Il Buco

My haole friends brought me here and I’m so happy they did! Tucked away behind the valet area and would’ve never found this place alone. Delicious cheese platter and had the meanest Italian beer! Chee!!!

Find this place. It’s hard! It’s amazing. So small with such a great wine list and a small menu of amazing things. This is the place that tourists want to go to and locals love. Always order the antipasto.

Definitely not what I expected when I got there, it was 7:30 for a Saturday night and it had only 2 tables with customers.
Bartender is also the waiter.
Chalk board menu of all 7 items that is the normal menu.
And the is a separate board of the 3 specials.
The caprese salad is a good size plate.
The antipasti is ok
The warm octopus w/‘potato salad that I was looking forward to came out looking nothing like the pics on Unilocal that Unilocalers posted.
The octopus was sliced thin thru a deli meat slicer, not the chunky style as shown.
My opinion the chunky style would have been better.
My ribeye steak with was cooked to well done when I order medium, extremely heavy on the salt.
I couldn’t eat the whole dish because it was too salty.
My wife’s fish was nothing to rave about other than they totally covered with a quick heated cherry tomatoes.
Looks like their kitchen is only about 10×10 must be tough to put out consistent quality dishes.

The food was delicious. The service was poor and both food and drinks were expensive.

Small intimate spot that can be hard to find. For being such a small wine bar they had some decent wines to buy by the bottle. Only ok for reds by the glass. No port wines, but the had a few bubbly wines that are dessert enough for adv after dinner nite cap. They even had some grappa, very Italian. The guy running the place was nice enough chatting for a bit with us even though he had a private guest there. If I lived here I could see myself coming in often and he would be the kind of guy to have the wine, or port I wanted by the glass, if u showed up often enough.
They are inside the hotel on the corner I believe it was called sand villa. Just ask inside.
Parking can be scarce on the street, but there is a paid lot across the street.
They had some food you can order as well, and it appeared they are open super late. Definitely a great spot after dinner that you don’t want a lot of noise you can have a nice glass by the pool and chat.

I really wanted to love this restaurant… Very good ambiance and our waitress was great.
Ordered the antipasto and it was lovely but $ 1.00 extra for a few slices of bread? Really? Bread is usually included right? What else do you put the cheese on?
Next ordered the nights special «pasta». You have to order for 2. Ok but literally it was pasta with olive oil and some tomatoes and garlic $ 40.00!!! Could have made that at home…

How about I waited 30 mins for a glass of wine. 2 hours for tiramisu.
I don’t need to say much more than that.

Il buco is a tiny intimate spot. It is located in the Sand Villa Hotel and can be a little hard to find. You can leave your car with the valet — be patient if no one is there, as there is just a one-​man operation; he’s parking another car and will be back! Head downstairs toward the pool, and Il Buco is right next to it.
I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve eaten there, and as for the wine, well, I’m definitely no expert, so I just go with the flow and let Salvatore make suggestions. You really feel like you are eating at someone’s home, and I mean that in the best way possible. This is a great spot for a date (if you actually like your date, because it is rather romantic), but I’ve also been with a large group of girlfriends and had a blast. Highly recommended.

My friend and I went there for dinner! What a great restaurant. The atmosphere is as good as the food. These guys know what they are doing and do it quite well. I think I will go back tonight. This is a good place to go with a date or even alone. It is my favorite restaurant in all of Waikiki. Thank you, P

Menu changes every night, the only constant is their wine and it is amazing. Even though the menu changes every night it is always on par. Very small and great atmosphere.

The best wine bar in Honolulu. Excellent service and very friendly staff. This is a Honolulu hidden treasure with great wine selection and good quality food .
I’ll recommend highly this place to any visitors.

Very good restaurant and wine bar. The owners are great and very respectable.

Thank you Unilocal for helping us discover this hidden gem in Waikiki. This was one of the best all-​around dinning experiences my wife and I have had in Honolulu over the past three years! this is the best relatively unknown restaurant in Honolulu I have been to.
We started with the piccolo antipasto, where the bartender provided us heaping mounds of delicious cheese, salami and prosciutto. Even though this was our first dish served it was the last one we finished. As the owner/​bartender said, «no rush, it’s a wine bar!»
Next we had the calamari special, which was composed of fresh squid stuffed with buffalo mozzarella and an arrugala salad. It was fresh, and nothing short of amazing.
Next we had the lamb chop, which was both mine and my wife’s favorite dish. It was seasoned and cooked perfectly, and it is the one thing we would definitely get again.
For dessert we ended with the tiramasu. It was a great way to finish the meal. Probably not the best we’ve ever had, but still delicious and well worth it!
We both drank the house red throughout the entire dinner which was graciously poured by Salvatore, the owner/​bartender, and it was delicious. The food, the ambiance, service, and the company at the bar all added up to a night that may never be forgotten in our household.
We will be back for sure. House wine and lamb chops are on our must haves for next time, and we cannot wait to see what other amazing dishes Il tgfdh has to offer!

