Assaggio Bistro

1. VERDICT/​VALUE
3.5 stars: good environment, good service and good food, but the price may be a turn off for some, especially with a lot of food establishments nearby.
2. FOOD
On this night, I started with a Caesar salad (after the wrong salad type was brought out), and it was nice, but the small size (little larger than my bread plate) makes the $ 9 price tag a little hard to swallow.
The great-​tasting constantly-​available fresh bread loaf and butter made up for that experience :)
The large portion Sicilian Chicken ($ 23.90) was a delight and impossible to eat in one sitting unless famished: boneless chicken thighs pan fried with plenty of onions and bell peppers of all colors and mushrooms. It normally comes with roasted potatoes, but I got it served on a bed of linguine tonight which worked out well.
My wife enjoyed the fish of the night: opah/​monkfish in a furikake preparation and it came out nice and crispy. Accompanied by a salad and linguine, it was good, but we’re unsure about the $ 31 price tag.
The plantation iced tea ($ 4.75) was good and constantly refilled.
3. SERVICE
Apart from the salad mix-​up at the beginning of the night, it worked out well for our table of 5! There was a 20 minute wait as we did not have a reservation and we ended up closing the place. Constant attention was paid with drinks constantly refilled and individual preferences remembered each time.
4. ATMOSPHERE
Diners are treated to a nice, pleasant, modern décor where table separation is sufficient to allow for easy conversation. Parking may be a bit of a challenge, though a free valet is available out front.

I.love.assaggio. But the only reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is the portion size. I feel like these days the portions are a lot smaller than it used to be! My father-​in-​law always insists on having everyone order the dinner portion so we can take leftovers home and before we used to hardly make a dent in our entrees. However, lately I’ve noticed that they don’t give as much so I usually don’t have as much leftovers to take home!
Their menu is so extensive and customizable! I always feel bad because I have so many requests for substitutions when I order but the waiters/​waitresses are always so nice about it! My usual order is the Sicilian chicken with creamy pesto (instead of the sauce that is usually comes with) and instead of the roasted potatoes I get linguine. I also ask to add spinach to it.
I also really love their Caesar salad and bread!!! I usually eat so much of it that I’m full by the time my pasta is served!
Last night my girlfriends and I came to this location for dinner. We had an early reservation (5:30pm) so the restaurant wasn’t very crowded! The service was good and we all really enjoyed our food!

I love the Assagio on Kahala side. To be honest, I love pasta, but I come back to this location time and time again because they make the best table side Caesar salad! You have to order at least two salads to have them make it at your table, but it’s so worth it. Paired with their piping hot fresh bread and butter, and a nice glass of white wine. This place is a winner! Now if only I could learn to make this myself.

I’ve been here many times but recently this place has declined in quality and service. I’ve had negative experiences the last two times I’ve been here and don’t plan on going back again.
1) Months ago, I ordered takeout for my family, including my pregnant wife, and went to pick it up. When I got home, I realized that they didn’t give me all the food I ordered and paid for. I called them to ask for a refund for the portion that I didn’t receive because I didn’t feel like driving all the way back there. The girl at the front said that would not be possible but offered to give me a «credit» on my bill the next time I visit the restaurant. I told her that was ridiculous because first of all, how would they remember to give me the credit, and secondly, I already paid for the food and didn’t receive it. She said my only other option was to drive all the way back there and pick up my food, which was cold by then. She said the best her manager could do is give us a free dessert with our cold food. Not wanting to rely on their memory to give me a credit for food that I already purchased but did not receive, I opted to drive all the way back there and pick up my cold food and free slice of cake.
2) I just went back to Assaggio with my family only because we were in the area at the time and it has handicap parking right in front for my ailing father. I wasn’t expecting to receive good service based on our previous experience there, but what we received was in fact horrible food by any standard. First, the bread that they give us, which usually is hot and fresh, was old, cold and hard. I let it go, because I figured I didn’t want to fill up on bread anyway. I was still disappointed though because I was looking forward to their bread, one of their few bright spots. Then the food came out, and it tasted awful. The sauces were all watered down and the meats were all dry and flavorless. I thought it was just my dish, but everyone else’s dish had the same problem. It appears that they are now watering down their sauces to save money and go cheap on their customers. Seriously it was so watery that it wouldn’t even stick to the noodles or the flavorless meat. The worst part is that the prices are expensive – I don’t mind paying money for good food, but I hate paying lots of money for bad food. I would have rather stayed home and cooked mac ‘n cheese, that’s how bad the food was. After this second incident, I will not be going back to Assaggio Kahala ever again, even if it was free!

