Av - Honolulu

I haven't had a tasting menu for years and nail it! this place is much needed in honolulu and fills an empty raised restaurant niche for vegans. the personal is super friendly and describes every cure in great detail, and eating itself (all 14 courses) is fun and delicious. we added the Sake pairing for 1 and divided 6 glasses of different sake that was more than enough because we are anyway light. the personal said the menu changes all the couple weeks so that this place now definitiw in the special occasion rotation. the $140 per person costs in a round at $10 per cursor. Sake pairing was another $60 when they're on a date, they just play it cool when their bill comes, okay?

I’ve never tried fine dining prior to going vegan so this was definitely out of my comfort zone! I’m more of a junk food vegan and never enjoyed seafood prior to being vegan. That being said this overall experience was pleasant. You can tell the chef really cared about the process and how he was able to create these dishes. I loved that he explained how he did everything because a lot of non vegans (which from my understanding they do receive a lot) they’re favorite question is “what’s this made from”. The total for 2 people (with no drinks besides water), 14 courses, the $8 waffle dog x1 was $310 without tip. I think this is more of an experience rather than paying for a meal again imo as I was never into fine dining.

An absolutely amazing experience. Delicious vegan food crafted with care and forethought. Each dish has a story and will never taste like you expect. Pricey, but absolutely worth it. The best word I would use to describe the food is fun! They play with flavours and it is all superb. Excellent service as well. You can tell that the staff all enjoy working there and creating this food. I will say that the restaurant is a little difficult to find. If Google maps is taking you into a parking lot with a gate, go around instead.

I have been to many fine dining restaurants in Europe and the US and the New Years dinner I had with my husband at AV was absolutely our favorite! I understand the critical points in the other reviews, the seating options could definitely be optimized a bit to allow more privacy, yet, there is really nothing critical i could say about the staff. They were very attentive and made our dinner possible even though there was a mistake with our reservation. The food was an absolute highlight, every dish was full of flavor and delicious. Also the surprise dish is a very creative and much appreciated idea. From all the dining out experiences I had in Hawaii, this is the one that left a lasting impression.

We enjoyed the location and service at AV which are two sticking points in other reviews. The chefs were friendly and talkative about the food if you engaged with them. It wasn’t too difficult to get to this small cozy location from Waikiki. The food was quite good with a range of different cuisines and flavors. Not all of it was my cup of tea but there were a few standouts including: Turkish eggplant and truffle mushroom bao. This is upscale expensive dining and it felt like that. It’s hard to determine whether the high price is worth the experience food, but we didn’t feel ripped off by any means. We were the only people in the restaurant that night which can feel a little isolating opposed to feeling special.