Private society fine dining in Honolulu. That is the goal of Vintage Cave, a new (opened in December 2012) restaurant that takes up the entire bottom floor of Shirokiya in Ala Moana Shopping Center. Created and funded by Japanese investor Takeshi Sekiguchi with Chef Chris Kajioka heading up the kitchen, Vintage Cave is arguably the first of its kind in Hawaii.

A fine dining establishment combined with a high-end wine cellar and valuable artwork from the private collection of Sekiguchi, Vintage Cave has a very specific, limited audience in mind. Each night, a pre-fixe menu of about 20 courses is served for $295/person. That, combined with wine options that can run thousands of dollars per bottle, make Vintage Cave limited for the average diner, appealing mainly to foreign businessmen and the wealthy.

I had the pleasure of taking a photo tour of the restaurant and was immediately impressed by the facility. From hundreds of imported brick (reportedly laid by hand), custom Swarovski crystal chandeliers, original Picasso drawings, Marie Antoinette crystal, and so much more, there is lots to be impressed with just upon entering. Sadly, I didn’t see or taste any of Kajioka’s culinary creations, but the visual appeal of the interiors alone is impressive and worth a visit. Full photo set available here.

*On the technical photography side, WOW this place was dark! I didn’t use any flash out of respect for the fragility of the artwork and at times was shooting at the maximum ISO for my camera (ISO 12,800).

Vintage Cave Photos