Pro: osso bucco was good, it was the special of the day. As soon as I heard that, I was like yup I'm getting that. The bone marrow added a buttery layer to the dish. It's in the price range of a treat to too expensive for me. I paid $42.95
I came in at 5:00pm so the service was fast I think there was one other maybe two tables. I feel like it's busier later during the day but it's a holiday.
Cons: Their olive oil and balsamic container was messy. I wiped so my oil off my fingers Everytime. One spout is the vinegar, the other is the olive oil.
I would like to have at least warm bread. Fresh hot bread would be better. The bread was a bit on the drier side too.
Employees were friendly and nice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
John Pang
Charming atmosphere in Kailua. Service was a bit slow but the waiter was stretched. Short Rib special was exceptional, pasta dish was delicious and the mussels we had were prepared well.
CW
Been going to Baci Bistro forever but first time reviewing this excellent neighborhood restaurant. Always great service, friendly and casual with terrific food and wine selections. Montepulciano is a favorite!
Nice outdoor lanai with fun vibe and traditional and cozy interior. Make reservations as restaurant is intimate although there is bar seating. Parking easy in back .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
LikesGoodMeals
We picked the right place to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We appreciated the attention to detail, the ambiance and the delicious food. Our server was also very professional and took great care of us.
Brandon
The best :) Super grateful for them
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Forrest Parker
Place has potential. Food isn't awful, but it isn't great, however, prices are insane for below average food. Tiny portions, crazy high price, plus there was a medium length black hair in my food. Seafood pasta had minimal seafood *two shrimp* and maybe 4 mouthfuls of pasta and this place wants $35 bucks for it. The chicken. Was nothing special, but it was drowning in tomato sauce. I would guess the bread that comes out before the meal comes straight from foodland or something similar.
Won't be back unless prices match quality. Dishes are worth $12- $18. Not $30-$40.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 5
Sara Rosen
Love this place! Excellent food, atmosphere and service (and I’m from the northeast!) Easily the best gnocchi I’ve had - they were like pillows! I had an inkling that the pasta was freshly made based on the great taste / texture but I had to ask to confirm. The only recommendation I could make would be to state this on the menu - such a strong selling point to have fresh pasta made in house!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Melanie W
Service was stellar despite no air conditioning (as others have mentioned).
Our pasta dishes were more sweet than we prefer for marinara based dishes.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 5
Melissa M R Colburn
Good Italian food, tasty cocktails. My husband can have all the pasta he craves while I (gluten free) really enjoy the risotto.
It was my birthday and my husband surprised me coming here as we have wanted to try for a while as I read the reviews of authentic Italian food. We are frequent travelers of Bologna, Firenze, Roma, Regione di Toscana and Regione di Veneio.
Let’s say there will not be a return visit.
Food: The bread was stale and just bad. Definitely not fresh.
Carpaccio di manzo was average but overpriced for only 4 slices of thin deli meat portions.
Gnocchi con salsiccia was average but the best tasting item for the night we had but the tomato sauce had too much sugar added. (Not my meal)
Spaghetti tutti mari. (My dish) Horrible and all wrong. No sauce but a watery broth with a hint of tomato, onion and garlic. Overcooked and rubbery seafood. When I got my dish I de-shelled all seafood before trying. I took my first bit which was the pasta and “sauce” and only tasted tomato water. The waitress came over after a few minutes and I asked if I could have more “tomato sauce.” I poured out the watery broth and just thought I just need more sauce. She brings me a tomato sauce that was basically sugar with tomato. Then I started to eat my seafood and it was all rubbery, I couldn’t even chew the squid/mini octopus and spit it out. I keep looking for my waitress and then she never looked over or came back until she saw my husband finished his meal. The food took 15-20 minutes. I wasn’t going to wait for another mediocre meal on my birthday while then my husband watches me eat. I told her of the issue and she asked if I wanted another one. I told her no because my husband was already done eating then she asked if I wanted seafood pasta TO GO. I declined.
Service: The waitress didn’t even ask if we wanted desert and she knew it was my birthday. Then gave us the check and my $36 meal was still on the bill after I obviously didn’t eat the meal outside of tasting. She seemed shocked when we said the meal was still left on the receipt.
The gentleman who brought out the food was very friendly and hospitable. We had a pleasant short conversation about him working he for several years.
Atmosphere: I know we are in Hawaii but this is restaurant gives off, dress up not coming in your beach gear and was very warm to dine in (80 degrees+). Definitely was sweating and regretting dressing up.
I don’t know if all the positive reviews are of people who have never had a true authentic Italian meal or we just got very average and bad items.
I’m not going to gamble with $35 dishes to find out.
Sadly our (expensive) meal was ruined when the family near us let their toddler watch cartoons on an iPhone with the volume up. It was such a detriment to what would have been a lovely evening. My husband and I were celebrating and went all out with menu selections and wine. We couldn’t wait to leave. It would be nice if this restaurant had a policy that if movies and tv are watched at the table that headphones are required. This would allow the rest of the patrons to not be forced to listen to cartoons at a ‘white linen’ upscale restaurant.
Marena Shows
The atmosphere was warm, inviting, and comfortable – the kind of place where you instantly feel welcome. The staff were all incredibly friendly and attentive, but we have to give a special shoutout to Matt. He went above and beyond for us in ways that truly made our experience memorable. The food was also fantastic! Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lisa Wang
Very good service and pretty good food too they got 🍝🥖🦐🦪 perfect for an Italian stop and if your in a slight hurry we finished the whole thing in 45 minutes
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Shawn McKenzie
Awesome Italian food, and the selection of wine was exceptional. I'm planning to revisit this restaurant in the future. Outdoor sitting was very comfortable.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Richard Beatty
Delicious Ravioli of the day but half the size of my wife’s spaghetti - but were very busy.
