Formaggio Grill is a beautifully decorated bistro that is reminiscent of a comforting cafe in the heart of wine country.

With an extensive wine list, nice crowd and eclectic mix of art, I was looking forward to the menu and service at this popular Kailua restaurant. Regrettably, Formaggio's did not shine in either category.

The positive points about this restaurant are its decor, the beautifully designed wine cellar and the wine itself. During happy hour you can select quality wines from a small list for $4. I was impressed with the wine and would go back to have a happy-hour cocktail before moving on to somewhere else for dinner.

However, I was extremely disappointed in the level of service at Formaggio—so much so that my party and I were ready to leave after being there only 20 minutes.

When we visited, the hostess, servers and bartender all ignored a growing crowd that was waiting to be seated. Once the hostess was ready for our group, she started leading us to a table before abruptly stopping and drilling us about our ages and demanding IDs. I found this an incredibly embarrassing way to begin our experience at Formaggio.

Pupus available during happy hour include a small selection of tapas for $6 per plate. The server on duty will inform you what the day's selection is, since they do not provide printed menus. But be forewarned: Your server may get frustrated if you ask them to repeat the selections.

We ordered calamari, mussels and shrimp brushetta; sadly, the seafood was overcooked. The brushetta was bland at best.

After the bad service and mediocre tapas, we were ready to leave. We tried to flag down our server for the check, but she had gone missing for some time. We walked out discussing how happy we were to be out of that restaurant and where we now wanted to go to dinner. I was sorely disappointed by the lack of quality service at Formaggio.

Happy hour:
» 3 to 6 p.m. daily
» $3 Spaten beer
» $4 selected wines
» $5 well cocktails
» Happy Hour for Two: 4 glasses of wine and 3 tapas for $34 (not including tax and tip)

Pupu picks:
» Calamari ($6)
» Shrimp Bruschetta ($6)
» Sauteed Mussels ($6)

”;Pau Hana Patrol”; is a weekly look at Honolulu bar and restaurant happy hours. To read more about this week's featured bar, visit hilife.starbulletin.com. E-mail happy-hour tips to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).