Bernini Honolulu

This place is amazing. You have to try it out. The Uni Pasta is great and the dessert is even better.

Bernini is a little restaurant located by Ala Moana, nearby Chun Wah Kam. The food was amazing and the service was equally great. Our server was very knowledgable about the menu and the seasonal dishes. She did not make any recommendations to us when we asked because she said everything is delicious! The food can be pricey, but is well worth if if you want to treat yourself to something unique and delicious!
Parking can be a little difficult since the lot is very small. Street parking is available, but you can park around ward/​ala moana and walk over.

My wife and I dined at Bernini on her birthday. The food was very good but when we left we had to wait 10 minutes for someone to move their car which was blocking several vehicles. Later we found out that friends dropped off flowers for my wife’s birthday while we were dining. Unfortunately the staff did not give us the flowers. We found found out about the flowers the next day but not from the staff at Bernini. The staff was aware of the vehicle blocking the cars in the parking lot but did not ask the owner to find other parking.

Great flavors from appetizer to entrée to desserts!
Don’t know what to add to the other. But a hint is to reserve a dessert because they sell out! The crêpe and dark chocolate mouse with black cherry was outstanding.
Flavors of the foie Gras with fresh mushroom and potato gratin was superb. The flavor in there fit perfect with my wine.

My wife asked me take her here for our 19^th anniversary…5 star experience. Feels like an Italian restaurant in Rome, down to earth, it’s all about the food. Liver pâté delivers pure creamy delight on crostini. Tastes are subtle allowing ingredients to star and seasonings supporting roles.
Warm, knowledgable and friendly servers and staff complete the Italy in Hawaii experience. Bernini … We will remember you & return

For pasta this is one of my favorite place to go in Hawaii. I like the Rosemary chicken. The skin really crispy. It’s come with mash potato n veggie. But someday it ran out fast if u come late. So come early if u wanna try that or call ahead. The other item I like is the king crab pasta it so tasty. I heard the uni is popular there but I never try. And the best part is dessert the panna cotta. (I think that how u spell it) but too bad u can’t order that Togo Cus it come in the margarita glass. The place can be busy so always call for reservation ahead. And parking is a bitch. They have about ⁶⁄₇ parking in front of the restaurant other wise look for street parking. The restaurant is hard to find if u not from here.

I know that this place has mixed feedbacks. However this place is one of my best of all of Italian restaurants I’ve visited in the past in Hawaii. They have thin angel hair like pasta for at least 2 pasta dishes, Uni ($ 29) and Vongole ($ 23). These are a bomb! I specially love Vongole, and I can eat this pasta every day! I normally prefer thick, hard texure spaghettis because thin pasta usually sucks up all the sauce and gets too soft/​mushy before I clean up the plate. But their pasta dishes, somehow, keep its texture until finishing the plate… amazing! Their one of the main, beef, I believe it called Tagliata (Grilled Angus Beef Steak) $ 36. Yes it is pricy, but it worth it. The meat melt with a full of flavor in your mouth! For desert, you should try Mille Crepes with Strawberry and Chocolate. It is not too sweat and very good. Minus –1 for parking difficulty, small and limited.

Fantastico!!!
I enjoyed their all food and services!
Vongole Bianco is always my favorite!
It sells out quickly so I usually reserve It when I make reservations.
Ricci di Mare is also delicious!
It is not creamy rich Uni pasta, but fresh and flavorful even better!
I would like to comeback here soon!

OMG, fabulous! Great food the pizza is literally the best I have ever had if you like a thin and crispy pizza. We had the Prosciutto and the Margharetta pizzas. I had the Vongole Bianco (clams) heaven to my mouth. The staff was great. Will definitely come here whenever we come back!

Our last meal in Honolulu was perfect.
Yummy pizzas and the pastas were fantastic. The Veal Milanese is a must try! Service was fantastic; our waiter was friendly and the food arrived on time. This is now one of my favorite restaurants.

Liar Liar!!!
Food quality is not an issue as it has always been consistent. I like the food there, although this is a subjective statement.
But what about the wine?
This place does not allow BYO even if customers are willing to pay for corkage. But serving chilled red wine??? I was caught off guard as I was talking to my friends and didn’t realize the wine they served was chilled as if the wine was taken out of the cooler after I ordered the wine. I asked about how they could serve cold wine and the answer I got was something like because the temperature there was so high and the wine would warm up easily, and that wine becomes bad easily when in high temperature. I believe the second part but the first part was purely BS. The wine got to room temperature when I was all done with my dinner and that was when the wine became drinkable. They must have thought customers are idiots who either don’t know anything about wine or don’t have any expectation on the wine they pay for.
Extremely disappointed with their decision to serve cold wine and about their lie. Nice try!!!

