PAI Honolulu

I had the chef's tasting menu. The service was top notch and the food quality was some of the best I have ever had (certainly in Honolulu). I especially enjoyed the abalone, oxtail and foie gras croquette, and pickled mango sorbetto. I will be back on my next trip to Oahu.

Our family had the pleasure of experiencing the Chef’s Tasting Menu, a beautifully curated 5-course meal, and it was absolutely incredible from start to finish. Every course was thoughtfully paired with a cocktail or wine that complemented each dish perfectly, making the entire dining experience feel elevated and unique. The atmosphere was wonderful, the service was outstanding, and the staff truly made the evening feel extra special. The live entertainment added another layer of enjoyment and created such a fun and memorable experience for our whole family. Without a doubt, this was one of the best dining experiences we’ve ever had, and a dinner we will remember for a long time. Highly recommend!

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 unfortunately not unique.

My brother in law bought us dinner her for the night of our elopement. This restaurant went above and beyond. They made us personilized menus and gave us a champagne toast for our big day. Portions are small and delicious. Our waiter was very sweet and attentive! Thank you guys for the amazing dinner.

Chef Kevin is a science genius! Love every ingredients that touched my palate! And his wife Justine was a wonderful host! Definitely a Michelin star restaurant in my book! Homemade strawberry gelato with velvet cookie for my friend’s birthday was amazing! Thank you 🙏❤️ I had to lick the bowl!!! 😋Highly recommend it!!! 🥰👍🥰👍

We celebrated my daughter's birthday at a special Pai event. Each dish was paired with a corresponding drink. The plating was elegant and clean. The flavors were distinct. It was definitely a night to remember.