With the arrival of Vintage Cave Cafe, owner Takeshi Sekiguchi’s vision is complete. It started with the opening of Vintage Cave in the lavishly transformed basement of Shirokiya in fall of 2012 with the idea of elevating dining in Hawaii.

Vintage Cave offered an exclusive experience for dedicated foodies with the stamina to take in up to 26 dishes presented in 16 courses over four hours, at $300 per person before wine pairings. Diners enjoyed meals surrounded by original fine art by Picasso and Michelangelo. The restaurant has since been re-branded as Vintage Cave Club, a destination for connoisseurs.

With the closure of Shirokiya and the development of Ala Moana Center’s Ewa Wing, Vintage Cave’s second phase was Vintage Cave Wagyu and Seafood Plazas within Japan Village Walk. The concept was premium ingredients offered in a fast, mass-oriented format, but diners weren’t won over by the idea of spending about $25 to $30 per person in a food court.

Just as in “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” it took three tries to get things “just right” at a price-to- quality-to-environment ratio.

Through year’s end, a soft-opening menu is in effect day and night. This will change early in the new year, when prix-fixe menus will be introduced at dinnertime.

It’s still not for everyone. Passers-by still giggle at the ostentatious display and continue on their way to Japan Village Walk. I’ve watched a parade of mallgoers who don’t seem to know what to make of the room’s Vegasy artifice. A cathedral ceiling was painted by local artist Kamea Hadar with constellations and a circle of women echoing Michelangelo’s touch of God in “Creation of Adam.”

Marble statues give the dining rooms the feel of a museum, and an eccentric one at that. Instead of niches filled with glass and crystal pieces by Daum and Lalique, as in Vintage Cave Club, figurines celebrate Norman Rockwell’s retro Americana. I’m not knocking the kitschy vibe, because I’m the sort of person who would be just as happy riding the gondolas at The Venetian as in Venezia.

Though billed as casual, I can see why those in search of a truly casual experience would be intimidated walking into this space in everyday attire. The setting reads “luxury,” and the cavernous setting and hushed tones can make it feel more like a library than a place of celebration. But once you settle in and start eating, any sense of displacement evaporates.

At the most affordable, you won’t go wrong starting with pizza that covers the basics for $20 to $25 — pepperoni, Margherita and four cheese. The last is a mix of Gorgonzola, fontina, Parmesan and mozzarella sweetened by a drizzle of honey.

The menu of classic Italian specialties by Taiki Oda is spare, elegant and approachable. Oda was an apprentice to Marco Parizzi, owner of the Michelin-starred Ristorante Parizzi in Parma, Italy. His food registers as refined Japanese-Italian, and for those unfamiliar with this style, it will seem sedate, less earthy and flavorful than what they’re accustomed to. From Italy to Japan to Hawaii, some things are lost in translation. I was disappointed, for instance, by a lobster cream soup ($12) that featured a few morsels of lobster in a yellow saffron cream soup. Elegant, for sure, but not the hearty lobster bisque most of us would expect.

At a lot of restaurants, main courses pale when compared with more creative appetizers. Here it’s the opposite. There’s a rote quality to Caesar ($10), arugula ($15) and mixed mushroom salads ($17). Truffled wagyu crudo ($28) was nicely textured but tasted like ordinary roast beef, the truffle flavor negligible.

Don’t worry, it gets a lot better with the entrees, where Oda’s timing and technical expertise matter most in delivering moist, tender, delicately sauced chicken marsala ($25) and perfectly seared and sliced rare wagyu tagliata ($36) with smoky, charred flavor and no burnt bits to make it bitter. It’s served with a small portion of cracked black pepper and salt for sprinkling to taste.

The fish of the day ($34), opah when I visited, was also perfectly finished to arrive as a crisp skin encasing a moist fillet. It was topped with olive tapenade, but the fish was so delicate, a little of the tapenade went a long way.

Almond pesto ($20) lacked the woodsy notes of pine nuts, but the puree of fresh basil was no less delicious when tossed with spaghetti noodles. Pasta with clam sauce ($28) didn’t have the creaminess most people expect from local-style Italian fare, but it was clean-tasting and allowed the flavor of fresh clams to shine through.

Dessert options include Kona coffee tiramisu ($12), affogato ($10), gelato ($6) and seasonal pumpkin cheesecake ($12). I was drawn to the lilikoi-vanilla panna cotta ($12), beautifully presented in a martini glass with the Italian custard winging up the side of the glass — meaning, there wasn’t much to share. My guest said, “Never mind making it pretty, give us more.” But my photo of the dish turned out amazing, and what lasts longer, a brief vexed feeling or a beautiful picture?

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.