Urban Bistro

Pros: Something different. Nice décor, friendly servers and slightly attentive.
Cons: Dirty dishes, utensils had sawdust on it (building still under construction). $$$$ for portion size, but tasty. No tip/​tax concept, but then again, why would you really tip if youre taking your own order and writing down on a post it.
Overall, I’ll try it again. Reason mainly because new spot has to work out some kinks.

Came for here for dinner. Made reservation earlier in the afternoon and had to wait about 20 minutes to get seated. Ordered the stuffed zucchini, bourbon wings, bbq burger and the smores pie for dessert. Everything we ordered was delicious. Service was great and food came out quickly. Some of the seats were close to others. Its also BYOB.

Having been to the 808 Center a few times, I’ve been wanting to try Urban Bistro as it looks like a neat space. We were in town, needed lunch on a Sunday afternoon so decided to try it out. We got there before 1 pm and the place was empty. Seated right away, we took a look at the lunch menu and decided to go with a couple salads. The #2 NYC and the #4 Super Salad with grilled chicken.
Food: Salads arrive, I would describe the look of NYC as bland and uninteresting. I don’t know if it’s the iceberg lettuce or lack of vibrant colors. it just looked like something anyone could throw together. At $ 13, we weren’t impressed by the iceberg lettuce, garbanzo beans, some almonds, and a few kalamata olives. The Super Salad with it’s dark glistening kale looked much more enticing. The honey vinaigrette went well with the kale. The chicken was a little dry, the bacon pieces were very small and didn’t add much flavor to the dish. Since it was lunch, we didn’t have any of their cocktails but those look more promising. (Perhaps we should have skipped the salads and went with a liquid lunch!)
Service: Good service, friendly, explained the ordering process, checked up frequently. No problems when we visited during lunch. then again there were not many other diners at this time.
Value: It’s a tip free establishment, the menu prices include the tax and tip already built in. Interesting concept. not sure how I feel about it. It’s fine if you always get great service, food, etc. on the other hand, this could hurt the restaurant if diners feel like they are being forced to pay a percentage if the service is sub par. The prices seemed high for the salads, the NYC seems overpriced at $ 13 for an iceberg based salad. The Super Salad coming at $ 11 was better, additional $ 4 for grilled chicken breast but the pieces were cut up rather small and probably accounted for maybe ¹⁄₃ of a chicken breast.
Atmosphere: I love the look and feel of the restaurant. I really am hoping Urban Bistro will make it as it can be a cool place to kick back. I can see myself sitting in their outdoor section, enjoying a nice cocktail, and relaxing with some friends.
Overall: Salads were meh but I would like to come back and try their pizza or some of their other menu options before I make a final decision. I like the concept of the 808 center, looks like there will be several new interesting additions, I hope Urban Bistro can hang around because I think the concept can work.

We had lunch at Urban Bistro today, after having read about it in the Star Advertiser a few days ago. The menu selections enticed us, along with the no-​tip, no-​tax concept. We felt the prices were very reasonable. Cool ambience, and we loved the large mural with a city scene from Boston. We almost felt like we were eating in the cobblestone alley way there!
I can heartily recommend the caprese sliders! I didn’t know what to expect, but the buns were fresh and delicious, with roasted tomato, a crunchy slice of melted cheese, and arugula in place of basil. This was served with several slices of seasoned, baked potato wedges. My husband had a deep-​fried pork chop with rice, perfect for him, a real meat and rice guy.
Parking was a breeze in the automated parking garage; it is valet-​only, though.
Definitely going back again, and will tell all our friends/​family.

