Vein At Kakaa€™ako - Honolulu

I literally had no idea this place existed until my friends recommended it. Very small location inside of the SALT in Kakaako. The ambience is very romantic, great place for a first date ; I visited Vein with a bunch of friends for a birthday celebration. There were about 10 12 of us and they accommodated our group very well! Our waiter was very friendly and they were also very quick to serve us. *NOTE: their menu changes often the menu you see on Yelp may be different when you visit (this is according to the waiter . Now let 's talk about the food: Uni Carbonara: beautiful presentation! It looked so elegant. However, if you 're not a fan of uni or seafood, I would not recommend getting this. The first few bites were delicious, then after a few more the uni taste became dominant. I feel like uni is an acquired taste, and I don 't eat uni often, so others may have a different opinion than I do. Rib Eye: my boyfriend had this dish, but I got a few bites of it as well. DELICIOUS! I wish I had gotten this plate. The meat was very tender and perfectly cooked (medium . I would HIGHLY recommend getting the rib eye. Bone Marrow: we 've had horrible experiences in the past at other restaurants with bone marrow, but our waiter recommended we try it since it was one of their popular dishes...this dish did not disappoint. It was so full of flavor and it didn 't feel too fatty. It was the perfect balance. Our friends had other dishes that we didn 't try. But based on what they told us, they 'd recommend the following dishes as well: Nori chips Burrata and melon Steak crostini (my friends raved about this so sad we didn 't get to try this! Risotto funghi (a few of our friends also got this and said this was the best risotto they 've tried Lamb scottadito with pickled plum tapenade I would definitely visit this place again when I 'm in town!

To serve this as a $50 special is quite frankly ridiculous. I 'm all for repurposing extra inventory as specials to not let food go to waste but getting basically French fries and a sirloin steak that 's well done when asked for a medium rare is embarrassing for a place this good. Just look at the pictures of porcini ribeye from others compared to this. Stick to their regular stuff.

It was our first time dining at Vein. We loved it! Everyone there was super friendly and welcoming. Our waiter Andrew was the best! We went with what he recommended.... And he did not disappoint. Everything we had was so flavorful. We will definitely be back.

The Good: Conveniently located at SALT Kakaako The food was delicious and so inventive, I really enjoyed it The salad was probably my favorite, the tako salad dish Everything on the menu looked good, it was really hard not to order EVERYTHING But everything we ordered was delicious Ambiance is on point, dark/moody, romantic but low key fancy I like the view of the kitchen and all the artistry chefs at work Service was awesome The Bad: Nothing was bad at all... I had a good experience. I think the only thing bad was I couldn't choose what to order cuz everything seemed like a good choice to eat. But it was only me and BF and we unfortunately can't eat it all! That just means we have to come back. The Weird: At first, I thought our two-seater next to the walkway, in front of the kitchen was a strange place to sit, but I started to enjoy watching the chefs do their thangggg

We had seen Vein a few times and finally decided to give it a try. The restaurant has a charming ambiance and excellent service. We sampled a few red wines, which were enjoyable although we didn't catch the names. The appetizers, particularly the Nori chips made from potato, sweet potato, and Brussels sprout leaves, were delicious. I personally skipped the tako, but it looked appetizing and the others in my group seemed to enjoy it. As for the bone marrow, I had never tried it before but found it to be quite tasty, especially with the accompanying toast. Our server kindly offered us extra toast since we were sharing. For the main course, there were no fish options available, so I decided on the bolognese, which was satisfying. The uni carbonara was described as having a bold uni flavor and creamy texture. The steak was a standout for me and I also heard good reviews about the lamb. We finished off our meal with the delightful bread pudding topped with berries and a side of ice cream. Overall, Vein was a pleasant dining experience with great service and good food. It was a lovely evening spent with friends.