We were visiting Oahu from Texas and were looking for amazing food off the beaten path. I found XO through Yelp and it did not disappoint. It was the highlight of our weeklong trip to Hawaii and we are still talking about the crispy Korean fried chicken. I highly recommend the chef's tasting menu to get a little bit of everything. The portions are generous and we were feeling very full and satisfied at the end.

Everything tasted great. You know it's good when you eat every bite of every plate. Highly recommend the Portuguese egg tart as well. We were too excited to eat it and didn't take a picture. We also liked their Lilikoi margarita. Food came out fast. We ordered 8 dishes for 3 people and we were stuffed. Would recommend 2 dishes per person to share. Atmosphere reminded me of a speakeasy. Loved the dark moody interior. My son and husband's favorite was the Nashville chicken. Their house made chili oil is really tasty and the dipping sauce is so flavorful. My favorite has to be the butter mochi. I loved the crispy charred ears. Our server was so nice and sharp. He was able to remember everything we ordered without needing to write it down.

Food was delicious for a place that strives to be a nicer meal. They're not particularly fancy inside, but wood tones and dim lighting make the otherwise plain rectangular space more attractive. They do the oft-loved fusion, with Thai and Korean elements mostly. The fried chicken is excellent, I think we had a Thai beef salad that was almost as good, the hamachi crudo was not bad. The "shooters" of salmon, foie gras, waygu, or ikura atop rice were a gigantic gimmick (who want to shoot a chunk of rice?), but the teenagers in the group still went for it with gusto. Haemul-pajeon (Korean seafood pancake) had potential but was cooked a bit too long, too close to burned. A pork belly lettuce wrap had pork covered in far too much sauce. Plenty of potential here but not yet realized. Claim to IG fame here might be their rabbit-shaped baked mochi balls, which are quite cute. They're solid inside (no filling) and a tad sweet but not overwhelmingly so. In keeping with the whole not wasting food motif, it made sense and overall was a solid 4*.

We came here for dinner and omg!!! The food is amazing!! We decided to go with the 9 course meal so we could try everything. And everything was super good. His favorite was the salmon cannoli and mines was the wagyu shot. They also had an Ube drink which was soooooo good. Super cute date night spot, super nice and chill vibe. Our server was super nice and he explained about how they don't waste anything. He explained all the dish and he was super nice. The dessert was so cute!!

Have you ever dined at a restaurant where you're the only people dining? Neither have I! Until I dined at XO. Yelp BFF and I had visitors in town, so we took them to XO. The concept is family style tapas (small shared plates). We ordered hamachi crudo, kalbi pork belly wraps X2, corn egg tart, XLB X2, seafood pancake (hold the shrimp), 3 wagyu shooters and an ikura shooter, and hamachi fritters. My favorites were the kalbi pork belly wraps and the butter mochi (and I think this was the consensus among the table). The bunny butter mochi was literally too cute to eat! The corn egg tart, seafood pancake and hamachi fritters were slightly too dense for my taste. Everything was presented beautifully and drinks were wonderful. I think if you go in with no expectations and an open mind, you will have fun! Thanks for reading my reviews! Let me know what I should try next!

My partner and I went on a rare date to Restaurant XO. It was highly recommended by some friends. What I liked: -the chef was consulted about the gluten free menu and options were provided -the Ube Lemonade cocktail was sweet, but dangerously good -the Thai larb salad and hamachi were fabulous! -service was attentive -the restaurant is clean and beautifully appointed. -easy parking which is a big deal in Kaimuki. What I didn't like -what the heck is this one bite hot rice shooter thing. For $14, I felt like I should have gotten more than a tiny bite of beef or fish and a tablespoon of rice. Flavor was good but not top notch for that price point. Rice essentially costs nothing, so that was one expensive bite of meat. -bunny mochies were yummy! But I'm not sure that the stuff sprinkled next to them was gluten free. -wagyu caramels. These were a rather expensive miss for me. They were interesting, but overly rich and fatty. My stomach still clenches to think about it. -the beeria tacos were marked gluten free, but were apparently made with actual beer, which is not gf. Yeah, I'm not sure. Conclusion: For the price point, it's pretty spendy for my blood. With the limited gf options, I felt like I had to order a lot of the same to feel full on the portions. For a special date night with no food allergies and if you have a small appetite and a large wallet, enjoy. It really is a cool place.

What is an XO? It's hard to keep up with these urban words these days. It was easy to reserve this place on Yelp. Parking is free right in front of the restaurant. I've heard that this place is served by chefs meaning servers are the chefs. Our server/chef was excellent. The best kind of server who makes you feel comfortable as soon as you sit down. He even gave us choice of few tables that we could choose from. XO is a fusion restaurant. It's pretty casual kind of place. It's more like food tasting style so don't expect rice or starch with your order. I was shocked to see Midori Sour on the drink menu. So I had to order one. We ordered few items like beef lard salad, crab and hamachi cannoli, seafood pancake, birria style taco, and pork wrap. They also have set menu for $65 per person for two people. All the food tasted good and unique. My favorite was the dessert, mochi bunnies. It was warm, yummy, and not over powering. I would love to return next to try different menu as our chef mentioned.