Artizen

Came here for a quick lunch after the BIA homeowners building and remodeling show at the Neal Blaisdell. Ordering was fast and easy. We had a seat outside because we wanted to get some sun. A server brought our drinks first and a few minutes later the brought our meal.My boyfriend got the fish and chips. He really enjoyed his meal!! The fish's and chips both came out hot and super crispy!!! I got the shrimp and seafood gumbo. I enjoyed my meal as well. It had the right amount of spice to it. Although, I wish they had a little more sauce to enjoy with the rice and the shrimp seemed a little overcooked and hard.Overall, I was a great meal and we will definitely be back again

Having dined at MW on the 2nd floor and enjoyed the elevated gourmet cuisine it offers, I heard about its sister restaurant, Artizen, a cafe located on the 1st floor. On a recent Thursday, we came with Li Y for dinner here and she has attested to the delicious food offered at reasonable prices. Enter the last driveway on Ward before Kapiolani and park in the spaces marked for Artizen. Artizen is a casual restaurant where you order starters, mains and desserts at the counter and pick up the food when ready to the dining room, which is good sized with many round tables. What we saw was a 3 course prix fixe for $45 with table service. This was a new offering and after checking out the offering, which consisted of three starters, five entrees, and four desserts, we decided to go for it. So that we could get a taste of the various dishes, we each ordered something different for each course. Starters:Crispy Asian Slaw - a Napa cabbage slaw with crispy won ton strips and a soy base vinaigrette Kim Chee Portuguese Bean Soup - with chunks of pork Hot Spinach and Mushroom Dip served with blue corn chips. Li requested more chips and they brought more. Entrees:Mountain View Farms Pork Shank - two large shanks with crispy skin with tomatoes and pea sprouts. Reminded me of crispy pata but with a sauce. It was so filling that I could not finish the dish.Miso Butterfish Karaage - served on a bed of rice with pickled vegetables.Seared Scallops - four large scallops with potatoes, shitake and pea shoots in a lobster sauceDessert:Strawberry Matcha parfait (special) - with a layer of matcha cake on the bottom, with a layer of strawberry, whipped cream and a scoop of match ice cream on top. We agreed that this dessert was so good. Black Forest Chocolate Cake - we took this to go. It was rich chocolate cake with a whipped cream and cherry topping.Blueberry Yuzu Cheesecake - a round cheesecake topped with fresh blueberries.Our server was friendly and described the dished that were brought to our table. After the dishes were cleared, the next dish was brought out. Overall, we enjoyed our very tasty gourmet food at a casual café atmosphere. A nice alternative for a tasty meal without the higher pricing and atmosphere upstairs.

I wanted to wait out the traffic after my facial appointment and saw this cafe so decided to give it a try on a Thursday afternoon around 4pm.It has nice tables and seating but the ambiance wasn't the most inviting. Some of the cushions were dropped on the floor and water marks were not wiped on the tables from previous guests. Regardless, I had to knock out some work emails so got myself an iced latte and tried their Mochi Crusted Mrs. Cheng's Tofu. I said I would dine there but was served via a takeout container and plastic utensils while another crowd were served silver utensils and proper tableware and glass cups. Maybe a misunderstanding? The latte was good and Tofu was tasty despite the presentation and how it was served. However, would I go back just to eat it? Probably not. Also, there were many fruit flies... Overall not the best dining experience for the price and portion of the food.

If you feel like splurging on a take-out lunch, Artizen would be the place to do it. My favorite items on the menu are the mochi crusted fish with somen and the spinach & mushroom dip with wonton chips. Their food is pricey but it's about the quality and the taste. If you check their on Instagram, you'll be able to see the food specials and desserts. During Thanksgiving and Christmas is when they offer a large variety of baked good which are great for gift giving.I recommend ordering food online versus in person so you won't have to wait long. I've eaten there a few times and I like sitting inside because of the AC ad you can stare at the fancy cars. There were times where all the inside tables were occupied so we sat outside. Around noon, it can get warm because of the sun. For parking, there's metered street parking along Ward Ave.

