Sunday, January 6, 2008

Formaggio Grill Kailua

Today we made our weekly trek to Kailua and planned on stopping at Fatboys for lunch. As we drove by, the parking lot in the front was totally packed, which is very unusual, so we parked in the back. Fatboys was packed to the max, and we noticed that after what seems like years, Formaggio Grill (just a couple doors away) had finally opened! So we decided to give Formaggio a shot.

The atmosphere was nice and airy, with wide open windows and high ceilings. The decor was nice, but not too stuffy, and their wine display was pretty neat. Several dozen wines are "on tap," and there is a pretty large glass-enclosed wine "cellar" behind the bar. I'd estimate that the restaurant can seat about 75-80 people, including at the bar.

We were promptly greeted with a friendly smile and were seated immediately. We were informed that we could choose from either the brunch or lunch menus, both of which were quite extensive. Most items were priced from $10-$16, with some of the soups and salads offered between $6-$10. The brunch items ranged from omelets, to mahi with eggs, to six types of benedicts (including duck!), as well as savory crepes. The lunch items were also quite varied, ranging from large salads, to paninis and pizzas, and pasta. They also had ribs on the lunch menu, and I believe there was a notice that said steaks could also be ordered at lunch.

As we perused the menu, our waitress came by and took our drink order, two iced teas. The tea, while not overly fancy, was several notches above Lipton. We decided on a steak fajita pizza and the crab, spinach, mushroom, and artichoke crepe. After we ordered, we waited, and waited, and waited. I kind of wished I had asked to keep a menu to look at because there were some funny things on it, like a top 10 list of why it took 1 1/2 years to open. I also wondered what the dinner menu was like.

The waitress came by and offered to freshen up our teas and apologized for the wait. I asked when they opened and she said Friday. The wait didn't bother me excessively, because I know that all restaurants have some timing issues and growing pains the first few weeks. And I would much rather have someone at least acknowledge that there is a problem than to just ignore me until the food comes out, which has happened to me at a very well established restaurant.

The crepes came out first. There were two crepes stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, artichokes, and fresh crab meat, and topped with a lobster sauce. There were some roasted potatoes on the side. At first I thought the portion was a bit small, but I later decided that it was actually just the right size, and most other restaurants really do serve way too much food. Another plate followed, with 4 thin slices of toasted sourdough, served with a side of lilikoi butter and (I think) orange marmalade. The combination of the butter and marmalade on the bread was excellent! The crepes were very good as well, and I liked that the lobster sauce, while very creamy, was not overly rich.

It took a while, maybe another 5 minutes, before the pizza came out. Both the waitress and the manager apologized for the wait. The pizza was a flatbread-type pizza with a little bit of sauce and cheese, topped with some really tender steak and grilled red and green peppers. Again, it looked somewhat small, but is probably the portion size that people SHOULD be eating. My dining partner, while slightly disgruntled at the long wait, said the food tasted very good.

Our waitress was quite friendly and we had a nice chat. She talked openly about some of the timing issues they were having, and I think appreciated that we didn't snap at her about it as some other patrons must have. As I said earlier, I tried to be patient, as I figured I am taking my chances by going to a restaurant that has only been open to the public for three days. The food was good and all of the wait help seemed very friendly and worked as a team, which is another plus. Aside from the timing glitches, this was probably an above-average dining experience, and the waitresses' choice to talk openly about the wait almost made up for it.

Obviously, this is pricier than Fatboys and probably not something I would do for lunch every weekend, but I would definitely return and recommend it to others.

Formaggio Grill
305 Hahani Street
Kailua, HI 96734
(808) 263-2633