Really wanted to like this place. Was excited to get there on a Saturday night and we sat at the bar. The décor is nice and intimate. We ordered wine and the caprese appetizer which was great. The entrees were decent but not great. The lamb quality was mediocre.
The place fails in the service department. Complete lack of detail. It takes a while for them to notice you’re out of your drink. We also waited for over 40 minutes to get our bill. We were also never offered water. Wish they were more friendly and attentive and then I would come back. Hope they can fix this soon.

Great secret spot! free valet parking in the Waikiki Sands hotel. You must look for the pool to find the place. 8 – 10 items on the menu and he does a hand made pasta. I recommend the Octopus and potato and the caprese to start. Food is Naples style and very fresh. Had the Opah with some handmade pasta and some Italian wine. There wine selection is all italian which I liked! small and intimate and great find especially in Waikiki.

Mind blown! I have to give credit to my husband… he’s the one that found this hidden jem via Unilocal.It’s tucked in a really small hotel by the ocean side of Ala wai. Even once you get to the hotel it’s hard to find because there really aren’t any signs. After talking to the owner, he told us he doesn’t use social media to advertise and that he prefers it to be word of mouth. Honestly, I don’t want to write about Il buco because the intimacy and romantic ambiance is what really makes this place. But I’m trying to be selfless here for my fellow Unilocalers ;)
It’s a really small wine/​tapas bar with stunning interior décor. For a while, I felt I was back in Italy on our honeymoon. The Italian owner adds to the ambience as well. He provided us with great service – he’s attentive, and very amiable.
We ordered a 500ml house wine carafe which is plenty for a date. Wine is delicious and the fact that its all European wine makes it all the more wonderful. He even topped off our wine glasses when he saw we were done. Talk about awesome customer service!
We ordered the house special mozzarella stuffed steamed (?) calamari that came with a bed of greens. Wow… just thinking about it makes my mouth salivate again. Calamari was cooked perfectly and the salad was a delicious palate cleanser. We also ordered the antipasta misti plate which is essentially a charcuterie board. It came with generous amounts of salami, prosciutto, Brie, goat, and other cheeses. Finally, we ordered the lamb chops with potato cubes and omg… earth shattering.
What I loved most about the food itself is that he uses quality ingredients – dresses dishes with olive oil and some kind of vinegar, salt & pepper. Very simple, yet so good. Words can’t even express…
Bottom line: beautiful scenery, romantic ambiance, gorgeous décor. Italian wine galore, small selection of dishes but everything we tried was tasty. Excellent proportions and customer service. Worth sitting at the bar and getting to know this bar owner.

Intimate and romantic. It is a very small Italian restaurant located by the pool inside the hotel. The chef is amazing, the flavor is excellent and the ingredients are very fresh. Everything blends well together. Excellent wine selection. This is a great date spot! One of my favorite discoveries in Waikiki.

Small, intimate places are kind of a thing for me… Don’t let the size fool you because this place is FULL of Personality! When I say that this place has Personality, I mean to say that this place is bright, colorful, intimate yet unassuming… it has to be a direct representation of Salvatore (who was at the helm for the evening).
Tiny little wine bars are the perfect place to sit and enjoy an evening with friends and family. I’m very big fan of reds… the bolder, the better… and Salvatore knows his stuff! At his discretion, he selected the perfect bottle for us to share. Partnered with the Opakapaka… I was in heaven!
No wonder this little place was poppin’ off… Not an empty seat in the house!
Definitely going back again… soon.
Sunday night, in fact!!!

«CIAO BELLA!!!» Always when I walk in… A warm welcome from Salvatore and Darko, the awesome owners. IL BUCO is a hidden gem in Waikiki, known for the best Italian wines and spirits… But also for their SQUISITO menu! It is simple, fresh and scrumptious! I’ve tried all of the dishes… Yes, I’m known to always be «Mangia, Mangia!» (Eating, as Salvatore would say) My favorite is the warm octopus salad with red potatoes and the Mediterranean style Puttanesca.
It is located at the Waikiki Sand Villa near the pool. Valet parking only. There are renovations being done to the restaurant in the lobby, so don’t let that throw you off… Once you get past that, you will see IL BUCO to the left of the Oasis pool. Sit down, relax and enjoy the Italian ambience that this ‘little hole’ has to offer!

Friendly staff, good wine list and legit good menu (albeit small). Great cheese platter.
Fun hidden new spot in Waikiki, located in the Sand Villa Hotel, near the pool.