Used to be consistently good, but three months ago and again yesterday--a Tuesday, not a weekend night, and early evening--there were many more diners than usual so they had to open up the room next door, a former art/antique gallery with 4-5 tables, rather dark and fusty, to seat everyone. One problem was there weren't nearly enough servers, and they hardly ever came into our room. So on our earlier visit, we were there for nearly three hours. There were two of us, both adults, with no special requests or concerns, and we shared a caprese salad, I had a glass of wine, and we each had a pasta entree. Neither of us eats really slowly. AND we had reservations. So...three hours? We sat at a bare table for half an hour before we even got silverware and napkins, but worse, although the salad was good, as usual, our entrees were uncharacteristically bad. In each each case, the pasta was ok, cooked to the right doneness, but the sauce on spaghetti bolognese" was a small amount of marinara sauce sprinkled with a few tablespoons of crumbled ground mystery meat that had no discernible seasoning, not even salt and pepper. We had noticed that the description on the menu had changed from meat sauce to marinara sauce and crumbled Italian sausage, but the meat didn't taste anything like Italian sausage. The spaghetti with meatballs was somewhat better, but the meatballs were overcooked and tough on the outside, and underseasoned. We were hoping for a better meal yesterday, and yes, we had reservations, but after being seated once again at a bare table in the auxiliary room, and waiting for 25 minutes, we were thinking we were going to get lousy service and bad food again, so we left. The only reason I'm giving the restaurant three stars is that in the past, on weekdays, when the restaurant was always, until last night, less crowded, with no overflow room required, the service and the food were much better, at least four stars. I hope the chef and other staff read this and it's a wakeup call...if you can't handle crowds, in the kitchen or in the dining rooms, limit your seating so you can do everything well, like you used to, or your regular customers like us are going to go away. read more

This was a nice mom and pop Italian restaurant in a not so touristy part of the Big Island. We had a delicious 3 course meal with Ceasar salad, pasta and dessert. The salad dressing tasted homemade and the pasta sauces were delicious (pesto cream and Alfredo)! It's a bit on the pricey side given the smaller portions but still a great meal read more

Having eaten here many times for both lunch and dinner and having experienced the "ups" and the downs" in terms of consistent quality of food preparation and service, the trend is back to a downward spiral. Fresh Mahi was so overcooked, it was barely edible but nobody came by to check into well after we were trying to eat it - even asked for olive oil to try to make it more palatable. I asked for water twice before getting a refill, and while I could understand delays when it's busy - it was not - we were the only occupied table in that whole room. So unsatisfactory on all levels. Off my list until/unless they can pull it together..... read more

Glad we found this local Italian spot! Freshly made pasta was fantastic, shrimp was perfectly cooked, sauces were good but a bit under-salted. The calamari appetizer was just ok, sticks not the typical rings & tentacles. They were a bit understaffed with only one waitress, but once we got our order in the food came promptly. read more

Dom De Luca's Restaurant - Pesto Crème with Shrimp - Italian Near Me - Waimea, Hawaii

See all

The salad was not fresh. The busboy refilling water seemed out of place with his baseball cap. The wait staff was very nice although did not offer drink refills. The pasta was rich and delicious. read more

Great food, great service, always consistent in their Italian cooking and flavors. Love the Mediterranean salad, fresh fish, and bread. A complete meal! read more

I have loved this restaurant and it's food for many years. I come very frequently as I live locally and have always had excellent experiences. Sadly, things have quickly tanked. Had lunch on Thursday with couple friends and we were met at the door by a very unfriendly lady who seems to be miserable working there, instead of being happy that there were actually patrons coming in because the restaurant was almost empty. Salad was wonderful, as always! My fettuccine was an absolute disappointment being it was stale and "hard"ly boiled, not the fresh cooked al dente melt in your mouth it always has been. I had everybody try it and we were all in agreeance, couldn't even finish a small portion. I sooo regret not sending it back as I got the most miserable food poisoning, yet with the waitresses attitude I couldn't trust that something would happen to my food. Truly wondering if something had happened to my food before it was delivered to me!? $150 spent for lunch, at what used to be my favorite restaurant, will unfortunately be our last. I know the restaurant has been for sale yet someone needs to step up and make sure things are maintained as it's truly a let down versus the high standards that used to always be met here. The restaurant needs a very deep cleaning as it is really feeling dusty, grungy and stale smelling. Super sad for Harry who has put his heart and soul into this restaurant, and for the community that has truly loved this establishment. read more