After searching for a spot to eat in the new 808 Center, we settled upon Urban Bistro. It seemed to be the only one open and/​or with space for patrons to dine at around prime dinner time (~8PM). (Seriously, WTF.)
WRITE YOUR ORDER DOWN
Each menu item has an assigned number. Write that number down on the available post-​its with the pencil provided at the table. Stick the post-​it order at the end of your table when you’re ready to submit it. The server will pick it up and put your order in.
M.E.A.T. STUFFED ZUCCHINI
You won’t even miss the meat! Zucchini stuffed with mushrooms (M), eggplant (E), arugula (A), and tomatoes (T). Similar to eggplant parmesan I guess, but with zucchini. It’s meatless for sure, but not lacking in flavor. I appreciated the combination of spices used in this dish.
CAPRESE SLIDERS
Probably one of my more well liked dishes of the evening. I love anything caprese, so it’s no surprise that I liked these sliders. The tomato slices were plump and juicy. Only gripe — lots of bread. I wish there was more filling or sauce or something. Haha.
GREEK LETTUCE WRAPS
Lettuce cups filled with a seasoned mixture of ground lamb and beef. Accompanied by a drizzle of tzatziki-​esque sauce (and a small dish of some extra) and chopped green peppers and onions on the side. Light and almost refreshing. I liked this dish and would order it again.
OYSTERS AND PEPPERONCINI
The oysters were breaded and deep fried, as were the pepperoncinis. Sad part — the oysters tasted a bit like the ocean (previously frozen?). The sauce, however, was good. And the pepperoncinis were super delish.
RYCROFT SALAD
Urban Bistro’s version of a Waldorf salad. Made with iceberg (now with iceberg instead of romaine), arugula, pickled red onions, apple slices, and candied walnuts, all tossed in their blue cheese dressing. I do love myself a nice Waldorf (and I’m a sucker for arugula), so I thought this was a nice take on a popular salad.
S’MORES PIE
Smaller than a cupcake, but pretty rich in flavor. If you’re a chocolate lover (which I am not), then you’re sure to like this. Even though I’m not a huge fan of chocolate, I love s’mores, so this was a real treat.
ROASTED GARLIC CREME BRULEE
Sounds weird and super savory, but it’s pleasantly balanced in flavor. The roasted garlic flavor is extremely mild. There was still that usual mild crème-​brulee-​sweetness that we all know and love, so this was a nice twist on a classic dessert. I would order this again.
LEMON GINGER ICED TEA
Made with ginger syrup and it’s thankfully not super sweet or ginger-​y. Light and refreshing.
VERDICT
This place is A-​OK. I think they’re still finding themselves… They haven’t had their grand opening yet, so I’m thinking they will get better with time. Personally, I think that the portions are a little on the smaller side, especially for the price. BUT, they are a no-​tip restaurant. And some of the dishes were really tasty. Another plus was the service — helpful, genuine, and honest.

I like the look of this place a lot– very hip, very friendly with twinkle lights and a nice mural inside.
We split the mushroom pesto pizza and the cucumber salad, and the Smore pie and the sweet potato bread pudding. I think the recipes of these items are solid, but the execution of them is just not very inspired.
Service here is quite good, which almost pushed the rating up to 3 stars.

Urban Bistro is located in on the corner of Sheridan and Rycroft. It’s across the street from Walmart so I just parked there and walked over. They did a great job with their social media. The pictures everyone was posting on Instagram was the main reason we decided to check this place out.
Why the 2 stars? The service was good. There was a flickering light that almost gave me a seizure. Ambiance was ok, it was a good environment to have a nice conversation during dinner. The food wasn’t that great. The only thing worth mentioning is the Moroccan Pizza, it wasn’t amazing but it was the best dish I had. Unfortunately it was also a bit overpriced for what it was. If they change up the food I might give this place another try.

Like others have mentioned, I was lured in by the Instagram pics. Well played, Urban Bistro, well played.
Escargot Boursin — cold, gummy, sticky, and barely tasted of escargot. The idea and concept of this dish is appealing because I like escargot and Boursin, but the dish wasn’t executed to my liking; maybe with a little tweaking it could be great, but it’s not there yet. We didn’t bother finishing the spread, but the bread was nice and probably the best part of this dish.
J.O.B. Pizza — the crust was underdone and mushy, overall, but not good for the price. My bf thought Domino’s makes a better version of this.
Moroccan Pizza — combine a Taco Bell taco and a Jack in the Box gyro in pizza form and this is what you get. Like the J.O.B., the crust on the Moroccan was underdone. Overall, it reminded me of fast food, which I kind of liked, hehe. This was the best thing we ordered, yet I don’t think it was worth the hefty $ 17 for a portion slightly larger than a Pizza Hut personal pan pizza.
Gratuity included is fine and all, but overall service and ambiance was lacking. Our server wasn’t quite on top of it: no water refill, nearly half of the utensils in the holders on the table were dirty with caked-​on crusty food bits, and the server sort of dismissed us when we told him about it. The pulsating dim to bright lighting issues were rough on our eyes and gave my bf a headache. No amount of hipster interior design can save it.
Overall, Urban Bistro was okay, but nothing we tried was exceptional that would make us want to return to try other dishes. I would be open to returning with friends should they want to check this place out.

