John M.
Yelp
The first time I ever encountered Dean & Deluca was at Shinagawa Station in Tokyo - to this day, I think of Dean & Deluca as first a Japanese business that had a NY/Italian focus. The new location in Ward Village, just like the other locations in Waikiki, pretty much lives up to that perception. First, in an extremely positive way - the breads, the coffees, the pastries, the sandwiches... and on and on... are, quite simply perfect. For me, it is still a caricature of an Italian shop only because in a real Boston or NY version of this type of store I'd also expect ability to buy cheeses, sliced meats, and a lot more. That is just an expectation and desire for more, what is offered is first rate.
Service here still seems to be learning things, and it doesn't appear they have figured out yet how to handle simple retail versus orders for people wanting to enjoy the outside tables. That should work out over time (hint: two lines).
The location is in an upcoming area of Ward Village, with the ups and downs of that. Right now, the outside space is squeezed into a small patio while the park is renewed. So the views are a huge green wall with some pictures, no sun, a few plants, and lots of tables squeezed in. This should improve over time - but, for me, this is a grab and go place, not a linger place as the ambience isn't great.
Overall, this looks like a winner for Dean & Deluca - and when the wall comes down and the park is again open to all of us, I think it will be a wonderful spot for a coffee, for lunch, for time with friends..