Its funny that all my friends know that for every special occasion (my bday, congratulations card, x-mas, etc) they all give me food gift cards!! I have plenty and had one for Bernini since last year and before it expired i decided to come here. I know there is a huge buzz about this place and it's supposed to be the best italian place in the island but last tine i came i wasnt really impressed so i never came back... Anyways, long review short.. *Ambience: place is nice and cute. *Service: my server was nice and friendly. 10 points. Food takes some time to arrive though but thats pretty typical for Italian places so i am ok with that, just make sure you have enough battery in your phone! *Parking: only 5-6 stalls in the front... *Food: -Tuna carpaccio with sicilian sauce ($19) It was good, pretty refreshing. -Ricci di mare ($37) It had a good flavor but it literally brings only 1 sea urchin and plenty noodles Definitely not worth the $37!!! Beef Ragu rigatoni ($23) It was ok as well, but nothing wow... Overall this place has good food and may make your belly happy but will for sure pissed off your wallet! I am not afraid of paying big dollars for good food but this place didnt make the cut. Solid 3 stars read more

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We've done takeout from Bernini at least 3 times, and had another wonderful meal tonight. I was just for me and my boyfriend we got the pappardelle Bolognese, prosciutto e mascarpone pizza and the Rossini filet mignon. Everything was delicious!! Pappardelle Bolognese: Love the noodles and flavorful sauce. We order this every time! Prosciutto e mascarpone pizza: A surprising favorite! The red sauce is phenomenal and really makes this pizza great. Yes it is thin, but each ingredient is fresh, the tomato sauce is enjoyable and I like the crunch of the crust. The pizza wasn't hot because we did takeout, and probably because they keep the mascarpone and prosciutto separate (for good reasons), but I don't think that took away from the dish. I'm actually more impressed with it for that reason because I usually like my pizza really hot and need to throw takeout/delivery pizza in the toaster oven to heat it, but I didn't need to to do that with this pizza. Rossini filet mignon: So delicious every time and every component together makes for the perfect bite! I'm always worried about steak for takeout, but Bernini exceeds my expectations. One the best steaks I've had for takeout. I'm not sure how many ounces the filet is and at first glance it seems a little small for the price... but you get foie gras and truffle with it so the cost makes sense. It also tastes so good, I find it worth it and will continue to order this. House bread: I never really like their house bread before because it seems a little stale or something.. but loved it tonight! Please keep this up! I love bread. I will admit, the previous time we did takeout, some items (even our staple bolognese) were a bit underwhelming.. but I think we had high expectations because of previous outstanding orders. It was still good, but not to the level we had previously or tonight. Our experience tonight has us absolutely loving Bernini and we can't wait for our next order! read more

Such an amazing little place! My wife and I were hungry and looking for somewhere to do a late lunch and this place was the only place that had reservations. We weren't sure at first, but we're so glad we tried it. The restaurant itself has a cozy atmosphere and Is somewhat relaxed. The service was incredible. Our server took really good care of us throughout the entire experience. Finally, the food. It was incredible. We both ordered the granchio pasta which was a crab and red sauce pasta and it was incredible. We will definitely be back. read more

Service is horrible. We were 9 minutes early to our reservation. There was 3 open tables, they told us to wait outside in the rain. No sorry they're just like no wait outside. This isn't the first time, they're rude like this to white people or non Japanese. The pasta isn't even that good. Even if this place is right across the street from my friend it's still not worth going to. Mediocre food and trash service. Never coming back again. read more

I popped in her without a reservation on my way home from work. I was craving a Bernini ultra thin crust pizza. I recieved a very enthusiastic and friendly greeting from the hostess, I told her I was by myself and asked if I could sit at the bar. The ambiance was wonderful, soft jazz, happy diners and a bustling (but not loud) open kitchen which I could view from the bar. The bartender was extremely welcoming, friendly and attentive. I ordered a glass of Chianti, Roasted Mushroom Salad and a Prosciutto Mascarpone Pizza. The bartender brought soft warm Rosemary Focaccia and a bowl of oil. The salad was AMAZING, it was a mix of different roasted mushroom on fresh mixed greens. My pizza was delicious, the sauce was on point, crust was crispy and it was not overloaded with ingredients. I ate two pieces and was given a box to take the rest home. I ended up having a second glass of wine with my pizza and was quite pleased with the value of this excellent meal, it was $75.00 including the 2 glasses of wine. I plan on becoming a regular! read more

Called yesterday (Friday) to place a take out order for this evening (Saturday). Yes, I know it's Valentine's Day weekend and a Saturday which is why I called A Day prior to make sure that I would be able to place a take out order for tonight. My one question was, should I place this order with you now (Friday) or call back tomorrow? I was told to check the menu and call back on Saturday, perfect, instructions followed. Anyways, it's Saturday afternoon now & my wife's birthday and I have the orders for her and her family (5 total). I've neglected ordering from anywhere else because hey, I was told that I would be able to place my order when I call back the day of. Well surprise, they're not taking any take out orders today or tomorrow because "they are too busy". Would've been pretty helpful to know this yesterday when I called as I'm pretty sure everyone was aware this would Be a busy weekend. This isn't something that changed from yesterday til today, let's be honest... I've heard good things about this place and maybe we'll try again later but obviously this is a huge source of irritation. What's the point of calling ahead and planning our dinner around this place if they're not going to come through in the end? Oh, also drove into town from the west side to pick up from this place so the hour + round trip for nothing is pretty exciting. Anyways, life goes on, this isn't the end of the world. First world problems huh? Just felt like I'd share and maybe if you have take out dinner plans in the future look elsewhere. read more

