What an amazing find! Absolutely great food, drinks, service and atmosphere! Will definitely come back and recommend to our friends.

What is an XO? It's hard to keep up with these urban words these days. It was easy to reserve this place on Yelp. Parking is free right in front of the restaurant. I've heard that this place is served by chefs meaning servers are the chefs. Our server/chef was excellent. The best kind of server who makes you feel comfortable as soon as you sit down. He even gave us choice of few tables that we could choose from. XO is a fusion restaurant. It's pretty casual kind of place. It's more like food tasting style so don't expect rice or starch with your order. I was shocked to see Midori Sour on the drink menu. So I had to order one. We ordered few items like beef lard salad, crab and hamachi cannoli, seafood pancake, birria style taco, and pork wrap. They also have set menu for $65 per person for two people. All the food tasted good and unique. My favorite was the dessert, mochi bunnies. It was warm, yummy, and not over powering. I would love to return next to try different menu as our chef mentioned. read more

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In this little strip mall in Waialae exist al little Asian fusion restaurant, with great service and exceptional food. Check out their menu (attached) for the full description of their dishes. There is a fixed priced 7-course menu. That serves individual portions of their popular items. We ordered off the ala carte menu. And we couldn't finish that. I'll have go back when I'm more hungry for the 7-couse menu. All I can say is, go and enjoy. read more

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The food was great, with a couple standout dishes in the hamachi crudo, vegetable plate, and brown butter bunny butter mochi. They offered some of the most unique flavor combinations that I've had in a while, which is saying a lot because I've had my fair share of Asian fusion food and prix fixe menus - an especially at a pretty unbeatable price. My husband and I got the supplemental lamb, but the portions were large enough that we both would have been full without it. Service was also amazing! Our waiter was so kind and thoughtful, and the different courses came out quickly once the previous course was finished. They did a great job explaining what each course was as well as how best to enjoy them. In combination with the intimate ambiance and cozy restaurant setting, it made for a very enjoyable meal experience. Including a photo of the brown butter bunny butter mochi because it was SO cute. read more

XO Restaurant - Brown butter bunny butter mochi! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Although we couldn't order alcohol on this particular day that didn't matter since the food was truly amazing! Such beautiful presentation and everything tasted so wonderful! Thank you again for an amazing night! The server also remembered us from a year and a half ago! We will be back again for sure! read more

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Everything was amazing!!! We ordered the 7 course set and weren't disappointed!! The food was mind blowing from flavor to presentation!! Service was outstanding and the atmosphere was top tier!! I was blown away after each dish topped the next and would highly recommend to anyone wanting to experience dining like never before!! 10/10! Couldn't be any better!!! read more

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An amazing first time experience during our visit! Our friend came here a while ago and recommended it to us, and the food and experience met every standard! Anthony was the manager when we were there and he was the best! So kind, knowledgeable and accommodating! We got the set menu and left with multiple meals to go. It was completely worth the price and everything was DELICIOUS. I've never said this about a meal, but the veggie dish, red beets, was my favorite. read more

XO has been recommended by several friends but we've never had the pleasure of dining here so I'm glad we finally were able to try their offerings! Located on Waialae Avenue with a convenient private parking, XO offers a modern izakaya menu that is perfect for sharing between 2 or more people. We opted for the 9 set menu offering several of their most popular dishes. The Great: The FOOD! Every dish was expertly prepared, plated, and delicious. Our favorites were the salmon cannoli with unexpected flavor combinations and the pork belly ssam but each course was very good. The service was exceptional throughout our meal with frequent checking on our table if we needed anything. The Good: Solid list of cocktails, wines, and spirits. We didn't have any cocktails and stuck to their recommended wine on this visit which paired well with our order. The Okay: One thing that may have made our experience a little better is better timing of the food. We prefer quick service but the kitchen is so efficient that our dishes started piling up on our table. It would have been a little better if we had time to finish a dish before the next one or two hit the table. By no means is this a complaint but at one point we had four dishes on our table and we were trying to get through them before the next dish arrived. Overall: It was fun experience and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening. I've seen they offer special occasion dinners which we'll definitely look forward to trying in the future! read more

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Service: Food : An adventure for your palette! Their Set Menu is always a great choice and gives you a wide range of delicious-ness. If you haven't been here, this a great 'reasonably priced' fancy restaurant. They won't disappoint! And Do Not Forget to try the A5 Wagyu Caramel. read more

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Our first visit to XO Restaurant and we will be back! Since it was our first time, our waiter, Derrick, suggested we may want to try the Set Menu which were all the favorites. We enjoyed the food and the service was exceptional. The suggested wine paired well. Outstanding experience. Thank you! read more

