Ryan Tatsumoto
Hawai‘i Herald Columnist
Ryan Tatsumoto is a clinical pharmacist by day. In his off-hours, however, he and his wife enjoy seeking out perfect marriages of food and wine. Ryan is a certified sommelier and a certified specialist of wine. The Windward O‘ahu resident also writes a column for San Francisco’s Nichi Bei Weekly called “The Gochiso Gourmet.”
When the original Vintage Cave opened over three years ago in the basement of Shirokiya at Ala Moana Center, it was heralded as the one restaurant in the 50th that would put Hawai‘i on the global culinary map. Why? For starters, Japanese developer Takeshi Sekiguchi had only one objective: to create the best restaurant in the world, bar none. He promptly enlisted the talents of a local boy, Chef Chris Kajioka, and gave him one simple directive: No compromises; purchase the best and create the best. Here’s a blank check.
Vintage Cave was originally envisioned as a private club; however, because it involved obtaining a liquor license from the City and County of Honolulu, it had to be open to the public for at least 30 days. At $295 per person (which, including libations for a couple, could easily turn into a four-figure dinner bill), Sekiguchi did not anticipate much local interest. Boy, was he ever wrong! Hordes of local foodies managed to find some “special occasion” to secure a reservation at Vintage Cave, so the exclusive restaurant did manage to keep its doors open to the public for more than the original 30-day requirement.
As the times changed, however, and wallets got thinner, the Cave’s personnel changed. Chef Kajioka (now co-owner of Senia) departed and was replaced in the kitchen by Chef Jonathan Mizukami, who eventually returned to The French Laundry in Napa Valley. Their departures left the restaurant having to make some important changes.
Vintage Cave is now in its third iteration as the Vintage Cave Club. The rebranding of the Shirokiya Japan Village Walk also led to the creation of the Vintage Cave Café.
Vintage Cave Café
For the record, I did manage to come up with a “special occasion” to indulge in one of those extravagant Vintage Cave meals, courtesy of my Mrs. The occasion was a birthday meal — and we knew that in all likelihood we wouldn’t be returning due to the price. But then Sekiguchi-san decided to also create a restaurant for the masses — someplace folks could go after a busy day of shopping at Ala Moana Center . . . and that became Vintage Cave Café.
Chef Taiki Oda currently heads the kitchen. He apprenticed under Chef Marco Parizzi of the Michelin-starred Ristorante Parizzi in Parma, Italy, so the menu theme is Italian, obviously. The café’s décor is pretty close to that of the exclusive club, with stone floors and apparently the same type of brick walls as the original restaurant. It also has three private rooms — two with seating for up to eight people, and a larger area with seating for up to 20 people. In fact, the only difference seems to be the lighting, which is brighter than that of the club. And, there’s live music during the dinner service. The dress code is “casual,” but it almost seems sacrilege to dress down in shorts, T-shirt and rubber slippers, as I observed during our dinnertime visit.
We decided to dine at VC Café for two reasons: first, we received a gift card specifically for Vintage Cave Café for Christmas; and, second, VC Café was advertising a half off your bill during its grand opening week in March. “Look!” I told the Mrs. “We can really stretch our gift card, so we should seriously consider a visit.” After all, although the meals are considerably less than the $300 per person at the club, appetizers at VC Café run between $16 and $28, pizzas between $20 and $38, and entrees between $25 and $48. So, it wouldn’t take much to burn right through the gift card. The Mrs. agreed.
We started with a round of cocktails (the prices shown are the regular menu prices):
Vespa — Bombay Sapphire gin and elderflower with basil and strawberries. ($12)
The Mrs. thoroughly enjoyed her cocktail — she loves anything with elderflower (it tastes like lychee).
Casablanca — Buffalo Trace bourbon, strega, orange bitters, lemon and hints of ginger. ($12)
The citrus and ginger flavors perfectly complemented our wagyu (prime quality Japanese beef) appetizer.
Truffled Wagyu Beef Crudo — Wagyu, red onion, Parmigiano Reggiano, mushroom and balsamico. ($28)
I would order this again, even at full price, as the rich wagyu was nicely balanced by the salty Parmigiano and the acid in the balsamico, even if crudo is usually raw and the wagyu was cooked closer to medium rare.
Chef’s Special “Seafood Salad.” ($26)
It was good at a half off, but at full price, it would need to include more seafood.
Conchiglie with Hokkaido Scallops and Truffle Cream — Hokkaidö scallops with shell pasta in truffle mushroom cream. ($36)
This dish was featured as a special of the evening. We both agreed that it was the highlight of the meal. Sweet scallops in a rich truffled cream sauce. Management should seriously consider adding this dish to the regular menu!
VCCafe Signature Cartoccio-Style Braised Beef — Beef ragout braised in red wine and balsamico (limited to 30 servings daily). ($52)
The Mrs. selected this dish because it was one of the specials and was limited to only 30 servings. Sadly, it didn’t live up to our expectations. It was too much like a beef stew in red wine served en papilotte (in a parchment paper bag), and the cuts of beef were mostly fat and gristle.
Cotoletta ala Milanese — Milanese-style veal cutlet with mustard seed sauce. ($28)
Two large cutlets that were perfectly cooked, almost like a veal katsu, but still very tender and moist, with the sauce cutting though the richness and refreshing the palate between bites. This was another dish I would order again, even at full price.
Amaro Lux — Maker’s 46 bourbon, amaro averna, fernet and Cocchi vermouth. ($12)
My liquid dessert was like a variant of a Manhattan and its sweet and bitter flavors paired well with the two desserts.
Vintage Cave Tiramisu ($12).
This was a good, classic tiramisu.
Crème Catalana ($12).
This dessert is normally like a Spanish version of crème brulee; however, this version was more like a firm pudding with refreshing hints of orange throughout the dessert.
We were mildly surprised to learn at the conclusion of our meal that our check had been discounted by half, including our wine and cocktails! Vintage Cave Café probably will not be having another reduced-price promotion event anytime soon, but we definitely plan on dining there again . . . especially if the conchiglie with scallops and truffle cream finds its way onto the regular menu.
Ryan Tatsumoto is a clinical pharmacist by day. In his off-hours, however, he and his wife enjoy seeking out perfect marriages of food and wine. Ryan is a certified sommelier and a certified specialist of wine. The Windward O‘ahu resident also writes a column for San Francisco’s Nichi Bei Weekly called “The Gochiso Gourmet.”
