My sister told us about this amazing restaurant. Truly enjoyed the delicious food, wonderful hospitality from Robynne and excellent service from the staff. My husband is a very picky eater and he really loved the hamburger. The burger was so thick and juicy and it did not taste like any burger I've ever tried. Make sure to try the Matcha Cremebrulee for dessert if you like matcha. It'll give you life!! Call to make reservations. read more

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One of our friends took us here Fete Hawaii. Actually it was our first dining out at this place. They have a bar too. We ordered oysters are sooo good. Each of ther were from different location. Taste totally different! Grilled fish was tasty too! They have nice atmosphere! We went there I believe was Friday. Crowded with many people. We got lucky got seat easily:) I love those nice cozy restaurants!!! They are located right middle of downtown. Not easy for parking though. But it's how we get always we would try to be in down town. We will defined come back there soon!!!! read more

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Food is so good! Cheese Puffs: Ribs: Gnocchi: Risotto: Fried Chicken: And the dessert The brownies and all of the house made ice cream were amaaaaaazing. read more

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A wine-o's cafe! A nice wine centric restaurant serving simple foods of Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and the States with a nod to Hawaii. Wine and food comingle and that's a great thing. The rustic chicken liver mouse with grilled bread is a good way to start. Mineraly, livery, rich though somewhat gritty just works with the bitterness of the charred, grilled bread. Along with a tender, warm, grilled pulpo whose burnt bits contrast well with the almost sweet fingerling potatoes, screams rose. Deep fried, sweet Italian sausage stuffed olives makes a tasty, briny popper that will have you ordering another dish. Deep fried goodness with natural olive oil richness and pork fat. Oh yeah. Add a bowl of steamed mussels a in white wine, butter broth (slightly chewy, not very plump but gently sweet) and some Albarino or perhaps a Sancerre. heaven. Saving the best for last, the foie gyoza with a hen of the woods (maitake) mushroom duxelle (the rich mushroom puree that surround the beef in Wellington), gooseberry jam, and an earthy soy, balsamic, chili glaze. Loads of complexity and perfect with any racy, spicy shraz. Tip: ask them to go easy on the balsamic glaze or it will be overpowering. And that's it. Finish up your bottles of wine and be on your way. Yes, there are mains but let's just say, the carbonara was too inventive (Portuguese sausage and eggless?). The rissoto was flavorful but tight. The duck breast cooked medium well. Just stick to the wine and starters. Casual and efficient service (or it will seem that way the more wine you have). Oh yeah, the wine selection. Very well chosen wine list with old and new world examples of simple, food friendly wines. Good selection by the glass. Reasonable markup. In a word, fun. read more

Great place for dessert. Must return to try dinner menu, although I hate the fact they serve foie gras. Would love to see that item eradicated from every menu in the world! Admittedly, we only had dessert and coffee here after dinner elsewhere so I cannot rate it fairly for anything else. But it was a nice time to sit at the bar and chat with the bartender and owner for a bit. Fellow New Yorkers... Everything on the dessert menu sounded delish so it was a tough decision. We settled on an apple tart with very thin apple slices. It did not disappoint. The espresso was a typical New York pull - overly thick and strong - even though I asked for less coffee grounds in the pull. I was openly critical about this but the bartender was very good-natured and took the criticism and advice with good humor. The restaurant has nice lighting and a good ambience. I particularly like the layout of their menu. This is an odd detail, I know, but it shows a good eye for aesthetics, which is also reflected in the overall restaurant dining experience. It is Chinatown, so you know what to expect for parking. Overall, we liked the place and will return some day to give the rest of the vegetarian options on the menu a chance to impress us. read more

Fete never disappoints. From the cocktails right through desserts the food is amazing, fresh and creative.