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The food is always so unique, delicious and beautiful. The service is always 10/10 and everytime I eat here I can't wait to come back!! Always go for the set menu which is $65.00 a person. It's so worth it, you get to try a little of the whole menu. The best party to me is the deserts ! The cute mochi bunnies so warm !! And my favorite.....the wagyu caramels. I always need to order more to take home !!!! read more

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The service is great, aesthetic inside is nice the exterior of the building is lackluster but that's the norm here. Most importantly the food was good, executed well, but was underwhelming nothing I would say I would go back for. Some dishes were over seasoned that's coming from someone that likes salt and others were bland. The concept is good but a simple punch of flavor would have been appreciated. Perhaps I am in the minority so don't take my word for it. Try it for your self and judge. read more

Great service Quiet dining area Privacy Tasty food A nice meal Great presentation Parking lot too read more

From the moment we walked in, the experience was great. Food, environment, and service were all 5 out of 5. Great job XO, we'll be back. PS: get the 7 course meal and definitely get the "optional" plate. read more

What a fun experience! If you are looking to try something different and like all kinds of food this is a must try. Located in a residential area and from the outside the restaurant didn't look very good. However once inside you will see a well decorated restaurant and nice vibe. The server was very helpful navigating the menu. They serve SMALL DISHES meant for sharing and suggested for the two of us 6 to 10 dishes is what most people eat, depending on how hungry you are. He recommended a couple dishes that ended up being our favorites! Here is what we ordered with thoughts on each: 1 - Hamachi Sashimi Crudo - this was our favorite dish and will order more than one of these next time. Really yummy flavor combos here. 2 - Grilled Kalbi Pork Belly Ssam - this was a LETTUCE WRAP and we loved it! 3 - shrimp, calamari, seafood pancake. A different version (and a lot smaller) than a Korean seafood pancake. It was crispy and had a good flavor profile. 4 - char soup Saimin Xiao long bao Soup Dumplings - LOVED THESE!!! Server warned us to wait a couple minutes before eating them as they come out hot. You put the entire dumpling in your mouth and enjoy the juicy flavorful goodness!!! 5 - buttermilk fried chicken, tzatziki, cilantro - the fried chicken was cooked to perfection but it had a ton of curry sauce on top and the Indian flavors just didn't work for us with the other dishes we ordered. I would get it with that sauce on the side and then you can decide if you want it. 6 - ginger scallion Gyoza - we thought this would be potstickers but it was a unique attempt at them that just missed for us. It was like a "potsticker pancake" and just ok. Of coarse for dessert we had to order the Brown Butter Bunny Mochi. This is not a mochi donut. They are small rabbit shaped sponge cakes that you dip in toasted coconut and chocolate sauce. It was a fun way to end the meal. Small restaurant fills up so definitely get a RESERVATION ahead of time! read more

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Fabulous prix fixe meal for restaurant week. Food and service were excellent. Outstanding! I look forward to trying Carte Blanche as well. read more

My partner and I went on a rare date to Restaurant XO. It was highly recommended by some friends. What I liked: -the chef was consulted about the gluten free menu and options were provided -the Ube Lemonade cocktail was sweet, but dangerously good -the Thai larb salad and hamachi were fabulous! -service was attentive -the restaurant is clean and beautifully appointed. -easy parking which is a big deal in Kaimuki. What I didn't like -what the heck is this one bite hot rice shooter thing. For $14, I felt like I should have gotten more than a tiny bite of beef or fish and a tablespoon of rice. Flavor was good but not top notch for that price point. Rice essentially costs nothing, so that was one expensive bite of meat. -bunny mochies were yummy! But I'm not sure that the stuff sprinkled next to them was gluten free. -wagyu caramels. These were a rather expensive miss for me. They were interesting, but overly rich and fatty. My stomach still clenches to think about it. -the beeria tacos were marked gluten free, but were apparently made with actual beer, which is not gf. Yeah, I'm not sure. Conclusion: For the price point, it's pretty spendy for my blood. With the limited gf options, I felt like I had to order a lot of the same to feel full on the portions. For a special date night with no food allergies and if you have a small appetite and a large wallet, enjoy. It really is a cool place. read more

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Got the 7 course set meal which was very reasonably priced and delicious. Loved the plating and creative flavors!

