Av - Honolulu

This was an absolutely wonderful vegan tasting experience. So many different flavors. No one is missing. Even my meat was eating Nabeby loved it and went completely away.

Such a fun and unique experience. It is hard to find a chic vegan meal, and this has not disappointed! 15 courses and dessert! Very pricy, but it is worth it once in a life experience for your taste buds! #Veganuary We were the only ones there, but it made it as if we were guests of honor. Was not super romantic due to the fact that we have a lot of communication with the cook, but that is also what made it fun and unique. Other than usual. If you book (because the same number is used to call XO restaurant) make sure it is for the vegan meal. Updated by previous review on 2023-01-29

We really enjoyed this tasting menu, especially as we got the Instagram Special Rate that made it more affordable. We had 14 courses and an optional waffle dog and loved every bite. The courses were innovative, diverse and attractive. We had 5pm seat and were the only people there, so we felt like a private culinary experience. Staff explained each course, and everyone was interestingly plated. It was more a show than a dinner, and fun to watch as they use liquid nitrogen for the palate-cleaning frozen tea course. We also had a delicious incubator. It was not accessible from Waikiki, we had to go there by car, but it was worth it.

I have been a plant-based eater for 25 years and as of the last few years a vegan. I can attest to the sad truth that vegetarian and vegan restaurants a vibe. By vibe I mean it’s always about the food and hardly about the service. Vegan restaurants are so exciting because the entire menu is an option, but the service typically leaves something to be desired. Although one will not have to worry about meat and dairy products in their salad by accident because the waiter forgot to put in the order properly, one might have to wonder if their waiter remembered their order at all. Like I said, it’s a vibe—you dig?! Anyway not at AV the attentive staff greets guests immediately and has the guest choose the plate they will eat off of and an adorable animal chopstick holder. After being seated, 15 delectable and artistically plated courses are are served with care and detailed explanation. This place is classy and the food is incredible. It all went down with pleasure—well until the hard-to-swallow bill came! Let’s just say, I have never had a more enjoyable experience, but I literally paid the price for it. Choke kine grindz and choked on the bill!

Exquisite food- it is obvious a lot of time and effort goes into the different courses. I really appreciated the variety of options and flavors we experienced. We did try the waffle dog- those were incredible! I’d recommend sharing one because they are very filling. Now for the downsides….. The restaurant was not at all what I expected for fine dining- the space was quite small. I came here expecting a nice cosy experience where I could bond with my husband on his birthday and feel like we are in an intimate setting. Instead we were alone, under bright lights, facing the waitstaff kinda sharing conversation with her the entire night. She wasn’t vegan which was fine, but just kept talking about her opinion on vegan foods and made a lot of small talk which wasn’t what I expected. We also opted for the sake pairing not realizing it cost $65. So that would have been nice to have a warning on. With the price of the meal and it being a pairing I had assumed it would be included or added on for a small charge. It would have been nice to just have one or two glasses of wine or a cocktail as an option instead of water or $65 sake pairing… Overall, I definitely regret the amount of money spent on the experience. I love the concept and the food was amazing, but I would rather spent half the cost on less courses. To charge $150 and to have to make constant conversation with staff was very off putting/ unprofessional/ unromantic/ awkward. I’m sure a lot of the cost of making the food would be hard for us to conceptualize without being chefs, so I can appreciate that. However, for someone looking to experience fine dining for a romantic night out I left feeling kinda cheated and disappointed with many expectations dashed.