Il Lupino Trattoria & Wine Bar

Love the food ! Pasta is one of the best. They just changed the menu and have amazing seafood pasta .so far everything I tried there was super good. It seemed everyone happy there, people chatting, smiling. Love the atmosphere.

The best Bolagnese ever with home made pasta, veal, pork and beef. House Cabranet was excellent and meatball with Bolagnese a must. The best Italian in Honolulu!

It’s hard to find good Italian restaurants in Hawaii, but I think this might be one to check out. First off, their wine list is huge, (unfortunately, we were all exhausted from our day’s activity and didn’t want to fall asleep mid-​meal so we had to bypass the alcohol). Their salami and cheese appetizer plate included a delicious selection, including a cheese with a bit of truffle in it. It was a good size for four people (we had six), just enough to get your palate excited for the rest of your meal. My husband and I each ordered the arugula and pear salad which we probably should have shared – huge and fresh. For the amount of arugula in the salad, perhaps another pear or a few more almonds would have been great, but then you’d definitely have to share it. It was delicious!
I am giving this place 5 stars because I was able to order my tagliatelle with mushrooms and pomodoro sauce (not on the menu) because I just wanted something simple for dinner. The pasta was perfectly al dente with just enough sauce, not drowning. If you do the same just make sure to shake loose the twisted ball of pasta so that it doesn’t stick together. Some of the other dishes that our party ate – stuffed kurobuta pork, New Zealand salmon (also perfectly cooked, with a delicious crispy skin; my daughter kept saying that it was one of the best she’s eaten – she loves her salmon), were thoroughly enjoyed, as well.
Our server was pleasant and helpful, and was very patient with our occasional indecisiveness, making sure that everything was to our liking from beginning to end. The restaurant had an elegant, yet relaxed feel to it (kind of made me feel like I was in a restaurant in N.Y.‘s Little Italy). You could actually hold conversations without having to scream at each other, thus a good place to catch up with friends and family. I will definitely return for their awesome pasta!

Wasn’t as busy as k thought it would be… But beautiful ambiance right when we walked into the door. It was my first time and I could not understand the menu for the life of me. A little embarrassed I had to ask the hostess for the menu not realizing that it was the menu that was right in front of me that I could not understand. Lol.
Regardless, she was able to explain the menu to me and I had a better idea of what I was looking at. My fiancé dislikes eating anywhere that serves pasta, but since it was for my birthday he decided to just come here.
Ordered a thinly sliced sirloin for our appetizer, brace yourself… It’s raw! I should have read the fine print and wish my server had told me in advance but my fiancé ended up eating the entire thing. He said it was good.
I ordered the 3 meat pasta and my fiancé orders the Seafood Pasta. I’m not going to even attempt to write the real names that are on the menu because I could not even pronounce them! Lol, but… The food was by far awesome! As I said my fiancé hates anything to do with pasta but loved the food tonight.
We will probably come back here for another special occasion when time permits! Glad we got to try something different.

Horrible customer skills and service. I know it’s in a tourist area so they don’t care. Most of the business won’t be repeat, but they should have a little decency. We made reservations and they wouldn’t even honor them. We had to park the car and it was new year’s eve, we got there at 2:36, they said kitchen closed at 2:30 for dinner prep that night. They were not busy, just a handful of tables. Said there was nothing they could do for us. Didn’t even care or try to help. Website said they had a happy hour menu starting at 230, no special holiday concession, so we were confused the whole kitchen was closed in five minutes. I get they don’t need to keep people who live here happy because of tourist traffic but at least be a little more considerate.

I came in for some drinks with my friends. Thought to go to the bar but we were able to getca table. Place is busy, we got a table. Manager who sat us recommended mai tai.
Great choice to go with. This was the best mai tai that I we have had.
Service is attentive, place vibrant. Had light appetizers, rollatini, meat and cheese, pizza margherita was just great.
Next time
back for dinner.