Amazing food and service as a local 10/10 recommend . Definitely exceeded our expectations and the interior decor was very classy and stylish. read more

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I loved this place. The location is unassuming until you are inside. They do a good job in creating high end dining vibe. We were seated immediately. The restaurant was half full for our dinner. The sous chef was our server which I thought was interesting. It makes sense because he was able to describe our food in detail. We ordered the chef's menu which came with 5 tasting tapas and 2 tasting desserts. In general, food served here is tapas style. They have a full bar to enjoy drinks alongside the food. Presentation and creativity of the foods were impressive, my favorites were the salmon cannoli & hamachi. The Wagyu shooter was a delightful finisher before dessert. The serving size for the chef's menu was just enough. By the time we got to dessert, we were pretty satisfied. My only suggestion would be the timing of each dish. I felt like I was in a sprint trying to get to all the dishes as they came out. What I thought could be enjoyed in about 1 hour or so pace we had all our dishes in 30mins. I would definitely recommend coming here. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and left very pleased. read more

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This restaurant was incredible!! Anthony was attentive, knowledgeable and welcoming all while managing a busy restaurant as the only serving staff for the entire restaurant. We could truly tell how much he takes pride in creating an entire experience for guests. He told us he only works at XO on Sundays, otherwise he is managing the Carte Blanche restaurant. Our food came out timely and each dish was so esthetically pleasing! This was elevated dining with a casual vibe. Playlist was immaculate (millennial throwbacks). 10/10 will be returning!! You must go!! read more

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We had the pleasure of dining at XO Restaurant in Kaimuki this past week and I had quite an enjoyable experience. The food was excellent, and the service outstanding. [FOOD] I loved the creativity and innovation of the dishes. The Spam & Shiso Yakisoba with a 63 Degree Sous Vide Egg was so delicious! The Sous Vide Egg gave the Yakisoba a nice wet texture that was such a refreshing touch. The Brown Butter-Bunny-Butter Mochi has been something something that I have been wanting to try for a very long time and it definitely did not dissapoint. The mochi had a great texture while being very flavorful. The only thing I wish was that I ordered extra Mochi to take home. [SERVICE] Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu and did such a great job explaining to us the details of the dishes that we were interested in. He made great recommendations that we are now definitely fans of. read more

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During multiple business trips to Oahu, this is the best restaurant I've experienced! Do yourself a favor and get out of Waikiki and enjoy other areas of the island. I'm a foodie from SF so standards are high to wow me and this cuisine was innovative, delicious and an amazing value given the meal and service. This would easily be twice the cost in the Bay Area! Go for the 7-course tasting menu (great portions -you won't leave hungry nor too full). Highlights were the potato gratin, scallops and mochi for me but everything was delicious (even the beets and we hate beets). The hamachi crudo was a great start (forgot to take pic). Anthony was our server, turns out that he's also a chef at their other concept so they operate pretty lean but the service was never lacking. This is a true hidden gem that I'm shocked most have yet to discover. Run, don't walk, to try this restaurant! I'm looking forward to trying their other concept, Carte Blanche, next. read more

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The place is a little mysterious and unsuspecting as it's not really near anything. Was expecting some unique flavors and amazing food but it definitely fell short. The drinks are sub-par so just stick with wine here. The seafood apps are decent and so was the dessert (we had the mochi which was good and had super cute presentation). What I would not recommend is the chicken skin - felt really dry and flavorless. Would also not recommend the shooters we got the wagyu beef, which was chewy and came with rice, the combo was just really dry and hard to get down. The server was super nice and friendly. They do have a rotating menu so hopefully they come up with some combos that hit better because I think this place has some potential. read more

XO Restaurant - Mochi dessert - Asian Fusion Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Top-tier service at an unassuming hole in the wall style restaurant. From the outside this building looks like it is not a restaurant and you almost think you are in the wrong place. But upon entering, you are invited into an upscale dining establishment where you have the choice of eating from their tasting menu or à la cart. We decided to go with à la cart and had a few items from the menu. My favorite was easily the brown butter bunnies. This dessert was chewy from the mochi and had a hint of sweetness. I would most likely skip the Wagyu shooter in the future. In my opinion, nothing quite stood out as unique about it, and the Wagyu itself did not impress me. To drink, my sister and I shared the Ube lemonade mocktail and that was very good. Overall, I really enjoyed the dining experience, but would eliminate one or two things if I came back and I ate here again. read more

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I took my two friends who had never gone, and we had a fun meal. Some of the repeat dishes for me either tasted just as a remembered from this past July (now in December), and some were not as good as I remembered. Pros- the giant potsticker was as tasty as the last visit. Service was also still very good. Cons- the 3% surcharge still applies for credit card, not for cash or debit. The wagyu shooters weren't as good as I remembered. Some cuts of the meat were all fat or mostly fat, and some of the rice was mushy. The pumpkin crunch for me was too salty. I was the only person who thought that though. Other- most of the dishes were quite good, but we all enjoyed our lunch/loner yesterday at Fete more. Fete's experience was excellent all around, thus the "5," for Fete, and a downgrade to a "4," for XO. read more