If three stars is average, this new restaurant is clearly two stars based on the TOTAL experience. Let's start off by saying that this restaurant has an elitist and indifferent attitude towards their local diners. By local, I mean non-visiting non-Japanese guests of which my wife and I were the only true "local" diners this evening. We came during their soft opening, so we didn't expect perfection but less than 6 days from their "grand opening" we expected a lot more. What we received was stellar service from our waiter, good food but a terrible attitude and indifference from the manager, Motoyo. My biggest complaint was in the form of how they handled my simple question, "what is your corkage fee?". The response from Motoyo was that they PREFER you to choose one of their wines, not satisfied with that the continued response was we DISCOURAGE you from bringing your own wines. She also gave us a response that they were "considering" offering a corkage to "repeat customers". WTF? Preferential treatment to certain customers? This smells awfully suspicious and easily could be seen as an elitist attitude. Not only that but while I was making my case about at least establishing a corkage (no matter how high) Motoyo (the manager) was continuously looking away from me and trying to hurry the conversation to an end. The attitude from the manager was appalling, my wife and I both agreed that with so many other options such as Arancino (still our #1), Sistina, Taormina, Mediterraneo and even Assagio.... there is just no place for the way we were treated as local clientele. Every other guest was treated kindly and friendly by the manager except for our table, my wife commented on how the manager came by most tables and chit-chatted for a bit. Final verdict: Food - 4 Service - 4 Parking - 2 Ambiance - 2 Attitude - 0 The entrees we had including the Beef Ragu pasta and the King Crab pasta were actually very tasty and the portion sizes were very generous too. We were just left with a bad taste in our mouth from our previous conversation that will prevent us from returning. If you are a visiting guest from out of country, you will most likely feel at home. If you are a local resident who enjoys bringing their own wine BEWARE, you will not be treated kindly. read more

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How posh is too posh? For me, Bernini Honolulu crossed that fine line between being posh and being snooty. How do I judge that? Well, while I enjoyed the outstanding food, it was overshadowed by the constant fear I was going to expose myself as some sort of hick. Oh dear... I guess I just exposed myself as some sort of hick right here in my review. Anyway... for example: with my dessert, I ordered coffee. It came hot and black. Only one petite packet of sugar was provided and no cream of any kind was in sight. I asked our attentive, attractive, and heavily Italian accented waitress for cream. I'm sure she tried hard to hide her shock, but I still saw it on her face when she asked me if steamed milk would be okay. I felt like I just asked for rainbow sprinkles for my tiramisu! So, if you're snooty enough to know you won't come off like a hick, or if you're secure enough in your hick'ness that you don't care if you do; you will probably very much enjoy Bernini Honolulu's fine Italian food and exquisite service. I, on the other hand, fall between those two categories and I let myself be intimidated into not completely enjoying the experience. read more

Bernini Honolulu - Italian Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Very nice new italian option is in town. I think this used to be the location of Sweet Nothings and a financial office. You would have never know as it is completely remodeled and beautiful. The atmosphere is very cozy and modern. As you walk in you are greeted by the owner. She was very sweet and came to check on us throughout our meal to ensure we were happy. Nadia was our waiter and she was very attentive and very knowledgable about the menu. We went on a friday night and the restaurant was full. With that said, Nadia's service was still excellent. We ordered the Maui onion soup, scallop and eggplant app. These two were awesome, especially the scallops. For our main meal, we ordered the king crab pasta and spicy tomato sauce pasta. These were also good, but felt the app were much better. Desserts were ok, but nothing super extraordinary. I can see that parking will become a problem with this place. They have 8 stalls in a very small lot, that is hard to get into and out. There as also meter parking all along Waimalu and across the street by Kissaten. They also seem to have electrical wiring problems as the lights in the restaurant continued to flicker throughout our meal. All in all a very promising eatery. I will definitely be back. read more

Delicious and easy reservation. All waiters help each other out and makes customers service a dream and priority! Had a really nice dinning experience. read more

