Soup dumplings were decent, au gratin potato’s were interesting and the butter mochi bunnies were yummy but the rest of it was meh and the ambiance was poor. Bright track lighting in your eyes the whole time. Cheap feeling finishes in the decor for the price point. Felt more like you were in da club then a nice restaurant. The food is terribly overpriced and nothing to write home about. The foie gras had decent flavor but was shaped into an unnatural disc and was placed over crunchy rice that only distracted from the texture and richness of the liver. Not a fan of that pairing at all. And the crispy duck was disappointing. The service was good but the menu explanations weee so complicated when it came to how to order. Would have done A5 but they wanted $250 for one ribeye! Overall, won’t be back.
Found this place on Yelp. It is mostly filled with locals. All of the people, including waitstaff, are cooks and chefs. The service was great, friendly and engaging. When I inquired about the ingredients in a dish, the cook who makes it came out to talk with me and explain the process in detail. The courses were all delicious and some surprising in taste and texture combinations. Highly recommend this place.
This was absolute BEST local/asian food I had ever had!! Went with the whole family and we loved it so much. Service was also incredible, Anthony was a pleasure. Some of our favorites were the Endive Cup Salad, buttermilk fried chicken, scallops, and Butter-Bunny-Butter for dessert!! 11/10 Recommend!!!!!!
About 20 minutes ride from Waikiki, this is a better meal than you will get from the resorts. The restaurant takes mainly reservations but seemed to be allowing some walk-in traffic. The menu starts at $65/person so beware. Find their current menu on Yelp or their website and make a reservation. The waitstaff are the cooks, the cooks are the waitstaff, this was interesting as it seemed like each person had an influence on the menu and a special understanding of the kitchen and each dish. The adobo fried chicken was a favorite. We also ordered the A-5 Waygu which as a ~10oz cut was more than enough for two people when considering the other dishes we ordered. Each person picks two dishes and one dessert which are shareable. As a table of two, we could pick four menu items for the $65/pp unless otherwise stated on the menu.My only recommendation would be that the Waygu option cost significant extra($140)but also took away two menu choices from one diner. While the Waygu was less than the market price on the island, once the reduced menu options are taken into account it really isn’t much less if at all.Also, despite COVID, I think for the cost of the meal that a cloth napkin instead of a thin paper one might be better received for a fine dining experience.Also a 3% credit card fee which isn’t uncommon on the island as well.Your money is better spent here if you are going to splurge a bit even though it is not beach views and white linen tablecloths and napkins.
Exquisite experience. One of the best meals I’ve had in a while, and I’ve been eating great food on this island. The chefs here take your order, make your drinks, and explain all the food in great detail. Everything was flavorful and delicious.Get the ube lemonade, you won’t regret it.
Can't say enough about this place, great family style tasting menu, very delicious food, good drinks, fun atmosphere, staff is excellent, inviting, and fun. If this place was on Kalakaua Ave you'd have trouble getting a table. A must visit
Dinner at XO Restaurant was massively disappointing and one of my worst restaurant experiences. The menu is set up as a family style tasting menu with seven courses and it shouldn’t be. The quality of the each course ranged from decent to very bad and is definitely not what you would expect from a tasting menu, which ended up costing over $200 for two people. I would recommend they change their menu to allow for customers to order stand-alone dishes rather than committing to an expensive and massive tasting menu. The first course we tried was the Beet Lotus, Emulsified Chimichurri, Shiso Gel, Quinoa. The dish was ok but forgettable. Soft beet patties were topped with crisp radish slices, crunchy quinoa, and a bland chimichurri sauce. The second course was actually pretty good. The Oxtail XLB (Soup Dumpling), Truffle, Parmesan, which required an upcharge from the tasting menu, featured warm soft savory dumplings filled with rich juicy tender oxtail. However, the third course of Foie Gras, Salt Roasted Crispy Rice, Gravy, which was supposed to be a specialty of the restaurant, was very average. Basically crisped rice was topped with a slab of foie gras. The dish felt like it was missing something important and was an underwhelming use of the foie gras. The fourth course, Seared Scallop, Mussel Sinigang, Crispy Kale, was very bad. The scallops were very chewy and seemed like they were starting to go bad and paired with flavorless crisp kale and Brussels sprouts. The fifth course, Updated Signature Adobo Fried Chicken, 4 Hour Braised Peppercorn Togarashi, was pretty good. Juicy tender chicken was covered in a crisp breading and a creamy flavorful sauce. The sixth course of Kalbi Pork Belly Ssam, Gochujang Aioli, Pickled Relish was also disappointing. The meat was marinated in an overly sweet and smoky sauce. This was some of the worst pork belly I have ever tried. Finally the dessert course of Fluffle of Brown Butter-Bunny-Butter Mochi was enjoyable and basically a warm dense soft lightly sweet pastry. On a positive note our server was very friendly throughout our dinner. Overall, XO Restaurant acts like an upscale fine dining restaurant but serves mostly low quality food at high prices.
Had a great experience dining at Restaurant XO. Didn't get to take all the pictures of each dish but it was a 7 course set menu with items that you can sub and add on for additional $5/$8; but we just went with the basic courses. Kamaaina was $68 per person and regular was $72 per person.Our favorite was the Seaweed potatoes with Portuguese sausage and the Beet Lotus dish. Our least favorite was the Adobo chicken and the Scallops because we felt like there was a little too much vinegar in the sauce. Overall it was good and unique since they tried to do something different. The waiters were very attentive and knowledgeable of the menu. Would come back again when I visit home.
I tried their tasting menu. The price was $72 before tax and service included 7 courses with alternative options for vegetarians and vegans. The portions was generous and I was really full. The bar has a fancy drink list as well as basic classic. I loved the seared scallops to be directed. The roasted cauliflower and buttermilk fried oyster was complimented with a glass of beer or spicy cocktails. There could be heavy sodium in some dishes. Notice your host in advance if you would like your sodium to be at control level. Otherwise, I had a great feast. The vibe was chilled. Service was prompt and super attentive. The Ube Lemonade cocktail was great to start and finish with. XO is a plus to Kaimuki quaint neighborhood. Worth to try in an attempt of Asian Fusion. Keep it up!
The staff were thoroughly invested in making this the best dining experience possible. Myself, a vegan, and my friend with a gluten allergy had dinner here and every member of the team accommodated us. The food is phenomenal, unique, and very well balanced texture and flavor wise. Bonus: the music was bomb! Will come back every time I’m in Honolulu!