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1596 Followers, 0 Following, 30 Posts – AV Restaurant (@av.restaurant) on Instagram: “Modern Vegan Cuisine @xorg_hawaii”
AV Restaurant | A Flavorful Asian-Inspired Vegan Experience in …
Nestled in the heart of Honolulu at 1135 11th Ave, AV Restaurant offers a refined vegan dining experience that transcends typical plant-based meals. This is a …
AV Restaurant – Localicious Hawaii
BUSINESS NAME: AV Restaurant ; BUSINESS TYPE: Fine Dining ; ADDRESS: 1135 11th Avenue Honolulu, HI 96816 ; PHONE: (808) 888-3528 …
Reviews
Marc McIsaac
Wow, what an amazing experience! My first time eating at a Vegan only restaurant was incredible. I am a Meat and Potatos, steak is a staple for me but AV is so much more than just a Vegan restaurant, the food is all delicious and the experience of the Chef’s menu was awesome. I took a first date here and we had a great time.
Staff was soooo friendly.
Set Menu was perfect
Two desserts was a shock and welcome
A definite must experience place in Honolulu.
… moreStaff was soooo friendly.
Set Menu was perfect
Two desserts was a shock and welcome
A definite must experience place in Honolulu.
Vikram S
I will tag this place as Asian influenced vegan/vegetarian tasting.
We went to this place to celebrate the wedding anniversary. As said in other recent reviews, the place was empty. That means we had the entire restaurant for ourselves. We were asked to choose a table or bar, and we opted to table.
Good things:
1. Food is loaded with flavors
2. Not all items are supposed to be eaten by chopstick. The crew provides specific instructions on how to eat. If you don’t know how to eat with chopstick, don’t worry.
3. Staff is friendly and enjoys conversations.
4. There is a happy meal option, in case you are not feeling filled. It is suggested a few items before desserts. It includes a plant based patty and fries and costs extra.
A couple of downsides I noticed:
1. Service was too fast. Initially, it felt like they were rushing through items. We had to eat slowly to enjoy the flavors.
2. There are not many pairing options of wine other than sake.
… moreWe went to this place to celebrate the wedding anniversary. As said in other recent reviews, the place was empty. That means we had the entire restaurant for ourselves. We were asked to choose a table or bar, and we opted to table.
Good things:
1. Food is loaded with flavors
2. Not all items are supposed to be eaten by chopstick. The crew provides specific instructions on how to eat. If you don’t know how to eat with chopstick, don’t worry.
3. Staff is friendly and enjoys conversations.
4. There is a happy meal option, in case you are not feeling filled. It is suggested a few items before desserts. It includes a plant based patty and fries and costs extra.
A couple of downsides I noticed:
1. Service was too fast. Initially, it felt like they were rushing through items. We had to eat slowly to enjoy the flavors.
2. There are not many pairing options of wine other than sake.
Jade N
Exquisite food- it is obvious a lot of time and effort go into the different courses. I really appreciated the variety of options and flavors we experienced. We did try the waffle dog- those were incredible! I’d recommend sharing one because they are very filling. All of the courses were dreamy except for the mushroom sandwich. That wasn’t great at all 🙁
The restaurant was not at all what I expected for fine dining. I came here expecting a nice cosy experience where I could bond with my husband on his birthday and feel like we are in an intimate setting. Instead we were alone, under bright lights, facing the waitstaff kinda sharing conversation with her the entire night. She wasn’t vegan which was fine, but just kept talking about her opinion on vegan foods and made a lot of small talk which wasn’t what I expected for a nice dinner. We opted for the sake pairing not realizing it cost $65. So that would have been nice to have a warning on. With the price of the meal and it being a pairing I had assumed it would be included or added on for a small charge. It would have been nice to just have one or two glasses of wine or a cocktail as an option instead of water or $65 sake pairing…
Overall, I definitely regret the amount of money spent on the experience. I love the concept and the food was amazing, but I would rather spent half the cost on less courses. To charge $150 and to have to make constant conversation with staff was very off putting/ unprofessional/ unromantic/ awkward. I’m sure a lot of the cost of making the food would be hard for us to conceptualize without being chefs, so I can appreciate that. However, for someone looking to experience fine dining for a romantic night out I left feeling kinda cheated and disappointed with many expectations dashed.