I took my wife here for our 12th anniversary. The place is small but nice, classy and upscale in environment and decor. There are 7 parking stalls so if you don't come when it first opens, don't expect to park there. You could park across the street at the Ala Moana Shopping Center. My real intent was to come here and see if the uni pasta (Ricci di Mare) was all that it was purported to be. Uni is my favorite nigri sushi and so I was excited to try it with pasta. We started off with the calamari and shrimp antipasti ($12) which was nicely done and a good little starter. Now the uni pasta ($26). I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the only raw uni (sea urchin) was the sliver on top. The rest of it was in bits, sauteed and mixed into the thin pasta. The sauce was light, soupy and underwhelming. I was very disappointed. I guess I was hoping for some uni epiphany. I will have to try Arancino's uni pasta to compare at some point. We also had the king crab linguine ($24). There were bits of crab meat in there but you would only know it because that's what they call it on the menu. The tomato sauce itself was tangy, a bit creamy and very good. The linguine was done perfectly al dente. Too bad there was hardly any crab meat, LOL. They should really call it linguine a la crab sauce. The portions are also on the slight side and for what they charge, it should be either fantastic or at least something to fill your belly. The entrees accomplished neither of these goals. If you want to get out and eat pasta without feeling like it's romper room at Spaghetti Factory, Bravo or even Auntie Pastos, do come here. It's quiet, classy and the food is decent. But I think you may be disappointed if you were looking for exquisite cuisine. Reservations are recommended. read more

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I arrived 9 minutes early... there were two open two tops available. Toshi greeted me. He said I need to wait 9 more minutes before he would seat me. It was raining outside so I said... cant I wait inside ? It's raining ! He said .... "9 minutes-- wait outside" Something is seriously wrong with their service and their front desk greeting. read more

I hate when I walk into a restaurant and I'm not greeted. After 5 minutes, I try to make eye contact so they know I'm there. After 10 minutes, I start getting irritated. After 15 minutes, I start to regret being there. After 30 minutes, I walk out because that is totally unacceptable! I was greeted about 20 minutes upon arriving, and waiting, and standing, then sitting. Oh and I should add that servers, cooks and even the owner did make eye contact with us but no one bothered to even say hello, or welcome, or someone will be right with you until 20 minutes later. How do I know it was 20 minutes? No, I'm not that anal, I'm just a prompt person who was there on time for my reservation. Boss lady finally greeted us and confirmed our reservation, then sat us at the table. Nadia was our server and she was awesome! The food - King Crab Pasta - Pass. I don't know what was in this dish, but it didn't taste or look like crab and the sauce did not taste like tomato cream. Beef Ragu - Pass. It's a bland dish. The flavors and the sauce need to be developed more. Total amateur dish! Chicken with Porcini mushrooms in a cream sauce- Yay, this was the best pasta dish but it isn't on the menu because it was the special of the night. Because this is an Italian/Japanese fusion restaurant, the cream sauce isn't as heavy as the traditional Italian restaurants. It's a much lighter and tastier sauce. Norcia pizza - Sausage, mushrooms, walnuts, and truffle oil. Ooohhh this is a must! I enjoyed this pizza a lot! They're wine list wasn't that extensive, but offered pretty good selections. They only had a couple beers, Peroni and another I believe. Don't be counting on a vodka martini because it seems they only offer Smirnoff. If they're going to offer only one kind of vodka, shouldn't it be Grey Goose or something better than Smirnoff? Yuck! Only gin they offer is Bombay Sapphire not that I ever drink gin! Since we had dinner on a Saturday night, we ended dinner with a shot so we could head out to party. Well, I wasn't going to take no Smirnoff shot so we all took a Limoncello shot. Bill came out to $220 + tip for three people. Meh, I've tasted better Japanese/Italian food. read more

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Great food! I recommend the Rossini... amazing! So good! Oh and the Sangria! Yumn! Definitely coming back!

We had the antipasti dish which was shared by our party of 4. Very tasty, lovely flavors. We also had 2 pizzas. One with extra red sauce, and one Blanco--the Nacia, which had sausage, mushrooms, cheese and truffle oil. I had only a bite of the red sauce pizza, but the Nacia was a party in my mouth! Such good flavor! The pizzas are about 12 or 14", and on a very thin, almost cracker-like crust that was SO ono! Service was so amazing, friendly, attentive and polite. Our water glasses were refilled constantly. Another woman came to check on us frequently as well, perhaps because when I made our reservation I requested a quiet corner to accommodate my Dad, who wears hearing aids (background noise drives him nuts). The room did get noisy--a tip for others there's a back room that seemed a little quieter. As for the other comments about restaurant staff not being attentive to non-Japanese, non-tourists--maybe the Bernini folks have read your reviews. Our party of 4 was local and 3/4 not Japanese and they couldn't have been nicer. We learned that the restaurant opened about 5 weeks ago, and Nadia apologized for the slow service. It was not slow at all. She told us that the chef owns a few restaurants in Japan, so that might explain why most of the clientele we saw looked like Japanese nationals. I would have given 4 stars except for 2 things. 1) the menu was very heavy on the pizza, and not as much on other menu items. I'd like to have more of the other stuff. 2) unless you drive a Mini Cooper, don't park in the tiny lot! We weren't the only table watching and gasping as one SUV pulled in and was having a very hard time parking. I was worried that he'd damage his car...and bang mine, too. Then he left and another big fancy car parked in that spot. When we went to leave, we had to find the owner & ask him to move his car in a bit so I could get out. He didn't move it, but was friendly while he watched me struggle and he and my bf helped guide me out. It took a long time, a lot of turns, and I just knew half the restaurant was watching through the glass. Next time I go back, I'm not going in unless I have street parking...or I'll park at Ala Moana or elsewhere and walk over! btw, the dress code is listed as "dressy" & I patiently had to explain to Dad that linen shorts do not count as dressy. I guess not everyone in there read that b/c there was one younger man who came in with his folks and he was in a t-shirt and jeans. Another guy sauntered in with cutoff jeans (he also proceeded to talk on the phone during his meal & his child made her entrance screaming at the top of her lungs). The females in that party--and the rest of the room--were all dressed nicely. read more

