Assaggio Ristorante Italiano

I feel like this place was a lot of buck for not much bang. I had the carbonara with linguini and it was decent but nothing to really knock it out of the park. The ham was incredibly spicy/​peppery but the bacon was decent. I got the small portion which was about $ 20.
The restaurant had a nice ambiance until I noticed tons of floor fans keeping the place cooled off which then made it seem tacky. Also, I went with a large group of friends (11, including myself) and they didn’t even ask to split the check for us which most places in Honolulu will do for you if asked.
TLDR: high price, mediocre food, won’t be going back

Great place with outstanding food and best of all, reasonably priced. I had clam dish (see uploaded photo) that was one of the best dishes that I ever had. The clams were fresh and clean (no sand) and the complementary rice cooked just right and came with delicious sauce; one has to try it to really appreciate it.
Their service was terrific, too. What a fantastic place to dine!

Friday night May 13, 2016 was the first time I stepped foot into Assaggio Ristorante Italiano at Ala Moana Center. The establishment is ocated on the ground floor near Macy’s and American Savings Bank. I met up with my brother and his fiancée for dinner. The reservation was made under his fiancée’s name.
As I entered the establishment I noticed all the awards that the restaurant won over the years. The awards are mounted on the right hand side of the entrance. There are a few awards on the left hand side across of the check in counter.
Following the host to the table I noticed that the restaurant has a small bar area. Our group of three were seated at a table.
After taking our seats we were given the menu to look over. Our waiter gave us a complimentary basket of bread and butter. I had ordered the lychee martini from the drink menu, Fresh Clam Casino for appetizer (forgot to take a pic), and the large seafood combination with linguine in alfredo sauce for dinner. My brother ordered a peach martini first then a Heineken. He also ordered the large Opah with linguine for dinner. My future sister in law settled for water and raviolis for dinner.
The Fresh Clam Casino came out first. The clams was a nice size and not the small looking ones. There were bits of bacon, basil, and onion along with the clams. The sauce was butter and white wine. Very delicious.
We received our meals. My large seafood combination plate consisted of clams, mussels, shrimp, and calamari along with the linguine pasta. The calamari was very soft to chew. The shrimp was cooked just right. The mussels and clams were cooked perfectly (one clam tasted like it was not cleaned very well). The linguine pasta was cooked just right… not too hard and not too soft. The large was a bit too much for me. I couldn’t finish up the linguine pasta and few of the calamari.
My brother’s pasta dish consisted of two pieces of Opah fish and linguine. From the looks of it he enjoyed his meal. He did manage to eat one of the Opah and majority of his linguine. My brother’s leftovers went in a to go container.
My future sister in law had the raviolis. She ordered a small plate and she managed to finish it off.
Throughout our dinner the waiters and waitresses continuously filled the water cups whenever the cups became half empty.
As for dessert… my future sister in law ordered a vanilla gelato. I was given a slice of coffee ice cream pie with whip cream on the side and a slice of cherry. There was a candle on the slice of coffee ice cream pie. My brother and his fiancée along with other patrons of the restaurant ended up singing «Happy Birthday» to me.
I ate all of my dessert along with the rest of the vanilla gelato. Boy was I stuffed to the max after dinner.
What a great way to start off the weekend… having a early birthday celebration dinner.
⁸⁰⁄₂₀₀

The 2 stars is for the hostes, server, and bus boy ONLY. It took us over 2 years to come back and give this place another try.
FOOD review. went to assagios at ala moana for my bday dinner. Ordered calamari legs and the shrimp scampi. As we started eating the calamari we realized that the outside was Crispy but the actual legs was pretty chewy, undercooked, and slimy (more then I’ve ever had before) we didn’t finish the appetizer. When our main dish came it smelled like either they used WAY to much white wine or something was spoiled. Took a bite of the shrimp, it tasted awful. Still I gave it benefit of the doubt and figured it was to much wine and the alcohol wasn’t cooked out completely. I didn’t finish my food. When I went to the bathroom they had taken my plate and put the left overs in a take out box… here I am 8 hours later (very tmi now) pissing out of my ass and puking my guts out. Out side of crackers and some bread. This was the only thing I had eaten all day. Will definitely be calling the health department in the morning. Since I shared my plate with my daughter we are both sick.

