Matteo's Italian Restaurant

We made reservations on Saturday night for my birthday. The atmosphere gave my girlfriend and me an anxious feeling. The lower lighting, comfortable booths, and friendly servers gave us a great first impression. When we received our wine, we were not completely satisfied with the temperature, but we lived with it. The appetizer (fried mozzarella) was so overcooked that the cheese had dissipated out of them. The marinara sauce given with them was bland. When the main courses came (Lasagna for her, a Seafood Pasta for me) is when the real disappointment got worse. Her Lasagna was burned and overcooked so far that the cheese had completely dried out. Again the bland sauce was soaking the charcoal taste of the lasagna. My seafood was overcooked as well. Nothing worse than rubbery food. The flavor had been sucked out of everything except for the one solitary scallop in the dish. We both ate about one quarter of our food, and the waiter didn't even get the point when we exclaimed that we don't want to take THAT home. Since we wanted some sort of sustenance we ordered the creme Brule for desert. The flavor was surprisingly rich, but it wasn't prepared properly and wasn't set. It was more like a sauce. We would think with the amazing location that this restaurant has in Waikiki, surrounded by hotels, that the food would be much more rewarding. I recommend Bravo's or Auntie Pesto's if you are feeling Italian in the Honolulu area. Pros: Good location, good ambience Cons: Food so bad that it makes everything else worse. more

This restaurant is located in my town and it shames me it is still in business. The food is terrible...canned tomatoe sauce that tastes like it was bought in bulk. Dirty...dirty...dirty. I guess that explains why they serve people without shoes. We ate there tonight to give it ""another try"" and two tables had guests not wearing shoes...nor did they bring shoes with them. That's how desparate they are for business. Save your time and money...go to Safeway buy a box on penne and some Prego...you'll thank me for it!!!! more

Frank Sinatra died 9 years ago, the decor died way before that! While not the worst Italian food I've ever had (it was just ""OK:), the dirtiness and price ruined it. The upholstery was worn with holes in it, there was trash under the table, just generally a ""divey"" kinda place, with $25-30 average price per plate. Will not ever go back. more

Excellent service, their best item I have had is their caesar salad, and their pastas are excellent as well. Very good wine list, both in terms of reasonably valued ones and much more rare ones such as the Lafite Rothschilds, etc. Pros: Atmosphere, food, friendly staff Cons: Valet parking isn't excellent more

Matteo's offered us fine dining at a reasonable cost. The restaurant has a romantic atmosphere which made it even a more enjoyable dining experience. Waitstaff is wonderful, you are very well taken care of at this spot. more