… moreThe restaurant was not at all what I expected for fine dining. I came here expecting a nice cosy experience where I could bond with my husband on his birthday and feel like we are in an intimate setting. Instead we were alone, under bright lights, facing the waitstaff kinda sharing conversation with her the entire night. She wasn’t vegan which was fine, but just kept talking about her opinion on vegan foods and made a lot of small talk which wasn’t what I expected for a nice dinner. We opted for the sake pairing not realizing it cost $65. So that would have been nice to have a warning on. With the price of the meal and it being a pairing I had assumed it would be included or added on for a small charge. It would have been nice to just have one or two glasses of wine or a cocktail as an option instead of water or $65 sake pairing…
Overall, I definitely regret the amount of money spent on the experience. I love the concept and the food was amazing, but I would rather spent half the cost on less courses. To charge $150 and to have to make constant conversation with staff was very off putting/ unprofessional/ unromantic/ awkward. I’m sure a lot of the cost of making the food would be hard for us to conceptualize without being chefs, so I can appreciate that. However, for someone looking to experience fine dining for a romantic night out I left feeling kinda cheated and disappointed with many expectations dashed.
Felicitas O
Oy where do I start? First off I want to say I was very excited to be trying out a vegan fine dining experience in Honolulu and neither the cost nor the small plates were a turnoff. I came with a local friend and we reserved a table at 5:30 expecting this to take a while. When we arrived 5 minutes late the place was deserted and I thought I had gotten the time wrong but no, we were the only guests. Oh well. We were seated at the end of the long bar like sushi counter, like someone else remarked under overhead lights next to the kitchen with little ambiance. No tablecloths, the surfaces are black corian. The server could not have been nicer and it is he that made the entire event bearable! Right of the get go the food was not awesome! Beautiful to look at but not very flavorful. Basically mostly prepared and stored in tupper containers, then plated in front of us! I believe the first three dishes took 15 minutes or less and I made a remark that at this pace we’d be done in about 40 minutes or so! Insane!
The server then offered to slow things down. We had a nice conversation with him about where he’s from, his upcoming trip to Japan and so on. I had been to 11madison in New York which I shared images off. We were basically killing time! The food was mediocre at best! The fact that someone was basically standing right in front of us, snapping open Tupperware, taking out prepared items, placing them on dishes then sliding them over simply felt surreal!
No chef in site! A second person was there but I’m not sure what she was doing, possibly preparing for guests arriving for the 8 pm seating?
I’m grateful that my friend and also myself have a good sense of humor and pretty much laughed this entire thing off as an experience we’d be looking back on one day as a funny story! One dish, done colorful pasta like ravioli looked like kids food with bright blue striped. Rubberlike cold texture! The hot broth poured over it was actually pretty good.
The worst was the cream cheese like sauce on the rice ball like things we were served. It tasted like breakfast spread with jelly mixed in. The last dessert I also did not finish! I’ll say at this point that I’m not a huge foodie! I love a lot of things, enjoy “ raised by the waves” because it’s so clean and fresh and flavorful! This food was just terrible! The chef I hear teaches at the culinary institute! I’m beyond astonished! Truly! Amazing!!! I just can’t imagine this restaurant will last.
I’ve been vegan for over 6 years and gladly try out any place that offers vegan food but this place was probably the worst vegan food I’ve ever had. Again, the plating is great, it looks pretty enough and our server was lovely. But that was about it.
I just can’t imagine what it would be like to book this for a special occasion or romantic evening!
… moreThe server then offered to slow things down. We had a nice conversation with him about where he’s from, his upcoming trip to Japan and so on. I had been to 11madison in New York which I shared images off. We were basically killing time! The food was mediocre at best! The fact that someone was basically standing right in front of us, snapping open Tupperware, taking out prepared items, placing them on dishes then sliding them over simply felt surreal!
No chef in site! A second person was there but I’m not sure what she was doing, possibly preparing for guests arriving for the 8 pm seating?
I’m grateful that my friend and also myself have a good sense of humor and pretty much laughed this entire thing off as an experience we’d be looking back on one day as a funny story! One dish, done colorful pasta like ravioli looked like kids food with bright blue striped. Rubberlike cold texture! The hot broth poured over it was actually pretty good.
