes depicted by murals. Â The main dinning room is spacious and became crowded during our nearly two hour stay. Â A nice bustle and vibe with Chuck Furuya roaming table to table, chatting about the wines and making jokes. Â Sommelier and a show, sweet!
Inspired by the 50%-off Happy Hour, we ordered a magnitude of dishes that really gave us a spectrum of the kitchen's talent:
1) Â Kabocha Pumpkin and Moloka'i Sweet Potato Ravioli:
Pesto marinated prawns, sliced almonds in sage brown butter. Â The pumpkin was so delightful sandwiched between homemade ravioli in a delicious sauce. Â The marinated prawns were succulent and not dried out.
2) Â Mini Veal Osso Buco:
Slow braised, veal-red wine reduction & mashed potatoes. Â The veal was crazy tender with a marrow I sucked dry (intense concentration of flavor!). Â The adorning vegetables and mash were just icing on an already amazing dish!
3) Â Pan Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras:
Duck proscuitto, brioche, sunny side up quail egg, orange gelee and vanilla maple syrup drizzle. Â Ãœber rich and how foie gras should be. Â Simply put, this dish was layered decadence! Â Some serious divinity going on here! Â
4) Â Ligurian Style "Trofie" Pasta:
House-made "country" pasta, Hamakua mushrooms, sun-dried Hau'ula tomatoes, Genovese pesto & Ligurian olive oil. Â Incredible pasta dish with impeccable tasting olive oil, perfectly al dente pasta that had superb texture and a nice amount of chewiness. Â The sun-dried tomatoes added a delightful zesty lift. Â
5) Â Dungeness Crab "Alla Chitarra":
Hand-cut fresh linguine, Dungeness crab, jalapeño, basil, sweet corn & lobster- uni buerre blanc.  This dish looked liked pad thai, ha!  The most spicy and garlicky dish of the night, however still stellar with unique flavors and the Kahuku corn provided nice crunch.
6) Â House-made Agnolotti & Langoustine:
Pillows of Big Island goat cheese & ricotta with sautéed langoustine and brown sage butter.  At this point the kitchen was just flaunting their talents.  We just surrendered and enjoyed the ride.  This dish already had us at pillows. Â
7) Â Apple Tart Ala Mode:
Puff pastry with vanilla bean ice cream in a caramelized sugar sauce. Â Sounds simple, but simply delicious! Â The best part of this dish was the orgasmic sauce, seriously.
Overall, an incredible evening! Â Don't know why we haven't been here for dinner before, but this definitely changes things up as I am certain this will become a new-found addiction. Â Especially at 50% off during their happy hour! Â You cannot go wrong. Â One of the best deals in town. Â Buona mangia!!
#Yelp 365: Â 071/365
Very few times to hidden gems get uncovered, and for Vino - it's like finding the Hope Freakin' Diamond. The most magical part of this find is the happy hour - never mind the food, yet - the happy hour is amazing, for one hour, between 5:30 and 6:30, the entire menu is 50% off; Fifty percent off of some excellent fine-dining fare. That's like having a Groupon, and never needing to print it out.
I ordered myself the Osso Buco, a healthy serving of veal over mashed potatoes, vegetables and smothered in love ...errrrr, a reduction sauce. It was amazing for the price of $8. The veggies were soft and with the savory reduction sauce, melted once it hit your taste buds. The veal was perfect and tender, it slid right off of the bone, and into my mouth then I nearly slipped into a heaven.
I asked which wines would pair well, and the bartender gave me an option of three available wines. I chose a rustic Italian wine, but when it came time to eat, I forgot all about my beverage because the food was delicious.
Overall: with 50% off, it is definitely a Happy Hour, and one I will surely return to. An eight dollar osso buco was not the cheapest dish on the menu either. Additional pasta dishes, pizzas and meat dishes peppered the menu as well as sea food. Another additional aspect of the experience which made it all the better was owner Chuck Furuya who is an all-out amazing host... and funny jokester.
24/365
My boyfriend and I ate here on a whim on a Saturday night. Â I've passed by this place quite often, and I always wondered what the food/atmosphere was like. Â So, when the boyfriend asked if I wanted to eat there, of course I said yes.
I love cabernet, so I opted for a 5oz. glass of that. Â It was amazing :) Â
I wasn't super hungry, but I wanted to sample something salty. Â We got the pork with their homemade fettucini noodles. Â Not too salty, but it was perfect ... just right. Â The pork was so tasty, and the mushrooms they put in it were filled with flavor. Â
The boyfriend got the calamari, which was really good. Â The aioli sauce was a funny color, and I was hesitant to try it at first. Â I mean, it was brownish looking. Â But once I tried it, I was hooked. Â I bet the waiter was thinking, "Geez, does this girl want some calamari with her aioli sauce."
i loved the atmosphere. Â It has a nice neighborhood feel to it (like the menu claimed). Â The waiters were all friendly, and they joked around with us. Â It wasn't too loud. Â It's a perfect place to go on a date night :)
I had the pleasure of eating here with my girlfriend this past weekend. Vino was one of the many restaurants that participated in the "Restaurant Week Hawaii" and offered a special menu with an optional wine pairing.
The food was amazing! We decided to not order the same dishes so we could sample the whole menu and I'm glad we did! For our first course...she had the Crispy Rock Shrimp with Cioppino Sauce & Fresh Nalo Farms Arugula while I ordered the Homemade Seafood Sausage with Lobster-Uni Sauce. Delicious!