This is going to be a short one, so check this out . . . Bernini has a nice selection of designer pizzas, so we just wanted something light to enjoy with a beer. I've had a lot of pizza's in my day, but I've never had one served this way, -- we ordered the four cheese pizza, and with it, came a choice of both honey and a spicy sweet sauce. We drizzled on some honey and sprinkled the slice with spicey dried chili pepper flakes. What a combination! I actually learned something new! It was very enjoyable and tastey and went excellently with the Peroni Italian Beer. Thank you Bernini for the excellent tip! We will definitely order this again. Keep up the good work! read more

TOTALLY TORN - loved the food, but the ending left a bad taste... So excited! Tonight we FINALLY had a chance to try Bernini - tucked away on Waimanu Street, blink and you'll need to circle the block. Once you find Bernini - its a perfect little oasis of delight. You walk in and know you're in for a good meal. Again, I always have high expectations on the service side and the crew here tonight were on their game! Great service! Our server had some fantastic suggestions and recommendations (I always like to ask) -- with so many delicious options, we settled on tonight's special which was a seafood tagliolini (shrimp, clams and calamari) in light tomato sauce with pesto drizzle. My friend had porcini mushroom with house-made Italian sausage on linguine in light cream sauce. OH MY --- both were delicious! We were celebrating, so we also shared the dessert special, a fresh strawberry tart with fresh whipped cream. Oh, la, la! Okay, so the bummer part of the night -- sigh. The restaurant was moderately busy but there were a lot of open tables and no one waiting. My friend and I were chatting for a while - you might even say we were lingering (if they needed the table we could have left sooner). I noticed throughout our meal there were at least 3 people who seemed like managers or maybe the owners ? They stood around, kept a watchful eye and glared at customers. It was kinda uncomfortable and it seemed that the longer we stayed the huffier they got. Finally, a server came to our table and said we had to leave because another guest couldn't get their car out of the lot unless we moved our cars too. Huh? (Granted their parking lot is very tiny). It was a guest that one of the "managers" knew - as I heard her call her by her name from outside the car. The lame part is the lot is so small, that having someone guide to the driver would have been super helpful. However, NO ONE from Bernini came to her aid. So I ended up guiding two cars out. Boo!! read more

Stopped by for dinner...at the last minute. Had heard it was good, we were looking forward to some really great Italian food. The hostess was really nice and was able to seat us. She took us to the back room which was nice and quiet. Service was excellent...menu quite extensive...had slow roasted pork appetizer and romaine salad...not quite what I expected, but still good. For dinner we had the grilled steak and fish...again good, but portions kind of small for the price. Desserts, tiramisu and vanilla gelato with espresso...both good. We were not hungry when we left so all in all, good...we'll probably go back again for pasta and pizza next time. read more

My girlfriends and I came here to celebrate a birthday and catch up with some girl talk so it was really nice that they seated us in a small private room. With our wine and sangrias we shared the antipasti misti which that day was tuna carpaccio, prosciutto, and eggplant. We ordered three pizzas and they were all very good. The one that stood out was the truffle pizza that was on special. I'm so used to ordering dessert for myself that I momentarily forgot the unwritten rule that when you dine with girlfriends, you share. Luckily, they agreed to try my top choices for dessert which were the panna cotta and the mille crepes. The pizzas were delicious and the desserts were sublime! The restaurant itself is nice, the staff is friendly, the service was good, but the parking is tight and I thought the food was pricey...but it's a small price to pay for fine Italian cuisine and time with your besties. read more

My first review will have to go to my current favorite restaurant in town. I looove Bernini, and their December specials menu right now is amazing. We tried the cauliflower and poached egg appetizer, blue crab pasta, bolognese pizza, and oxtail. From the regular menu we had the mushroom salad, uni pasta, prosciutto & mascarpone pizza, and the panne cotta: Cauliflower appetizer - really interesting. It was a small bed of cauliflower with mushrooms, black truffle, and a poached egg on top. Pop the poached egg and mix it up! YUM. Blue crab pasta - my favorite dish of the night! Soooo flavorful. I heard it's very similar to the king crab pasta on the regular menu but I haven't tried it. Definitely get this if you're a seafood person! Bolognese pizza - this was very interesting. It kinda reminded me of a margherita pizza with random spots of bolognese sauce on it. I liked the random bursts of flavor though! Lol Oxtail - personally I've had better oxtail; it might have been because I prefer my oxtail with the bone still intact because it gives the meat more flavor. It was wrapped in cabbage and came with yummy risotto. Mushroom salad - probably my favorite salad at Bernini. Simple greens with warm, roasted assorted mushrooms Uni pasta - can't go wrong with this pasta if you love sea urchin! Prosciutto & mascarpone pizza - my favorite pizza here! The generous blobs of mascarpone cheese is the best part Panne cotta - I get this every time and it's one of the best panne cottas I've had. Generous amount of berries on top and the wine jelly is genius. Very pleasant dessert and it's not crazy sweet -- Overall service and atmosphere was great. The only thing that makes it not extremely perfect is the parking (very limited and tight), but I think they still deserve 5 stars. read more