I've been lagging on this review because I selfishly don't want Fete to get anymore popular than it is. But if you haven't been you're missing out. Fete is so good- the menu is unique and has something for everyone. The service is OUTSTANDING- fast, friendly, unpretentious...definitely one of the best restaurants I've been to on Oahu. Highly recommend!! read more

Food was really hit and miss some dishes were fabulous and some of them were really disappointing The two best dishes was the appetizer Hlulu breadfruit. In the $49 half chicken that was about the size of Cornish game hen was very tasty The other three meals were very disappointing including a hamburger that came cold.. The service was excellent but the restaurant definitely is not as good as it used to be I do know that they have some new kitchen staff.. I find it very sad when a great restaurant loses its edge... read more

Food was excellent and prices were reasonable. Service was prompt and courteous. I was a bit hesitant to dine in downtown at night, but having a table outside on the sidewalk was not all that bad and a lot more quiet and serene than inside which was packed on a weeknight. That place was packed. We were lucky to have found street parking nearby on Nuuanu St. Recommend making a reservation days in advance. read more

Always a favorite place in Chinatown! Everyone LOVES the Korean chx burger! ;) Drinks are amaze too! ;)

I love the place! Food and service were outstanding! Good cocktail list to choose from and drink menu with lots of options. Wonderful evening! 雰囲気が良くて、どのメニューも全て美味しかったです。 カクテルも飲みやすくって、メニューには載っていないオシャレなワインも最高でした read more

This is the second time I went to fete and I am sadly lowering my review from a five to a three star. We loved our first experience but this this did not impress. The environment was great (a side from a few homeless, nothing crazy) and all the drinks and food looked so amazing but they did not taste as great...we got the quinoa cakes and loved this again, tried the deviled eggs and felt like they were over priced deviled eggs but tasty. The mushroom cavetelli was not very flavorful at all, you could tell the noodles were homemade which was great but the sauce and veggies really lacked, my friend got the quinoa burger and that was really tasty, actually tasted very similar to the quinoa bites just in burger form, the prawns were mediocre. The dessert definitely saved us the beignets were very tasty and the cannoli was absolutely wonderful! If I went back I'd get quinoa burger or fresh fish special again because the prawns and noodles didn't supiseb read more

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I came here for a special 4 course event but had my mind completely blown & can't help but share the experience - it only made me want to eat many more meals here as soon as possible. Fete is one the must go places in Chinatown. It's a cute corner location with bar seats, tables and a very casual classy vibe. As I was there for a special $50 4 course menu I just perused the menu for next time but added a wine pairing - always listen to the chef! First course was lardo on fete toast with fig confiture & cornichon - simple, tasty, prepped you for more. Next up was an escarole wedge with Gorgonzola dressing, honey crisp apples, sunchoke chips & crispy pancetta. This was again simple but the flavors were on point and TBH, I love a good salad. The main course was third and OMG! so mind blowingly good & I could eat it for the rest of my life - pork ragout over sage rosemary honey polenta with a sunny side egg. Warm, comforting, friggen delicious. Everything was cooked perfectly, blended perfectly - I almost licked the bowl. Dessert was a pumpkin white chocolate cheesecake with a ginger snap crust, candied calamansi & pepita brittle. Super nice take on a fall dessert. Wine pairings matched really well and I felt like we had great service, especially given how busy the event was. My meal here was off the wall and I recommend coming in to treat yoself - I know I'll be back soon. Splurge, you deserve food and drinks this tasty! read more

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Food & drinks are AMAZING!!! You can tell the owners love what they do, you can tell the servers, cooks, and bartenders are dedicated professionals. Favor: PLEASE bring back the German potato salad that used to be served with the schnitzel! I was stationed in Germany & you absolutely NAILED the potato salad; it was the perfect compliment to that crispy, delicious schnitzel. Love you guys, you work so hard & we'll continue to support! read more

We came here for lunch to celebrate on of our partner's birthday. I have been wanting to check this place out since it opened. Well as soon as the Birthday Boy said he wanted to go to Fete, I was like "Oh yeah! Absolutely!" 3 of us sat at the bar, and were immediately greeted by a very friendly bartender. We said we were there to celebrate a birthday, and he immediately said the first drink for the Birthday Boy was on him! Cool. So then we ordered a very unique and tasty white wine from the Bask Country. I'm not a huge white wine drinker, but this was pretty darn good and super refreshing. Check out the picture on how he poured it :-). Birthday dude and I ordered the new Frisse Aux Champignon salad and Chaz Burger to share, and the 3rd co-worker ordered the Korean Fried Chicken Sandwich. My favorite of all was, hands down, the burger. It was ordered medium rare, and came out more medium, which was fine with me. It is topped with caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, tomato, roasted garlic aioli (yum), ketchup and the bun was kind of a sweetbread bun. It was super tasty. In my opinion, the salad was good, but nothing to write home about. The Korean Fried Chicken Sandwich was a little salty to me, and a bit overdone. The gal that ordered it loves that, and has ordered that on multiple occasions. I think they have better, more interesting things on the menu. But that's just my personal preference. But man, their wine list! Most of those wines I've never even heard of. Thank goodness I didn't have to make a selection there! The other two forged ahead and did a great job. It was a ton of fun, and we almost stayed too long. But the two guys at the end of the bar looked (and sounded) like they were having waaaaaay too much fun! They probably drank twice as much as the three of us drank, and they kept going! I wonder if this is the place to have a drink or two (or three) at lunch. Hmmmm.... In either case, I'll be back! read more

