Sarentos Top of the Ilikai

Below is lengthy so TLDR: Service is unacceptably terrible that even the amazing food (and it is really good) couldnt save this restaurant from receiving 2 stars.
I’d like to start out by saying that I went here for Father’s Day dinner. I made the mistake of not making reservations in advance because I didn’t know that I would have my child for visitation. I ended up springing for a hotel and wanting to take my kid out to somewhere nice. Of course all of the other places were booked, however, there were plenty of reservations for the top of the I on open table. That should have been my first red flag. I get there and my table is ready. It seems nice, the ambiance is great and the wait staff is friendly. I’ll even jump ahead and say that the food was great. The wait staff, even though they were friendly, were incompetent. Although, if I could give my food runner 5 stars I would, he sincerely cared and it showed in his work. I wish I got his name. They ask for you to make a selection on wine before you even get thedinner menu, which makes it really difficult for pairings which should be obvious at an upscale restaurant. My server took forever with the food menu (being modest about 15 minutes) and when she finally arrived she brought the restaurants wine expert to help me with my selection. That would have been fine, if I had even a second to make a decision of what I wanted to order. Bread came out after I ordered the food. They forgot my daughters drink and she ended up wanting a different drink which isn’t on the wait staff but after ordering orange juice we got pinapple juice instead. My kid liked it either way, but it upset me slightly because at this point I’m feeling neglected as a patron and as if they either weren’t paying attention to my requests or just flat out didn’t care (just want to clarify the food runner was amazing). The food started arriving and everything was delightful as far as food quality goes and tasted amazing. The chefs really know what they’re doing and saved this restaurant from getting a 1 star. I really wanted to give a 3^rd star but the service is honestly that unacceptable, especially for the price tag that comes with eating here, that I couldn’t give it more than 2 stars. In the end I asked for a to go box for my remaining bread and my child’s remaining food and again I was ignored. It just ended up in the trash. At least they were friendly, even if i could tell they were faking it. I’ll never come here again. Your service is bad and you should feel bad.

The steaks were perfectly fender and absolutely delicious. The servers were there when we needed them and were very pleasant. We could also see the fireworks — that was a plus.

Food was terrible and service was not professional. I will never return to this restaurant nor do they care!

Our last visit to this restaurant. Food is marginal for the price. With so many wonderful restaurants in this city, the only reason to go here is the view.

The view of the fireworks on Friday nights are breath taking.
The food is mediocre for the price but you can’t have everything awesome.
Drinks are great & the view & the atmosphere are worth going for!

Great ambience, incredible sunset views, accompanied with live music (piano). The food was fantastic. We had the filet mignon with lobster tail and the osso buco. Both great dishes with decent sides. Great wine and cocktail list

Had a wonderful dinner with my wife on a beautiful Friday night, on Fridays you can see the fireworks from the Hilton lagoon. Started dinner with the Pacific oysters, Calamari, escargot which were all great, oysters in particular were really good. They gave us some bread which was so-​so, I had the caprese gnocchi salad, while my wife had the Caesar. The Caesar was good, but the caprese gnocchi salad was amazing. The fried gnocchi inside were like crunchy potato clouds, while the mozzarella with the basil and the balsamic dressing with the tomatoes and greens all went very well together. For the entrée I had the lobster paella, and my wife has the osso bucco. Both were yummy, but the Osso Bucco was the star; It was
cooked perfectly with a nice rich sauce paired perfectly with the safron rice. Dessert was so-​so had the chocolate volcano cake, and tiramisu. Both were okay, nothing special. I had a Keoke Coffee — (Kahlua, Cognac & Crème De Cacao) with my dessert, that was really good. Would definitely order again.

It was close to five star but the dessert was not that impressive, over all it was a lovely dinner with amazing company.

Worst service EVERRRRR! Hands down! The waiter was very rude. They messed up our orders and I was overcharged! The view was pretty nice though but not worth the shitty service or time.

Service was slow on this Sat night, was not over busy but there were some large parties in the back rooms so that may have attributed to the slow service. I had the eggplant canneloni it was good by came out luke warm so it seems it might have been sitting awhile.

This was our third visit to Sarento’s in as many trips. There is a private elevator up to the top with a stellar view. There is not a bad seat in the house ~ you can catch a sunset view, a Diamond Head view or an ocean/​harbor view.
They have creative and tasty cocktails and a very good wine selection. Every meal we’ve had here has been excellent. From a robust Cesar and tasty bay shrimp salad to nice variations of their main courses. There is a filet mignon meatball with pasta, excellent seafood, and a very nice take on veal parmesan, using tender and perfectly prepared veal cutlets, buratta cheese, slices of beefsteak tomato, arugula and a butter enriched reduced balsamic sauce over a spicy orzo.
The service is relaxed with very courteous and thoughtful staff. We had a wine spillage, and they replaced it at no extra charge ~ very kind and appreciated.
With a piano player in the main room, the atmosphere is perfect for that romantic dinner or special occasion. We look forward to each visit.

