There will be no Mouth to Mouth at Arancino di Mare... Everyone is Socially Distanced

Arancino di Mare

2552 Kalākaua Ave, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi  96815

https://www.arancino.com/arancino-di-mare

(808) 931-6273

Lunch: Sat. & Sun. 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM

Dinner Tue.-Sun. 4:30 PM - 8:30 PM

Online Reservations. Walk-ins are available. 

Pizza markers on the ground, temperatures checked, plexiglass installed, employees  masked and gloved, high-touched surfaces wiped, and a sanitized bill all made us feel comfortable dining-in at Arancino di Mare

Word of Mouth (Max. 5 👄): 

Food: 👄 👄 👄 👄

Price: Moderately High

Service: 👄 👄 👄  

Ambiance: 👄 👄 👄 👄 

Overall Value: 👄 👄 👄 👄 

Arancino di Mare, at the Diamond Head side of Waikīkī, went through great lengths to make sure that their customers felt safe dining-in. This allowed us to take down our masks, reapply our lips, and enjoy a quiet night in Waikīkī. It is also worth mentioning that Arancino offered a 20% Kamaʻāina discount on the entire check, which included alcohol.

We went for dinner and scored parking in a metered stall conveniently located outside of Arancino on ʻŌhua Ave. There was also free parking in the open lot across from the Marriott Waikīkī hotel. Before we entered Arancino, the front of house took our temperatures and asked if we travelled recently outside of the state. Other precautions included a QR code on the table for a touchless menu, servers changed their gloves often, all employees including the chefs wore masks, and workers constantly wiped down tables and surfaces. These steps made us feel at ease dining-in at Arancino. In addition, the main seating area was outdoors on an open terrace—the trees were wrapped in lights and the umbrellas fanned over the tables made us feel like we were in a piazza in Italy. 

The Arancino beverage menu was extensive. They had Italian beers and wines sold by the glass and bottle. Inside their cocktails were Italian liqueurs and herbs, as well as flavors commonly found in Waikīkī—pineapple and coconut. Arancino also served thirst quenching Italian-flavored sodas. The beverages were nice and refreshing and reasonably priced for a restaurant in Waikīkī. 

We knew Arancino’s food menu catered to Japanese tourists because the menu was both in English and Japanese, and ingredients like uni and tobiko could be found in a few of their dishes. We ordered the Fried Risotto Croquettes, a popular dish to order according to our server, and she was right as they were crispy on the outside and gooey and spicy on the inside. For our entrées, we wanted to stick to the authentic Italian cuisine and ordered the Rigatoni Amatriciana and Pappardelle Bolognese. The pastas were al dente, sauces were flavorful, and our stomachs would not let our mouths chew anymore—we even had leftovers to take home. 

Although our server would disappear from time to time, the overall service was excellent. The staff worked as a team which allowed prompt deliveries of our beverages and food. The fine details, like the hot plates that our meals were served in and how each server asked if we wanted more house-made focaccia bread, provided a nice touch to the dining experience. 

If you are looking for a place to escape reality, or have a date night, consider Arancino di Mare. They made us feel safe—even our credit card for the check was cleaned and

sanitized—and provided a nice evening in Waikīkī. We appreciated the Kamaʻāina  discount, which lasts until the end of July. (We recommend that Arancino continues the Kamaʻāina  discount as long as possible because it will keep local residents like us coming back). We also appreciated our complimentary dessert pizza bites that were filled with Nutella - Delizioso!