I find myself dreaming of the thin crusted pizza I had here. Crust is thin, crispy — almost lavosh-​like. It was served with interestingly — honey. I have to say, never had honey on my pizza, but it was quite delicious.
For the other foods here, I recommend the mushroom risotto — cooked to perfection and tastes OH SO GOOD!
That’s if you don’t decide to order another pizza.. .. .

Random Tuesday night dinner with my family. Maui onion soup was pretty decent. Grilled scallops and shrimp appetizer was good. We had the penne massorella, the uni pasta, and ragu pasta. Excellent tasting. Top of by deserts.

Ok Bernini has redeemed itself.
I’ve been back a few times now, and the food has been on par every single time. I don’t have to worry about taking out-​of-​town guests to Bernini because I know whatever they order, it will taste great.
My favorite is their mushroom pizza. So crispy with the perfect flavor.
Just one thing… your food is so good, can you please at least bring out warm fluffy bread?

My hubby and I had a wonderful experience at Bernini. It was date night — and we didn’t know where we wanted to go for dinner. We called Bernini at the last minute, thinking they’re probably going to tell us that it was booked (it was Friday night afterall) but they were so sweet and accommodating. They said that they have a table available, as long as we finish our meal in 2 hours (they had a reservation but table was available for 2 more hours). Not a problem! I love it when a restaurant as popular as this one is willing to do what they can to make the customers happy. They even accept reservations for 2 people.
I drive around this area all the time but never knew that there was such a wonderful little Italian restaurant there! We read other reviews for this restaurant and knew that parking was going to be difficult. We got there early and we were lucky enough to find street parking.
Once we entered the restaurant, we were promptly greeted by the staff and seated right away. Everything was smooth sailing from there. Our server was very professional, explained the specials and even made recommendations for our main dish. For starters, hubby and I ordered the Porchetta (Slow Roasted Pork) and the Caprese Bernini Salad. Both delicious!
For the main, hubby had the Saltimbocca Bernini Stylye (Sauteed Angus Filet Mignon with Prosciutto, Sage, White Wine Sauce. (He loved it!) and I ordered the Pomodoro. Oh my goodness, the Mozzarella was so tender and fresh inside the sauce. Pasta was cooked to perfection. Delicious! I want to try the Ricci di Mare next time or the Beef Ragu! Pizza wouldn’t be a bad idea either. So many choices, so many reasons to go back again!
We were having such a wonderful time there, that we even ordered their famous Panna Cotta with White Wine Gelle & Fruits and the Mille Crepes with Strawberry and Chocolate. It was heavenly. Seriously.
Every dish came out at the right time. Server was very nice and attentive.
Will definitely be returning to try other items on their menu.
Had a WONDERFUL night. Excellent restaurant with delicious Italian cuisine!
Tips:
Reservation is highly recommended as it gets quite busy.
Parking may be a challenge. Even if you find a parking space in their parking lot, you may have a difficult time getting out of the lot once you’re done because the space of the lot is very small, crammed with cars and when we were leaving I saw a customer not being able to back out because another car was blocking her in and she had to wait until the other person’s car was moved.

I recently dined at Bernini again and had an excellent experience. We made reservations last-​minute and they accommodated our party of four with ease. They sat us in the back room, which I didn’t know existed, and it was comfortable but not fancy like the main dining area.
Our waiter was excellent at recommending dishes. The two main entrees and salad recommended by him were both excellent. They were:
*Ricci Di Mare — «Fresh Sea Urchin (uni), peperoncini style.» Loved it! They used spaghetti noodles that were cooked to perfection, and the sauce was divine. I like uni… I don’t love it. This dish didn’t have an overpowering uni/​fishy taste. I’ve had other uni pasta dishes where the flavor of uni was just too powerful. This was just right for me. I would definitely order it again. Our waiter pointed out that this is one of his faves on the menu and it didn’t disappoint!
*Pomodora — «Fresh Tomato and Mozzarella.» It came with penne pasta but we requested spaghetti noodle instead. My bf enjoyed it and thought the sauce was tasty and simple.
*Bernini Caprese Salad — Fresh tomatoes and mozzarella. This is still one of my favorite Caprese salads around. I like that it is also topped with fresh greens! Yum!
Service was excellent, starting with the staff at the entrance to our attentive and efficient waiter. Thank You!!!
Dined here twice and will definitely return!

Surprisingly good!
When I heard this place had uni pasta and was Japanese Italian, I got turned off. I saw the tiny parking lot, I got more turned off.
I decided to give it a try cause I heard good things. My trip here turned me… okay better not word it that way. My expectations were not only exceeded, but completely changed. If this place is really Japanese inspired, I can’t really tell. I don’t think it matters. I just want good pasta.
I ordered the beef ragu and my gf ordered the amatriciana. Both were great. The noodles were angel hair pasta and the presentation was nice.
The waiter was knowledgeable and very friendly.
The price was reasonable. Comparable to Assagio’s in many respects, but the quality is better. Our pasta plates were about $ 18 each. I did see a lasagna for about $ 34, but ya.
Parking is a pain, but if you come early you can reverse your car in so it’ll be easy to get out.