I thought I would have a better experience since I booked it online through Open Table but their hostess just ruin our Mother’s Day celebration… they promised to give us a nice sitting with the nice view of the city but since we are early they didn’t had our tables ready so we decided to do the happy hour at the bar. The food was really great no complains on those is just that the way they organized the reservations and the sitting is just stupid.
So when the hostess decided to sit us she did put us to a different side of the restaurant so obviously we are disappointed because prior to that she already told us they are going to sit us on the city side of the restaurant. So the manager Joe stepped up and I explained our situation but he said it will be awhile since the available table that was available on the city side is for 4 people… considering that it’s upsetting already I thought they will be apologetic enough to sit us there for just mere consideration but NO… so i told him we are still willing to wait since our original reservation was 7:30pm I’m not sure if they have some walk-​ins that they just sit on that side of the city view which I don’t really care already… and by the time our table is ready the Hostess commented like see 15mins early than your reserved time. Like yeah we were there already since 5:00pm they could have prioritized us since we have reservations and they promised that side of the restaurant… so when we got seated BAM we have a view of the buildings and the diamond head and a post of the building… I rest my case.
So we just enjoyed the food but I wish they have good service too to match that awesome view and tasty food… Good thing the server in the bar i apologized I forgot her name she was gladly comp our parking for 8rs instead of 4hrs and pay $ 5 so yeah the parking was free.
So yeah it’s either they need to organized and really step up their service on the front of the restaurant. coz that’s the first impression and that was just bleh! urgh!

I’ve been here a few times. For the most part food and service is really good. This last time I’m disappointed in the complimentary bread. Super dry! I can’t believe they even served it. They need someone to QC that it comes out fresh and hot. Also the drinks was a bit of a ripoff. ²⁄₃ of my piña colada was crushed ice. So not worth $ 12

I came here for a birthday dinner one year and to start off, the view here is amazing! I got some appetizers to begin the night, fried calamari and a mushroom spread with bread. They also have complimentary lavosh and bread (which were both delicious). After eating all that, I swear my tummy was already full. But I got the pork chop and my friend got the filet mignon with a lobster tail. Everything came out quick and were very yummy! The porkchop was so moist and tender, the gravy had such a rich flavor, the mashed potatoes were soft and buttery, and the fried brussel sprouts were amazing! As for the filet, it was well seasoned and cooked to perfection. For dessert I got a coconut sorbet and they gave a complimentary tiramisu cake. I would definitely recommend the coconut sorbet! So refreshing and it had a strong coconut flavor. To top off the night, my server was awesome!

I went here for my 1 year anniversary and it was an amazing experience. The view alone had my attention all night. The wine was so smooth and our waiter was so accommodating. The calamari was exceptional; the sauce was delicious. I chose the lamb which was absolutely beautiful. Our overall experience was pleasant. It is pretty pricey so prepare to spend some money.

Went in tonight to celebrate my bfs birthday and it was magic from the second we stepped off the elevators. Hostesses were kind and got us quickly seated. We had an amazing view for sunset! Our server (Allen) was great. We never had to ask for a thing. He paid attention to detail and was on top of every thing the entire time. The drinks were delicious and the food was incredible! They were kind enough to alter my bfs dish as he doesn’t eat meat.
Thank you for such an amazing evening! We will be back!

We were very surprised with how nice/​fancy this place was. The website doesn’t make it seem like anything too elegant. However, they are very classy and do have a dresscode. Thankfully we were all fairly dressed up anyway.
The food is obnoxiously expensive. $ 15 for a shrimp cocktail appetizer that only comes with 3 shrimp. The food was sub par at best. Nothing you can’t get at any other Italian joint.
The servers were very attentive and polite. The pianist takes requests. The view is unbelievable! But worth $ 700 for a party of 6? No way.

Sarentos is a must go when in Waikiki.
It’s located on the top floor of the Ilikai Hotel. There is an express elevator you take to the top. It automatically dims the lights as you rise so that you get an unadulterated view of the harbor.
The restaurant and bar are first class. 360 degree panoramic view of Waikiki. Three piece jazz band playing classics. I sat at the bar and ordered a specialty drink which was a variation of the Manhattan, «The Italian” — excellent interpretation. Bartenders (Britonious) know their craft and behave in a professional manner. I haven’t seen this caliber since San Francisco. Rare for the islands.
I also ordered the Filet Mignon Meatballs with Homemade Pasta. The meatballs had a great flavor, but the pasta could have been thicker — it was too delicate to twirl. And I wish there was more sauce.
Bookmark this place and go!