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It's not a big place so make reservations if you have a large party. The food was delicious. Wasn't expecting much from the quinoa cakes but they were delicious. Everyone agree their food was good. I had the fish of the day and while it was good but not great the okinawan sweet potato mash it came with was amazing. All the desserts were good too. The rose sorbet was especially refreshing. read more

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Great place in what obviously is now foodie row in of all places Chinatown. Reservations were not too hard to get but a definite must as it was packed by 6 pm. The space is simply designed so nothing that stood out architecturally. Service was excellent despite the kitchen being slow. I feel like there should have been a separate menu for specials as there were at least five and I think it took the servers too much time out of a busy service to describe. We got the a special app which was salted fish fried in pate choux. Good but nothing wowing. Kid had the lemon zucchini risotto that just seemed too wet versus creamy. This was the least successful dish of the night. I got the fish of the day which was delicious. Not sure if it was worth the almost $60 price tag being my favorite part was the tomato sea asparagus side which added great acid to the dish. The fish was over a bed of Okinawan sweet potato mash that needed some salt. The best dish of the night was the pasta special. It was the 3-day pork ragu with ricotta. That dish was fantastic. All of us should've gotten that dish. We finished with the olive oil cake with yuzu caramel. The cake itself was delicious but the drizzle of caramel at the bottom of the plate was insignificant that I couldn't really taste it. It was a good meal with some hits and misses. Not sure if it's a must do again place. read more

No, no, no! Underlying theme of this place is overly salted food. I cannot believe this is a James Beard restaurant. Beet salad was extremely salty and beets were sour and overly pickled? Cioppino was a salty, spicy mess with 5 tiny pieces of seafood served with burnt bread. My mom felt nauseous after eating the food. Never again! I would not recommend this restaurant. read more

Amongst the many trendy bars and restaurants that line the streets in downtown Chinatown, is this gem of a restaurant - Fete. Bistro style with brick lined walls and a lively atmosphere. The bar lines one side of the restaurant and puts out some exceptional cocktails. The menu is quite eclectic with items like Mexican lasagna, Bacalao fritters, chicken liver mousse, Steak Diane, and risotto to name a few. I'm pretty sure that you'll find something to appease your appetite. Although we only came only for cocktails, apps, and dessert, we loved our dining experience. I had to order the beef tartar which is something that is rare to find in restaurants these days. This was exceptional. Next was the foie gras pot stickers. It was a perfect balance of fat, acidity, and texture. For dessert, we had the Vacherin. Another favorite French classic dessert that was nice to see on the menu. Service was excellent to say the least. Warm, friendly, and attentive. We are definitely coming back here again soon for their stellar cocktails and food. read more

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I had the oysters to start, and the Chaz burger with fries for my main meal. Everything was delicious, and in spite of the restaurant being busy, the service was great. read more

Fete - Oysters - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Amazing food and service! Started with a salad with an order of coconut oil shrimp (not fried, came with the entire shrimp! Think the best entree was the brined half chicken, flavorful and moist. Korean hanger steak was great too. Don't skip dessert as they are house made. read more

Amazing atmosphere and food. Nothing is overly filling and had room for dessert! Loved the food and the waiter/bar was awesome. Would definitely recommend to others visiting the area. Street parking is free after 6 pm, so keep that in mind. Also recommend making a reservation. Covid procedures are awesome. read more