I was lucky enough to be treated to dinner at Bernini by my girlfriends. We’d meant to go a year ago, but all kinds of real life «stuff» got in the way.
As noted by others, parking is not great. We were there for the first seating, however, so all of us got spaces. Apologies to the other diners!
My friends had definite ideas about what they wanted to eat, so I just went along with their choices. Here’s what we had:
Prosciutto and Marscapone Pizza — This arrived first and was by far my favorite part of the meal. It reminded me of this pizza I love to get in New York. Why is marscapone so good?
King Crab Linguine — This was fine, but not something I’d make it a point to order again. Maybe I don’t like shredded crab.
Half Chicken Al Forno — This reminded me of the chicken I’d had at Grondin a couple nights prior, as it had a slightly crispy skin yet retained its moisture. The accompanying mashed potatoes felt a little weird as a side
For dessert we tried:
Panna Cotta — I don’t think I’ve ever met a panna cotta I didn’t like, though I wasn’t in love with the white wine gelee. I kept thinking of the Top Chef season with Marcel and his gelees and foams. Okay maybe that’s just me.
Crepes — This was actually, ahem, not supposed to be shared by the group, as someone, ahem, declared that she was ordering it just for herself. Unluckily for her, they used it to write my happy birthday message (hard to write that on a panna cotta I guess), so she was forced to share. Hahaha. It was okay I think? I didn’t want to eat too much of it.
Service was great. Portions are not tiny but not generous either. As with Grondin, I got a really overpriced vibe from this place, and I felt so badly about being treated here. Still, the food was quite good. I’d go back to eat pizza and maybe try some other menu items.

I’ve always passed this place while on my way to Ala Moana Center via Pensacola and I guess I’ve mentioned this a few times to my friends, in that they took me here for my birthday dinner a few days ago.
To make this review easier, I will break it down into a Pro/​Con list:
PROS: Classy, rustic and intimate setting. Easy to find (when Pensacola ends, you turn left and it sits on the left hand side.) The risotto I had was one of the best; The rice was cooked nicely, there were shaved pieces of truffle and the Kahuku corn was roasted perfectly. I wish there was more!
CONS: Outrageous parking area. Waitstaff is iffy (very attentive or not – there were actually 2 accidents on tables next to us.) Portions are quite small. I know it’s an upper-​class place, but when compared with the service, it didn’t quite match. House bread wasn’t that good
for an Italian place; it was a rosemary focaccia that they «toast» prior to serving, but I feel like it’s just old bread toasted to bring life back Into it. They don’t have comp. birthday dessert and don’t serve/​cut your cake either. Not too accommodating in lights of birthdays.
FINAL WORD:
It’s a good place for fushioned Italian, if you’re not too hungry and not worried about price. The parking sucks but if you get there at opening it should be ok. Don’t expect the setting to match to service for most of the time.

Okay, so it’s the Friday before the Honolulu Marathon on Sunday and I tell my friend that I think she should eat pasta tonight to carb load for the marathon that is less than 18 hours away. She chooses Bernini Honolulu.
I’ve never been to Bernini Honolulu but it looks like it has good reviews on Unilocal so I’m game to try it. I check out their menu online and I’m excited to see that they have a King Crab pasta — The KING of all Crabs in a pasta for me — YUM! I love King Crab and I love seafood pasta. So I was very excited with giddy anticipation to think that I’m going to have a seafood pasta with big hunks of King Crab meat for $ 24. Of course, we made reservations, and although I was 20 minutes early, I was able to find parking directly in front of the restaurant in the small parking lot and was even seated early.
We started with their tuna carpaccio and then I ordered my King Crab pasta. Very quickly some bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar were served with our drinks. The tuna carpaccio arrived a short time later. Presentation was excellent but the slivers of tuna seemed small to me. Nevermind because my King Crab pasta was on its way.
After leisurely finishing our appetizer, our main courses were served. I was disappointed. Check my picture. There are a bunch of tomatoes on top of my King Crab pasta. Do you see any King Crab? I didn’t at least not in the dim atmospheric lighting of the restaurant. So I thought I’d better take a picture and examine later. Apparently there are very tiny shreds of king crab meat throughout the pasta. I was very disappointed.
Nevertheless, the service was excellent even though there were unfortunately also there at the time of the Honolulu Marathon so they were many, many very loud vacationing marathon runners drinking and having a great time because they’re going to suffer in a couple days. It was uncomfortably loud but I figure it’s just an unusual night because of the upcoming marathon. So dinner for two which included two glasses of wine, 1 appetizer, and 2 entrees totaled about $ 100 plus tax & tip.
Not bad but I really felt it was over priced based on total dining experience. Service was attentive and accommodating. Food presentation good! Food taste and value sub par. I would probably not return again unless I had to attend some function.