The worst was the cream cheese like sauce on the rice ball like things we were served. It tasted like breakfast spread with jelly mixed in. The last dessert I also did not finish! I’ll say at this point that I’m not a huge foodie! I love a lot of things, enjoy “ raised by the waves” because it’s so clean and fresh and flavorful! This food was just terrible! The chef I hear teaches at the culinary institute! I’m beyond astonished! Truly! Amazing!!! I just can’t imagine this restaurant will last.
I’ve been vegan for over 6 years and gladly try out any place that offers vegan food but this place was probably the worst vegan food I’ve ever had. Again, the plating is great, it looks pretty enough and our server was lovely. But that was about it.
I just can’t imagine what it would be like to book this for a special occasion or romantic evening!
Nicholas Quintillan
Firstly, I will say that I absolutely appreciate owners and chefs who try to do something special and something uncommon. This is always refreshing and while I understand the economic and commercial consideration and pressure most owners face with trying to make a living and support themselves, I always give plentiful credit to owners and chefs who really put it out there and try to deliver an experience that’s different and an experience that’s unique in nature. We have far too many owners and chefs and who play it “safe” and give in to the pressures of the business and economic fortitude. Too many owners and chefs who create menus that are practically a shoe-in to success and acclimation. It’s disheartening to see throughout the world, far too many owners and chefs who take the road well-travelled instead of the one rarely travelled. So for this alone, I give AV and the chef/owner very positive points and my gratitude.
To start, the location is a little bit away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki which is totally fair and honestly a positive note, but with that said, when we arrived, we were confused on where to go, how to get in and what to do. We came to what appeared to be the front door and it was locked. We called the restaurant main line but hit the voicemail almost immediately. We were left confused. Was the restaurant open? Did we go to the right spot? It was only until other parties arrived that we all deduced that we had an 8pm reservation and we were all at the right place. A person then came out and explained it would be a few minutes and to wait outside. Long story short, all of the parties waiting outside were confused when they arrived. There definitely needs to be an improvement to explain to guests when making a reservation what the process will be when arriving at the restaurant so no one is outside trying to gather how to enter the restaurant, etc. Once inside though, our experienced turned out very positive. It’s clear the chefs care about their work and it translates to the plates. They were informative and friendly. The food was also well put together. My wife is a vegetarian and I’m a “meat eater” and altogether we were satisfied with our meals. Some courses were beyond phenomenal and some were “just” good. The evening was paced well and ultimately it didn’t feel like a tremendously long experience which was nice. Be prepared though, that this is a completely different style of dining than you may be used to. It’s highly interactive (when it needs to be) and it’s far more of an experience than a cozy, be-alone-at-your-table kind of night. There is room for improvement on some of the courses in complexity and flavour balancing but overall the food was excellent. The portions are definitely on the petite side of things so if you have a tremendous appetite, you may feel hungry afterwards so be prepared. The price was on the line for us. Perhaps a slight bit higher than it should be. Our meal was $400 altogether with tip and in retrospect, it seems a slight bit high for what we experienced. We do however understand the nature of the effort and the offering so we accept the pricing structure is higher. Overall our rating is closer to four stars given a few areas of improvement but for the creativity, care, friendliness, diligence, and overall experience, AV deserves a very positive rating and they deserve the benefit of the doubt, hence the five star rating.
I will say in closing that YOU SHOULD try this. Highly recommended, especially if you’re in Hawaii. You won’t be disappointed, especially if you have the correct mindset and expectation of what this dining style is. You should be expecting an interactive multi-course culinary experience for the open-minded and not a choose-your-own-plate and be-by-yourself experience.