Fantastic and the counter in the kitchen is a wonderful secret spot. Despite the chef counter being in the back, the service is just as awesome as it is at the front. My ahi "special" appetizer was huge. A deconstructed fish taco came with three huge seared pieces of ahi, tomatillo sauce, guacamole, sea asparagus, tomatoes and crispy corn nacho sticks. I had the Chaz burger with greens, tasty but it's a fork and knife experience. As much as it was good, if you can't eat it with your hands, it's not really a burger as far as I am concerned. With a fork you get only parts of the burger, if you can eat it with your hand you get the collective experience. Will be back for a dinner soon. Mahalo Chef R read more

Every single bite we had here was exceptionally delicious. Haven't had a meal this good in San Francisco in years. Salad, entree and desert were thoughtful, nuanced, fresh, and delicious. I have no pics because we devoured each dish and left them empty. nom nom nom!!! read more

AMAZING!!!! So much thought & love put into food! Great + you can watch staff cook gives such good vibes. Will def be back! Drinks were tasty too! read more

So this is purely for the dessert choices here. I love how China town is becoming more and more like LA downtown area. More trendy bars and hipster restaurants. Now this place is "Bad and Boujie." Seriously the food here is plated so fancy and I highly suggest you look up or ask in detail what the desserts consist of bc Shelby L and I got great sounding things with lilikoi, chantilly, creamscious. I am cutting up the spelling but when I asked if this was sour cream to our waitress she replied the fancy Italian word on the menu but it is just sour cream made from scratch on the banana tart. The words on the menu over sold the actual outcome. The chocolate banana tart had great 70 percent cacao so it is rich in flavor but crust is burnt and fancy sour cream. The banana jam was so minuscule in the fruit. I kind of wish they put vanilla bean ice cream on top instead of the fancy sour cream. My desert was resembled the pavilion where a wedding would take place. I was very interesting. It was like a orange and grapefruit with lilikoi puréed into a sorbet in between two vanilla macaroons. The fruit is all from local farmers so the lilikoi was required to enjoy the bitter and sour fruit slices. I guess when I want to spend more I may come back for a meal but prices seem way to high and our taste buds were not accustomed to the boujie food etiquette. Place is romantic and cozy, so it is nice for drink or night cap. Just make sure u come on pay day. read more

Fete - Fete Vacahrin $9 - New American Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Words cannot express how amazing our meal was. First, we were the lucky recipients of the kitchen table and were able to watch everything going on in the kitchen. We tried to take a secret photo and the chef threw a Shaka sign acknowledging us! We started with the carrots. CARROTS!!! Who serves carrots???? Well, they do, and they're amazing. Not to sweet, not too sour (with the aioli), just pure yummy. Next we moved on to the seasonal risotto with zucchini two ways. Perfectly al dente. Rounded out by the Korean Bavette (marinated flank steak) accompanied by fried rice and a fried egg. OUTSTANDING. PURE BLISS. And just WOW. For desert the olive oil cake and cannoli wowed us. The cannoli cream was smooth and light like it should be and the olive oil cake was crisp on the top and bottom, while remaining moist on the inside. When we left we personally thanked the chefs. We are fortunate to have been to some pretty amazing restaurants and this is by far our favorite experience in Hawaii and possibly the world! No pictures because...well..the food was too good. read more

This place is truly "as good as it gets". The food quality is exceptional and its clear that the owners take pride in the food they serve. My favorite menu item is the Korean Fried Chicken Sandwich. I've gotten the seasonal risotto before and the salads are very good - excellent quality. The tables are kind of small and tight - no private conversations here. Wait help is very helpful and quick to refill your beverage. One of the best places in downtown to lunch. read more

Great Korean chicken sandwich! Friendly staff, great service. I would highly recommended.

I was so excited to come and eat here. I've only heard good things and the whole experience fell short. First I made reservations. We arrived 10 mins early to be told that we were early and they were running late? We were told that we could sit at the bar and didn't get to be seated until 30 mins after my reservation time. They seem to be seating in the order that people had come in, so why did I even bother to make reservations? The person at the door a older gentlemen with white hair didn't update or communicate with me once while we waited. I had to call him over in order to find out when we would be seated. TBH why take reservations when you're not going to honor them??? He also didn't apologize but instead said we're backed up. Our server came once to tell us what we didn't have and to take our app order. Didn't return until she dropped the app which she then took our entree order. She didn't bother to ask us if our food was okay or filled our water. Bad customer service from the host to the server. We had the burger which was AMAZING, carbonara which I didn't like at all. It was too heavy and I didn't like the types of cheeses they used. We also had the chicken liver (this wasn't so bad). The only upside besides the burger was the bartender. He was very nice, didn't get his name it's either Alex or Allen. He had red hair which is pretty much what i remember the most about him physically. I wouldn't come here again not because of the food but by the way I was treated. I expected more from a place like this and didn't expected to pay so much to be treated like nothing. read more