The food was amazing! We had the clams and shrimp zuppa di style, ceased salad, and Nestor’s steak and shrimp scampi. The garlicky wine sauce is amazing! We also had the lychee sorbet for dessert. The service was ON POINT! Great ambiance and a very friendly staff. Thanks Assagios Kahala!

Food was good and the service was better
Nice place for a quiet intimate lunch or dinner

Love the neighborhood ambiance and the caesar salad prepared by the table.
Don’t care much for the way they categorize their menu. Very confusing.
They have Japanese menus too.
Food is ok… not spectacular.

I took my family here for dinner last night July 29, 2015. They were able to accommodate my last minute reservation made that day. However, I really had a pronounced negative experience here, after taking my family here for many years since they opened. There used to be a wonderful waiter there named Kevin. I don’t think he’s there anymore. Current waitstaff is unfriendly. Food quality was sub-​par. My dad’s steak was undercooked and raw so had to be redone. The veal my husband shared with me was dry and salty, I couldn’t really eat it. And the sticker shock folks. Why does pasta have to be so pricey? Average pasta dish cost is over $ 30 here. When did that happen? Perhaps to pay off the tax fraud liability of the owner, I’m surmising. More than $ 225 for 7 of us, but one person ordered just soup & salad, and my husband and I split a meal. We should have gone to Buca di Beppo where they had a lasagna special. I don’t want to come back here anytime soon. Disappointing and low value for your hard earned money that may be easier to come by for residents in Kahala!

First, I like the location. Not in a busy mall or hard to get at. Parking right in front or free valet. Décor was fancy, lots of tables, and service was top notch. Free fresh bread. Food was good and plenty. We had the special seafood combo on pasta, clam on pasta and a fish salad. All were happy with their choices. I like that they had a small portion available for entrees.
The only thing (and this is for all Italian restaurants) is that it was a little overpriced for what you get. Which is basically pasta with sauce and a little meat or chicken. But, that’s for all pasta places.

There’s a group of ladies (8 – 13 of us) that regularly patronize Assagio Bistro. Last Saturday 2 ladies ordered a Caesars salad and wound up with food poisoning that night. Upon reporting the episode to the manager, there was no apology, instead the manager asked for proof by way of the receipt!
We will probably get the department of health involved and worst of all, the restaurant lost many once loyal customers.

Hubby asked me on a dinner date to make it up to me, for being wrong and not saying sorry, but that’s neither here nor there (is that how you say it?) Dustin our server was so friendly and very knowledgeable about the wine and food. He helped us with our decisions, but there was something so uplifting and nice about him that it made me want to write this review.
Hubby even made a reservation for us, which isn’t necessary for Thursday night. The place is nicely designed — love that too! Had small orders and leftovers of the creamy pesto pasta and angel hair picatta dish — so YUMMY.

