AV Restaurant — Restaurant in Honolulu

Firstly, I will say that I absolutely appreciate owners and chefs who try to do something special and something uncommon. This is always refreshing and while I understand the economic and commercial consideration and pressure most owners face with trying to make a living and support themselves, I always give plentiful credit to owners and chefs who really put it out there and try to deliver an experience that’s different and an experience that’s unique in nature. We have far too many owners and chefs and who play it “safe” and give in to the pressures of the business and economic fortitude. Too many owners and chefs who create menus that are practically a shoe-in to success and acclimation. It’s disheartening to see throughout the world, far too many owners and chefs who take the road well-travelled instead of the one rarely travelled. So for this alone, I give AV and the chef/owner very positive points and my gratitude.

To start, the location is a little bit away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki which is totally fair and honestly a positive note, but with that said, when we arrived, we were confused on where to go, how to get in and what to do. We came to what appeared to be the front door and it was locked. We called the restaurant main line but hit the voicemail almost immediately. We were left confused. Was the restaurant open? Did we go to the right spot? It was only until other parties arrived that we all deduced that we had an 8pm reservation and we were all at the right place. A person then came out and explained it would be a few minutes and to wait outside. Long story short, all of the parties waiting outside were confused when they arrived. There definitely needs to be an improvement to explain to guests when making a reservation what the process will be when arriving at the restaurant so no one is outside trying to gather how to enter the restaurant, etc. Once inside though, our experienced turned out very positive. It’s clear the chefs care about their work and it translates to the plates. They were informative and friendly. The food was also well put together. My wife is a vegetarian and I’m a “meat eater” and altogether we were satisfied with our meals. Some courses were beyond phenomenal and some were “just” good. The evening was paced well and ultimately it didn’t feel like a tremendously long experience which was nice. Be prepared though, that this is a completely different style of dining than you may be used to. It’s highly interactive (when it needs to be) and it’s far more of an experience than a cozy, be-alone-at-your-table kind of night. There is room for improvement on some of the courses in complexity and flavour balancing but overall the food was excellent. The portions are definitely on the petite side of things so if you have a tremendous appetite, you may feel hungry afterwards so be prepared. The price was on the line for us. Perhaps a slight bit higher than it should be. Our meal was $400 altogether with tip and in retrospect, it seems a slight bit high for what we experienced. We do however understand the nature of the effort and the offering so we accept the pricing structure is higher. Overall our rating is closer to four stars given a few areas of improvement but for the creativity, care, friendliness, diligence, and overall experience, AV deserves a very positive rating and they deserve the benefit of the doubt, hence the five star rating.

I will say in closing that YOU SHOULD try this. Highly recommended, especially if you’re in Hawaii. You won’t be disappointed, especially if you have the correct mindset and expectation of what this dining style is. You should be expecting an interactive multi-course culinary experience for the open-minded and not a choose-your-own-plate and...

Oy where do I start? First off I want to say I was very excited to be trying out a vegan fine dining experience in Honolulu and neither the cost nor the small plates were a turnoff. I came with a local friend and we reserved a table at 5:30 expecting this to take a while. When we arrived 5 minutes late the place was deserted and I thought I had gotten the time wrong but no, we were the only guests. Oh well. We were seated at the end of the long bar like sushi counter, like someone else remarked under overhead lights next to the kitchen with little ambiance. No tablecloths, the surfaces are black corian. The server could not have been nicer and it is he that made the entire event bearable! Right of the get go the food was not awesome! Beautiful to look at but not very flavorful. Basically mostly prepared and stored in tupper containers, then plated in front of us! I believe the first three dishes took 15 minutes or less and I made a remark that at this pace we’d be done in about 40 minutes or so! Insane! The server then offered to slow things down. We had a nice conversation with him about where he’s from, his upcoming trip to Japan and so on. I had been to 11madison in New York which I shared images off. We were basically killing time! The food was mediocre at best! The fact that someone was basically standing right in front of us, snapping open Tupperware, taking out prepared items, placing them on dishes then sliding them over simply felt surreal! No chef in site! A second person was there but I’m not sure what she was doing, possibly preparing for guests arriving for the 8 pm seating?

I’m grateful that my friend and also myself have a good sense of humor and pretty much laughed this entire thing off as an experience we’d be looking back on one day as a funny story! One dish, done colorful pasta like ravioli looked like kids food with bright blue striped. Rubberlike cold texture! The hot broth poured over it was actually pretty good. The worst was the cream cheese like sauce on the rice ball like things we were served. It tasted like breakfast spread with jelly mixed in. The last dessert I also did not finish! I’ll say at this point that I’m not a huge foodie! I love a lot of things, enjoy “ raised by the waves” because it’s so clean and fresh and flavorful! This food was just terrible! The chef I hear teaches at the culinary institute! I’m beyond astonished! Truly! Amazing!!! I just can’t imagine this restaurant will last. I’ve been vegan for over 6 years and gladly try out any place that offers vegan food but this place was probably the worst vegan food I’ve ever had. Again, the plating is great, it looks pretty enough and our server was lovely. But that was about it. I just can’t imagine what it would be like to book this for a special occasion or...

Outer space good. Mind blown. So much flavor and umami packed into small bites with a wide variety of ethnic flavors. My partner and I were over the moon. I enjoyed everything and the experience as a whole. We got to chat with Ana preparing all different dishes and enjoyed her expert decorum and conversation skills. Each item was explained and questions answered. Great date dinner. We will be back! FYI, can be gluten free on request and they exclusively come up with different dishes for gluten free, so there's a $30 upcharge.

Standouts for me were Dan Dan tortellini, crystal crostini, kofte, kalo senbei, smoke of gravy pie filling, katsu mushroom sando, tacos, banana dessert and batter of the waffle dog. The soft scramble just egg on the sando was fluffy and a little wet, just the way I like it. Dan Dan flavors were intense and the schezuan peppers at the end had the perfect mouth tingle. Crystal crostini crunch was fun and garlic is my weakness. The taco sauces...bagna caude and strawberry something were so flavorful! Kofte had a thin, hot crisp layer with a hefty filling that I appreciated. Everything was yummy, really.

Being picky, there were some inedible parts of the ulu in the pie, my partner and I wanted the pie crust as a slab like in old pictures vs the flower cut out which is pretty but not enough crust, the pie crust itself was hard to bite through. Waffle dog filling was mostly cheese that had melted, so upon biting, it looked empty (but tasted delicious).

I'd like to be able to sit down at a table and order full sized portions of my favorites. A bowl of tortellini? Yes, please. A full steamer of xia long bao? Right here!

Location! Entrance is facing 11th Ave across from the basketball court of the local park! The restaurant is skinny like the night bus squeezing between two cars... Look towards the far left of the one story building for the AV Restaurant sign next to the dumpster (unfortunate). This is not part of the complex of restaurants accessible from the big paid parking lot. Actually you can park right in front of the restaurant for FREE. Go up 11th Ave from waialae, it's a right turn after the...