My friend spotted this place on Instagram and the pictures looked so good. I saw his post and he raved about it. So I had to check it out.
Located behind the HMSA building by Walmart Keaaumoku, parking is either street parking or their stacked elevator style valet parking. On the ground floor of the new building. Ambiance is casual, modern décor. Like a NY feel.
Came here for lunch with my friends, thought we each order something and share them so we all can try everything. We ordered the escargot spread and it came with pita bread, a pizza and the fish tacos. They were all ok. Nothing about the food were memorable.
I do like that the tax and tip is included in the price. And it is air conditioned, perfect to escape from a hot day. My experience with the staff and food was ok. Nothing about everything has me lingering for more.

This place has a cozy interior and is rather small. It has maybe 10 tables in there, if that. They also have a few tables on the outside of the restaurant for dining. This is the first restaurant that I’ve been to where the tip and tax is already included.
We got there about 6ish and the place wasn’t busy at all. One of the workers welcomed us and asked if we wanted to sit inside or outside. We decided that we wanted to dine indoors. Three other tables were occupied. We picked a booth to sit at and the menus were already on the table. The server explained to us that this is a no tip and no tax restaurant, that everything was already included in the price. He went on to explain that all the menu items have numbers next to them. We just had to write the numbers on the sticky post and stick it to the edge of the table.
We wrote down numbers 21,22, and 98 for the Fish and Wedges, Pier 39, and Sweet Potato Bread Pudding. The food took about 15 minutes to arrive. My Pier 39 came out first. It’s a tomato based seafood stew. It was very tasty. It was a peppery tomato broth, no cream. I was disappointed in the skimpy amount of seafood that I got. I counted two pieces of mussels, two pieces of shrimp, five small calamari rings, and a piece of fish. It came with a rectangular shaped side of corn rice pilaf. It was hardly worth the $ 22, even with the tip and tax included. My husband’s Fish and Wedges came out a few minutes after the Pier 39. Two average sized pieces of beer battered fish and four potato wedges for $ 19. Unfortunately, the beer batter was not crispy and on the soggy side. The fish, however, was smooth and tender. We finished up our meal with the Sweet Potato Bread Pudding. I enjoyed this dish the most. I didn’t really taste any sweet potatoes in it. It tasted like traditional bread pudding with apple bourbon sauce and vanilla ice cream. The bourbon was strong. I could definitely taste the alcohol. The bread pudding was served warm and hit the spot.

Urban Bistro is a bit pricey and the food can be hit or miss but I enjoyed my experience overall. First off, I really liked that this is a no-​tip restaurant and tax is already included in the price on the menu. This makes calculating the total bill so much easier! I also like the efficiency of the ordering system here – each food item has a code. You write down the codes you want to order on a post-​it and stick it on the edge of your table when ready. The restaurant was playing jazzy music when I went, which I loved. However, if you happen to not like the music, there’s an iPod mounted on the side of each booth and you are welcome to change the song selection.
On to the food! I really liked the house-​made ginger beer (non-​alcoholic), which came with pieces of crystallized ginger. If you like ginger, I highly recommend getting the ginger beer. For food, my friend and I shared the Rycroft salad, escargot boursin spread, potato wedges, pork chop, mushroom pesto pizza, and sweet potato bread pudding. I was disappointed with the Rycroft salad because the ratio of romaine lettuce to goodies (apples, onions, and walnuts) was not very good and the dressing didn’t taste like much of anything. The escargot boursin spread was okay but did not evoke feelings of pleasure traditional escargot dishes usually do. The potato wedges were crispy and the sauce was tasty. The standouts were the pork chop and the mushroom pesto pizza.
Urban Bistro is part of the 808 Center on Sheridan so there is valet parking available in the parking lot. This center features Hawaii’s first vertical parking structure (like the ones in Japan!), which can accommodate 72 vehicles. Valet costs $ 2 for the first two hours and then there’s additional charge per half hour after that. Urban Bistro validates for valet parking, which is awesome!