I’ve come to this location on and off since they opened up in 2009. I’ve always gotten great service at their Ala Moana location. But because I live in the area and the Hawaii Kai location has spotty customer service, I’ve usually dined at the restaurant or made takeout orders to Kahala out of sheer convenience. I doubt I will be returning.
Generally when I go I’ve ordered a menu item with some additional ingredients, but I’ve always been willing to pay extra for it. I’ve never made a scene if for some reason my request can’t be accommodated.
Within the last week I’ve dinned there twice and made my request. First I asked for a sauce to be tossed in with my pasta and instead got it on the side, making it not taste right. I still ate it and did not make a huge complaint about it, but did mention to staff that I asked for it tossed in and not on the side.
Then the next time I came and asked for it again, the waiter seemed a bit hostile about the order rather than just explain the staff couldn’t do it. When I explained I was willing to pay whatever additional fees there were, he still seemed put off. He did give me a breakdown of prices for how much specific ingredients would cost and options, but the process never seemed this complicated every other time I’ve ordered this dish in the past six years I’ve dined here. I was almost steered into paying $ 10 additionally for essentially asking for some additional sauce and chicken, but worked out a more reasonable cost for the request.
What bothered me was this exchange happened twice in the same visit, like the waiter was trying to convince me to try to order something else rather than honestly work out what to do.
Then I heard yelling and banging from the kitchen and someone, possibly the waiter, repeatedly scream out «That’s what she wants!»
I was afraid to actually eat what came out.
Prices are high and not worth it if there isn’t good customer service. I think this location has been getting by because of the lack of Italian places in the area and otherwise secluded ambiance. For alternatives, would say go to Win-​Spuntino since the prices are better, the quality of food is just as nice and the service is far better. But the times I’ve been out to eat they’ve not been open. Otherwise I’d suggest Paesano, Verbano’s or even Anytime Café. All of those places always take my requests and have great customer service for about the same price as what you’d pay at Assaggio.

Hands down, awesome food! Their filet mignon was THE BOMB​.COM!!! I wanna say that it’s the best filet mignon I’ve had in a looooonggg time! But besides their food, their service was even better. Our waiter was Dustin. Awesome dude! He was really concerned about how we were doing and if we liked everything. My mom wasn’t a fan of their iced tea (guess they got a new bartender and we’re trying some new iced teas.) So he gladly took it off our bill and gave us a complimentary dessert. He was super funny and was cracking jokes with all of us. Haven’t had good service and good food like that in a while. If I could give them 10 stars I would. Keep up the awesome service guys!

I recently came here for a friend’s birthday. The ambiance is classy and the lighting is not as dim as other Assaggio locations. The service was fantastic. If it weren’t for the awesome wait staff we had, I would have given this place three stars. Our wait staff made us feel welcome with warm smiles and was very attentive with refilling water glasses. They even frequently checked on our little pots of hot water for those of us whom had ordered hot tea.
For a party of 9, our food took close to 45 minutes to come out. I understand we had a large party, but it would have been nice if the food came out sooner. When deciding which entrée to order, I was torn between the Chicken Olio, Chicken Saltimbocca, and Chicken Sorrentino. I ended up going with the Chicken Saltimbocca. The chicken was lightly breaded and pan fried, topped with spinach, melted mozzarella, and prosciutto in a mushroom white wine butter sauce. It sounded and looked delicious but sadly was quite bland. I had to add a lot of parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper to the chicken and linguine in order to enjoy the dish. I wish the waiter had offered fresh ground pepper, which he offered only to those whom had ordered the table-​side Caesar salad.
The birthday girl got a complimentary slice of New York style cheesecake for her birthday – yum! Because she was enjoying it so much, the rest of us all decided to order dessert as well. I tried the amaretto cheesecake, which was heavenly!

I believe in giving credit where credit is due. The food is fabulous here, no doubt about it. And when you go out to eat, that’s the bottom line. If you love good Italian food, have no allergies, and have a deep pocketbook, this is the place!
Parking at this tiny strip mall is just awful. Even worse for us because we needed to unload a wheelchair from the van with a ramp. It was nearly impossible. Once inside the restaurant, the wheelchair was not a problem.
If you have food allergies, you’re out of luck. There is no allergy menu available. Same if you’re vegan. I ordered the side salad, with ingredients listed on the menu. I expected a vegan salad and was very disappointed when I got a salad that had squares of cheese in it and was topped with grated Parmesan.
That last negative was no separate checks for our group of 15. One person had to pay with their credit card and everyone else gave her cash — only not everyone came with cash. Extremely inconvenient, to say the least.

Atmosphere was beautiful. The restaurant is very clean and modern looking. We had a party of 11. We had 3 servers tending to us. So that was lovely. Food is pricy but it’s very good. You get what you pay for.
We put in a reservation but when we got there they said we didn’t have one. But we are very sure we put one in and at the right location.

