THE BRIEF
At the last minute, we decided to try RIGO SPANISH ITALIAN restaurant on Kapahulu Avenue in Waikiki. It’s a fairly new restaurant opened by Huge Corp. of Japan. At worst the bar seating should be available I thought to myself. Instead, the friendly and helpful staff had us in the waiting area for just a few minutes while they readied a nice table by the window.
The dining room is modern, Hawaiian-themed, with high ceilings. There is a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere present. Featured here are fixed-price tapas and wines, Spanish josper grilled main dishes, wood-fired pizzas and homemade plates of pasta incorporating local produce.
Here you will find great wine and food at very reasonable prices. The Mediterranean-style menu highlights the beauty of simple presentations though purists will have to realize this is Spanish and Italian as filtered through a Japanese sensibility. In a traditional Jamon or ham restaurant, menus get down to the specifics of cure style, ageing duration, the region the pork is from, as well as whether the pig has been acorn-fed.
They have a huge wine cellar on the second floor. Needless to say, the wine menu is extensive. The bottle selected was Albamar, a cabernet sauvignon from Central Valley, Chile. This smooth, balanced, red has black current and chocolate on the nose. There are hints of vanilla as the wine is aged 12 months in French oak. With light tannins and balanced acidity, it provides a nice long finish.
The starters chosen were SALMONE MARINATO; a raw salmon with white onion ravigote sauce and micro onion, PADRON; deep-fried shishito pepper tossed with pa‘akai o ka ‘aina salt, PULPO; a grilled octopus leg with 3 kinds of mini potatoes and arrabbiata sauce, MELANZANE an eggplant with mozzarella, homemade bolognese and fresh jalapeños. All the plates were delicious.
We moved on to the Main Course which was a signature dish at Rigo. It’s the CHICKEN, NDUJA & MIXED BEANS PAELLA with spicy harissa sauce. It’s a Valencian rice dish with chicken, nduja, mixed beans, carnaroli rice and chicken stock. The spicy sauce was a perfect complement to the dish and I found it to be tasty and filling overall.
THE DEBRIEF
There is no bull here. The food was marvellous and spiced to perfection. The beautiful presentation, great service, bountiful food and wine selection, plus the right price, make this a restaurant you will want to visit frequently.
👍👍👍