I wish my apartment looked just like this beautifully decorated loft. I certainly felt like I was dining on the side of Lombard Street. The huge cobblestone road, row of brick homes, wall size mural gave a nice perspective to the atmosphere and space. This elaborated more on the trendy feel of the urban life back home. I truly felt like I was dining on this cobblestone road. What a great idea for a restaurant. I adored the use of space with ample of outdoor seats, additional tables and booths indoors. Did I mention, I got to control their music from my booth?
While their menu is still in the works, a couple prices have been raised about a $ 1 or $ 2 from when they first opened. I like the concept of the «No tip restaurant. Prices Includes tax.». However, technically you’re still paying the tip on the price of the food. On the table, a pen and Post It is provided. I wrote my order according to the item number and the server simply grabs it from your table. I decided on the Shrimp Scampi Bowl. I’m a light eater and this is the right size for me. If you carry a big appetite, this will not suffice. The shrimp scampi bowl came with rice, corn pilaf and house salad. The shrimp is sauteed in white wine and garlic, which was certainly juicy The flavors were all wonderful together. I just wish the portions were definitely bigger. Having the simple huge scoop of Vanilla Ice cream after the meal was just the right touch. Their vanilla ice cream is smooth and silky. Customer service is excellent.
Parking is valet for the time being until a bigger parking garage is hopefully soon to open. Urban Bistro sits in the hidden middle of the 808 Center adjacent from Walmart and HMSA.

Great no tipping concept, SF/​NY ambience and friendly wait staff are the biggest positives of this new restaurant located on Rycroft and Sheridan streets, kitty corner to Wal Mart and across from the now closed (nooo!) Choi’s Restaurant.
We took advantage of the weekday availability of metered parking and came here for an early lunch. The hostess explained the concept and we took cues from fellow Unilocalers by filling out our orders on the yellow post-​it notes and sticking them on the side of the table. Our order:
Hummus and pita — grainy texture and not enough pita, though the waiter did say we could order another half dozen triangles for an additional $ 2
small Caesar with chicken — traditional not very exciting
Urban wedges — Not shoe-​like at all, but these fried potato wedges were large-​cut and a tad overcooked which makes for a wrinkly leather-​like skin
Rycroft salad with grilled chicken — beautifully described on the menu and good size portion of chicken, salad greens, pickled red onions, apples, and flecks of cheese
Each item was nicely plated for photo ops, and while selections were simple, the flavors weren’t very distinctive. At $ 42 (or $ 21 per person), it was kinda pricey for the food. Will have to see if dinner and dessert are better …

Passion, excitement, and belief meets «I don’t give a crap».
To the owner /​manager — WAKE UP!
The space is new, warm, welcoming, and unpretentious albeit somewhat Disneyesque with its subway /​major city «feel». Cool ordering concept (write the number of the item and quantity on a post-​it, done. BYOB. Sharing dishes, no problem. An excited, very friendly owner /​manager, eager to talk about his place.
Sadly, he is the only one who cares. On arrival, the cook and server clearly see us standing at the entrance and don’t acknowledge us, not even a smile. A server, brings the wrong dish to the table even after confirming the order then insist we ordered it and blames our poor penmanship. Burnt, overcooked food being served, the cook looks on to see if we will approve the dish.
The food; very expensive for the portion size and low quality thanks to the automatic gratuity that must be near 30%. There are no standouts except for glaring mistakes. From the best to the worst:
Stuffed zucchini packs great flavor and bright acidity from tomatoes. Simple and delicious.
Mushroom and pesto grilled pizza, good flavor but grilling leaves the crust soft and wet.
Escargot Boursin lacking any flavor of escargot. The inclusion of wine, garlic, even clarified butter in the cheese spread would at least make it taste more like a classic escargot preparation.
Buffalo wings, tiny, somewhat spicy, but overcooked and chewy.
Mussels are previously frozen then overcooked to a rubbery consistency. Flavorful but hard to get past the texture.
Giant fries, overcooked, rubbery on the outside and powdery on the inside.
Fish and chips, burnt (seriously, almost black). Acrid and bitter fish served with more overcooked, rubbery fries.
About automatic service, begin rant: it is not the customer’s responsibility to pay your servers. Saying that it is and that gratuity is included as a favor to me then failing to disclose the amount of that gratuity is underhanded.
Service is included in Japan and throughout Europe but not to pay servers, rather for broken glassware, cost of extra linens, etc. Servers in those countries make as much as bookkeeper, paralegals, or medtechs. Further, each country has laws requiring the amount of «service» be posted on the menu. Wanna play that game, do it right.
«Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining» End rant.
In the end, there is potential but until management realizes the staff doesn’t care, the potential will never be realized.