Chose this for its proximity to the Royal Hawaiian– really awful experience. The waiter was either overwhelmed or inexperienced — we ordered an appetizer and never received it, had to ask for bread, ordered 4 different bottles of wine before finally finding one they had in stock. The timing of the meal was completely off– the entrees came to the table before the wine did. Even though il lupino is close to the hotels and looks charming — do yourself a huge favor and go somewhere else

I have been to this restaurant many times, and I have always enjoyed myself. A side note: I have seen just about everyone eating here (from tourists to famous people).
I usually sit at the bar, and order one of their jalapeño margaritas and some fresh pasta or a pizza. The pastas and the pizzas are always fresh and taste very good, hot and fresh, right out of the kitchen!
The staff are friendly and accommodating. Several times I have met the chef at the end of his shift… and he has been quite friendly and open on the food and their preparation. A super nice guy who cares about his food!
They have a good selection of pastas as well as a full bar and wine bar. The prices and value for your money is quite good.
The menu changes frequently, and I will be back… have not had a bad meal at this restaurant!

Fantastic thanksgiving dinner with my family !! Turkey was cooked to perfection, very tender.
Big servings and beautifully presented.
Our sensational dinner consisted of delicious food, attentive service, and an upscale atmosphere .
Well done Il Lupino, you did it again!

I really wanted to like this place because the last time we were there we sat at the wine bar and the owner chatted with us for a long time.
We went back last night– this time for dinner. We sat at the wine bar again– expecting another great experience.
I ordered the 8 oz Tenderloin, but the bartender brought me the other meat dish on the menu –the NY strip loin. Before eating the food, I told him I was expecting the truffle oil mash potato and that I believe he had made a mistake. He said, «Oh I can bring you a side of the mashed potato if you would like» instead of making an attempt to correct my order.
Since it had taken a good amount of time before this dish came out, I hesitated to send the whole thing back because I was hungry! And, I hate sending food back. I’m just not one of those people who like to cause a stir.
I agreed to eat the meal that I did not order– hoping it would be good.
It wasn’t.
The meat was rare with a tough sear on the outside. Some of it was chewy and all of it was flavorless. I thought the truffle oil mashed potato would make up for it, but the potatoes tasted old– like they reheated something they made a couple of days ago. I didn’t even eat the mushrooms that were under my steak-​too salty.
I give this place two stars– one for the ambiance and second for the wine selection.
But I feel like the bartender should have immediately corrected his mistake rather than try to make do with the wrong order.
I brought almost ¾ of the food home because I didn’t want to waste the $ 45 I spent on the steak and I hope to revive it by adding seasoning and cooking it again with a side of eggs. Anything to make it taste better.
One plus, he did add lime juice to my sprite as I requested. Maybe he is better at pouring drinks than serving food.
Still, there is no reason for us to return unless we are desperate for good wine.
But we now know to eat before we go.

After a nice relaxing day on the beach. Great for happy hour or nice upscale meal with family or friends. They have patio seating, you have a wonderful view while eating of pond. It was very relaxing and calming environment. They offer a variety of Italian dishes. Nice selections of wines to pair with your meal. Definitely a must try when you come Waikiki.

I came from the mainland just to savor their gorgeous Happy Hour margarita pizza. Apparently, they have a new chef and were rolling out a new menu. No food was available except a salumeria plate. So much for their great happy hour, the bar staff is incredible but the roll out of the «new“menu was abysmal. Couldn’t have been worse.
Back again the next day. Sorry to say, still nothing but salumeria. Get it together Wolfgang! Shameful for a restaurant.

I’m hooked on their wine bar menu featuring gourmet culinary delights. Their award-​winning wine cellar has some amazing treats by the glass or bottle. These meatballs in the photo are dynamic.

Came here to check out the $ 10 lunch menu which includes pizzas, pastas, salad, plus a bambucha meatball appetizer that lived up to its tasty reputation.
We drove from downtown Honolulu into Waikiki on one of the muggiest days of this El Nino summer, so even with the a/​c on in this place, it was steamy inside. To make things muggier, the glass doors were wide open to attract customers. Just a word to the wise, that’s wasting electricity as the a/​c has to work harder.
Our threesome ordered a house salad, the meatball, and three pizzas: tomato-​basil, spinach-​mushroom, and pear-​gorgonzola. The latter turned out to be the surprise hit as the combination of thinly sliced sweet pears over a bed of creamy salty cheese and crispy pizza crust provided bold contrasts across the palate.
The spinach-​mushroom pizza, which is usually my favorite, lacked salt though it was easily replaced with a smattering of parmesan. Ironic that the humidity caused the pizzas to wilt as fast as we were melting, and the house salad was so lightly dressed as to have been (likely) not dressed at all. In fact, I’m sure it was naked. I suppose that’s better than being overdressed, given it was so hot anyway. I thought longingly of a cold shower as I drank my glass of melted ice.
Bottom line: Expect better pizzas than typical fast food chain along with elegant ambience, an impressive wine collection and attractive servers — y’know, if your appetite can handle beautiful hostesses and handsome waiters.