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Excellent food We had a very informative waiter and service was excellent Prix fixe menu was well presented read more

Came here with a group of 8 adults and 2 picky kids. No kids items here. I follow Chef Ken Lee so wanted to try this restaurant. The menu items looked very interesting. We came on a Monday, so the restaurant was not busy at all. The ambiance feels trendy if it were a bit busier. Smoked Ora King Salmon Rillette filled Cannolis - sounded intriguing but the texture was akin to tuna in a lumpia sized cannoli tube. The flavor was very faint. Would skip this one. 2/5 Hamachi Sashimi Crudo - this was very good. Fresh and flavorful. 4/5 Xiao Long Bao - their XLB is bit too gingery for my taste. The skins ripped very easily when pulling them out of the steam basket which unfortunately left some without any soup in their dumplings. I feel like the frozen Mila dumplings are better than these. 1/5 Buttermilk Fried Chicken - came with a curry sauce on top as well as Tziki sauce. This sounded like it would be really good, but the batter for the fried chicken was not seasoned well. The curry was also not strong enough. The two seemed to cancel each other out. 2/5 Crispy Corn Portuguese egg tart - this tasted like a typical Portuguese egg tart. Nothing special. 3/5 Beer braised Bbq pork sliders - this felt like bar food. Not bad, but nothing special here. 3/5. Tare A5 Wagyu rice shooters - the wagyu itself was cooked well and was good. I expected the rice to be more than just a small scoop of rice. Maybe a crisp rice would have been better texture to contrast the fatty Wagyu. Nonetheless I enjoyed this. 4/5 Brown butter Bunny Mochi - this was very good. Everyone loved the presentation on this one. 5/5 Pumpkin crunch pie - this was a special for the night. We ordered two of these. Presentation of this could have been better but they did taste good. 4/5 Overall, the dishes all sounded intriguing with good concepts, but felt it lacked in execution. Was a bit disappointed. read more

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The server/ sous chef was awesome! The food was pretty ok to good, this place has the potential to be amazing, or it was once amazing and someone/ leadership let it slipped. It's better than a 3, but not quite a 4, more of a 3.5 but the server/ sous chef gave it 110%! read more

If you're looking to do something different in town, check out XO Restaurant. They have a tasting menu and our favorite was the hamachi , it was very fresh. The service was great and the ambiance kind of reminds me of a speakeasy vibe. We ended with a butter mochi dessert and wagyu fat caramels (so interesting but really yummy) read more

XO Restaurant - Butter mochi bunny - Asian Fusion Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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I recently ate at XO, and while the service was great, the food was really disappointing. The staff were friendly and attentive, but the food didn't match the service. We opted for the 9 course set meal as it was recommended. The Furikake Ora King Salmon Rillette Cannoli was way too fishy and hard to eat. I couldn't finish it. The Beet Lotus looked nice, but it tasted like a random mix of ingredients that didn't work well together. Even though the service was excellent, I don't recommend this place because the food just wasn't good. Also a group of 5 people with the 9 course meal and 4 drinks came out to $500. That includes gratuity and thankfully we had cash or else there would be a 3% fee to pay with a card. Save your money and pass on this restaurant. read more

XO Restaurant - Furikake Cannoli - Asian Fusion Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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While in Honolulu with our family, we had one night reserved for a date night just the two of us. After research, we discovered XO Restaurant and decided to give it a try. We made a reservation, which we highly recommend, because it is so popular! The facade of Restaurant XO is not super fancy, but don't let that deter you. The moment you walk inside, the space is chic, welcoming, and beautifully decorated. There is a parking lot, if you drive. From the moment we arrived, we received excellent service from the host and wait-staff. Welcoming, kind, helpful, and professional, the service staff took great care of us. When we had questions about food items, they were thorough and helpful. The drink menu is full of great options. I got a yummy lychee cocktail and my husband got one of their IPA's. The meal was the absolute highlight. The recommendation is to get a bunch of small plates, which are mostly under $10, to share. We started with the Ahi Crudo, Hamachi Belly Poke Chip, BBQ pork sliders. Each was delicious, creative, and full of flavor. Next we got the fried chicken and the gyoza pancake. These were our favorite items, and some of the most filling. My husband loved the fried chicken best and I loved the gyoza pancake best. I loved how the gyoza pancake was literally gyoza dumplings fried into one pancake full of delicious meats and savory sauce. The final two items were the soup dumplings and the seafood pancake. The soup dumplings were okay, but definitely our least favorite. Not as much flavor as everything else. The seafood pancake was delicious! Brimming with flavor and crispy deliciousness. Reasonable prices, quality food, great service, and chic ambiance...Restaurant XO was definitely our favorite meal experience in Honolulu! If we are ever back in the area, we will definitely go back! read more