Pro:
osso bucco was good, it was the special of the day. As soon as I heard that, I was like yup I'm getting that. The bone marrow added a buttery layer to the dish. It's in the price range of a treat to too expensive for me. I paid $42.95
I came in at 5:00pm so the service was fast I think there was one other maybe two tables. I feel like it's busier later during the day but it's a holiday.
Cons:
Their olive oil and balsamic container was messy. I wiped so my oil off my fingers Everytime. One spout is the vinegar, the other is the olive oil.
I would like to have at least warm bread. Fresh hot bread would be better. The bread was a bit on the drier side too.
Employees were friendly and nice.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Charming atmosphere in Kailua. Service was a bit slow but the waiter was stretched. Short Rib special was exceptional, pasta dish was delicious and the mussels we had were prepared well.
Been going to Baci Bistro forever but first time reviewing this excellent neighborhood restaurant. Always great service, friendly and casual with terrific food and wine selections. Montepulciano is a favorite!
Nice outdoor lanai with fun vibe and traditional and cozy interior. Make reservations as restaurant is intimate although there is bar seating. Parking easy in back .
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We picked the right place to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We appreciated the attention to detail, the ambiance and the delicious food. Our server was also very professional and took great care of us.
The best :) Super grateful for them
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Place has potential. Food isn't awful, but it isn't great, however, prices are insane for below average food. Tiny portions, crazy high price, plus there was a medium length black hair in my food. Seafood pasta had minimal seafood *two shrimp* and maybe 4 mouthfuls of pasta and this place wants $35 bucks for it. The chicken. Was nothing special, but it was drowning in tomato sauce. I would guess the bread that comes out before the meal comes straight from foodland or something similar.
Won't be back unless prices match quality. Dishes are worth $12- $18. Not $30-$40.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 5
Love this place! Excellent food, atmosphere and service (and I’m from the northeast!) Easily the best gnocchi I’ve had - they were like pillows! I had an inkling that the pasta was freshly made based on the great taste / texture but I had to ask to confirm. The only recommendation I could make would be to state this on the menu - such a strong selling point to have fresh pasta made in house!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Service was stellar despite no air conditioning (as others have mentioned).
Our pasta dishes were more sweet than we prefer for marinara based dishes.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 5
Good Italian food, tasty cocktails. My husband can have all the pasta he craves while I (gluten free) really enjoy the risotto.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Roasted Beet Salad, Grilled Calamari
It was my birthday and my husband surprised me coming here as we have wanted to try for a while as I read the reviews of authentic Italian food. We are frequent travelers of Bologna, Firenze, Roma, Regione di Toscana and Regione di Veneio.
Let’s say there will not be a return visit.
Food:
The bread was stale and just bad. Definitely not fresh.
Carpaccio di manzo was average but overpriced for only 4 slices of thin deli meat portions.
Gnocchi con salsiccia was average but the best tasting item for the night we had but the tomato sauce had too much sugar added.
(Not my meal)
Spaghetti tutti mari. (My dish)
Horrible and all wrong. No sauce but a watery broth with a hint of tomato, onion and garlic. Overcooked and rubbery seafood. When I got my dish I de-shelled all seafood before trying. I took my first bit which was the pasta and “sauce” and only tasted tomato water. The waitress came over after a few minutes and I asked if I could have more “tomato sauce.” I poured out the watery broth and just thought I just need more sauce. She brings me a tomato sauce that was basically sugar with tomato. Then I started to eat my seafood and it was all rubbery, I couldn’t even chew the squid/mini octopus and spit it out. I keep looking for my waitress and then she never looked over or came back until she saw my husband finished his meal. The food took 15-20 minutes. I wasn’t going to wait for another mediocre meal on my birthday while then my husband watches me eat. I told her of the issue and she asked if I wanted another one. I told her no because my husband was already done eating then she asked if I wanted seafood pasta TO GO. I declined.
Service:
The waitress didn’t even ask if we wanted desert and she knew it was my birthday. Then gave us the check and my $36 meal was still on the bill after I obviously didn’t eat the meal outside of tasting. She seemed shocked when we said the meal was still left on the receipt.
The gentleman who brought out the food was very friendly and hospitable. We had a pleasant short conversation about him working he for several years.
Atmosphere: I know we are in Hawaii but this is restaurant gives off, dress up not coming in your beach gear and was very warm to dine in (80 degrees+). Definitely was sweating and regretting dressing up.
I don’t know if all the positive reviews are of people who have never had a true authentic Italian meal or we just got very average and bad items.
I’m not going to gamble with $35 dishes to find out.
And a birthday meal I won’t want to remember.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
Sadly our (expensive) meal was ruined when the family near us let their toddler watch cartoons on an iPhone with the volume up. It was such a detriment to what would have been a lovely evening. My husband and I were celebrating and went all out with menu selections and wine. We couldn’t wait to leave. It would be nice if this restaurant had a policy that if movies and tv are watched at the table that headphones are required. This would allow the rest of the patrons to not be forced to listen to cartoons at a ‘white linen’ upscale restaurant.
The atmosphere was warm, inviting, and comfortable – the kind of place where you instantly feel welcome. The staff were all incredibly friendly and attentive, but we have to give a special shoutout to Matt. He went above and beyond for us in ways that truly made our experience memorable. The food was also fantastic! Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very good service and pretty good food too they got 🍝🥖🦐🦪 perfect for an Italian stop and if your in a slight hurry we finished the whole thing in 45 minutes
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Awesome Italian food, and the selection of wine was exceptional. I'm planning to revisit this restaurant in the future. Outdoor sitting was very comfortable.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Delicious Ravioli of the day but half the size of my wife’s spaghetti - but were very busy.
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