Great for breakfast. Had the acai bowl. Delicious. Highly recommend. The waiters in the morning are very friendly.
It is located just across from the Sheraton.

Had never been before but I scored a $ 50 gift card so the gf and I went to check out their happy hour. Happy hour is until 6:30pm and we barely got there in time due to shitty Waikiki traffic. But we sat our butts down at the bar at 6:26pm and ordered away.
We ordered four items off the happy hour menu:
Angus burger sliders — Sliders are becoming commonplace on happy hour menus now and I can see why. They’re bite size so you don’t get full on just eating that one item yet you can get some premium quality meat in that one bite. The sliders at Il Lupino were pretty good. The meat was nice and tender and the flavoring was good. I’d give them ³⁄₅.
Polpettonne al Pomodoro — Sounds fancy but it’s just a big meatball. I say it simplistically like that but this was actually my fave dish of the night. I’ve never ever been a fan of meatballs, meat loaf, or anything that was made up of ground up meats (except burgers of course). But man, this meatball was so good. Really tender and flavorful, made up of veal, pork and beef. Yummy! ⁵⁄₅
Happy hour pizza — Simple margherita style pizza. Was warned that it would be small but it actually came out pretty big! ³⁄₅
Calamari fritte — This dish was meh. The calamari had no flavor and even the spicy dipping sauce was underwhelming. ²⁄₅
The atmosphere was great and the service was also very good at the bar. I’m really glad I got to try this place. I do want to go back and try their dinner but prices are pretty high for Italian food.
Anyone wanna give me another gift card?

1 star for poor service.
We were seated right away without a reservation, but never met our actual server.
We waited for a long time and saw the girl who was supposed to be our server sitting at the front chatting with other staff instead of greeting us.
We sat there, menus closed, waiting to order a drink or appetizer. Nothing. I look at her direction a few times and pointed. She knew we were there. It was bizarre. Lots of staff standing around doing nothing.
We finally walked out.
If you can’t even greet me and get the ball rolling than I’m not wasting my money.
The restaurant wasn’t even packed. There was no excuse to not acknowledge we were there.
I’m baffled. Management needs to step up at this joint and train their staff. Restauarnts are a service industry and last night what I received was not service, I even

It saddens me how a place can decline so far in just a few months. Lupino has been a consistent deliverer of high quality, authentic Italian classics for a couple years. But something has changed. Perhaps it’s the call-​girl look of the hostesses, or the local chefs eating on the job – something is definitely off here.
To be perfectly blunt, the tagliatelle bolgenese was flavorless and dry – and the tagliatelle carbonara was watery and undercooked (and I know exactly what «al dente» means). Both these dishes would be a punishable offense in Italy.
I was told by the waitress that a new chef was hired. Note to management: the new chef is costing you your brand and reputation. It’s not too late to go another route!
I reduce to 2 stars. The service was good and wine selection is still excellent. FIX THE FOOD!

Drinks at the bar are stiff, and the company of the two bartenders went unrivaled during our stay in Hawaii. They guys were super cool, and both spent time in our neck of the woods (Florida), so we had plenty to bump our gums about. Wish I remember their names. I only remember a dude with a mustache and one without.
Drinks I recommend are the old fashioned and espresso martini, which is not on the menu. They whipped on up for La Chica’s sister without hesitation as a special request.
We tried to make it back for food, but ran out of time on the island.

Overpriced. But it’s in Waikiki, so that’s a given. We wanted to go to Cheesecake Factory. And the wait was quoted at an hour and a half. Absurd. So we ended up at Il Lupino to get validation.
Contrary to some of the other reviews, we received stellar service. So that warranted an extra star.
Both the dishes we ordered were forgettable. Portions are also on the smaller side.
My husband’s carbonara ($ 21) sauce was weak. And my Arrabiata ($ 18) sauce was kind of on the thinner side, so it just «slipped» right off my noodles. It lacked any kind of «kick», which Arrabiata should have. Very disappointing to say the least.
The highlight of our meal was our salad. Now THAT was excellent! Well worth the $ 15. It had roasted beets, candied almonds, gorgonzola and avocado on top a huge bed of arugula. Delicious.
Overall, there’s better places in Waikiki where you can get a way better meal that will justify the price tag (i.e Arancinos…)