I felt like we teleported across the US and ended up in New York City somewhere. The ambiance suits well to its «Urban Bistro» name. It really does have an urban feel and look to the restaurant as you walk in. The painted city wall in the back looks so surreal as if you were really in an urban city and what makes it cooler to see signs around the restaurant such as time square subways as if you’d see it there. I liked that open kitchen look as you can see the cooks preparing the food.
I made a reservation for a group of my friends around 8pm. We had 8 people in our group and was able to be seated little after our reservation time. They were able to accommodate our big group on a table in the back. We were offered waters and the menu as we decided what we’d want to try. Their way of having customers order is through a post it and we’d write down the number that was by the specific entrée we wanted. Thought it was a cool idea at first but that didn’t really make sense when orders were still mixed up. I think they should just save post its and get orders directly from each person and write it on a single paper. It seems simpler that way. Although service was friendly and pleasant that night.
After debating back and forth through the single page front and back menu, I decided to go with the mushroom pesto grilled pizza. I like that a lot of their menu items caters to vegetarians as for myself I’m not much of a big meat eater. Since the waiter forgot to ask for my piece of post it order, I was the last one to receive my dish while everyone was almost done with theirs. When I finally got it, I was shocked at the size it was. It was like an appetizer personal pan pizza. The taste was bland and had no flavors to it. I barely could finish because it was tasteless to me and quite mediocre for the quality I had expected.
They participate in a no tip no tax policy as it is included in the flat rate price for each food item which certainly explains why it seemed pricey for a small portioned dish. Among our friends, none of them had a memorable dish that would make any one of us come back. Although we did hear from word of mouth that the lunch menu here was better than the dinner. Maybe that could be something to consider in the future but for now until I hear otherwise of a vamped up menu and such, I wouldn’t come back anytime soon.
I hear they have valet parking but I would suggest finding street parking or parking at Walmart and walking over like we did. BYOB as there’s no alcoholic drinks here. I wouldn’t come really hungry as it was more like a appetizers type of entrees to share while hanging out with friends.

Let me be clear by saying I will definitely come back again, HOWEVER not until they work through their menu items and settle into a set menu and refine the dishes’ flavors.
Overall, the food isn’t great at all, and the flavors are too over the top (though not meant to be). The saving grace is that they are certainly revising their menu and trying to find their flow. The owner is on site for quality control and staff is very friendly and attentive.
We order the J.O.B. pizza (Jalapeño, Onion, and Bacon) with cheese and tomatoe sauce… the sauce us bad, sickly sweet almost like some weird Sriracha/​Texas BBQ hybrid… strange. The personal sized pizza is cute and too small for the price ($ 12) and the crust is just ok…
Next we ordered M.E.A.T (mushroom, eggplant, arugula, tomatoes) stuffed Zucchini, which was slightly undercooked and mixed up in that same sickly sweet tomato sauce… not great, we sent it back.
Ended up getting the Shrimp Scampi and Corn Pilaf… both were waaaaay too oily and buttery. Nothing special, missing the savory element to the flavor profile… kinda fell flat.
Last ordered Garlic Crème Brulee which was excellent… not too sweet, slightly chilled custard with crispy brulee top and fat garlic chips to garnish… pungeant aroma and punch of garlic throuhh out the chilled, creamy delight. BUT, much too expensive at $ 8 for a sauce dish sized cup.
The owner knew were weren’t pleased with the flavors of the dish and was curteous, apologetic, and comped the Crème Brulee…
Due to good service, I will be back in a few months when they’ve acclimated a bit more and they have their liquor license… for now they are too immature in their menu to truly please…