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So this new place called Fête (notice the fancy hat on the 'e') is pronounce 'fet' like 'fret' without the 'r'. Not 'feet.' Not 'fetty.' Fête. And this place is amazing. They have only been open for about a week and a half and surprisingly have it well put together in terms of staffing and service. Reservations are strongly suggested, but they do have bar seating which is first-come, first-serve. With our fabulous luck, we were kindly offered four seats at the bar by a gentlemanly group of men leaving, then graciously offered a table by the hostess after waiting for maybe a total of 15 minutes. Score. We bided our first 15 minutes with a drink from the bar. Drink of choice recommended by the bartender, The Sidecar. And if a bartender recommends a drink, by god I will drink it. A recommendation from a bartender or waiter/waitress should never go unheeded. And the Sidecar was a good decision. Adorned with a sugar rim, the Sidecar was a medley between a citrus and apple martini. A girly drink? Yes, indeed but packed with a punch, a few of these and I'd be down for the count. Anyway, booziness aside. Let us move on to the glorious food. My eyes scanned the menu. And lo and behold, do my eyes deceive me? What. Is. This? FOIE. GRAS. GYOZA?? YES. PLEASE. And I was not disappointed. Magically deliciously wrapped foie gras filling, pan fried to crispy perfection, swimming in a pool of sweet poha berry jam in complete harmony with a slightly sweet and tarty balsamic reduction. Holy smokes, my mouth went ballistic. I loved this. Alas, the order only came with five pieces (which is actually a lot considering other restaurants will only give like three or something but once you eat it, you'll understand why five wasn't even close to enough). As we took our forks, stabbed the last bites of our gyoza, and spent the next minute or so trying to mop up every last bit of that delicious reduction and jam off that plate. They probably didn't even really need to wash that plate. The rest of the meal followed in that succession. First came the fried chicken, three pieces of fried chicken from what must have been the most gargantuan beefed-up chicken ever. Because these pieces were huge. And juicy. And delicious. They served it with grits, green beans and their ketchup concoction. Next, was the pan seared onaga. Served on mashed ginger okinawan potatoes and their sea asparagus lomi. The tomatoes and sea asparagus that made up the lomi, was the best part of that dish, very fresh and flavorful. It outshined the fish and I could eat an entire bowl of it. So.. we ordered one of each of all their four main entrees. We ended up eating all of it so it was not a mistake. The third entree was the kalbi. The kalbi was cooked to a medium-rare with lots of flavor like a traditional Korean short rib. It was served with a fried rice with mung bean and fernbraken which is a type of fern used in tradition side Korea dishes (which I never knew what it was called in English until last night, so thanks Fête). They called it a fried rice but it was more like a bi bim bap. Still great, it had the flavor of a very traditional Korean meal done in a completely different way. Kudos. Last was their burger. It was good with caramelized onions, cheese, tomatoes served with frites. I think a burger can only be done so many ways, but they did it well. But what impressed me more was their ketchup. The ketchup served with the burger was completely different than the ketchup served with their fried chicken. And any place that makes a different ketchup to compliment each dish in their own different way is brilliant, and that attention to detail makes Fête great. Now dessert, lilikoi bombilinis. This was the only meh part of my meal. With a name like that, I was expecting something fantastic. What we got was basically sugared donut balls, something between a malasada and an andagi in chocolate sauce. You couldn't taste the lilikoi curd that was supposedly piped inside. But the pineapple crostata was perfect. A pineapple tart flaky pasty topped with vanilla bean ice cream. And their sorbets were the perfect end to the meal. Very bold and intense rosewater with raspberry and guava with prosecco. We will be back. And very soon. The couple next to us consulted us about menu choices and desserts and vice versa. They raved about the octopus and the rocky road which we need to try on a future occasion. Very high hopes for Fête, please keep up the amazing work. Yums. read more