Everywhere was reservationed out for Mother’s Day. so I had to get take out and bring it to my mom’s house for lunch. We tried calling the Assagio on Waialae (the one across Kahala mall) at first, but they said they were too busy and not doing any take out.boo. Luckily, the Ala Moana location was able to do our order in 20 minutes!
Four orders of Caesar salad, bread, big fettuccine Alfredo and spaghetti with meat sauce, and crab cakes. Walked in to get my order, and the place was PACKED. I don’t know how they managed to make our food in only 20 minutes but they kept their word! The male manager was very kind and helped me pay my tab and get my take out. Food was hot by the time I got it to Kahala side, and my mom was really happy!
Thank you! Would order from this location again

Yum yum yum!!! My best pal just moved to Hawaii & is an Italian food fanatic (having also lived in Italy for 3 years!). He’s been bugging me to go to Assagio’s for weeks & we finally went. He’s been on the search for the best Italian food on Oahu & after a handful of restaurants, Assagio’s is his number one choice.
Ok, enough about him. It’s my turn! I’ve always loved Assagio’s! The food has never failed me, but for some reason, I haven’t been a regular. My bestie may be changing that for me.
After driving around and around unsuccessfully to look for a parking space at ward to watch a movie, we finally decided to head to the mall for some food! I thought we would have had to wait forevs to be seated since it was dinner time! Luckily, we were seated right away.
The service was pretty top notch… Our server answered all of my questions and always made sure our glasses were filled. That’s def very important to me!
And now… The FOOD! We shared the chicken with sweet basil appetizer, which was absolutely divine! Chicken was tender and the outside was crisp. I loved it! Always make sure to have some basil, red bell pepper, and chicken in each bite. Really yummy combo :). For my entrée, I ordered the creamy chicken and shrimp pesto. To me, it was sorta like a pesto alfredo sauce and it was really good. Portions are huge (reflects in the price) & so I usually try not to lick my plate clean. Instead, I pack up two-​thirds to take home.
Shopping all day and need to refuel? Or needing to carboload before a day of shopping? Assagio’s is the answer: P

I was skeptical with the rating to try it out but I’ve saw some bias on some of the lower reviews and positive amongst the elites. I mean first off the décor is nice, fancy dinner, events, etc. lots of art, frosted glass, roses at each table. I was under dressed. Service was great and patient. I spill my wine in a dramatic fashion. Had some Shiraz and ordered the rigatoni arrabbiatta, it’s had some various pork cuts in it. It was good. Flavors on point and very tasty. The sauce was a bit on the thin side but good. My wife had the chef soecialty seafood combo. She said it was great. We both opted for the larger portions which was a good size. I’d def return to try more the the menu which had a great variety of options.
App. Portions are on the weak side tho.

Stopped by here for a quick work lunch and it was pretty empty. I had their egg plant Parmesan over vegetables instead of the linguini that it was supposed to come with. I thought their veggies were really good which seems funny since their probably known for their pastas! I really liked their eggplant as well! They have really good portions as well! My boss had the penne arribata and it was huge! She ended up taking some of it home. I’d definitely come back for the eggplant!

Upon entering this restaurant, The staff go out of their way to make me feel comfortable and welcomed. The maitre’d led us to our table quickly. The décor looks very elegant and posh. It reminds me of a classy and refined Italian restaurant.
The menu offers an array of Italian culinary delights. Salads, seafood, chicken, pasta, and red meat entrees cater to all types of preferences. Some of the appetizers include eggplant, calamari and salads.
This restaurant serves one of the best tasting seafood combination plates ever!!! The clams, calamari, and shrimp taste fresh. I find the wait staff very attentive and the service grand. Our server Tina is amazing!
You get a free refill for your soda. They offer an extensive wine list.
I highly recommend this place. You will not be disappointed.

Came here with a party of seven for a mini baby shower…
This was my second time eating at this restaurant and I was pretty satisfied with our experience. Our server was very polite and patient with our group. He even took our pictures OUTSIDE the restaurant for us… Yay (especially since the lighting in the restaurant is fairly dim lol).
Everyone’s food looked and tasted good. I ordered the Chicken Picatta (a Unilocal favorite) and I wasn’t disappointed. The chicken was cooked as expected and the pasta had good texture. The small portion was perfect… I got so full that I couldn’t bare to order any dessert afterwards!

LOCATION–
This restaurant is located right next to california wok. right next to the parking lot.
SETTING–
this restaurant is so beautiful inside. i love the decorations and how it’s set up! very classy & rich looking. there’s also their private rooms too, which is better if you have a big party with alot of guests because it’s more private and you can talk without making people annoyed haha the lights in there is very dim, so it really sets the mood haha esp if you’re on a date.
FOOD–
I got the shrimp Scampi & I lovvvvved it! the sauce is to die for! its a wine sauce & it goes well with the whole thing. the shrimp was also very huge! which was nice haha so i def paid for what i wanted. it was $ 21, not bad. i wish it was the fettucine noodles though. they leave cheese on the table in a bowl so you can put as much as you want. also they come & ask you if you want black pepper. oh! and the endless amounts of bread & butter was ono! haha
SERVICE–
the service there was really good. the waiter we had (i forgot his name) explained the specials to us & what was good. he answered all our questions and kept coming back to check our waters :) def tipped them!