Urban Bistro is located on Sheridan st, diagonally across from Walmart.
This is a small venue, with one waiter working the lunch shift. The concept is pretty simple here. Once your seated and look over the menu, each item has a «#number» next to it. You write that number down with the paper and pen provided on your table.
You put that piece of paper on the stand and the waiter will pick it up and send it to the kitchen. I dig it.
The Grub.
[[ MARGHERITA PIZZA $ 8 ]]
a simple pizza covered in tomato sauce, cheese, basil and slices of tomatoes. On a side note — the pizzas here are not round lol
[[ VEGGIES PIZZA $ 12 ]]
eggplant, zucchini, mushroom, bell pepper, mozzarella, tomato sauce.
[[ 109 SLIDERS $ 13 ]]
slow cooked pork, cabbage/​kale slaw and queso fresco, bbq sauce.
[[ SMORES PIE $ 6 ]]
This was very rich. It had graham cracker crust on the bottom then a solid chocolate in the middle and topped with a roasted marshmallow. This dessert was good but a little to rich for me.
Finally after we were all done eating, we got the check. We were all surprised to find out that you dont tip here!
The reason behind the madness is they build the tip and tax prices into the food price. This is a fantastic concept and I honestly hope more restaurants start doing things this way.

Came here for lunch and it was great! They have a good selection of appetizers, salads, sliders, pizzas, and entrees.
We shared the hummus, Rycroft salad (the Chef’s version of the Waldorf), Urban Cowboy pizza, and the fish sliders. I loved the hummus and the salad was refreshing with the apple slices and the yummy candied walnuts. The fish sliders looked really good, but I thought the flavor wasn’t strong enough. Our favorite, which surprised us both, was the BBQ chicken pizza. It’s grilled and not baked on a thick bread and it was really flavorful and delicious. We ended our lunch with their s’mores pie. It’s the perfect size to share and you must get it!
Service was great! Urban Bistro is a no-​tip restaurant and is located in the new building at 808 Sheridan Street. Their new valet parking system isn’t up and running just yet so you’ll have to look for street parking or you can park parallel to the wall by the dumpster.

Some friends and I checked out the newly opened Urban Bistro on the corner of Sheridan and Rycroft Streets in Honolulu. This trendy, new eatery is an homage to the great American cities like New York and San Francisco and it’s menu is a blend of new and classic American bar food that you’d find in these urban meccas.
Our party started off with an order of Red Wings aka Buffalo Style Wings. The flavor of the red sauce was not too tangy and had the just the right amount of spiciness for my tastes. It also came with an addictive, magical ranch sauce that I wanted to slather on all of our samplings.
Handcut Urban Wedges came next and they were generously cut, giant potato fries. The fries had good texture and flavor. And it was even better with the magic ranch sauce.
The Escargot Boursin was a creamy, escargot spread. The flavors of the escargot were quite subtle, but this was a satisfying app.
Sampled the Green Caesar, a classic Caesar Salad and the Margherita Pizza which the chef says is still a work in progress. The pizza sauce had a nice, sweet finish to it and the pizza is grilled instead of baked.
To finish up our night, we sampled the Roasted Garlic Crème Brulee. I enjoyed this flavorful and amazing combination of garlic, caramel, and custard.
The restaurant has a nice contemporary ambience and the staff is friendly and attentive. Prices are reasonable and all menu prices include the tip… a bonus for those who are splitting checks. At the time of this review it’s a BYOB restaurant, but that may change in the future. The only downside to eating at Urban Bistro is the street parking situation. However, like the urban bistros of the mainland, good parking is hard to come by too.
I’ll definitely be back to sample more items and temporarily transport myself away to San Francisco.

Automatic 4 stars for being veggie friendly and another star for great service!
It’s a «no tip» restaurant that’s BYOB for now, but when they get their liquor license they will open Urban BYOB next door for those that still wanna BYOB!
Great concept, friendly staff! Food is good too!