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This French bistro was a great find as we were wandering around Chinatown after visiting an art exhibition. Could see that it was filled up with customers, always a good sign. Thought that we might not have a chance of getting in without a reservation, but the maitre d' at the front podium got the two of us seated an open sidewalk table right then. The outdoor seating looked exactly like the tables and chairs we found in Paris. Save the city buses running on Hotel St., it was a perfect location. We were impressed by the menu and they told us the chef won a James Beard award. I ordered an Aperol Spritz-like mocktail which was quite similar to the real thing and excellent. After looking through the menu, we thought we had decided on our meal, but then our fantastic server, Jon, came by to tell us about the 6+ specials which he recited from memory in detail with every dish's ingredients. I was amazed by his skill. Needless to say after his descriptions we went for the specials of beet salad and the carne lasagna. Both were superb. Too full for dessert, unfortunately. We will surely be back. read more

I finally got to eat here for dinner. I went on a Monday night and early got a reservation for 5. The dining area is very cozy, and so if you have a party larger then 5 it seems to me that it would be difficult to squeeze in all together. I was having dinner with friends that I haven't seen in a long time. And our waitress was nice enough to give us time to talk and decide on our menu choices. We all started off with cocktails, for me I ordered an Aperol sour. It was very delicious. The other drinks on the table were from the drink menu. Sorry I don't recall their names. We selected the raw oysters, deviled eggs, and corn on the cob as our starters. They were very fresh and satisfied my craving. The deviled eggs were done well, but nothing too amazing. And the corn on the cob was a Mexican influenced dish. It too was just ok. Similar to corn on the cob at a farmers market with parmesan and spices but some how not as good. For my main I choose the lamb and my date the lasagna. The lamb was cooked to a prefect med rare. Nice and juicy. The side was a little different but I still really liked the textures and taste. It was long beans, done kind of root, and something that mocked a mash. His corn tortilla lasagna had good flavors, but I think it could have used a but more sauce. On the table they also ordered the burger, big and juicy, and the fish of the day, yummy as well. So they said. We did not have room for dessert. To recap; drinks delicious, food had good notes not too wowed, service and ambience was friendly, cozy, modern. I would go back for drinks and pupus! read more

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Disappointed food was not up to the hype! Came all the way from Northern California and had sub-par food. Service was very slow - they were very busy so we tried to be understanding. read more

So glad to see local talent move away and learn from the world and ultimately come home and help Hawaii grow. Chef Robynne Maii and husband Chuck Bussler have moved from NYC, back home to Honolulu to open Fete, an American bistro with local influences and flavors. Fete is a gathering place to enjoy great flavors and wonderful company, right on the edge of Chinatown, a 5 minute walk from Downtown Honolulu. The decor is rustic with a modern touch, very comfortable and inviting. The staff is all very friendly and genuine. Service is top notch. On our first visit we enjoyed the following: Fete Salad: Refreshing mix of local greens, radish slices, and tomatoes in a delicious fennel vinaigrette. Great salad. Black Cod Bacalao Fritters: Scrumptious balls of cod fish and batter, deep fried to perfection. So rich and delicious. Pan-Seared Onaga: Perfectly cooked onaga filet with crispy skin, accompanied with Okinawan potato mash, and a delicious chile lime butter sauce. Fried Chicken: A huge crunch on the outside but moist and juicy on the inside. One breast, one thigh, and one drumstick, served with cheese grits, tomato sauce, and a saute of green beans and cauliflower. Champagne Guava Sorbet: Light and delicious. Pineapple Crostata: A pineapple turnover with one of the best vanilla bean ice creams I've ever had. On top of our meal we enjoyed Fat Tire on draft (20oz mugs!) and an Old Fashioned cocktail, a perfect accompaniment to our meal. Parking is available on the street or in neighboring parking lots. We will be back and you should too! Looking forward to lunch, which starts on April 1st. read more

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So Good!!! I decided to try this place after seeing a profile in Time Out. It was a good as I hoped. My sister and I started with cocktails which were both well-balanced in flavor and spirit levels. We had the cheese plate appetizer. The tome and goat's milk gouda selections were lovely. The foie gras gyoza were well worth the splurge too! I haven't had anything quite like them. My sister had the market fish special and I had the butternut squash terrine. The fist was perfectly cooked and had a lovely spicy sauce to accompany it. The butternut squash terrine had a delightful assortment of vegetables and was beautifully flavored. We split the apple cake for dessert which was a perfect finish. The service was seamless and professional. Highly recommend stopping here on your trip. read more

