Leila

Wonderful meal and evening! Delicious food, good portions, friendly service, cozy atmosphere, it's a great spot for gatherings with family and friends, but also for dates. Although on their website it's a prie fixe menu, they actually have some side dishes, available to order that your server will explain. Fortunately, we have four people so we could order a bunch of dishes to try. Each of us got the tasting menu, 2 of us got the wine pairing as well, and on top of that we got some side dishes. The "seven salads" was basically seven different types of dip that you could eat with the flatbread and it's shared among the table. There was a dip that tasted similar to baba ghanoush, there's a hummus, there's a tomato jam thing, marinated olives with some nuts, goat cheese, some creamy dip with salmon roe that I liked a lot. Actually that's a lot of food already and you can definitely get food from it if you don't pace yourself. Everything tasted delicious, but there is one thing that seemed a little too greasy for me and it didn't sit in my stomach well. For the entrées, we got the lamb shank served in a tagine and it's for two people, and also the branzino for two as well. The portions were pretty big! Both were delicious, but I would say I liked the branzino a little better just because it was cooked really well with all the garnishes that complimented the fish. Yum!Don't forget the side dishes too! We tried their duck confit in a filo pastry, very good! Even though it's not really Mediterranean, we got their Uni toast and it was delectable. The toast was basically deep fried butter, and the Uni itself taste like Ocean butter, so it's double butter. We also got the oysters with yuzu foam and it tasted so fresh and yummy with the hint of citrus. Finally, for the dessert we had a date cake. This wouldn't be something I normally would order if I saw it on the menu, but since it came with this tasting menu, I got to try it. And omg, I'm so glad because it's so good. It's served warm and it's a little crusty on the outside and soft inside. The burnt caramel gave it a distinct complex flavor. Parking is in the Paid parking lot, plenty of parking. It's a good idea to make reservations at least two weeks in advance.Great meal, it's a great addition to Kaimuki!

Overpriced for what it is.At $85 per person, you get bread (1 bread per person and $5 for any additional bread), a bunch of dips/spreads to enjoy with the bread (hummus, red pepper, goat cheese, etc.), your choice of entree and dessert. Felt like a lot of upselling as well:- When we first walked in, they first offered sparkling water without offering regular water as the free alternative. You have to ask for it. - As mentioned above, any additional bread is $5 per person. They give one bread per person. You will likely be left with so much dip and spread if you have a small party, leaving you with the decision to buy either more bread or eat the rest like baby food. - After our entrees were cleaned up, our server told us that dessert would take a little time to prepare and asked if we wanted any coffee or tea while we waited. We said no and the dessert came out within a few minutes. Not quite sure if they made it sound like it would take long so we would be enticed to buy something while we wait, but that's what it felt like. As for the food itself, my partner and I had mixed feelings about it. The dips and spreads tasted great as well as the bread. Our favorite was the baba ghanoush and red pepper. However, the experience of eating the bread and dips could be improved. For example, they're served in individual tiny dishes with no weight and move around really easily when trying to dip the bread or use the spoon to scoop. Makes it a little difficult to enjoy. They can try using a large platter to put the individual dips in that doesn't move so easily when trying to eat.The lamb didn't 'wow' us as it relied heavily on the sauce for flavor. The brussels sprouts that came with the lamb tasted amazing. The broccolini was pretty salty and fried, we were hoping for a more fresh and light preparation of the broccolini to cut the richness of the rest of the food. The chocolate ganache cake we got was a nice touch for valentines day! The coriander cream on top of the cake added the perfect balance to the cake to help cut the sweetness and richness of it. The service was great though and the servers took their time to explain the menu, the dishes, and were attentive throughout our dinner. TLDR: Overpriced for okay food but good service. Glad we tried it, but wouldn't pay $250 again for the meal (that's without the $40 wine pairing or any drinks). I really wish Hawaii had more casual and affordable options for this kind of cuisine.

As others have stated but need to restate again.... Leila's is a gem!Two parking options-parking paid lot next to restaurant and a municipal lot across the street. Great ambiance, service and food. A small dining space is tasteful understated with a lively dining crowd (aka loud) but such a friendly vibe. The food was delicious and presented well. Started with their Bastio (puff pastry stuffed with duck confit and spices) add on. A flaky confection with a delicious blend of duck. Then came their seven salads with warm zatar flatbread. All uniquely flavored. We chose the branzino, wagu beef and lamb...so so good! Then finished with a date cake topped with vanilla ice cream. It was fun to enjoy the wine pairing as well. Such a special evening!