Bernini Honolulu - December specials + regular menu favorites - Italian Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Did you know that the original Bernini is in Tokyo? I DID NOT! But it all makes sense. The owners of this restaurant run it as how I would expect a Japanese fine-dining restaurant in JAPAN to be- classy, good service, aesthetically pleasing food, and smaller portion size. The decor and ambiance is LOVELY. Straight-up feeling fly, and I am a firm believer that ambiance boosts one's dining experience. Even if the food is subpar, I'll be nice and give it 2 or 3 stars if I'm eating in a pretty restaurant with good service. That being said, I don't have to be nice to Bernini because the food was very good!!! Yay good food and pretty restaurant!!! I made it a point to see what other yelpers recommended beforehand and this is what we ordered: APPETIZERS GRILLED SCALLOPS WITH EGGPLANT: where is the eggplant?? Also, only 5 scallops. But there were a lot of mixed greens served with this, and the scallops were cooked perfectly. TUNA CARPACCIO WITH LEMON: YUMMY. Sashimi with capers, lemon and sundried tomatoes!! $19 though, kinda pricey. PORCHETTA: I think I was expecting too much from this bc of the reviews but I honestly didn't think it was that great... I don't think it was the preparation or anything, maybe I'm just not a fan of porchetta in general. My dad liked it a LOT though. ENTREES PIZZA WITH TRUFFLE OIL, WALNUTS, MUSHROOMS, SAUSAGE. YOU MUST GET THIS PIZZA. I forgot what it was called, but you will know it- it is under the pizzas that don't have tomato sauce. It was delicious. The truffle oil really takes it to the next level. BISMARC PIZZA- asparagus, soft-boiled egg, prociutto. Okay so if you've been reading my reviews you know how much I love eggs, especially yolky ones. Super stoked for this pizza and it was a huge let down. First of all, the egg was not truly soft-boiled. It was no longer yolky and cooked too much! The waiter gave me a spoon to spread the yolk with but how could I when the yolk was solid!! GRRR. Also, the tomato sauce was SO BLAND AND WATERY. You could tell they make their own sauce from scratch which is good, but it was literally like mashed up tomatoes with no seasoning. Meh. BEEF RAGU- didn't try but was a win according to my grandpa KING CRAB LINGUINI- I should've warned my mom that Yelpers said this entree was bland, but we decided just to try it anyway. IT IS DEFINITELY BLAND AND THERE IS MINIMAL CRAB. GENOVESE LINGUINI- pesto/basil type sauce, with pinenuts, beans and asparagus. Looks pretty much vegetarian, but when we asked the waiter he said they use a beef broth so it's not entirely vegetarian. It was REALLY good though, probably my 2nd favorite. SPAGHETTI WITH UNI- wasn't sure what to expect from this but it was delicious! The uni makes the sauce a bit rich, but it was delicioussss! Who knew adding sea urchin to spaghetti would make it so good? DESSERT Yes being fatties we had to try the desserts here... PANNA COTTA WITH FRUIT AND WINE JELLY- YUMMY!!! My favorite!! It's basically a lighter, not super dense vanilla panna cotta with a thick layer of (wine?) jelly and fruits!!! I ENJOYED THIS A LOTTTT. It is kind of sweet though. But I like that! Haha BUDDINO- caramel custard pudding, good flavor and not super dense. HAZELNUT AND CHOCOLATE MOUSSE- probably the weakest dessert for me. Had a hint of coffee in there, Idk I just wasn't a fan. Underwhelming. SERVICE When I saw our server was "Christoff" I was scared bc I remember a previous review warned us about him... and I knew it was him bc I did get a weak Bruce Willis vibe from him. However, he was pleasant enough and we basically got all the service we needed. Just a warning though, for parties of 6 or more they will automatically add 18% gratuity. Also the manager nihonjin lady was really nice and sweet, but you could tell she kinda wanted to drift toward the other Japanese customers more. At least they didn't slack off knowing that they were going to get that 18% no matter what! You get what you pay for! A bit pricey, but this is "fine-dining" we're talking about! Bernini probably could've won 5 stars from me, but my pizza was a disappointment. If only I hadn't ordered it... Oh well, next time I'll be back, I won't order that pizza and perhaps boost my rating :) read more