Getting fête on delicious food at Fête Hawaii. So many combinations of food that blend together in a flavorful, enjoyable way. Now onto the foods... Fête spreads ($9) comes with a set of toasted bread and three spreads: red pepper feta, tzatziki, and smokey eggplant. The red pepper feta was my favorite. We ran out of toast quickly, but the server quickly brought out more. Charleston grits ($6) was a side order. I just really wanted to try their grits. We ate it right after the spreads so it felt a bit bland. After cleansing our palate, it still was just ok to me. Nothing extremely special. I think I would have liked it more if I had ordered an entree and the grits was paired with it. Grilled Pulpo ($18) is grilled octopus legs and sits on a bed of fingerling potato salad. The octopus is super tender and seasoned very well. I highly recommend this dish! Foie gras gyoza ($17) comes with five pieces of gyoza. It's garnished with a sweet jelly and micro greens. Everything tasted so good together! The sweetness combined with the dumpling was perfection. A really, really great dish! Getting dessert was honestly the best decision we made. The ice cream is made in-house and if you ever dine at fête, you MUST have ice cream or sorbet. We ordered three flavors of one scoop each. Raspberry-lychee-rose water ($3) is a sorbet. You can actually taste all three! The rose water makes the sorbet fragrant and light. It's got tartness to it from the raspberry yet sweet from the lychee. An awesome choice for those who are lactose intolerant. Maple-bourbon ($3) tastes exactly like its name. Super smooth and creamy. I probably could have had another scoop to myself. Rocky Road to Hana ($4) was the star of the show. Absolutely loved it! If you love chocolate, this one is for you. AMAZING. Funny enough, we ate it with the maple-bourbon and the two combined were so good as well. Our server, Teresa, was extremely sweet and polite. Very knowledgeable on all the menu items and patiently answered our many questions. The restaurant feels cozy and modern. All of the decor complements each other and the bar looks like a great place to chill as well! Side note: Street parking is available but you can also park in the municipal parking structure. read more

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Fete is one of the newest restaurants to hit the downtown food scene. They are small but trendy with a growing wall (live greenery as part of the wall decor), small bar area, and a "chefs table" with 5 seats to watch all the kitchen action. I chose to come to Fete for my birthday because the menu seemed to have all my fave foods....risotto, foie gras....how could I go wrong. My hubby and I started out with a couple drinks, his was the Ole! Made with mezcal and mine was their old fashioned. I think that was the best Old Fashioned I've ever had! We ordered the foie Gras gyoza, and when it took a while to come out, the manager gave us some fried chicken peas to munch on. When the foie Gras gyoza finally came out, I was disappointed (hence the 4/5 stars)...the flavor and texture that I love of foie Gras (butter masquerading as organ meat)was missing, and instead it reminded me of lumpy, gritty liver, not to mention several of the gyoza were burned on the bottom. This left a bad taste in my mouth-literally! Luckily the entrees were stellar! My hubby's burger (I begged for a taste) was the best I've had in a long time and the house made ketchup would replace my heinz in my fridge in a heartbeat! Also nearly as good was the risotto...creamy, rich with mushrooms, and chunks of kabocha and kale, leading you to convince yourself the cheesy goodness is "healthy". We ended the night on a sweet note, sharing a scoop of the salted caramel gelato (less salty...more like a burnt creme flavor) and I got the super-secret-not-on-the-drink-menu-yet Man With The Yellow Hat. It's a take on a old fashioned but with a banana flavor. Dinner here is not cheap, set us back $100, but it was a great time between chatting with the chefs and eating delicious food....I'll be back for sure! read more

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Fete Hawaii opened around a month ago, here the reviews: -Ambience: modern and nice. Only thing i can say was the table for 2 people are tiny and you will for sure hear your neighbors conversation! -Prices: Appetizers start at $15-$19 main dishes start at $16 (burger)-$32 -Service: it was good, owner Chuck will come to your table and make sure you are doing ok too. -Parking: there is NONE so good luck finding parking in Chinatown ;) -Food: *Grilled head-on Kauai shrimp this one was "ok" for me, i thought it had an after taste... *Grilled pulpo ($16) This one is pretty good! I highly recommend it! Tako was really tender. This is a must get! *Foie gras gyoza ($17) Another MUST get! *Pan seared onaga ($32) Its good too but i think the appetizers are better than entrees. *Rocky road to Hana ice cream ($4/$6/$8) Pretty taste and lots of flavor. Overall, this restaurant deserves the 4 stars. Food is good, but those appetizers are the must gets!! read more