This place is sooo good! We had been shopping at the mall on decided to eat there. We were so glad that we did.
There were 3, of us and we each had a dish that we were raving about.
The service was way better than average and everyone was very friendly.
We won’t let it be so long between visits until next time.

Hovering between 3 and 4 stars for a first experience during Sep 2015. I had left this as an unfinished Unilocal review waiting for a second-​go to be able to get a more accurate read.
This location is great with ample Ala Moana shopping center parking, tucked away on the Macy’s side. Service is pleasant, although we did have to flag waitstaff down for water a few times. Our group went on a Sunday for lunch and did order different kinds of pasta, but no real special orders expect for adding broccoli to a pasta dish (which is a few $‘s extra). Timing of food was a little off but the folks who got their food later were able to catch up and focused on bread. Portions were generous on the starch, but I didn’t find anything outstandingly memorable or that triggered a lovely memory from visiting Italy. They do have chili flakes and parmesan, so feel free to ask for these to liven your dishes. As fellow Unilocaler Taylor S. mentions, Specials of the Day & dessert seem to be your best bets to enjoy the pleasant ambiance.
Conclusion is, this is a consistent place to grab lunch (and likely dinner too!) and catch up or to celebrate in a low-​key way. Will I be back? Probably not soon given there are so many other places in the mall to grab a bite, but will keep it in mind for a lunch or dinner gathering. Thanks Assaggio!

I love Assagio’s since there is a location right in Mililani, but this was my first time at the Ala Moana location.
My girlfriends & I were planning our get together dinner & we decided on Assagios since we were craving their pasta, salad & bread!
On a Wednesday night at 6:15 there wasn’t too many people who were seated but as it got later more & more parties showed up for dinner. The 4 of us were seated right by the window which was pretty nice.
The bread is one of the things that keeps me going back, it’s so fluffy & white on the inside & nice & crunchy on the outside. Oh it’s also unlimited which is a huge plus! It’s so good, but yet so bad for you.
We ordered 2 salads & had that split amongst the 4 of us which was perfect. Watching our waitress make our salads is always so interesting. They make it look so easy!
For our entrees we opted to get the large portions since it was only $ 5 more so that we could have lunch & dinner for the next day. Get the Sorrentino! It’s a breaded chicken topped with a breaded eggplant, covered in mozzarella cheese with mushrooms!
The restaurant is a lot bigger than I expected & I recommend it, especially when you want to get away from the hustle & bustle of the mall!

I came here a couple weeks ago for a family dinner. Our party called a few hours ahead to make a reservation for later that night.
When we arrived, we were still waiting for the rest of our party to show up, but our table wasn’t quite ready for us anyways.
At our table, they gave us complimentary fried calamari because we had to wait for our table (I think it was calamari, I didn’t taste it).
Our party had about a dozen people and our waiter was very nice and helpful because he took the time to memorize the menu and explained everything to us. I would’ve liked if their menu had some pictures though, as visual examples of some of the dishes they offered. I ordered a small portion – their small is pretty generous – of the Alla Pomodori Style boneless chicken thighs with fettuccini noodles. Considering that I’m not much of a pasta person, the dish was pretty good.
This is a more upscale type of place, so expect to spend some dough. My meal cost $ 18.90 and this is the general price point for most dishes. Overall I liked the food, but only came here for a special occasion. I’m just glad that at this restaurant, you get a decent-​sized portion for the price.

My family and I have been regulars at Assaggio for many years now. We have always received the best service from the managers and one of our favorite servers is Tina. She has a good memory and always takes amazing care of us. The food and customer service are consistently wonderful.
I always get the following appetizers:
— Garlic Bread
— Cold Antipasto
— Hot Antipasto
— Fried Calamari Legs (or the Crab Cakes)
— Bay Shrimp Salad
As for the main entrée, I usually rotate between the following:
— Veal Puttanesca
— Chicken Puttanesca
— Filet Mignon & Jumbo Shrimp Combination (with extra onions and mushrooms on a bed of linguine pasta)
— Seafood Combination (with linguine pasta)
— Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
OR
*Special of the Day* (ask your server)
The other night, I had the special. It was a pan-​seared boneless chicken dish with shrimp, tomatoes, snap peas and onions on a bed of linguine pasta in a garlic, butter and wine sauce, garnished with broccoli and carrots. The only thing I disliked was the fact that the tomatoes weren’t fresh. They were bruised and not really red in color. But, it wasn’t anything I couldn’t overlook. It tasted fantastic!
Their wine selection is okay. It’s not sub-​par, but it isn’t the best of the best either.
I will occasionally end my meal with the Tartufo (cappuccino) dessert. It is coffee ice cream with a chocolate hard-​shell with a bit of whip cream on the side.
All in all, it is a wonderful place for dates, family dinners and birthday/​anniversary desserts. The ambience is very pleasant and it is usually pretty quiet. You won’t be disappointed!