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This is an expansion restaurant by Chef Kengo Matsumoto, a Japanese Chef trained in Northern Italy with his original restaurants in Tokyo. Most of the staff speak Japanese and I think their original concept was to cater to those tourists. That said, you wont run into any language barriers and I had nothing but pleasant interaction with the staff. The restaurant site proclaims that the intent is to "draw out the natural and best tasting flavors from ingredients," so the flavors are nice and subtle and really, most of the flavors come from the fresh and high-quality ingredients. It's quite a contrast to the family-style Italian that dominates this island in that it's not overly salty, or huge portions, and the pasta comes standard al dente which will seem a bit underdone to the what most Americans are accustomed. Though I haven't been to Sistina yet, this is the best Italian food I've had on Oahu. OK, so my experience. They usually require reservations on Fridays and weekends until about 9pm. The parking is limited to the 7 spaces outside, so plan ahead... we walked. Here's the menu: http://berninihonolulu.com/pdf/bernini_menu.pdf The menu changes periodically with some really creative dishes. It seems like they take some of the traditional Italian ways and then apply that to local ingredients and it works well (think ahi with capers, olive oil, and arugula). We got the antipasti misti which was a sampling of 3 appetizers, vongole bianco, and pizza romana (anchovy, mozz and garlic and capers). The appetizer this trip included the ahi dish mentioned above, a chilled tomato-sauce egg plant dish, and an octopus-red onion tomato piece. Presentation was lovely, and my favorite was the ahi. The platter was a bit steep at $28, but I figure I got to see 3 samples of the kitchen's work. Vongole was excellent, but I was bummed I wasn't offered freshly grated Parmesan, maybe this is faux pas on seafood, but I love my parm on anything. White wine -garlic sauce was awesome enough to clean the plate with bread. Clams were plentiful, but were cooked I think a bit too long and it was luke-warm when it came out. Pizza Romana was good, crispy crust, excellent tomato sauce and mozzarella. The Anchovy was so small it seemed minced, I prefer the pizza actually from V-Lounge. I probably wont order the pizza next time. Ambiance is dimly lit and romantic, but the seating is cramped and we were almost bumping elbows with the table next door. There is a back room, but I would not recommend this place for a party much bigger than 4 or for a first date (maybe 2nd). 2 glasses of Cab (not a big Italian wine fan), the appetizer, 2 entrees and tip came out to just over $100 which is reasonable, but not cheap eats. read more

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One of the best places for Italian food on Oahu! A friend of ours set up a tasting menu, so we could all try a little bit of all the great dishes this place has to offer and we were not disappointed. APPETIZER Porchetta: one of my favorite dishes here. Served on a bed of greens, it's actually very refreshing for an appetizer. Venetian Style Marinated Octopus and Potato Lightly Flavored with Anchovy: great flavors, just a hint of the anchovy. Sautéed Peperoncino style Calamari & Asparagus with Lime: A nice balanced dish. "Verdure Miste" - Steamed Vegetables in a Homemade Italian Parsley Sauce: The vegetables were cooked perfectly. Not a ton of flavor, but a good compliment to the meal. PASTA "Ricci di Mare" - Fresh Sea Urchin, Peperoncino Style: One of the best pastas I've had in a while. And it's really hard to find sea urchin pasta in Hawaii. "Beef Ragu" -Stewed Angus Beef Meat Sauce: A good solid traditional pasta dish. "Ortolana" - Fresh Tomato and Vegetables: Another fine pasta. PIZZA "Diavola" - Mozzarella and Spicy Salami: The crust is nice and crispy. "Norcia" - Mozzarella, Sausage, Mushroom, Walnut and Truffle oil: It's the truffle oil that makes this dish. So if you like it truffle oil, definitely get this. SECOND "Tagliata" Grilled Angus Beef Steak: Again, simply a very well prepared dish. Half Chicken "Al Forno" - Crispy Roasted Chicken: We had to split half a chicken amongst 10 of us, so it's a little hard to say. But it seemed pretty good. Overall, a wonderful experience and definitely a place worth returning to over and over again. read more

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Hawaii has a plethora of Japanese-Italian restaurants and Bernini had been rising to the top after its opening a year or so ago. With competitors like Arancino and Taormina in Waikiki Bernini has been holding its own with the locals. Since it was close to Christmas time they had a set Christmas course menu which my father and I decided to get. In addition we ordered an appetizer (Caprese), creamy chicken linguine, ziti in a tomato sauce with a spoonful of marscapone plopped on top, and a white mushroom and sausage pizza. We finished our meal with the mille feuille crepe and mont blanc. http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=FRKRSuBZ2wPdS2Iu7mN4bg&userid=QkQLnujuiBDP1mNChJYJww For the Christmas course menu http://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=HRiQVmWZl9kLC-VQhhbX8Q&userid=QkQLnujuiBDP1mNChJYJww STARTER: - Abalone cucumber soup APPETIZER: -Tuna carpaccio stuffed with marinated eggplant PASTA: - Blue crab linguine in a tomato cream sauce or Turkey ragu risottto MAIN: - Chicken stuffed cabbage topped with foie gras. DESSERT: -Strawberry puree topped with whipped cream I usually am not a huge fan of abalone but I found the cucumber soup to be delicious with the steamed abalone. My favorite pasta had to be the ziti. Although simple it was flavorful and went well when mixed with the marscapone. The pizza was very thin with crispy edges just like how pizza should be. Bernini is definitely not a cheap eat. I think we spent over $300 for our meal. It was good and I'm glad I had I finally had a chance to try it but for the portion size versus the price, seemed a little pricey to be making it a regular habit. read more

