The owner of Vino Italian Tapas & Wine Bar plans to open in a new location at Waterfront Plaza on Oct. 1.
Owner D.K. Kodama and master sommelier Chuck Furuya are hesitant to schedule grand opening festivities for the time being, given issues found by contractors in the aging space that formerly housed Bonsai, Baci Due, Carnaval las Palmas, Meritage and, in the heyday of the complex formerly known as Restaurant Row, Touch the East, which served Japanese fusion cuisine and offered karaoke during happy hour.
Kodama and Furuya are nevertheless eager to open.
The restaurant will “start off with the same menu, with add-ons,” Furuya said, adding that “we want everyone to still feel comfortable with the reopening, to re-create the comfort zone of the old place.”
The menu will offer familiar dishes to customers of the previous location, offering favorites such as pan-seared Hudson Valley foie gras and Twin Bridges Waialua Asparagus Milanese. The latter is a preparation created by celebrity chef Mario Batali, who authorized Vino to offer the dish, Furuya said. Batali sings Furuya’s praises on the restaurant’s website.
The truffled mac and cheese is described on the menu as “A Must-Have,” and of the eight pasta dishes, four are offered with fresh, house-made pasta, while the others are made using traditional dry pasta.
Entrees include mini veal osso buco, crispy branzino, roasted organic chicken breast and New York steak.
The extensive wine list is overseen by Furuya, who in 1988 became only the 10th person in the U.S. to pass the master sommelier examination. He also is the person who works the room each night, spreading humor along the way.
Should new readers wonder why there are local Japanese names involved in the Italian restaurant, owner Kodama explained it to your columnist years ago: “I love Italian food.”
Given the new pizza oven that executive chef Keith Endo shared a picture of on his Facebook page, Vino also will offer house-made pizzas as well as nonpizza specials each night.
“You know Keith, we will only be able to hold him back for a short time,” Furuya said.
The restaurant’s two private dining rooms can seat up to 20 and up to about 30 people, respectively.
Parties have the option of customizing their menus, which “can be quite interesting, given we have two chefs from Vino and two chefs from Hiroshi on the team,” Furuya said.
“Hiroshi” refers to Hiroshi Eurasion Tapas, which closed, along with Oahu’s original Vino location, in May.
The new restaurant is under construction directly across the breezeway from the old space.
Ann Taketa continues her role as general manager, while Furuya’s wife, Cheryle, is the private dining and events coordinator.
Serving in the chef brigade alongside Endo are sous-chefs Elton Solmerin, Axelrod Colobang and Sean Uyehara.
“Of the servers, bartenders and food-runners from Hiroshi and Vino, only three did not come back,” so the staff also will be a familiar touchpoint for guests, Furuya said.
“I am hoping that Vino will still have that neighborhood kind of feel. Nothing fancy,” he said. Just good food, good wine, “lots of laughing, talking” and no pretentiousness.
ON THE NET:
>> vinohawaii.com
Information: 524-8466
Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com, or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
