What’s on the Menu at Saturday’s Festa Italiana

(Sponsored) The Italian street fest is taking over Cooke Street in Kakaako.

September 24, 2019

Frolic Hawai‘i,

angiamo! The 3rd annual Festa Italiana, Hawaii’s only Italian festival, is returning to Kakaako on Sept. 28 from 4 to 10 p.m. This is your chance to taste all kinds of Italian fare without leaving Cooke Street.

The whole thing is an immersive experience, so there’ll be lots more than food. Like live music, art and entertainment. A wine and beer garden with Italian wines, beers and traditional spirits to buy. And keep your eyes peeled for Italian-inspired Instagram photo ops.

Scroll on for the menus of street food galore. There’s no admission fee and all vendors will be selling their own food. For a VIP experience, tickets to the exclusive Passaporto Italiano, a smorgasbord within the festival, are $115 and include tasting dishes from seven of Honolulu’s top-tier Italian restaurants plus six 2-ounce wine pours, gelato and Illy espresso. You’ll need a valid government-issued ID showing you’re 21 or older for VIP entry. Passaporto Italiano is open from 6 to 9 p.m.; early entry at 5 p.m. is available for an additional charge.

If you drive, there’s street parking throughout Kakaako. If you take Lyft, new users can use promo code FESTAITALIANAHI and existing users can use promo code FESTA19 for a discount on Saturday.

Hungry for more? Here’s all the fare that’s being served up at Saturday’s street fair and the VIP Passaporto Italiano.

Street Festa in Strada

Allegrini Mozzarella

Mozzarella, tiramisu, spaghetti with polpetti

Appetito Craft Pizza & Wine Bar

Kauai shrimp with garlic toast

Butcher & Bird

Italian sausage with peppers, marinara and provolone

Fatto a Mano

Margherita pizza, pepperoni pizza

Italica Café and Bar

TBD

Il Gelato

Gelato: Italian almond, chocolate truffle, Tahitian vanilla
Sorbetto: Lemon, raspberry

Inferno’s Pizza

Mushroom truffle pizza, sopressata pizza

Let’s Toast Hawaii

Pesto avocado toast, mozzarella tomato toast

Local I’a

Tonno limone with local ahi tuna: Local yellowfin tuna, pasta, olive oil, parsley, lemon; fish crudo

Mamma Mia Olay

Penne pasta with pumpkin sauce and ricotta, calamari fritti, stuffed bread with pasta

MacBaby

Cannoli pistachio cioccolato, assorted macarons (amaretto, banana, brownie, coffee, pandan, ube, lilikoi, sea salt caramel)

Mediterraneo

Arancini, Pasta Amatriciana, calamari fritti, tiramisu, burrata on fried pizza

Mega Load Burgers

Italian burger, risotto crab cakes, arancini

Onda Pasta

Gnocchi with brown butter sage, spaghetti beef ragu

Pono Pork

Prosciutto and burrata in a bao bun

Purve Donuts

Sweet basil, Italian cheesecake, savory cheese donuts

Redfish, Poke Bar by Foodland (opening in late 2019 at SALT Kakaako)

Sicilian poke: Fresh ahi mixed with chopped capers, mixed olives, pecorino romano, roasted eggplant puree, romesco sauce, red onion agrodolce mixed with fresh Italian parsley

Ricado’s Italian Restaurant

Lasagna, tiramisu, bruschetta

Town

Chicken Milanese sandwich with Giardiniera, polenta with mushrooms and kale pesto

Zeppole & Culinary Institute of the Pacific

Zeppole (Italian donuts): Deep-fried Italian pastry sprinkled with sugar; mini panzanella bread salad with prosciutto crisps

VIP Experience: Passaporto Italiano

Arancino at The Kahala

Risotto al Parmigiano con tartufo finished in a Parmigiano Reggiano wheel

Il Gelato Hawaii

Gelato: Zabaione, pistachio, biscottino
Sorbetto: Strawberry lemonade

R. Field Wine Company

Mini Italian cheese and charcuterie board: Central Formaggi Moliterno, Recla speck, Borretane balsamic onion, Dalmatia fig spread, Firehook sea salt flatbread cracker, Marcona almonds