Pai Honolulu — Restaurant in Honolulu

Our experience at Pai was a great disappointment. We had hoped for a nice last meal in Honolulu, but the food ranged from mediocre to poor in quality and was extremely slow.

Service: Our servers were polite but lacked the polish and professionalism we would expect from a restaurant at this price point ($210 per person). Our server, though well-intentioned, spoke very softly and mumbled the dish explanations so we had difficulty understanding him, and he generally appeared nervous, avoiding eye contact.

Ambiance: The restaurant, which seats only ~12 parties to begin with, was no more than half full. The bluetooth speaker kept disconnecting, so every 10 minutes the music stopped and we heard an automated notification that the bluetooth speaker was disconnected. When the fire alarm went off in the middle of the meal, none of the servers stopped by to explain what was happening. We had a view into the open kitchen which only had 3-4 kitchen staff in it, including the head chef-- this may have contributed to the painstakingly slow pacing of the meal.

Food: We had the Chef’s Tasting Menu. The dishes, each of which drew from a different global influence (Southern, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, French, etc.) lacked cohesion as an overall menu. The food itself was the biggest letdown.

Chef’s buttermilk cornbread - 5/10. The cornbread was good/ordinary though the honey-miso butter was tasty. Kona kanpachi - 5/10. Three small pieces of kanpachi and two tiny pieces of scallop. The dish was nice but could have used a more generous portion of seafood as most of it was cucumber, tomato, and puree. Samoan crab purse - 6/10. Though slightly one dimensional, there was good amount of crab and filling and as dim sum lovers, we appreciated the take on siu mai. Lobster Cioppino - 6/10. The cioppino was flavorful and the half lobster tail was well cooked. However, the pieces of fennel on the side were confusing as they were not really integrated into the dish. Escargot toppogi - 6/10. One of the better dishes, a combination of escargot and small pieces of tteobboki in a pesto sauce that worked well but didn’t wow us. The two carrots on top, which might have been meant to provide freshness, were raw and out of place. Duck confit taro puff - 3/10. This is where the meal went rapidly downhill. According to the menu, the taro puff contained duck confit and foie gras rags with cabbage, shoyu mustard, and micro shiso. All of this was overpowered by the taste of cumin. The texture inside was oily and gooey with nothing to relieve the heaviness. Moreover, part of the filling was cold inside. 90 Day Dry-Aged Ribeye - 2/10. Two very rare, small blocks of meat were gummy in texture and lukewarm in temperature. The cauliflower was ok and so was the XO sauce just but the steak itself can only be described as terrible. Mai Tai Sherbet - skipped. At this point, we explained to the waiter that the meal had been taking a long time and we were not enjoying the food and asked if we could skip to dessert. Dark Chocolate Haupia - 5/10. The chocolate haupia itself was neat and tasted fine but the crumble was gritty.

Our final bill came out to $470, which is frankly outrageous for what we got. It is difficult to fathom how such a meal could be priced at a Michelin level. Our waiter apologized to us at the end for the slow and disappointing experience and we overheard him apologizing to at least two other tables as well, which suggests that our experience was...

T.L.D.R: try this place. If you're thinking about it, stop. Just do it. Don't hesitate. Just go. It's worth it. Try the (insert dish here) and you'll be happy.

I wanted to bring the wife out to a nice, final meal in Hawaii before heading home the next morning. I landed on this place, so we decided to try it out. We made a reservation with the note that it was for our anniversary, and the exemplary service started there. Within the first hours of the reservation, I received an email asking what my wife's name was because they wanted to put a customized note on the menu. They also asked if there were any dietary restrictions so they could accommodate. I replied with my wife's name and that she's due with our first child, so undercooked meats would be the only thing. Fast forward to our visit, Justine (part owner) greeted us with celebratory drinks while having a non-alcoholic drink available for my wife. She was very courteous and absolutely genuine in every way possible. We asked about some items on the menu for recommendations, and you could tell that she has an absolute passion for what her and her husband (chef) do. After some back and forth, we settled on the ciapinno and the 5 spice pork shoulder. Additionally, I took advantage and tried the caviar for my first time as an appetizer while trying the Thunder gone Rogue to drink. From start to finish, every dish and drink came out with an artistic, beautiful presentation that clearly showed attention to detail and flair to match the outstanding flavors that were presented. My only complaint is I wish I got more of the caviar. We proceeded to clear each plate that we ordered and couldn't stop there. We proceeded to order dessert and wanted to share the Ricotta Malasada. In conversation with Justine, we had mentioned that my wife had been craving fresh fruit lately, so in her thoughtfulness, she insisted that we try the Strawberry panna cotta as well and served both dishes to us. Each dessert had a wonderful depth of flavor that capped our night off with joy. Myself, wife, and child all were satisfied with every bite taken. Justine proceeded to offer us her card so that next time we come back or if we know anyone that is coming back, they can reach out to her and make sure that they have a good time. This is definitely something I plan to take advantage of because she is clearly the type of person that you want to have around. While the food and flavors were incredible, the service gave it the 5 star experience. Definitely...

My dining experience at Pai was deeply disappointing, bordering on feeling like a scam. I rarely write reviews, but I hope this one spares others from a similarly unfortunate experience. This review is about the Chef's Tasting Menu.

Ambience: The restaurant is a modest space with an open kitchen layout. The decor is unremarkable, but what stood out immediately was the lack of staff—just 3 servers and 3 cooks, which raised our first red flag.

Service: While the servers were polite, the service was far from polished. Our server, though well-intentioned, spoke so softly and mumbled through dish explanations that it was difficult to understand him. He also avoided eye contact and generally appeared nervous, which was another red flag.

An especially odd moment occurred when one server interrupted us as we were providing feedback on a dish, eagerly interjecting with, "EXCELLENT, right?" I wish I was joking.

Food: The food was the biggest letdown of the evening. The initial courses were mediocre at best, lacking the flavor and composition one would expect from a meal at this price point. From the Taro Puff course onwards, things took a turn for the worse—the puff was cold in the middle, and the dry-aged ribeye was nearly raw, and had a gummy texture. Additionally, the timing of the courses was odd, with some dishes arriving immediately and others taking 10-15 minutes.

Although our server acknowledged the poor experience and apologized, the head chef—despite being informed of our dissatisfaction—never came out to address the situation or offer an explanation. Notably, our server also apologized to two other tables, suggesting our experience was not unique.

I strongly advise against dining at Pai, especially for the Chef's Tasting Menu. Our experience was far from what one would expect for the price, and it was clear that we were not the only ones who felt this...