People often ask whether I re-review restaurants. Sure do. Just give me a reason.
The introduction of a new breakfast menu at Arancino di Mare provided ample excuse to revisit a restaurant that’s already great for lunch or dinner, though I don’t know how practical it is to drive into Waikiki so early in the morning.
The restaurant started with a full European-style buffet but wasn’t getting the traffic it wanted, so reined it in to present a few dishes in line with the rest of its Italian menu. So ingredients already at hand — prosciutto, pancetta, arugula, tomatoes — now find their way into a handful of savory crepes.
The menu is short and sweet, with a choice of five crepes, a single garden salad ($3.95), creamy tomato-basil bisque ($3.95) and yogurt with fruit ($3.95). That’s it. Given my love of choice, my first impulse would be to increase the menu to include more of what people want for breakfast. But I guess their rationale is that diners could find an egg breakfast anywhere in Waikiki, and they wanted to offer something different.
You can’t go wrong ordering any of the classic crepes. The eggy crepes are prepared in advance to expedite matters because the restaurant puts a lot of emphasis on appearance. The edges of the crepes are carefully folded in toward the center to frame the beautifully arranged ingredients.
The only crepe I didn’t try was the mortadella and cheese ($8.95). I really couldn’t tell you my favorite of the other three savory crepes. All were wonderful, and your choice would depend on your craving for the day. The Alaska smoked salmon version ($11.95) is the crepe equivalent to lox and bagel, with thin-sliced onion, capers and a dollop of cream cheese on top.
Those with a love of veggies might opt for the arugula and tomato crepe topped with a slice of proscuitto ($10.95). If you’re really hungry, the potato crepe with Swiss cheese and diced pancetta ($11.95) is the most hearty and filling.
As for the rest of the menu, you can order the salad, tomato bisque and yogurt with fruit as a complete set for $9.85. I’m not sure that the combination appeals to everyone, so if two are dining, one might opt for the soup and salad, and the other, the yogurt.
A self-service beverage bar ($5.95) gives you unlimited access to processed pineapple, orange and guava juice, hot tea and coffee. The juice and water glasses are tiny, so you might want to grab three or four at once, or you’ll get in some built-in morning exercise going back for refills.
If you need something stronger to wake you up, there are bloody marys ($6.95) and bloody orange mimosas ($6.95).
Even if you’re feeling stuffed, you can probably manage to fit in the assorted berries dessert crepe. It’s topped with a light panna cotta cream, so it isn’t as heavy as you might expect.
I’D GIVEN this restaurant four stars for dinner service before, but the less populated morning shift might be the domain of the C team. We asked to be seated outside, but the hostess insisted on taking us on a circuitous route through the interior of the restaurant to seats we were already standing next to.
We refused to walk out of our way, so, after a brief standoff we just sat down, which led her to huffily explain that she had to walk us past the beverage bar, which we could clearly see through the window. We didn’t need a “tour” to figure it out.
We were also taken aback when, given two minutes to look at the menu, our server returned to take our order.
“We just started looking at them,” we said.
“Oh, I thought you were ready,” she said.
Both menus were wide open, so I don’t know how she got “ready” out of that, unless it was her first day at a restaurant job.
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Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Email nkam@staradvertiser.com.