The rundown:
–Shared parking with other stores and restaurant.
–Well lit.
–Nice staff.
–Good bread.
I enjoyed this Assagio because it was well lit. I found that some of the other locations are dimly light, for the ambiance, but it makes it hard to read the menu. However this location had an appropriate balance.
The staff was very friendly and our waiter was very attentive.
I love bread when eating out! And I loved Assagio’s bread, which is served warm.
Not authentic Italian, but I’d say it makes for a great dinner date or nice dinner night out. All of the food was delicious and everyone enjoyed their meal. Also the portions are very generous.

Unilocal 100 Challenge #62/​100
When Assaggio announced some years ago that they would open up this location, I was like, «Hooray!» This is right in my neck of the woods and I love Assaggio.
I mean you get the house bread that is always hot, fresh, and yummy. Then you have a good selection of wines and tons of things to choose from on the menu to satisfy anyone’s Italian food craving.
When I was a vegetarian I really like Assaggio because there were so many options for me and I never felt unsatisfied when I ate there. We recently had dinner there and the service was good as our waters and later coffee was always filled. They packed up our leftovers as there is always an abundance of food. I love there Osso Buco and that is usually my go to.
Sometimes parking in the evening may be a bit tougher, but we usually get there by 5:30 to 6:00 pm and never had a problem. For dessert I usually get their tiramisu which is always light and rich at the same time.
Overall we are happy at this Assaggio and will be back in the future.

If you’re in the mood for eating Italian and in the Kahala hood during the lunch hour, Assagio Bistro may just fit the bill. There’s free parking in the small lot and something on the menu for everyone — the kids, the pasta lover, the meat eater, the vegetarian, the meatball sandwich guy, the seafood seeker, and even the slender friend on a cleanse; she gets the minestrone soup.
I like to start with the house salad — a plateful of tossed greens, cheese, tomatoes and crunchy/​tangy pickled vegetables bathed in a creamy dressing. I bribe the 5-​year-​old to sit still by feeding him the cheese squares, which he happily munches between mouthfuls of just-​from-​the-​oven-​warm house bread.
For me, there’s also gotta be a side dish of garlicky broccoli or another dish of sauteed onions, mushrooms and potatoes. Not recommended if on a date; garlic breath is sure to nip romance. If I’m really hungry and wearing a loose fitting dress, I’ll just order the chicken marsala or eggplant parmesan.
On the occasions I’ve been here, I found the dishes were prepared much like the Assagio restaurants in Hawaii Kai or Ala Moana. Prices are reasonable and service is polite, even when there are three rugrats — ages 5, 4 and 2 — running underfoot. Grazie!

Yesternight a friend took me out to dinner at Assagio’s. Now, I have been waiting to try here for the longest time, and I always find myself right by it whenever I go to Lanikai Juice to order their acai bowls (that you need to pay an added 75 cents for honey). But I was quite happy being surprised by being taken here. Parking was pretty crazy at 7:15, and luckily, we were able to snag a parking without an attendant having to do it for us.
The waiter was very patient with us, as we took a lot of time figuring out what to order. I finally settled on their Carbonara (my friend pointed out that «Carb» is the root word of thing, ha). Heads up on the menu, there’s some items on the menu exclusive to the ALA MOANA location, so don’t be tempted to order it, because you’ll just be let down. We also got an appetizer of this spicy seafood mix of clams, shrimp, mussels, and some other unidentified thing under the waiter’s suggestion. It went perfectly with the bread. It was perfectly spicy, and I loaded up the sauce on the bread. Yums.
I also ordered the Plantation Iced Tea (meh, it was okay, I’d rather have Pineapple Room’s one, or Coffee Bean). Then our entrees came, my Carbonara, loaded with glazed diced onions, and BACON was perfectly not too rich, but not too simple either. It was the perfect meal, and I got the small portion, too!
Of course I could not pass up the dessert. So I ordered the Tiramisu, which was moistened with the coffee (which KEPT ME UP SO LATE!), and light. Can’t go wrong with Tiramisu. My friend got their New York Cheesecake… Which… Tasted like Cheesecake to me.
Overall, the people here were really helpful (good suggestions, too!), and friendly. They were on top of it with refills, and were very mindful of their patrons. Definitely will come back to get that appetizer, even when I’m not so much of a seafood fan, I’m sold on that spicy sauce!