Been dining here for years! There is not much more I can say to the 300+ reviews already posted other than Ala Moana Location is my favorte and imho, the best of all the locations from the stand point of service and quality of food.
As one of the original locations; the quality and consistency has remained steady. I recommend their daily special (whatever it may be) but for starters– definitely the vichyssoise and end with their dessert and expresso. I’d try the crème brulee or something they make in house rather than a sorbet or gelato they buy for an ice cream source.
Service? Hostess up front, great staff on the floor. IF I’m not mistaken, one of the bartenders has been there since day 1… Now that says something for management.
Parking? A problem… Well, you’re at the mall so that should give you an idea of parking conditions.
A great place to dine; casually or somewhat above casual.

Role playing is fun whenever I dine by myself. I do feel happy that I won’t need to entertain anyone but myself during alone time. Call me Anton Ego from Ratatouille. I love taking my time to observe the room, decors, people and lastly the food.
I frequent this place because I’ve experienced them during a work lunch, end of year luncheon/​dinner, random people experiences and with friends. I love that I can call in for my reservations regardless of the size of my party. The most I’ve had to reserve is about 25. The surrounding area was calming with a nice lit ambiance. It can still get a bit noisy. Parking can be challenging now since there are a lot of constructions and they have to share with other establishments in the mall.
Whenever I dine on my own, I love having my usual Fettuccine Alfredo with either just broccoli and chicken. If I feel for seafood, I’ll add shrimp on the side. I only enjoy this whenever I’ve had a hard day at work and I would come during a Friday night with a reservation for UNO. Not only this dish is tasty but it also heats up well as a left over. No, the sauce doesn’t become oily after reheating. In fact, the sauce tastes much better the following day!
My last memory with my work company was another smooth experience. Reservations were made and everyone chose a dish of their liking prior to coming for lunch and dinner. We decided to call in the order. By the time everyone is seated the dishes didn’t take long to come out. They came out fresh as if they were just ordered upon seating. We were able to reserve a spot to hold our Christmas party. The tables were nicely prepared to the last detail. Everyone’s dishes came out without a single discrepancy, I’ve had the pleasure of trying something different than my norm. Cold Carpaccio stood out of the menu for a fresh appetizer. This cold thin sliced raw beef filet mignon over capers was nice and light to the stomach. As my main dish, the Lobster Raviloi in a Lobster Cream Reduction tasted divine over a nice yellow sauce. 6 good size ravioli was satisfying to my liking.
One little thing I wish they had was consistency with their menu. Over their many locations, (Kahala, Ala Moana, Hawaii Kai, Mililani) there are some dishes you can’t get. It’s hard when you have that one go to food.

Entries are $ 18 – 40. They offer small and large portions, the large is enough for two or leftovers for lunch the next day. Bread kept coming, served hot, butter cold… Pasta galore, large menu selection, garlic shrimp winnas, pesto pasta, and Clam Casino: tasty broth with the basil, onion, butter, white wine and bacon. Dipping bread in the sauce
A bowl of parmesan cheese on our table, yea we used it all. Anti pasta salad was great.
Osso Bucco & Shrimp, Scallop Alla Bolla: Scallops and Shrimp perfectly prepared. served with pasta, service good, lots of parking if the shopping center is closed… You can dress up or come in shorts, classy atmosphere that will accommodate all.

Last night we sat down to dinner at Assagio experienced the same comfortable service and atmosphere that we have grown accustomed to over the years. Unfortunately that is where our familiar experience ended and by the completion of our meal, our party had reached the consensus that the food quality has somehow declined greatly. The prices have also increased very significantly adding to our disappointment.
It started with the bread — our party of 6 had 2 loafs so we know we didn’t just get a bad one. While both were hot and freshly baked, one was too sweet and the other was too salty… simply put both just tasted funny. We asked our waitress (who was very much on point) and she seemed to be purposefully vague when she mentioned that there is some kind of different method for making or purchasing (we couldn’t determine which) the bread.
The entrees we ordered included the jumbo shrimp basilico, veal alla Marsala and osso bucco. All were either too salty or too bland. They did look very good though.
Hopefully Assagio is able to get back to the consistent dining experience we enjoyed so many times before. I am sad to say that right now that’s a negative.