Dondero's - Lihue

Our hotel concierge suggested Dondero’s for our 20th anniversary. She was spot on! From the moment they welcomed us, to the time we exited, we were treated like royalty. The food was extraordinary and the service by Juan was wonderful. Christen, the manager, even welcomed us and her and Juan made us feel like our important day was just as special to them as it was to us! What an AMAZING experience! We will absolutely recommend them to everyone we know!

Fabulous! Loved the italian music playing on the patio... food was outstanding and we felt comfortable there, the staff were all welcoming! We will definitely go again. It was an easy, romantic ending to our vacation.

Let me be clear: the food isn't bad, you just pay (a lot) for good, rather than great. Service was pretty good (which is more than I can say about the other fine dining place in the same hotel). The grilled fish was in an overly-rich sauce, making the fish flavor disappear. The chicken piccata was good, but not especially lemony. Outrageously expensive (over-priced) wine list with few decent options by the glass.

We are staying at the Hyatt and some of the reviews encouraged us to try this place out. We ordered two cocktails, the carpaccio, a margarita pizza, and a garden salad. The check came to $100! Yup, that's for three apps and 3 cocktails. So, first item, this place is seriously overpriced. But not any more than the other restaurants on premises. My husband loves a good margarita pizza. We asked our server how it was and he said really unbelievably great. It's more like a 12x4 flatbread. Let's just say for a guy (my husband) who loves pizza he could NOT (or did not) want to even finish the pie. The pizza was over sauced and their sauce was truly disappointing, bitter and akin to tomato paste. We also asked about the Peppered Beef Carpaccio, our server said it was one of the best items they serve. This, too, was not great. It had way to much stuff on it (cured black olives, fig reduction, pickled shallots, shaved parmesan, and capers) it comes alongside garden greens which would have been fine except they were drenched in dressing. The garden salad was the best of our order but this, too, was overdressed. As for the cocktails, let's just say ever hear the term watered down?

A most fantabulous experience. superb dining experience. Exquisitely delicious Italian food. Believe me I've had my fair share of my 58 years of life this restaurant is at the top of the list now. Our waiter, Juan, went so far above and beyond superb, I will leave it at that.