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Food: very good except some dishes came out lukewarm. The scallops dish and lamb rack came out under warmed. I'm not sure how this happened but I usually expect dishes to come out hot. The hamachi collar was very good but a little over steamed. Hamachi crudo was excellent. The Pad Thai was over salted. Overall, I would go back, but kitchen needs some attention. Service: the red faced waiter was great at first but after getting our food he disappeared. He didn't come but once during our 2 hour dinner. But I did notice his face reddened deeper during the course of our 2 hour dinner. Hmmm. I think that this restaurant needs a manager on site. Four stars for food but could reach 5 stars with attention to details. 3 stars for service. read more

Amazing experience. The Su Chef was amazing and the food was amazing as well!! Loved every dish

Made a reservation for 8, restaurant is fairly large and able to accommodate groups. It was a quiet Sunday evening there with three other tables of patrons. Service was super attentive with our waiter providing guidance on how to order for a party of 8 which included 4 picky kids! We ordered several dishes including the hamachi crudo, fried chicken, hamachi kama (special), scallops, potato gratin, beet dish and bbq pork sliders. All of the food was good with the fried chicken, gratin, scallops and crisp being the most popular. I would actually give the restaurant five stars for the great service and quality/presentation of the food however I did find the menu a bit limiting and wished they would have had more vegetable dishes and/or salads. The restaurant interior is spacious, tables nicely spread apart but also lacking in ambiance. XO is a solid group restaurant to enjoy, probably even better if you're there to drink and eat! read more

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We had the best dinner here! Using Yelp we opted to give XO a try on a quiet Sunday evening. We had the entire place to ourselves. The room is really lovely. You'd think the staff would have wanted to rush us out the door, but that was not the experience at all. We were treated like old friends, regulars. Service was efficient, but not rushed. We got to talk to the manager who knew a lot about the menu and the food scene in town. I was the outlier in drinking a cocktail and it was excellent. My cousins had sake. The shared tasting menu was a delight, with some really unique dishes. I particularly loved the beets and also the potato au gratin. Both were presented in a very unique way. My cousin could not get enough of the pork belly. Also, the fried chicken!!! The little brown butter mochi bunnies were such a great way to end a very amazing meal! read more

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Came here for dinner with some friends as this restaurant was always on our list of places to try. We've eaten at Carte Blanche so decided to give XO a try. We opted for the 7 course menu. And while everything tasted fine, nothing in the course really stood out or wowed us. The hamachi crudo was just ok. A little too salty and saucy. I'm not sure if the items were supposed to come out in the order stated on the menu, but it all came out of order. We got the loaded potato gratin next which was tasty but wish the cheese skirt part was crispy. The beet lotus while pretty, we didn't finish as this wasn't one of our favorites. The adobo fried chicken was pretty good but extremely salty. We felt it needed rice or some kind of side to balance the saltiness so we ended up taking this home. Grilled pork belly ssam was very tender but nothing special. We wanted to add on the rack of lamb supplement but they were sold out unfortunately. My friend didn't like the scallop dish and said it was very questionable. It was kind of like honey walnut shrimp type of execution for the scallops. While everything in the course was on the saltier side, the scallops actually lacked salt. The scallops came with some type of dumpling but it tasted a little sour. The best thing on the course was actually the bunny mochi. The presentation is really cute and the mochi was brought out warm and we really enjoyed that. They also give you a wagyu fat caramel which was pretty interesting. Our waiter was nice and the service was pretty good. I do like the ambiance in the restaurant as well. At $65 a person for this 7 course menu I think it's pretty worth it considering we were pretty full at the end and you get to do it family style. Overall everything was just alright though and enough to just try once. I'm not sure if I'll be back for a while. read more

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The 7 course set menu was delicious along with the lamb and wellington (add on), and the hamachi kama (monthly special). The service was excellent. read more

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Derek was amazing! Such a good experience:) fixed menu was detail oriented and thoughtful.

The set menu was delicious! The three of us were able to try lots of new foods and they were all absolutely great. Our server, Aiden, was on top of everything and answered all of our questions. The restaurant is nice inside and provides a nice upscale yet casual feel. Overall great experience and the sashimi was my favorite! read more