Moroccan cuisine in Honolulu? Who d'a thunk?From the chef owner of the former Aziza and then Mourad restaurants in San Francisco, Leila is a Michelin star worthy place.The service is professional, friendly and helpful in the extreme.The small dining room is simple yet elegant.Tableware is artsy and unique, visually interesting.The food is sublime. Very focused menu that is served family style. Almost all dishes are made for two persons. Portions are just the right size. As the menu is a set 3 courses with many small plates there is plenty to eat.I recommend that you elect for the wine pairings. The offerings are small batch, rather unique labels that you will not find at a liquor store / wine shop.Given this is Honolulu the prices are not a bargain. Yet the tariff for the high quality ingredients, the sumptuous flavors, the elegant presentation and the spot on service is truly a bargain. A fancy pants resort hotel restaurant can not approach the level of the Leila experience and that hotel will charge a whole lot more.Highly recommended.

LEILA IS SUCH A GEM! stumbled upon a reservation and made our first dinner in Honolulu unforgettable! The restaurant is small but mighty - I love how quaint it was and how everyone seemed to know each other - it was like a big dinner party!The star of the show were the 7 salads, wow I loved every single unique salad/dip/spread. The savory flavors and even the sweetness from the tomato jam - glorious! I would buy each of those and have them in my refrigerator on deck if I could. Also the fresh baked bread *chefs kiss*For the main entree we were able to get a meet and veggie - we chose the lamb and cauliflower. The presentation of the lamb was incredible and flavors were irresistible. The cauliflower was a great compliment and loved the pairing. We also had tea and the caramelized date cake with their house gelato. There was a party of flavors in mouth and wow were they having a blast! One of the best meals I've had on 3 of the islands I've visited I highly recommend this restaurant and tasting experience! Wonderful service from our waitress, host! Cannot wait to go back!

Leila's was my first dinner back in Hawaii. My daughter told me she made a reservation for a Moroccan restaurant and I was EXCITED! I'd never had Moroccan and was ready to try. We arrived a little early and they were very accommodating. Great service from the start. The space is quaint and not overly decorated. The meal was coursed with a wine pairing option to add. We started with the Seven Salads. Seven flavorful tastings paired with lightly cooked farm veggies; multi colored carrots and endive sprinkled with sumac. It also included FRESH za'tar bread. Talk about DELICIOUS! Each salad offering had its own unique spices. None of which were overpowering. Great balance that allowed you to enjoy and savor each bite! OMG My daughter added the wine pairing. I ordered their version of a margarita. Refreshing to the palate. Next up was the main course. We selected the lamb neck. Our AMAZING server explained that it had been roasted for 14 hrs. It had a few accompaniments of carrots, crispy fried Tuscan kale, shakshuka, and sunchokes. TALK ABOUT A MEMORABLE MEAL. I'd never tasted lamb neck. The flavor was similar to a lamb shank. ANOTHER WINNER for the night. Dessert was the final course. Buffalo ice cream atop a super moist and perfectly balanced date cake. Served with a burnt caramel drizzle. What a way to end an AMAZING coursed experience. Everything from start to finish was top tier. Service, food, ambiance, and even the playlist in the background. I WHOLEHEARTEDLY recommend you try Leila.

We came to Leila on a Friday night for dinner. Parking is easy, there's a lot of it in the area, street parking and a lot for a fee. The food was delicious! It's a préfixe menu and the entree is set for two but one could eat it all if they were Very hungry. We enjoyed the seven salads (dips/spreads) very much. They were rich and had great variety. We split the short rib (which had an additional charge) between the two of us. We also had their kushi oysters as an appetizer which came in cute ceramic oyster shells. We were so full we could barely make it through the desert but it was also rich and delicious! We hope to be back very soon! The cocktails focus on flavor rather than presentation so don't be surprised if your vodka cocktail comes out looking like a glass of water - it's vodka! I had the gin drink and I absolutely loved it. Some things to keep in mind - the restaurant space is small so you'll be seated close to others. The acoustics in the restaurant cause for it to be quite noisy. If you don't specify where you want to be seated, there's a chance you'll be seated in the center of the restaurant with staff passing you frequently to serve other customers. Don't let this take away from the delicious food and drinks they offer at this restaurant! Wish they were open for lunch too!