Bernini Honolulu - Christmas course menu - Italian Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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First impression was 1 star. We walked in. The owner saw us and instead of greeting us she asked if we have a reservation. Seemed as if she was anxious to turn us away. Then she sat is in the worse table in the building. I decided we were moving or leaving. 3 open 2 tops she sits us in the kitchen walkway. So we move. Much to the original servers dismay. We were quickly greeted by our new server ( ironically was probably my favorite server from Michelle's). Funny it was his first week. No real recommendations but told us what was popular. We didn't drink because I wasn't feeling a good vibe. Very unwelcomed. We were the only pax in the restaurant who were not Japanese which was fine, but when we called about attire they strongly recommended dressy. Upon seating I noticed a good 30% of the men in there were in shorts and slippers. So dress code is not a thing. Ambiance was ok. Not fancy, but. Bistro style. Was very warm inside. If you ever been to Japan you know it's very warm everywhere. Japanese people like it warm. Samukunai. Lol. Very small place but clean. Bussers know their place and move in the background not to be noticed. As we sat. I was in direct view of the owner who I order to wrap up my feelings towards her quickly. I'll give my best opinion. She is the Japanese version of the soup Nazzi. Don't dwell on her and you will be fine. She is the reason they got 3 stars not 5. GM very accommodating and very experienced friendly and seemed genuinely concerned. She gets a 5 star all by herself. Server was good, but unfair to grade being it was his first week. Food. Here is the important part. We didn't eat a lot. One thing on the menu is why we went here in the first place. So I'll brake it down. We shared the anchovy pizza. A+ We both ordered the Uni pasta. One of my favorite dishes anywhere we go. I will always eat it, but this one... Bernini's Uni Pasta was hands down the best I have ever had. Simple and complex at the same time. You have to try it. At less than 35 dollars you get lots of goodies on the plate. I would go back and sit with the owner to eat this again. Highly recommend this place. But I hope the owner sees this and realizes that local people spend money too. Aloha read more

Bernini Honolulu - Anchovy pizza was excellent - Italian Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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this was the first time i tried bernini. i tried here because of a coworker farewell party. it was really nice inside. the food was really good. we went for the lunch three course meal. the food portion was small but it was very tasty. if your looking for a first date place this would be it. the only junk part is the parking is very limited. read more

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Unfortunately I was excited to try this place and cancelled an existing reservation at a more reputable place only to have them cancel both my orders without warning. This left me and my infant scrambling to find another food option. Unacceptable. Would never recommend to anyone. read more

You must try this month special!! Specially tariff ravioli I want to go back and eat large size read more

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I love Bernini. I went for my very first time a few nights ago and I was quite pleased. It's right by Ala Moana shopping center, also they have parking in the front. The setting is really nice inside. Kinda romantic, dimmed lighting, with view of the open kitchen so you had see whats going on. Service was great! Very fast and pleasant people. My new favorite Italian restaurant in town. Cappuccino Onion Soup: Kinda tasted like a onion chowder, it was really light and flavorful. The onion flavor wasn't over powering and its a good start. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/Ax5KkgVStYDTXyTIUd2nhQ?select=8vc2H7zP8-1JezWmDo1s7w#5gLHedXMOXksrE7d-2SqtA Uni Pasta: It was a good change from Aracinos Uni pasta (which I've only had) This one was a lighter sauce, not heavily creamy like Aracinos. Lots of flavor, kinda on the salty side. I think there was a little bit a chili in it also. I'm not too sure. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/Ax5KkgVStYDTXyTIUd2nhQ?select=8vc2H7zP8-1JezWmDo1s7w#EfFdX7y_JVaqje7-4xKL8Q King Crab Linguini: I need to order this again! Sooo much flavor packed into one dish, lots of crab meat. It was a creamy tomato sauce. I really recommend it! http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/Ax5KkgVStYDTXyTIUd2nhQ?select=8vc2H7zP8-1JezWmDo1s7w#1n2KrC4Db8sUxMZOecB_Xw I can't wait till my next visit! I really want to try the desserts because my last visit they were out of a lot of things :( But till next time. I also saw a lot of people order their pizzas so it must be good! Make sure to make a reservation, they always seem to be busy! read more

