Mad Bene

Mad Bene in Kapolei Commons offers pastas and New York style pizzas. This is a great place to eat with a large group because they can push tables together. I recommend doing family style dining, so you get to try more dishes. The pastas are portioned for 1 person and are priced between $20 - $25. The pizzas can be shared between 2 people and are about $20 each. The pizzas here are the same as Pizza Dadi in Ward Centre. My favorite dishes were the gnocchi, mafaldine alfredo, crispy potato guy, and tiramisu. 

They have indoor seating as well as patio seating. If you sit inside, it can get loud during dinner especially on the weekends. The staff assigned to our table that evening was friendly, and the timing of our dishes were just right. I've dined here for lunch before, and the service was slow because there's less staff. If you are planning to dine with a large group (6 more more), I highly recommend making reservations a week in advance. For parking, there's lots of open spaces available at Kapolei Commons, just try to find something close to the movie theater so you don't have to walk as far to the restaurant.  

For more information about Mad Bene, visit madbene.com. 

Kapolei Commons
4450 Kapolei Pkwy., Ste 540
Kapolei, HI 96707
(808) 744-7400

Gnocchi

Tagliatelle Dogana

Mafaldine Alfredo

Linguini Scampi

Crispy Potato Guy

N.Y.C.

Pizza of the Week

Mrs. Tran's Tiramisu

Izakaya Agaru - CLOSED

Izakaya Agaru is a new restaurant located in Waikiki. I recommend ordering the "izakaya" which has 8 dishes to share and adding a few more items like the nigiri sushi, hand rolls, chirashi, or ahi toast. The photos below of the "izakaya" were for 2 people. My favorites were the potato salad, ahi toast, and bruleed tamago. The potato salad was creamy, and it worked well with the crispy chips. The ahi toast on buttery milk bread was amazing and I added caviar to mine. You also have an option of adding uni on it as well. The bruleed tamago was the perfect way to end the meal since we were too stuffed for dessert. 

The restaurant is located on the 2nd floor. When you're on Royal Hawaiian Avenue, look for the gray doors with the neon blue "agaru" sign and proceed up the stairs. You will be greeted by the staff once you get to the top of the stairs. The interior design is all wood. Behind the hostess is the kitchen and a sushi bar where you can watch the chefs create the dishes. I had a table in the back and so I got a view of Royal Hawaiian Avenue. The service was excellent, and the staff were knowledge about all the items on the menu. After we finished our meal, the manager came by our table to introduce himself. Overall, the food was excellent, and it was a great dinner experience. For parking, you can park inside the Waikiki Galleria Tower and get a 3-hour validation.

355 Royal Hawaiian Ave., Ste 201
Honolulu, HI 96815 

Ahi Toast with Kaluga Caviar
Egg Yolk Jam, Milk Bread

Potato Salad
Serrano Ham, Fudgy Yolk

Sunomono
Crushed Cucumber, Sesame, Rayu

Seasonal Vegetable
Cabbage, Shio Kombu Salsa Verde

Sake
King Salmon, Maui Onions, Smoked Shoyu

Nairagi
Marlin, Ginger Scallion

Karaage
Smoke Oyster, Lemon

 

Kakuni
Kabocha, Black Garlic Tare

Beef Tongue
Lemon, Rayu, Tare

Grilled Tako
Binchotan Grilled Spanish Octopus, Shiso Chimichurri

Bruleed Tamago