… moreTo start, the location is a little bit away from the hustle and bustle of Waikiki which is totally fair and honestly a positive note, but with that said, when we arrived, we were confused on where to go, how to get in and what to do. We came to what appeared to be the front door and it was locked. We called the restaurant main line but hit the voicemail almost immediately. We were left confused. Was the restaurant open? Did we go to the right spot? It was only until other parties arrived that we all deduced that we had an 8pm reservation and we were all at the right place. A person then came out and explained it would be a few minutes and to wait outside. Long story short, all of the parties waiting outside were confused when they arrived. There definitely needs to be an improvement to explain to guests when making a reservation what the process will be when arriving at the restaurant so no one is outside trying to gather how to enter the restaurant, etc. Once inside though, our experienced turned out very positive. It’s clear the chefs care about their work and it translates to the plates. They were informative and friendly. The food was also well put together. My wife is a vegetarian and I’m a “meat eater” and altogether we were satisfied with our meals. Some courses were beyond phenomenal and some were “just” good. The evening was paced well and ultimately it didn’t feel like a tremendously long experience which was nice. Be prepared though, that this is a completely different style of dining than you may be used to. It’s highly interactive (when it needs to be) and it’s far more of an experience than a cozy, be-alone-at-your-table kind of night. There is room for improvement on some of the courses in complexity and flavour balancing but overall the food was excellent. The portions are definitely on the petite side of things so if you have a tremendous appetite, you may feel hungry afterwards so be prepared. The price was on the line for us. Perhaps a slight bit higher than it should be. Our meal was $400 altogether with tip and in retrospect, it seems a slight bit high for what we experienced. We do however understand the nature of the effort and the offering so we accept the pricing structure is higher. Overall our rating is closer to four stars given a few areas of improvement but for the creativity, care, friendliness, diligence, and overall experience, AV deserves a very positive rating and they deserve the benefit of the doubt, hence the five star rating.
I will say in closing that YOU SHOULD try this. Highly recommended, especially if you’re in Hawaii. You won’t be disappointed, especially if you have the correct mindset and expectation of what this dining style is. You should be expecting an interactive multi-course culinary experience for the open-minded and not a choose-your-own-plate and be-by-yourself experience.
Christine S
I’m on a quest to try as many vegan/vegetarian tasting menus, and I have to say that AV ranks amongst the top.
Innovative without pretentiousness. Elements of nostalgia mixed in with fun. The tasting was an absolute delight and got even better and better with each new course laid out.
This is the first time that I don’t want to reveal too much about the menu. You can see my photos for a general sense if you’re curious, but I highly encourage you to pay a visit soon! What I greatly appreciated about AV was how dedicated the team is to R&D. You’re not eating vegan substitutes for meat. You’re experiencing vegetables in a different light. If you’re curious about how they transform ingredients, this is the place to geek out about technique.
… moreInnovative without pretentiousness. Elements of nostalgia mixed in with fun. The tasting was an absolute delight and got even better and better with each new course laid out.
This is the first time that I don’t want to reveal too much about the menu. You can see my photos for a general sense if you’re curious, but I highly encourage you to pay a visit soon! What I greatly appreciated about AV was how dedicated the team is to R&D. You’re not eating vegan substitutes for meat. You’re experiencing vegetables in a different light. If you’re curious about how they transform ingredients, this is the place to geek out about technique.
David Oy
Wow wow wow. I can’t believe this jewel has only been around a year. The chef talks you through the dishes, which she seems to be experimenting on 24/7. You go around the world with dishes from cultures like indigenious Hawaiian to Indian to Japanese, sometimes in one dish. Every dish was packed with flavor. One of our favorites: the pop rocks that explode in your mouth, releasing fruit juice and a soft shell of the balloon that melts. I don’t want to give much more away, but it’s safe to say that this experience blends cultures, tastes, chemistry (for multiple dishes), and ingredients like you never see. From picking handmade bowls and unique chopstick holders up until the very end, this was a wonderful, unique dining experience. I hope to see this restaurant grow and thrive. It really is worth a visit for everyone, vegan, vegetarian, or omni. I still have trouble naming just one or two favorite dishes from eating here, and I learned a lot to pull into my own cooking. (I’d also happily pay for a plate of some of these, if that ever becomes an option! But every dish is labor-intensive and most/all of the ingredients seem to be made from scratch everyday.)
… moreKen Wong
January 2022:
Came here to celebrate a birthday! I’m not vegan but I do like to try new places. AV is definitely pushing the boundary for what vegan food can taste like! This was a wonderful experience to taste how vegan food can evolve!
Dinner is a set tasting menu that changes a bit depending on the chef’s desires. My favorites included the beet tartare tartlet, dan dan tortellini, grilled taro nigiri and the portobello sando. We got three desserts and my favorite was the macadamia nut chocolate chip cookie!
The hard part of the tasting menu is that you can’t order more of your favorites . Oh well. I was super stuffed after the meal.