The next course was simple, light yet yummy. We both had the Wild Mushroom & Waialua Asparagus Risotto. The wasn't a selection for this course and I really enjoyed this dish very much.
Our entrées...by this point, I was slowly getting full from what we've eaten so far, the wines and all that fun! Continuing on...I had the Fennel-Mudica Crusted Hawaiian Swordfish with Fresh Chanterelle Mushroom Sauce and she had the Red Wine Braised Shortribs with Broccoli Rabe & Homemade Linguine. Even more amazing!
Finally...the last dish - dessert. We had the choice of ordering Apple Tart with Caramel Sauce or Chocolate Panna Cotta. Neither one of us were fans of the apple tart so we ended up with the panna cotta. It was melt-in-your-mouth kind of dessert. Yummy! Overall...I'd say they were wonderful dishes paired with great wines. Ohh-la-la... ^__^
I went here for the second or third time a couple weekends ago for Kelly k's birthday dinner.
Service was quick and friendly.
The 5 of us were seated promptly, around 9:20pm. We were in a bit of a time crunch, as we pushed back our reservation a couple times. (We were also expected to be at Bonsai around 10:30/11pm ish.)
Anyway, I wasn't that hungry but I ordered the truffled mac & cheese.
OMG the Mac & cheese was delicious, especially with the mushrooms and truffle oil I believe. I could've licked the bowl--it was freakin' great. $15 might seem expensive for Mac & cheese, but it was totally worth every penny.
I'll be back for more. You can count on it.
I wanted to love this place, really. Close by , friends work there, nice atmosphere. Tonight was the night. They are offering 50 percent off the month of Jan at the Bar 5:30-6:30 only on there Menu items. Great way to test several dishes without a massive check.
Unfortunately some of the dishes were not good (I"m being gentle) , the ones that were good won't be enough to make me return.
The Scamorza Cheese (good)
Grilled Octopus (best course of the night)
Mac & Cheese (truffle) (slightly watery)
were good.
The Homemade Ravioli was so disgusting that my wife almost yelled out Ragu and had such an intense flavor of Fennel we could barely stand it. Quality Control had the night off apparently.
Service was great. Wine was good. Life is too short.
Before I wax poetic about all the things I love about this place, lemme start out with the bad, that way I can end it on a positive note.
The Bad:
1. Â Took forever to be seated even though there was a table available.
2. Â Took forever to order once we were seated.
3. Â They ran out of restaurant week dishes two hours after opening for service.
4. Â (PET PEEVE ALERT!!!) Timing of dishes was off. Â We ordered an app to share and two entrees. Â First dish to come out was the pasta entree. Â Then five min later the second entree. Â Coming in last was the appetizer. Â Sorta defeats the purpose of ordering an app if you're going to get it all at once. Â In fairness, waiter did warn that he was going to bring things out of order because the kitchen was taking too long for dishes to finish up and he didn't want the dishes that were ready to get cold. Â C'mon, kitchen staff!
Whew, so all that bitching, yet still I'm a fan and will be back again. Â Why? Â Because there's a huge wine selection, and the food and wine that we got was so good that it didn't ruin our dinner date. Â
The Good:
1. Â The Argentinian Chianti that we ordered was really really really nice.
2. Â Oxtail pasta: rich hearty sauce with bits of tender ox tail meat with perfectly al dente pasta. Â
3. Cioppino:  Classic tomato based broth was very flavorful without tasting fishy.  Big shrimp, mussels and a bit of dungeness  crab. The crab was shell on, so was a bit of a mess but was so good that I just dug right in to get every morsel out.  After eating everything, we made sure to sponge up all the delicious broth with the bread, not to miss a single drop.
4. Â Ravioli: Â Good cheese filled ravioli, my date really liked it.
5. Â Dessert: Â Least memorable part. We got a strawberry ricotta that was tasty though not spectacular.
6. Â Friendly service. Â They were busy but very nice.
7. Â Good ambience.
8. Â Lots of other things on menu that look awesome: short ribs!
Just loved loved loved the ox tail pasta and cioppino though, so it will be hard to try new things because I want them again. Â Hoping to update to 5 stars soon!
We would never have found out about this place if it wasn't for the queen-of-south-bay-yelp, our very own ConnieC.
And what a nice treat too! you'll find this cute little Asian/Mediterranean bistro hidden away, outside of Waikiki in the middle of an office development.
Vino made the Food & Wine 2006 Top 50 "Amazing Wine Experiences in America" and its easy to see why.
Our waiter, Sifo, was ultra friendly and helpful. In fact, he even introduced me to some nice new wines I would never have considered and if you know me, then that's a tall order!
The food came tapas style and was quick, plentiful and tasty with our favorites being:-
-Roasted Wild Mushroom Chowder
-Truffled Mac & Cheese
-House made three cheese Gnocchi (with jumbo crab, roasted wild mushrooms & a butter sauce)
After desserts, Sifo brought out coffee for the lady and a cheeky wee free vintage port for me. The place was pretty quiet by this time, so he chatted with us for a while and gave us some excellent tips for sight seeing around the island. What a nice guy.
The only downside to Vino? Its a good 10 minute cab ride out from Waikiki. If you take a rental car, be prepared to deal with some 'molly' one way roads, busy car park, then a brief moment of panic as you try and navigate your way around the office complex to where the restaurant is hidden.
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