Fine dining at its best here in Waimea, Big Island. Enjoyed a wonderful dinner here with my son and his family. Started off with their house salad with strawberry vinaigrette dressing. Our entrees were pasta dishes of Fresco Verde with Ahi, Carbonara, and Bolognese for the adults; and Meat Lovers pizza and Keiki pepperoni pizza for the kids. Everything was delicious, flavorful, and generous. Overall service was excellent and the atmosphere very cozy. If you reside in Waimea, visiting, or just passing through, I highly recommend this hole in the wall place if you love Italian cuisine. read more

See all

Sign outside says fine-dining but the service and food doesn't really feel like fine-dining. We started with the pesto mozzarella bread - flavor was good but the bread was soft. Think this would be better if crispy. Half portion of the pasta is more than enough, portion wise. The marifredo sauce is good but watery - would prefer a thicker texture so it can stick to the pasta better. The pasta itself was tasty and had a nice chew. Meat lovers pizza was good and a 10 inch is perfect for 1 person. Crust was flavorful and cheesy. Service was okay but the ambiance definitely felt more casual than fine dining. Our entrees took a long time to arrive after the appetizer, even though there were only 2 other tables in the entire restaurant at the time. I also felt a little weirded out by a comment our server made when I ordered the half portion of the pasta. She said, "oooooh, saving room for dessert?" I'm sure she didn't intend that in a negative way and maybe was just trying to small talk, but it did made me feel judged and uncomfortable. I didn't think our order overall was "too little" or "too cheap" so I thought that comment was weird. read more

See all

They don't honor their hours. As if everything in kamuela doesn't already close early I walked in at 7:20pm and they said they were closed even though the posted hours says open till 8. I just was looking to take something to go unfortunately that's not an option. read more

Normally, Dom De Luca's serves passable, satisfying Americanized Italian food. Today, however, perhaps the chef is absent. My pasta carbonara was entirely disappointing. The spaghetti noodles are floating in a tasteless creamy soup with bacon bits scattered. No flavor of carbonara at all! Too pricy for such a disastrous preparation! read more

Food and service was amazing. Looking forward to going back. Would recommend their food to anyone.

This restaurant serves very delectable, savory dishes and really fresh Waimea greens and tomatoes. Today we dined in at lunch and we were greeted by a very friendly waitress. The restaurant is quiet with some soft background music. Started with the Chicken Caesar bruschetta appetizer which we understand is the top choice. It was 4 perfectly crisp pieces of bruschetta with savory dressing of red wine vinaigrette, arugula, diced tomatoes, and thinly sliced chicken. It was so incredibly delicious ! You definitely have to order this. For lunch I ordered the 1/2 sizes caprese salad with added extra Waimea greens which consisted of arugula, I believe Bibb lettuce, spinach, and maybe romaine? It was so good, fresh, and hydrating. My greens were topped with fresh slices of tomatoes and mozzarella, drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette dressing! It was indeed delicious. read more

Dom De Luca's Restaurant - The Kohola cocktail - Italian Near Me - Waimea, Hawaii

The food was ok. I had the Caesar salad and Fresco Verde. Too much dressing on salad and not enough pasta in the Fresco Verde dish. Pasta was hard and dry Granddaughter had the spaghetti and 1 meatball that had no flavor. Said grandmas spaghetti was better. Portions were small for the prices that they charged. Friendly service but took about 20 minutes before we got our food. Ambience was ok corners of flooring by our table needed cleaning. Don't think we'll be going back read more

Food was delicious and quickly prepared. Staff were friendly and pleasant. It was a bit pricy for my taste.

Everything was just amazing, the food was delicious, the service super friendly and the atmosphere was so neat. This is my favorite restaurant in Waimea read more

See all

Decided to try this place since we have been going to the area for several years and had read reviews that were mostly good. Been to Hawaii over twenty times. Without a doubt, the meal yesterday was the worst we have ever experienced in Hawaii. Ordered the calamari. Burnt on the outside barely done on the inside. Soup of the day was potato leek. Terribly salty. Ordered meatballs with my pasta. Burnt on the outside and so tough I could barely cut them with my knife. Cold on the inside!!! Don't normally write a review, but had to do this one. Sorry. read more

Great food, friendly service. Don't believe the online reservations that says they are booked, better to call them direct. The deserts are wonderful also. Highly recommend. Ambiance is casual elegance. Historic firearms on the wall. read more

The food and service was excellent. And I love love. Love that they had gluten- free pasta as an option for all of their pasta dishes. Thank you! read more

We stumbled upon this restaurant on the long drive from the falls back to our hotel. It was a GREAT surprise. Wonderful and flavorful salads and the pizza got our NY/NJ stamp of approval. Service was very attentive and pricing was reasonable for the quality of food we received. A bit out of the way for the resort crowd but worth the drive. read more

