ARANCINO AT THE KAHALA HOTEL AND RESORT

ARANCINO AT THE KAHALA HOTEL AND RESORT

HONOLULU, HAWAII

ARANCINO AT THE KAHALA HOTEL AND RESORT

5000 KAHALA AVENUE

HONOLULU, HI  96816

808-380-4400

HOURS:  Daily 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM / 5:00 PM - 10:30 PM

www.arancino.com

I love the Kahala Hotel and Resort.  Probably my favorite Oahu hotel and a place that I love to introduce to visitors who are staying in Waikiki.  The hotel is only minutes from hustle and bustle of Waikiki but seems like it is on a different Island.  It is a world unto itself with a beautiful beach, dolphin lagoon and large pool area overlooking the ocean.  This to me is a real Hawaii experience.  We cruised the property and enjoyed watching the reef fish and dolphins before sitting down for lunch at Arancino.  Arancino is somewhat of a success story as they started with a small hole in the wall location on a quiet street at the end of Waikiki.  The restaurant that serves Italian dishes with Japanese influences quickly became a huge hit with Japanese tourists and locals alike.  People wait in line daily to dine in the Waikiki location so they opened a giant second location at the Marriott Hotel in Waikiki.  Again success and then the opening of a third location at the Kahala Hotel and Resort.  The Kahala is high end with room prices starting around $400 per night.  Arancino seems to have risen to the location with a pretty high end menu for Italian food.  We arrived for lunch and were greeted by two smiling hostess.  Both welcomed us and we were asked if we would like to sit inside or outside.  It was a cool and comfortable February day with temperatures just under 80 degrees so we opted for an outdoor table.  All of the four top tables were taken outside, but rather than make us wait, the hostess quickly seated us at a table large enough for six people.  This gave us plenty of room to spread out the giant plates and enjoy our lunch family style.  The waiter and overall service here was excellent.  I never noticed my water being filled but every time I went for a drink it was filled to the brim.  My girls ordered Plantation Ice Tea ($6).  The glass is tall and includes a beautiful slice of Pineapple and lots of ice.  A few sips and the glass is empty.  Very surprised to find out that the $6 glass of tea does not include refills.  The waiter will however replenish the glass with regular ice tea at no additional cost.  Our waiter took time to guide us through the menu and offer his personal favorites.  He explained that the $39 Lunch Menu was the way to go for variety and value.  The portions on the 3 Course Menu are exactly the same size as the regular menu.  As we reviewed the menu, each one of us were presented with a plate of fresh baked bread with sweet butter and black volcano sea salt.  Thought this was nice having your own plate of bread, butter and salt.  The butter and black salt on the bread was delicious.  We started with the Tartare di Mare.  Finely cubed Ahi Tuna, Kona Kampachi, Avocado and Tobiko served with small toast.  This dish was very beautiful and pretty darn delicious.  I could have eaten the entire dish myself.  Next up was the Bagna Cauda.  A flowerpot with dried mushrooms depicting dirt and fresh vegetables.  Amazing presentation of vegetables served with a garlicky anchovy sauce.  Loved the vegetables and the sauce.  Just wish there would have been more vegetables.  At $16 these are some expensive vegetable bites.  The Spaghetti Ai Ricci Di Mari is the signature dish at Arancino.  It is Uni Pasta.  Uni is Sea Urchin and this Urchin comes from Japan.  At $32 it is one of the most expensive plates of Spaghetti on the Island I would think.  The Spaghetti was cooked to perfection and the Tomato Cream Sauce and Uni were delicious.  Very light pasta dish with big flavor.  The Casarecce Ragu Di Poipo included Octopus in a Spicy Tomato Sauce.  I thought the sauce was delicious and liked the pasta.  Did not really get the great Octopus taste as there were only small tiny pieces in the dish.  Don't know if I would order this pasta dish again.  The Pizza Bismarck ($22) was delicious.  Loved the egg in the middle.  The yolk really added another depth of flavor to the pizza.  Also liked the meats and tomato sauce.  This was a really good pizza.  Only complaint is that there was a lot of moisture puddled up on the ends of the pizza which made parts of it soggy.  Other than that, I would order this pizza over and over again.  Our $39 3 Course Lunch included dessert.  We went with one order of Tarimisu and one Pana Cotta.  The Tarimisu was delicious.  Probably one of my favorites.  Nice chocolate and coffee flavor but oh so light.  The Pana Cotta was Tomato and it was served with slices of fresh Tomato.  More like a vegetable appetizer to be served prior to a meal rather than after a meal.  This was nothing like a dessert.  More like a salad.  All in all we really enjoyed our lunch at Arancino.  A bit expensive but the food is good.  Quality of ingredients is excellent and so is the service.

Click link below to view updated post on Arancino at The Kahala;

https://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2021/12/arancino-at-kahala.html

Click link below for post on Arancino on Beachwalk;

http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2015/04/arancino.html

ARANCINO AT THE KAHALA HOTEL

THE KAHALA HOTE AND RESORT IS JUST MINUTES FROM WAIKIKI

BEACH AT THE KAHALA HOTEL AND RESORT

STING RAY CRUISES AROUND THE KAHALA HOTEL 

FAMILY ENJOYS LEARNING ABOUT HAWAII REEF FISH AT THE KAHALA HOTEL

DOLPHIN LAGOON AT THE KAHALA HOTEL

GUEST ROOMS AROUND THE KAHALA LAGOON HAVE GREAT VIEW OF DOLPHINS

THE LAGOON IS IN THE CENTER OF THE PROPERTY 

DOLPHINS WERE PLAYING AND HAVING FUN

WE ENJOYED WATCHING THE DOLPHINS BEFORE EATING AT ARANCINO

LOBBY AT THE KAHALA HOTEL AND RESORT

ARANCINO IS RIGHT OFF THE LOBBY

SMALL BAR AND EATING AREA AT ARANCINO

SHADY OUTDOOR SEATING

OUTDOOR LANAI SEATING WAS COOL AND COMFORTABLE

OPEN KITCHEN WITH PIZZA OVEN

THREE COURSE LUNCH MENU (CLICK TO ENLARGE)

ARANCINO AT THE KAHALA LUNCH MENU

INSALATE AND ANTIPASTI

PASTA

PIZZA

PLANTATION ICE TEA 

INDIVIDUAL BREAD PLATES FOR EACH PERSON AT THE TABLE

TARTARE DI MARE

FRESH AHI, KONA KAMPACHI, AVOCADO AND TOBIKO

BAGNA CAUDA

FRESH VEGETABLES CRUDITES 

WARM ANCHOVY GARLIC DIP

LOTS OF GARLIC AND ANCHOVY 

DIP THE VEGETABLES IN THE GARLIC/ANCHOVY MIXTURE

SPAGHETTI AI RICCI DI MARE

SPAGHETTI WITH JAPANESE UNI, WHITE WINE, GARLIC, TOMATO SAUCE

CASARECCE RAGU DI POIPO

OCTOPUS, CASARECCE, SPICY GARLIC TOMATO SAUCE

PIZZA BISMARCK

POACHED EGG, MORTADELLA, MUSHROOMS, MOZZARELLA, PARMIGIANA AND TOMATO SAUCE 

TIRAMISU

TOMATO PANA COTTA