Best Contemporary Italian Restaurants in North Shore

We are celebrating my birthday and I came for the pasta made with the “cheese wheel”! Arancino did not disappoint! My wide noodle pasta made in the cheese wheel was delicious! Very rich and cheesy! My husband had the steak which was very tender and beautifully seasoned! We started with the warm Caesar salad and Lobster bisque, both were delicious. For dessert they presented this beautiful upside down jellyfish made of sugar and a tiny cake that was so moist and delicious! My husband had the affogato with espresso. 10/10 ARANCINO, we’ll be back!

Wonderful tasting and creative food mixed with excellent staff. Thanks

While traveling for work, I wanted some good Italian, and this was a great choice. I had a pepperoni pizza along with some great wine and for dessert, I had tiramisu. 

Last night at Arancino I got exactly what I want from a good Italian dinner: food that tastes like someone in the kitchen actually cares, service that is warm without being theatrical, and a check that does not make you want to leave the table early. The kitchen delivered. Flavors were clean, balanced, and generous — the kind of cooking that reminds you why Italian food travels so well when it is done with respect instead of gimmicks. Nothing shouted. Everything just landed. The service was the real highlight. Impeccable and friendly in the way I like it: present when you need them, invisible when you don’t, no script, no hovering, just people who know how to take care of a table. That is rarer than a perfect carbonara. And the value? Fantastic. In Waikiki that is not a small compliment. You walk out feeling like you ate well and were treated well, not like you subsidized the rent. I will be back. That is the only review that actually matters.

Happy hour drinks were great — double bourbon pours filled the glass to the rim! Appetizers were fantastic, the bistecca is a must-have. And the pono pork pasta — OMG, we had porkasms! Nice sports-bar atmosphere but kinda loud.