In August 2024, I ate Artizen's French bistro prix fixe menu for $45.I picked the Croque Madame for my appetizer. It has smoked ham, mornay sauce, and a fried egg from OK Farms.For my entree, I choose Steak Frittes. It is a flank steak from HAPA with garlic butter sauced on top and thin French fries on the side. The dessert, I picked Strawberry Charlotte which had lady fingers, la'le vanilla whip cream and strawberries.The service was great. There was only two waiter/waitress, and they were working really hard. Would I come back? Yes, definitely. My favorite dish was the croque madame.

I love Artizen and MW. That's a caveat. However- we just came for drinks before the Jimmy Yang show. Although we didn't have reservations, it was not standing room only. The female host was unfriendly and didn't want to seat us when others were clearly just having drinks also. First, she claimed she would bring us our drinks and then she decided not to. We went up to get them instead. The person who was nice was the young man who was refilling water at tables. He thanked us and told us to have a good time at the show. To the female host- just because it doesn't look like you're going to get a large tip, you should still be decent to all customers. I'm sure the owners (who I had seen earlier in the evening) would have wanted you to be welcoming.

The casual counter service little sibling to the restaurant MW, Artizen provides gourmet level meals at a more affordable price. First off, their desserts and baked goods are stand alone. Every dessert I've ever tried here has been incredible. You can't go wrong with anything chocolate. Their seasonal pumpkin crunch cheesecake is heavenly. For the real food, they have a well appointed menu for lunch/dinner, as well as seasonal offerings. I recently tried their mochi kampachi (so tender. Crispy. Light but filling), beet salad (super crispy veggies. Balanced. Savory dressing), and ox tail soup (incredibly flavorful. Fatty oxtail. Warming.) and was so impressed. It's counter service with an indoor and outdoor dining area inside the Velocity car showroom. Parking can be tough, there's street parking at the Blaisdell as well as parking in the Symphony garage. It's very takeout friendly. Try it out. You won't be disappointed!

Decided to come here since I had gotten off work at a decent hour. Just came to have a Pau Hana drink. Ended up ordering off the coursed menu they were offering. We didn't need to order the coursed menu. They allowed us to order items a la carte. We ordered the scallops, miso butterfish karaage, and the apple streusel pie. Everything was delicious. The scallops were served in a lobster bisque/sauce and paired with a vegetable succotash. This dish was so flavorful and the lobster sauce did not overpower the scallops. The miso butterfish karaage was my favorite of the two. It so light and crispy paired with some banchan and rice. The apple streusel pie was a hit with my dad. What a great little spot we ended up at and didn't even plan on having such a tasty experience! Service was awesome too!

Hawaiian all you can load - I'm there!I'd been wanting to get to Artizen's location on ground floor of Velocity, entrance on Ward Avenue. Had not been here since it moved from its downtown HISAM location.When it offered a two-day Local Style Mixed Plate all you can load buffet (one pass only), just knew we had to hele on down and check it out.Found street parking on Ward Avenue so it was kismet! Tasting the laulau while feeding the meter! Being a small eater (though it doesn't show lol), I chose the small plate. My dining mate, with larger appetite, chose large plate (no surprise really). Having my priorities, I headed straight for the laulau, which was prepared pan style, so no hassling with ti leaf wrapper. Had to try Hawaiian plate fried rice, kalua cabbage, lomi tomato, smoked ahi dip, spinach mushroom dip, and poi stew. Loved everything!!! Would definitely make it to another event!

Tried this place just down the street from Breusters Ice cream which I have been too. I asked for a sample of the Key Lime Pie. Over the top delicious!I added coconut to a medium sized bowl. Worth every cent of the 8.00 I spent. The wait staff was friendly and courteous and I was served promptly despite the family of five waiting on their gelatos!