[ MAUKA MAKAI ]
Padovani plans THE RUMOR MILL being what it is in this town, Philippe Padovani has been taking a number of gloomy phone calls over the last few weeks: Are you closing? Will my gift certificates still be good? What happened?
menu changes,
more formality
Brothers Philippe and Pierre
now restaurant's sole ownersCHEW ON THIS
Restaurant Report
By Betty Shimabukuro
bshimabukuro@starbulletin.comPadovani's Bistro and Wine Bar is not closing, but it is undergoing an ownership change, a menu change, a slight style change and a very slight name change.
As of tomorrow, Padovani ends his partnership with J.P. Damon, who has been the restaurant's sponsor for three years. Padovani and his brother, Pierre, are taking over ownership of the operation -- with all the risk and responsibility that entails. "July 1st, I pay the bills," Philippe Padovani says.
Padovani's, in the Doubletree Alana Hotel, consists of a downstairs formal dining room and an upstairs wine bar known for its extensive selection of fine wines by the glass. With Philippe as chef and Pierre as pastry chef, Padovani's built a reputation for French cooking in the new Hawaiian Regional Cuisine tradition.
The restaurant has earned awards and national recognition, both for its menu and its wine cellar. "The restaurant's been successful but financially it's been tough," Padovani says.
He would like to average 65 covers -- or meals served -- each day, but he's had some months where his average was 35 to 40. "That's why it's tough."
The reasons are complicated and internal, Padovani says, but the slow economy didn't help. What he doesn't blame is something others have singled out as a major problem for the restaurant: its location. The Doubletree Alana is on Ala Moana near the Kalakaua Avenue corner. It's east of Ala Moana Center and west of the heart of Waikiki -- not a flashy or obvious spot and definitely not beachside.
But many of Hawaii's great restaurants are in less desirable sites, Padovani said, Alan Wong's being a prime example. "It's not always affordable to have a great location, or the club sandwich becomes $30 to afford the location."
And how bad could this spot be, really, considering his famous next-door neighbor? "Everybody knows Sizzler in this town. Maybe we should have a sign under Sizzler: 'Next stop Padovani's, 50 yards.'"
His dream in opening the restaurant, he says, was to create a unique free-standing restaurant on the level of La Mer, the elegant French restaurant in the five-diamond Halekulani hotel.
Despite the setbacks, Padovani believes he can make a success of it, with some changes in the operation. He's given up his fourth-floor office, for example, saving $40,000 per year.
The name of the bistro is changing, to Padovani's Restaurant. He says "bistro" denotes a casual atmosphere, and he'd like the name to conjure a more formal, special-occasion image.
He plans to emphasize "the art of the table" with more flowers, more glassware and silverware on the tables, and a more elegant level of service -- overseen by his wife, Pierrette.
Most important, the menu: Padovani plans the return of caviar and foie gras, and he's been adding new dishes to the dinner menu gradually. He'll also serve complimentary amuse bouché, mini-appetizers that change nightly and reflect the chef's artistry.
"Dinner," he says, "should be show time."
The wine list will have to be reduced, but he expects to maintain the best possible bottles for service by the glass. "It's not about volume, it's about quality."
The restaurant and wine bar will be open seven days a week -- "I get no more days off" -- the restaurant for lunch and dinner, the wine bar for dinner and possibly a Continental breakfast buffet aimed at hotel guests.
Padovani came to Hawaii 14 years ago, serving as executive chef with striking success at a series of hotels -- the Halekulani, Ritz-Carlton on the Big Island and Manele Bay on Lanai. He's had many offers, he says, to "pack my bags and leave," but wants to stay in Hawaii and build a restaurant outside the corporate structure of a resort.
He realizes the chance he is taking, for his family as well as himself, but this is the world he has lived and worked in all his life.
"I know I'm hurting my lifestyle financially. ... I know I'm taking a risk, but ..." He pauses and considers the right closing line. "Live and die young," he laughs.
"Whatever."
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