Reservation: You can make a reservation on Open Table or by calling the restaurant during their hours of operation. Important to know that they require you to enter in your credit card information because if you cancel within 24 hours of your res, you will be charged $50 for each person who does not show up. I totally get why they are doing that to avoid frivolous no shows but what happens if you get stuck in horrendous traffic cos of an accident or someone gets covid? $50 a person seems quite steep a penalty. Parking: Ample parking at the pay lot restaurant is attached to. There is also a metered parking lot across the street. Ambiance: Beautiful decor but cramped. Dim lighting. When all the tables are filled and waiters trying to pass each other in the narrow walk spaces, you do feel like a sardine in a tin. Other reviews talked about the music being too loud but I thought it was fine - noise levels never got so high I couldn't hear the person I was dining with. Service: Excellent! They really made it a nice experience to be dining at their restaurant. Appreciated that they took the time to explain all the different dishes and ingredients. haha. They even tell you very nicely that you need to vacate your table because the next seating was waiting. We were celebrating my birthday and they gave us complimentary champagne. Drinks: Tried their version of an Old Fashioned but with dates in it. It was a lovely old fashioned - didn't get a lot of date flavor. $16Food: The Seven Salads was fun! We could not remember what everything was but had a lot of fun tasting and finding out favorites. Wonderful range of flavors to explore. The flatbread came out hot. We opted to order an extra flatbread to finish up for $5. We added on the Basteeya for $25, which I liked more than the entree. Savory and sweet and crunchy! Good sized portion as well. The only negative was that we ended up overly full with this addition. For the Second course, we had the option of ordering 1 portion of the Lamb and 1 portion of the Wagyu. I believe that normally, they will portion it for 2 so you will need to share with your dining partner. We enjoyed the wagyu but was disappointed with the lamb. Our server said "It should fall off the bone" - nope. Ours definitely did not fall off the bone, I had to wrassle it off. Flavors were nice tho. Third course, the date cake with burnt caramel was lovely! Even though I was full, I had to activate betsu bara (separate stomach for dessert) because it was so good. The only thing I didn't like was the fried shiso leaf. Beautiful presentation but wasn't fried to crispiness. If you are dining at Leila for the first time, it's a little frustrating trying to preview the menu options, which I like to do. You need to call them on the phone or wait til you are there dining to find out what the add on items are. And you need to ask what the prices are. The pre fixe meal for $85 would have been a perfect amount for us but the add on items (basteeya and extra bread) really filled us up and we ended up taking some of the entrees to go. I was intrigued by the couscous and green farro but didn't think I could eat that much. Too much food I want to eat and not enough stomach space. What a dilemma! Anyway, we enjoyed Leila. Definitely a place to go for a celebration or nice evening out!

Location: 12th Avenue, former Pietros Restaurant across Kokohead cafe.Ambiance: upscale modern vibe. Fine dining prices.Service: Excellent. Food: seven salads-Various Morrocan dips, fresh endives, yellow/orange carrots, and zucchini, each with a unique taste, goes well with baked bread.Main dishes were extremely tasty!Zabuton-American Wagyu, Lamb Shank- falls off the bone, branzinno fish (white fish). Dessert: Date cake that had a fried shiso. Photo looks like a mini loco moco.

What a gorgeous transformation of the old Angelo Pietro! I didn't even know that the space had a window! That being said the space is limited in size and number of bathrooms (one). So it's a tight fit with servers having to gingerly squeeze between tables and turn very carefully. The servers are excellent, attentive, solicitous and explain menu items carefully and in detail. We thoroughly enjoyed the starting course. My faves were the pepper one (muhammara) bc subtly sweet flavor very balanced and the labneh that had a lovely green oil (was it chive oil?) and trout roe(?). The zatar flat bread was good but messy - I'm sure that there was dust all over my face and clothes. Using the veggies as a vehicle especially the endive is the way to go. Some of the dishes were a bit too seasoned for my taste - still good but definitely on the saltier side. Cocktails were a miss. Others had the lemon one (friend mentioned tastes exactly like a Japanese sports drink called OS-1), the martini one (think they use zatar), and the old fashioned one. All are not spirit forward. Since there's no bar these are likely premixed. No full wine list but you can order any of the wines on the pairing by the glass. The Syrah was just ok. We got 2 add ons - the uni with egg yolk jam with brioche and the duck in filo. Skip the first and definitely get the second. Again I found the egg yolk jam to be too seasoned - salty for my taste. The duck filo pie dish was lovely - lightly sweet and spice and salty with lots of duck and crunchy light pastry. They're both around $30. For the mains - very large portions even considering that it's for 2. You can also get halves (so a single portion) if you ask. Lamb delish - we used the tomato jam from the seven salads to balance flavors and it was perfect especially with the pickled onions. The tomato jam is sweet. We got a whole bronzino - it was nicely cooked. Supposed to be deboned but still with some bones. We had leftovers of both that the server boxes up for us. Dessert was very nice. The salted caramel is very salt forward but really well balanced by the sweetness of the date cake and the creaminess of the gelato. Could've used a bit more gelato or maybe a smaller cake. I was stuffed by the end of this meal. Overall it's a nice addition to the Mediterranean renaissance we're having in Honolulu. It's a splurge though - not sure that I'll be a regular. And prolly would prefer to go to Miro for a special occasion if I had to choose only bc the space is bigger, the seasoning is less salty and the bar is more extensive. I think when you have a fancy menu having a full bar is important.