Review Formaggio Grill - Kailua

Really nice casual dining with great wine selection and French influences In presentation. Great service. Very attentive and great experience. One of the only elegant dining places in Kailua. Highly Recommend

The salad, bulsketta and meat dishes were really delicious!The sauce matches and it's the best!I had a comfortable and enjoyable dinner time!

It was our first time eating here, the hostess let us know that they had a new chef and were making some changes, everything sounded good, so we stayed. It was a pretty quiet night in there, but the place is really pretty with open windows and high ceilings. Now the food... oh my god, THE FOOD!! We ordered the sea bass special and it was not only visually amazing, but perfectly cooked. It looked like a work of art! The crispy brussel sprout appetizer was really tasty too and we finished the night with a chocolate pot de creme. We will be back!

A Kailua legend. Great food, drinks, and atmosphere! Love it so much that it's our go-to date night place.

It’s a nice restaurant, perfect for a date night or a nice night out. Live music was a plus, food was good but it definitely could use a little extra flavor or spices. Otherwise it’s a really nice place with great staff.

The food is good but expensive. My meal was 27 dollars for a chicken breast and some mashed potatoes. You are paying for the experience here. There was live music. This is a good place to take your girlfriend or wife to dinner.

Pleasant and nice staff, excellent service, and the braised short ribs are to die for!! Our very picky family enjoyed every bite - braised short ribs, chicken parm, steak Neptune, and spaghetti with marinara. The gelato for dessert was yummy and just the right amount to finish our meals. Definitely worth the drive!

There for a dinner party with friends in the party room. Food was incredible! Surpassed only by the excellent service!

This was a great experience, and I wouldn't have changed anything. You have to try it for yourself. We arrived without a reservation ( I didn't know). They still seated us with no wait, hostess discussed menu and drinks after seating us. The server arrived with water and suggestions on wine, food, and appetizers. Food was fabulous and timed perfect. Great dining experience for a date night to remember.

Short version: If you are a fan of fine dining, this is the best spot (at least the I've found) on the island. Period. If you like wine, this place is for you. Long version: One thing that this island isn't known for is fine dining. That's fine, but as someone who enjoys good wine, atmosphere, and entrees worth the $30 price tag, I've been feeling incomplete. Enter Formaggio Grill. This place is truly spectacular. I honestly got a kick out of reading all of these reviews mentioning how expensive it was. Do they also review sushi places and complain about the raw fish? Formaggio isn't expensive for no reason. My wife and I shared the calamari starter and it was some of the best calamari we've ever had. They had jalapenos, fried squash, fried mushrooms, and delicious sauce unlike I've ever seen for calamari. It was delicious, well cooked, and worth the price (which honestly is a good descriptor for my whole night at Formaggio). I've included a picture of the Garlic Ahi which was my entree (medium rare). I can't even describe how good it was. Just do yourself a favor, go there and order for yourself. You may also notice the 8 wine glasses in the shot. Formaggio Grill has wine by the bottle, 6 oz glass, or 2 oz glass. Our server chose two flights of 4 glasses (2 oz), one flight for me and one for my wife. The wines were numbered and we were given a paper to look at after with the names of the wines. I had more fun trying mine and my wife's blind wine flights than I have had at any other dining experience on the island. If you are even considering getting into wine, expanding your tastes or trying something new, this is your place. I found some new wine I didn't know I liked last night. The 2 oz glasses are fairly reasonable, just over 1/3 the price of the 6 oz glass. Let's talk about the atmosphere. I'm used to places like this being much more dressed up on the mainland. Here, patrons were in a wider variety of clothing. I saw a woman with a wrap over her bathing suit and a guy with a backwards hat. I saw women in dresses and guys in button ups. It seems more like anything goes dress wise but that probably has more to do with the island than the restaurant. Overall, this was an amazing experience. My food and wine were phenomenal and I will be coming back. Definitely for a special occasion or just when I feel like having a nice date.

AMAZING FOOD AND MUSIC! We came here a few times to celebrate special occasions and the food never disappoints. The fish is always fresh the tiramisu is the best we’ve had on the island and the service is great. Even our 4 year old son loves coming here, and the chef always prepares a tasty grilled chicken breast that he loves. Elijah Sky has played here the few times we had dined in, the music had us dancing in the corner. We love this place and hope more people come here to enjoy. Thanks Formaggio!

It's all about the onion soup. It's cheesy, and tasty. Other than that delicious soup, the rest of the menu is a bit ho-hum. The Kobe burger as of late isn't as good as it used to be, and the specialty cocktails need to be updated. 10 years ago these would be great drinks, now with mixologists bringing the kitchen to the bar, these cocktails leave a little something to be desired. All in all it's a cozy location with good atmosphere, good wine selection, definitely one of the finer dining spots on the windward side, a solid 4 star choice.

We dined on Christmas Eve and the place was busy. The hostess was friendly. Great selection of wines, the bartender was knowledgeable and recommended a great cab for our meal. Service was excellent and the food was great. We ordered the Stuffed Mushrooms, NY Steak, Ribeye and a kids pasta dish! Everything came out timely and cooked to order. We will definitely dine here again. Kudos to the Chefs and Staff for working on a holiday!