Dom De Luca's Restaurant - Menu - Italian Near Me - Waimea, Hawaii

I wouldn't give this place one star- however I needed to post comment to post a review. I never post comments on yelp when I have a bad dining experience, however this place really sucked and people need to know, especially if you're on vacation looking for a decent meal. I'm from NJ and grew up eating Italian food and this place was the biggest waste of money! I still can't stop talking about this joke of a place! Fine Dining- Fine Garbage food. Eat at Fish Hopper and Huggo's in Kona, best food in town. Close down Dom De Luca's - and sent the staff back to cooking school. read more

What a great italian spot in Waimea. Extremely friendly and attentive staff, quiet ambiance, amazing dishes. Came here on a whim and will definitely be our spot to eat when in the area. read more

Dom De Luca's Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Waimea, Hawaii

See all

Always great service and great food ! I love the on line reservation app too ! There is also an Art Museum adjacent to the restaurant with an interesting collection. read more

The lamb sliders with tomato jam and fries or a small salad are amazing! The only negative is finding a parking space in the busy lot.

We live in Kona, which is roughly an hour away from this restaurant, but ever since we stumbled upon this wonderful restaurant, we've been returning every couple of weeks -- worth it. The pasta is amazing, the service is prompt and welcoming, and... did I mention the pasta? Prices are very reasonable, and it's worth every cent. I'd recommend this restaurant to any fan of pasta, no doubt about it. read more

We go to Waimea about monthly to meet a friend who's staying there for work. This time, we went to a hidden gem, Dom De Luca's Restaurant. The Meat Lover's pizza was stellar! The shrimp scampi was heavily saturated in butter, and didn't have much other flavor. The service was very slow. The atmosphere was good. Would go back for the pizza! read more

The menu is always great, and the nightly specials are fabulous. Pleasant quiet atmosphere with good wine selection.

The lobster on Mother's Day was too salty. Also we ordered the special and it said that it included a lobster bisque. They never served the bisque. read more

I orders chicken Marsala. Garlic bread dipped in the Marsala sauce was heavenly. Delicious meal with Pinot noir. Terimasu dessert Fantabulous. Ambience is nice Service second to none. Waimea has an Italian jewel. read more

Dom De Luca's Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Waimea, Hawaii

Had a wonderful birthday lunch for a friend. NOE gave Great service. Food was wonderful as always. read more

Dom De Luca's Restaurant - Garlic, mozzarella cheese bread - Italian Near Me - Waimea, Hawaii

My family and I ordered take out and the food was terrible. I spent $100 on food we ended up throwing away. Not worth the price. If I could rate 0 I would. read more

Dom De Luca's Restaurant - This was the bottom of our bag when we picked up our order. - Italian Near Me - Waimea, Hawaii

Hands down the best Italian Dinner we've had in many years. Every course was perfect - from our appetizers, to the various home-made pasta dishes our family had, to the Tiramisu and crème brûlée - everything was fantastic! To top it off - the service was stellar. Can't wait to come back. read more

Been to this place twice now and I have to say that they are one of, if not the best, Italian restaurant in the Island. We used to go to Pueo's a lot since we live in Waikoloa but I have to say that this place gave Pueo's a run for their money as the better Italian place. Ambiance is good, not over the top like Pueo's and I think Dom's food is better and much more reasonably priced. If you're in Waimea, I recommend this place for a nice sit down dinner. It's worth it. read more

Great food and ambiance. Owner very personable, and makes it a point to greet all people at their table. Waitstaff excellent.

Good Italian pizza on the island. Very tasty and would definitely recommend. However weird location if you are staying close to hapuna. read more

We had a great dinner last night. Fish special was awesome. Nice affordable wine shared with good friends and convenient location! A winner!

Awesome service! Delicious food. Chef made a special order that my husband LOVED! My marifredo was sooo good! Kudos to Blaine and staff for an outstanding meal! PS crème brûlée is the bomb. read more

See all

Great food individually prepared meals with a wide variety of choices. We really like the friendly, attentive service, the freshly made pastas and the choice of full or half portions. read more

We use the gallery room for business meetings. Service always top notch and all the guests are happy with meals they order. From pizza to pasta no complaints. It's nice to have a local restaurant available to use for meetings with outstanding food and service. read more

This is a really nice restaurant!. Iwheb you walk in it has a bar with seating and a few tables then it opens to the other room with more tables, its is a nice casual but classy place! The service is great! The coffee smells and taste great! Ordering appetizers and pizza. read more

Dom De Luca's Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Waimea, Hawaii

See all