Thanks for a great birthday celebration!
… moreCame here to celebrate a birthday! I’m not vegan but I do like to try new places. AV is definitely pushing the boundary for what vegan food can taste like! This was a wonderful experience to taste how vegan food can evolve!
Dinner is a set tasting menu that changes a bit depending on the chef’s desires. My favorites included the beet tartare tartlet, dan dan tortellini, grilled taro nigiri and the portobello sando. We got three desserts and my favorite was the macadamia nut chocolate chip cookie!
The hard part of the tasting menu is that you can’t order more of your favorites . Oh well. I was super stuffed after the meal.
Thanks for a great birthday celebration!
Aline Tran
Outer space good. Mind blown. So much flavor and umami packed into small bites with a wide variety of ethnic flavors. My partner and I were over the moon. I enjoyed everything and the experience as a whole. We got to chat with Ana preparing all different dishes and enjoyed her expert decorum and conversation skills. Each item was explained and questions answered. Great date dinner. We will be back! FYI, can be gluten free on request and they exclusively come up with different dishes for gluten free, so there’s a $30 upcharge.
Standouts for me were Dan Dan tortellini, crystal crostini, kofte, kalo senbei, smoke of gravy pie filling, katsu mushroom sando, tacos, banana dessert and batter of the waffle dog. The soft scramble just egg on the sando was fluffy and a little wet, just the way I like it. Dan Dan flavors were intense and the schezuan peppers at the end had the perfect mouth tingle. Crystal crostini crunch was fun and garlic is my weakness. The taco sauces…bagna caude and strawberry something were so flavorful! Kofte had a thin, hot crisp layer with a hefty filling that I appreciated. Everything was yummy, really.
Being picky, there were some inedible parts of the ulu in the pie, my partner and I wanted the pie crust as a slab like in old pictures vs the flower cut out which is pretty but not enough crust, the pie crust itself was hard to bite through. Waffle dog filling was mostly cheese that had melted, so upon biting, it looked empty (but tasted delicious).
I’d like to be able to sit down at a table and order full sized portions of my favorites. A bowl of tortellini? Yes, please. A full steamer of xia long bao? Right here!
Location! Entrance is facing 11th Ave across from the basketball court of the local park! The restaurant is skinny like the night bus squeezing between two cars… Look towards the far left of the one story building for the AV Restaurant sign next to the dumpster (unfortunate). This is not part of the complex of restaurants accessible from the big paid parking lot. Actually you can park right in front of the restaurant for FREE. Go up 11th Ave from waialae, it’s a right turn after the park/basketball court.
… moreStandouts for me were Dan Dan tortellini, crystal crostini, kofte, kalo senbei, smoke of gravy pie filling, katsu mushroom sando, tacos, banana dessert and batter of the waffle dog. The soft scramble just egg on the sando was fluffy and a little wet, just the way I like it. Dan Dan flavors were intense and the schezuan peppers at the end had the perfect mouth tingle. Crystal crostini crunch was fun and garlic is my weakness. The taco sauces…bagna caude and strawberry something were so flavorful! Kofte had a thin, hot crisp layer with a hefty filling that I appreciated. Everything was yummy, really.
Being picky, there were some inedible parts of the ulu in the pie, my partner and I wanted the pie crust as a slab like in old pictures vs the flower cut out which is pretty but not enough crust, the pie crust itself was hard to bite through. Waffle dog filling was mostly cheese that had melted, so upon biting, it looked empty (but tasted delicious).
I’d like to be able to sit down at a table and order full sized portions of my favorites. A bowl of tortellini? Yes, please. A full steamer of xia long bao? Right here!
Location! Entrance is facing 11th Ave across from the basketball court of the local park! The restaurant is skinny like the night bus squeezing between two cars… Look towards the far left of the one story building for the AV Restaurant sign next to the dumpster (unfortunate). This is not part of the complex of restaurants accessible from the big paid parking lot. Actually you can park right in front of the restaurant for FREE. Go up 11th Ave from waialae, it’s a right turn after the park/basketball court.
Shashidhar Thakur
This was one amazing culinary experience. The vegan multi course meal was very creatively done. Everything from the beet tartlet to the root vegetables pot pie to the macadamia nut chocolate chip cookies at the end was delicious with delightful tastes and textures.
… more