Our children's one and only wedding night, straight over there from the wedding. No one acknowledged that at all with them. Our daughter in her beautiful gown, fresh flowers in her hair, her groom wearing a fresh floral lei. Surely someone could have at least asked them or commented a congratulations message. Wait staff didn't even acknowledge 6 of us being there as we came in 15-20 minutes later. When she did she could only take and carry 2 drink orders at a time for the whole party. They make these things called drink trays - invest in some. Our orders were messed up. Not sure why the tables weren't set up with the length of the room. Would have made a nicer flow for everyone, guests, and wait staff. Our drinks were never filled, sodas that we were told we could get 2 refills. Nobody checked on us as we were eating to see how our meal was. Expresso machine was down as 1 in our party wanted a drink. Although they don't allow kids the manager knew when we made the reservation that we had a small child - whom was the last served and his noodles were not cooked thoroughly. Some of the food was undercooked to how we asked it to be while 1 in our party his lobster was overcooked and he was not given a lobster fork to get the meat out of its shell. Wait staff was SO VERY unprofessional - never in my life have I seen such atrocity. When all were upset over lack of service and the 18% tip they all thought they earned - the staff had the nerve to apologize to the other 2 tables with guests in the room for our behavior. Had they been professional and respectful this never would have happened. We were supposed to have a private room to begin with. Wait staff was rude in addition to lacking proper handling of people and food. Stating our waitress was nice to the little boy didn't help anything but your terrible waitress. Our bride and groom were to have a dessert for their big day that dessert we had to ask for when it was planned at reservation time weeks before. Other employees were gaulking at us through the door - again it was the lack of customer service from the get go that started the freak show for them. Above all this experience made my baby girl cry on her wedding day and for that I'll never forgive this establishment!!! We're not from Hawaii but everyone else on the island of Oahu and Kailua was so very nice. Everyone except Formaggios! Young waitress at Teddy's Burgers down the street could teach your staff a lot! Worst 150$ I ever spent, had high class hopes for this rather overpriced restaurant. Should have been treated like royalty and not crap of a dog. No Mahalo Formaggios,

Service was excellent. Food was good,not great ordered the steak and lobster. Filet came out perfect the lobster was *meh* a bit over cooked and dry. Drinks were on point. Would definitely go back. Maybe order something else though. They do have a great wine selection.

Welcoming, we did not have a reservation, but sat at the bar. The food was delicious, service was quick. Would highly recommend.

Were there for lunch ordered calamari- ok crispy but not seasoned well - beets salad Kale,carrots roasted warm with cheese & balsamic good- pesto pizza have a salad on top - not sure if my teenager like it😜 She said it's OK don't really care for salad 😍Lemonade 👍 I would try dinner more to choose from Parking is limited - ambiance is a bit dark -with a full service bar

David our waiter was nice, but could have been a little more attentive-our dishes accumulated on the table until we were done. My steak and lobster were awesome! My husband loved his shrimp fettuccini fresco and the appetizer muscles and clams.

Prices were a little high, so not an every day dining experience. However, absolutely worth the price as affordable by one's budget. Great servers and waitstaff as well.

Sat down. .... comfortable ! ... then the calamari came out ... called it the "calamari battleship" ... main course "wonderful" ! ... couple glasses of wine the waiter suggested ...followed by a romantic walk on Kailua Beach ! .... couldn't ask more from a eastern shore restaurant ! ... repeat customer for life !!!!!

Loved the ambience, service okay but restaurant was full. Food came quickly & great quality. We will be back for the Calamari :)

My girlfriends and I have gone here a number of times and I used to love Formaggio but for some reason the food quality has gone down hill. Not sure if the management changed or what. Our salad was not very eye appealing. It looked wilted. The lobster bisque was not hot. Main dishes were good though (lamb chops and steak). Our waitress was very nice but I don't think I'll be going back again.

The waiter was more interested in talking to the waitresses than refilling our ice tea. It was very hot outside in the air conditioner was not doing a very good job of cooling off the restaurant. Not their fault but all the more reason to keep the ice tea coming. I remember it being really terrific about five years ago. Sorry I can't say the same thing now.

Oh my god the lobster Mac Ken cheeeeese bra. I was a Leanin tower of cheeeza after. Heavenly. Thank you.

Super sweet spot nice service. Worlds best FISH TACO's. Gonna come back would love to explore the dinner. Thanks Formaggio awesome job�

Great food and best wine!!! Definitely food is well recommended.

The food was great and the service was awesome too! We had a picky eater and they did a special order for her too�

Food is amazing! Pyramid mousse cake for dessert and lamb chops for entrée and calamari for appetizer. Awesome service and Ono food!

LoVeD it❣ Great food, great service😊 My steak was cooked perfectly.

Great atmosphere and service...unbelievably delicious food!

Excellent service & food! Nice atmosphere. Wish the music started earlier than 8:30.