We actually spent a NYE dinner here once but the menu was specialized for the night so we thought we should return on a normal night and see if it was just as delicious. Needless to say, they fell short, as in way way short of our last spectacular visit. The normal menu is unimaginative at best. The only thing they did right was my negroni cocktail (which was probably one of the best negronis I’ve ever tried) and sitting us by the main window were we had a fantastically clear view of the Friday night fireworks done by the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Aside from that, eating through their menu was like forking through mud, trying to find good edible bits. They go well on presentation but the food was honestly, just boring tasting. Didn’t amaze, which you’d expect for the price. It felt like they were pumping out a template of service as opposed to treating every plate as special. For appetizers, we ordered bocconcini (bufala mozzarella wrapped in speck & grilled over tomato) and roasted portobello bruschetta (marinated portobello mushrooms & artichoke sun-​dried tomato purée). I thought the bocconcini sounded great… it just didn’t taste all that great… it lacked so much flavour it was so plain. what happened! My partner despised the portobello bruschetta so much he didn’t even eat the second slice, and he eats anything.
Entrée was veal cotolette capricciosa ‘durini’ (milanese style, roma tomatoes, bufala mozzarella, arugula & spicy orzo) and handmade pasta & filet mignon meatballs (herb tagliatelle, rustic chili pomodoro & parmesan shavings). To be honest, I ordered the pasta because I was curious to see how they were going to murder a top shelf piece of meat and turn it into a mere meatball. Sure enough they delivered on that crime. Filet mignon meatballs my rear end. I thought the pasta would make up for that because I like the tagliatelle style but low and behold it was undercooked. Come on!
Desserts was cheesecake, which their daily selection was strawberry (staying in theme with their unimaginative style) and triple layer chocolate cake (oreo cookie mascarpone & brandy chocolate glaze). My partner loved the chocolate cake, apparently this was evenly well done.
The service was attentive but a restaurant isn’t all about service, especially when they class themselves as fine dining. Makes me wonder if the service and presentation was simply a mask to cover the bland food. Either way, I’m pretty certain we won’t be coming back.

Come for a drink and small plate during happy hour. 40% off your food purchase (one item) if you order a cocktail. Not a bad deal.
Sarentos has a lovely view of downtown Honolulu, where you can see skyscrapers and the ocean together. And there’s air conditioning, which is much-​needed on a hot summer day.
This is the type of place where you order a lemon drop or dirty martini and take in the scenery. On this particular visit, we got to watch the sun set and chat with a group of friends. I can only imagine what it’s like after the sun goes down and the piano player gets started. Classy, indeed.
With the happy hour special, drinks and food are incredibly affordable. Bartender was a little off, but the rest of the staff were very nice and welcoming. Just as one might suspect at a Hawaiian hotel. A-​OK for a start to your evening.

Went there for dinner in April 2015. Have to say, the manager on duty was unbelievably arrogant & abrasive. The place was practically empty and he was not comfortable with allowing us to chose our own table. He sat us in the back of the restaurant near the kitchen! When we asked to be move to another table with a harbor view or city view, he simply refused. He did not provide an explanation nor an apology. We got stuck looking at another hotel all through a very expensive/​over price dinner.
Definitely will not be coming back. It’s unfortunate because this place does have potential otherwise.

So apparently Sarentos has been around for years, and according to our waiter, they are really pulling up their socks (culinary wise) as of late. With a vast and unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean that is simply stunning, this is now my go-​to Italian restaurant in Waikiki.
Located on the very top floor of the Ilikai, this Italian eatery is the perfect spot for a romantic meal. To start I had the Pacific Oysters accompanied by Lilikoi mignonette, ahi tartare and a white truffle oil. The oysters were from off the coast of British Columbia, and they were fresh, plump, super tasty and overall, simply outstanding! Then on to the main: I very rarely order spaghetti and meatballs. Why you ask? Because I really, really love a really good, high-​end spaghetti and meatballs dish. And too often I am disappointed. Not here, the filet mignon meatballs were incredible! Dear lord in heaven, these could be the best meatballs I have ever had! Wowza! And all on top of perfectly al dente spaghettini with a fresh pomodoro sauce, and healthy amount of pecorino-​romano. Bellisima!