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Went here for their first Friday dinner service, and were able to get seats at the chefs counter. There are about 10 tables, a 10 seat bar, and 5 seats at the chefs table (in the kitchen). They do take reservations, so if you are interested in watching them cook, make sure to ask for that option. I would note, that the menu is the same there, just the seats are higher. We arrived a few minutes before opening (4:55), and they invited us to sit at the bar. Since it is opening week, they are still trying to get set up, but the staff is very friendly and we made some conversation while we waited. They also brought us water, a menu to look at, and some olives (home made I think), while we waited. The ambiance is nice, red brick walls, a wall planter, a large open bar (with bag hooks for those who care), and nice mood lighting. Once we were seated, we were greeted by our waiter Nicola (he was very friendly, knowledgeable, and attentive the entire night), and another waiter brought our stuff from the bar. We ordered within a few minutes, and had our appetizers within 5. It is a fun experience to see the dynamic of a kitchen, especially a new one, but also to see the food you order prepared right in front of you. Makes for a great date spot! Food: We started with the Foie Gras Gyoza (5 pieces) and Black Cod Bacalao fritters (7 pieces). My only food complaint of the night was the gyoza. I just wasnt impressed, considering it was the most expensive thing we ordered. There was nothing wrong with the cook of it, not too oily, seared nicely on all sides, poha berry jam and soy-chili reduction went well together (sweet/salty and spicy), but there was not enough foie gras to know it was even foie gras. I think it could be substituted for another meat like duck and dropped to $11 and it would do much better. The fritters were absolutely delicious though. Fried perfection (and I dont usually get fried things). Be warned, they are HOT!!!! But that is a good thing. Very good flavors inside, wonderfully crispy outside, and a nice aioli to top it off. This dish was a pleasant surprise and I would recommend this for sure. For dinner we ordered the Chaz Burger and Chefs signature dish Linguine Carbonara. These are kind of strange combinations on a small menu, but they were both outstanding. Side note: One interesting part of sitting at the chefs counter, was that you can see the full dynamic of the kitchen. For whatever reason, they "fired" up the burger but not the linguine, and the burger was plated, but there was no linguine. Once this mistake was realized, the chef took some quick action to have the pasta in front of us in under 5 min. That was cool too see. We were worried that they would wait to give us the burger, but alas we got it right away (it was sitting right in front of us) and started on that before the pasta came. The linguine was said the be the chefs signature dish, and it did not disappoint. I was a little saddened to hear she did not make the pasta herself, because it was delicious, but this dish as a whole was nicely done. The meaty flavors were very pronounced, the pasta cooked perfectly, the sauce was flavorful, buttery, garlicky, but nothing to heavy or over powering. All the flavors played together like they should. The burger was the highlight of my night however. This was unexpected, but it was absolute perfection. Possibly the best burger I have ever had. The burger itself is a blend of meats, but they went together so so so well. There was a nice cheese melted on, and the brioche bun was soft and warm, with a nice crust on the inner layers. This crunch made the burger perfection. They also had caramelized onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and an aioli spread on the bread (I think the same one that went with the fritters). Each bite was just amazing. The fries were also delicious, home made, good size cuts and perfect cook. They also had home made ketchup and pickles I believe (I assume home made since they had a different flavor than any store bought I have had). We were so full at the end, but were talked into getting the rocky road ice cream, one scoop. That was also very delicious. Chocolate ice cream was very chocolatey, with large marshmallows, and toasted mac nuts (this elevated the dish). The textures and flavors were unlike any other rocky road you have ever had, in the best way possible. Overall everything was wonderful, the service, food, atmosphere. I think this place is close to a 5 star rating, and once it gets its groove it will definitely get there. I think a tasting menu at the chefs counter would be an awesome addition. I cant wait to go back and watch this place grow into a nice hot spot to eat at. PS: I think lunch service opens sometime around March 30. read more

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