Restaurant XO — Restaurant in Honolulu

Overall the food didn't feel like it justified the $72/person price but I can respect that the owner had to compensate for the significant decrease in patrons due to Covid-19. They're very forward with why they increased the price from $65 to $72 but the forced 21% gratuity at the end was a little deceiving since no where on the menu stating this. Overall it came out to around $87/person and at that price point I can't recommend this place. With that price point I expected so much more from the food and service than what was given. Making the restaurant family style feels extremely lazy from the chef/owner as they only need to plate one dish per table. At this price range for a 7 course dinner, it didn't feel appropriate for us to serve out the dish per person ourselves. Making sure everyone's portion size had the right ingredients on the plate to gain the full flavor experience was just unneeded as we had to constantly ask for more individual plates so the food from the previous dish didn't ruin the flavors on the next dish (not to mention the individual plates would get quite dirty after each dish). It was also quite laughable had they only gave us cheap disposable chopsticks when knives and forks were clearly needed for some of the dishes like the fried chicken, bacon wrapped sausage etc. Just another decision that made us think the owner was lazy as the chopsticks were just cheap disposable chopsticks vs giving us proper utensils or proper chopsticks. For the service and the food given, this place felt like it was worth $55 to $60 max if being generous.

On the food experience itself, it was interesting if not quite average/mediocre considering what you're paying for and how they market themselves. We went with the default tasting menu with no swaps or substitutes since it would have been even more expensive if we did. Our group could care less about fried chicken skin appetizer and fried chicken adobo. Both felt uninspired and uninteresting especially at the price point of $72/person. I've had both at significantly cheaper prices and significantly cheaper places. (I also question the choice of having something so heavy such as the fried chicken skin as the appetizer considering how heavy the rest of the dinner is). The rest of the dinner at the very least met our expectations of "interesting". The scallops were by far my favorite with the beet dish and potato dish being interesting at the very least. The blend of flavors were either just fine or not really a fan of in my opinion but a unique experience nonetheless. Nothing really popped out as amazing or phenomenal. The food honestly felt like more of an experience than going there for great consistent flavors since all the dishes varied in quality, uniqueness and taste in general.

Go to Restaurant XO if you have the money to spend on an average 7 course meal with subpar service but want to support a local business that wants to maintain their workers. Otherwise there's better places in Waikiki for much cheaper even with the...

I acknowledge that this restaurant's menu is creative and its chefs brought something personal in creating it. I also acknowledge that my amateur critique may not be welcomed. But this is just my humble inspired tasted expression. Each dish was confidently plated and and proudly presented to every diner by at least either the chef or the sous chef and they visited each table many times. Besides, if the dishes were blah, I would not have taken the time to write about them.

Buttermilk Fried Oysters, Curry Aioli

The execution was on point. The oyster breading looked heavy, but light and crunchy. The oysters were succulent and not tough. The sauce had a light curry taste to it, but it could have used more heat.

Brassicas, Bagoong Bagna Cauda Charred Lime Puree

The roasted veggies were crunchy with charred flavor. However, the rest of the components were faint in taste, I could hardly taste the bagoong and the lime.

Sous Vide Duck Breast

Duck breast usually has a sweet taste to it. It's textual counter point was the rendered crispy skin attached to it. I could not taste the two colored (red and green) sauces.

Ginger Fried Rice

The overall look of the dish reminded me of Panda Express's Chicken Mushroom. I could definitely taste the ginger and there were slices of button mushroom. However, whenever someone calls something fried rice, I immediately expect each grain to be separated, not clumped, each one toasted.

Adobo Fried Chicken

The name in itself is misleading. The name should have been Fried Chicken with Adobo Sauce. Yes, the fried chicken was in no way marinaded in adobo sauce and then deep fried. The fried chicken was crispy and juicy and boneless. The adobo sauce was slightly muted by butter (yup... all you Pinoys should cringe). The vinegar taste was present, but the soy sauce, garlic, and pepper corn taste that define chicken adobo were either muted or absent. I'm not sure how to process this dish--whether it should anger me or if I should applaud it. "To each his own", I guess.

Corn Bread, Triple Berry

Is corn bread a dessert? The bread had a nice outer crunch as well as inside the bread from the bits of corn meal. The berry sauce was tart and lends a color to the overall yellow and white of the bread. However, there was an absence of a corn flavor punch expected in a corn bread. Perhaps include bits of corn in the batter or change the sauce to a corn jam. If anything else, add in corn extract into the...

WARNING: Beware of the menu item highlighted in blue. For a party of three, two protein entrees were supposed to be substituted for Chirashi and there was no mention of an additional $150.00 surcharge for 3 people. The family style prix fixe substitutions were mentioned with the omission of the surcharge amount towards the Chirashi which was not clearly explained and was downright deceitful. My husband and I were celebrating a 95th birthday for my mother and ended up spending over a half a grand including the tip. I really wanted to appreciate the dining experience despite our chef Anthony's efforts (who doubled as our waiter). Instead it ended up leaving a bad taste in in my mouth. Save yourself from a potential scam. We will not be returning customers.

Rebuttal: I don't know how you were able to assume that the food was even enjoyable as there was no mention of it being so. However, do you honestly believe that had the price of the Chirashi been listed clearly on the menu at the $235.00, as you claim, that it would even, at the discounted price of $150.00, be considered a reasonable choice to add to our order? The truth you speak is a blatant lie.

Hi Kenneth L., I noticed that you have retracted your response to my initial review. Was it perhaps something you said to me in that response that warranted an apology? Adding insult to injury is unprofessional.

It is incredible that In your YouTube video you reveal yourself and a revised menu. The menu that was made available to us on the evening of our reservation was printed but an unclear additional cost was hand written in with a Sharpie Marker. My husband and I did not see a written amount of the $150.00 surcharge on the menus that was presented to us. I'm glad you took it upon yourself to display the newly printed menu. Your transparency is a honorable attempt to minimize damage control.

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