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I recently dined at Bernini again and had an excellent experience. We made reservations last-minute and they accommodated our party of four with ease. They sat us in the back room, which I didn't know existed, and it was comfortable but not fancy like the main dining area. Our waiter was excellent at recommending dishes. The two main entrees and salad recommended by him were both excellent. They were: *Ricci Di Mare - "Fresh Sea Urchin (uni), peperoncini style." Loved it! They used spaghetti noodles that were cooked to perfection, and the sauce was divine. I like uni....I don't love it. This dish didn't have an overpowering uni/fishy taste. I've had other uni pasta dishes where the flavor of uni was just too powerful. This was just right for me. I would definitely order it again. Our waiter pointed out that this is one of his faves on the menu and it didn't disappoint!! *Pomodora - "Fresh Tomato and Mozzarella." It came with penne pasta but we requested spaghetti noodle instead. My bf enjoyed it and thought the sauce was tasty and simple. *Bernini Caprese Salad - Fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. This is still one of my favorite Caprese salads around. I like that it is also topped with fresh greens! Yum! Service was excellent, starting with the staff at the entrance to our attentive and efficient waiter. Thank You!!!! Dined here twice and will definitely return!! read more

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White truffle pizza it's heaven White truffle pasta it's Devine.. You must go there you will forget that you are in Honolulu read more

I find it very interesting that Bernini is advertising so much now. Must be because the tourist market dried up. In 2012 I lived 2 blocks away and walked to the restaurant 3 times. As a local I never felt welcome and saw all the signs that the place was focused totally on the tourist market. read more

Bernini used to be one of my favorite restaurant. It is pretty pricy. However I liked their food, the restaurant atmosphere, staff and their service. However their price went up, their service went down, food quality is somewhat similar. I brought my family to celebrate their birthday, they didn't even clean the table before they bring next dish. We had full course. They didn't even clean out bread crumbs before they offer the dessert menu. Based on their poor service, we decided not to stay any longer, I was very disappointed and I probably won't refer this restaurant to any of my friends or guest any more. :( read more

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Must come and eat at Bernini every time I'm back on the Aina ! their uni pasta reminds me of the uni pasta I had in Japan. I also love their panacotta ~ read more

Bernini Honolulu - Uni pasta ~ - Italian Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Surprisingly good! When I heard this place had uni pasta and was Japanese Italian, I got turned off. I saw the tiny parking lot, I got more turned off. I decided to give it a try cause I heard good things. My trip here turned me...okay better not word it that way. My expectations were not only exceeded, but completely changed. If this place is really Japanese inspired, I can't really tell. I don't think it matters. I just want good pasta. I ordered the beef ragu and my gf ordered the amatriciana. Both were great. The noodles were angel hair pasta and the presentation was nice. The waiter was knowledgeable and very friendly. The price was reasonable. Comparable to Assagio's in many respects, but the quality is better. Our pasta plates were about $18 each. I did see a lasagna for about $34, but ya. Parking is a pain, but if you come early you can reverse your car in so it'll be easy to get out. read more

Spent my birthday dinner here and it was amazing! Royce and Nalani had great service and gave us recommendations. My boyfriend and I had two orders of the cappuccino style sweet onion soup, the granchio, and Rossini. For dessert we had the mango and passion fruit tIramisu for dessert, We recommend everything we had tonight! read more

My wife and I dined here for Valentine's Day dinner. The restaurant was crowded...but the tables were nicely spaced so there was ample "social distancing" between the tables. My wife and I normally do not dine out on most Valentine's Days due to the restaurants being very crowded and the service being slow. We were pleasantly surprised to receive superb service...even on this busy night! Our waiter was great...and the whole staff worked as a team to give everyone prompt and excellent service. We just loved the thin crust pizza...as it reminded us of our favorite pizza restaurant in Prague. The bolognese rigatoni was excellent as well. We are so glad we found this place and will definitely make it one of our stops when we get back to Honolulu. We also got to meet the owner, Mr. Toshi Kobayashi who chatted with us about wine. Congratulations Mr. Kobayashi on creating a superb Italian restaurant...which runs like a well-oiled machine! read more

I recommend reservations and if possible opt for early dinner (5:30p) as they have a small parking lot in the front and there is metered parking on the street. Excellent service. I recommend the risotto. Ordered the cheesecake for dessert which was also yummy read more

Bernini Honolulu - Risotto with truffles - Italian Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Me and my sister are visiting Honolulu and wanted to find a nice Italian restaurant to celebrate her birthday. I just happened to come across Bernini on open table and am so glad we decided to visit. We ordered the caprese, the pomodoro rigatoni, the truffle risotto, and the quattro formaggi pizza. Everything was incredible and truly rivaled even the best Italian food that I've had in Los Angeles. On top of the amazing food, the service was also above and beyond and they even brought out a special dessert for my sisters birthday. Would 100% return again and recommend to anyone looking for exceptional Italian food in Honolulu. read more

Bernini Honolulu - Truffle Risotto - Italian Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

My wife asked me take her here for our 19th anniversary...5 star experience. Feels like an Italian restaurant in Rome , down to earth , it's all about the food. Liver pate delivers pure creamy delight on crostini. Tastes are subtle allowing ingredients to star and seasonings supporting roles. Warm, knowledgable and friendly servers and staff complete the Italy in Hawaii experience . Bernini ... We will remember you & return read more

Bernini Honolulu - monte Blanco. Seasonal chestnut dessert - Italian Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii