Cucina Moon is more than just a restaurant; it's a culinary haven nestled in Honolulu's vibrant shopping center. Known for its cozy ambiance and fast service, it specializes in fresh, made-to-order pasta, offering comforting dishes that appeal to both locals and tourists. The menu thoughtfully accommodates vegans and vegetarians, while the inviting bar serves delightful beverages. Patrons rave about the al dente squid ink pasta and fluffy gnocchi, emphasizing the care and quality behind every dish. With a casual atmosphere and dog-friendly seating, Cucina Moon is the perfect spot for a relaxing meal or a quick takeaway. Come indulge in a unique dining experience!
Amenities and More
Service options
Offers delivery
Offers takeaway
Serves dine-in
Highlights
Has fast service
Popular for
Popular for lunch
Popular for dinner
Good for solo dining
Offerings
Serves alcohol
Serves comfort food
Serves vegan dishes
Serves vegetarian dishes
Dining options
Serves brunch
Serves lunch
Serves dinner
Has counter service
Serves dessert
Amenities
Has bar on site
Atmosphere
Casual
Cosy
Payments
Accepts credit cards
Accepts debit cards
Accepts NFC mobile payments
Credit cards
Parking
Free parking lot
Plenty of parking
Pets
Dogs allowed
Dogs allowed inside
Dogs allowed outside
Photos
Reviews For Cucina Moon
Lock Lynch
Apr 14,2025
This is hands down my favorite restaurant right now! The food is amazing, hand made pasta and traditional italian sauces. The setup of the restaurant is an open kitchen as well so you get to watch them cook while you wait. And the Gelato is the perfect after dinner dessert.Their gnocchi is top notch, and my favorite right now is the pesto gnocchi, but I'm working through the whole menu :).I can't recommend this place enough!
Mayu Takane
Mar 2,2025
I got the tomato cream shrimp pasta and i loved it!! The noodles were perfectly chewy and soft and the sauce was great!! There was a good amount of shrimp too. The flavor of the dish was perfect but i wish the portion size was just a tad bigger. Some people might not like tomato cream sauce but they did it perfectly imo!! Their gelato is also definitely worth checking out as wellThe staff was also very friendly. There seems to be a couple working there? and she was very nice to us It is technically "food court style" but the service was good. I'll definitely be back again!!
Kevin Lee
Feb 28,2025
Second time at Cucina Moon, another great experience. The service is great, they are very on it with topping up your water and be quick to take your order. This is a reliable spot for pasta if you’re looking for something that’s relaxing and convenient.
Sabrina
Feb 26,2025
Cucina Moon has the best gnocchi I've ever tried, it's always fresh, it's super soft, and all their sauces are amazing. I've tried all of the different gnocchi dishes, the basil pesto sauce topping one is my favorite. The tomato parmigiano spaghetti is great too! Really cute place and everyone's super nice!
Daniel Nguyen
Feb 17,2025
Cucina Moon has exploded in popularity, and rightly so! I, like many others, got wind of this pop-up test kitchen via social media. Note that as of Jan 2024, they no longer have the set menus that come with free foccacia Gelato with the main pasta selections. Instead everything is a la carte, and the pasta dishes are bigger portions (100g to 160g) which I kind of prefer. Regardless, I think the prices well reflect the quality of ingredients and care that goes into each dish. They don't take reservations and currently operate from a waitlist only. The waitlist is bound to close early based on their supply of pasta. For example, we came around 6:45pm on a Friday night and the waitlist was already closed. We came the next day on Saturday at 4:45pm (opened at 5pm) and we were 10th in line. It took us about an hour to be seated. We waited outside and even started with a delicious appetizer of their Gelato . I have to say, that chai gelato is AMAZING. So smooth and bright chai flavors, and light as it's vegan. Apparently the chef's wife (who also scoops and serves the gelato) makes them herself! Once it's your turn, you first pay at the register then grab a seat with your numbered receipt. As of Jan 2024, they are BYOB (hello 7-11). There is a jug of ice water, and various soft drinks in the cooler.On to the rest of the food. I was able to split the gorzongola gnocchi and the agnello spaghetti (lamb Ragu with red wine sauce). All the pasta dishes other than the gnocchi were served with spaghetti. The gnocchi dish was gorzongola forward and was okay, a little soupier sauce rather than thicker sauce which is what I expected. The gnocchi themselves were excellent and pillowy. My favorite though was definitely the agnello. The lamb flavor was succulent and the sauce was light yet super flavorful. I was tempted to almost order a second round of that! The pasta was perfectly al dente and had a good bite to it. After dinner, I got another chai gelato because it was that good. Did I mention that it was good? Still thinking about it... I look forward to coming back and trying their rotation of pasta dishes. I also really want to try their foccacia bread, as it was sold out on both nights.All this being said, please afford some grace to Cucina Moon as they are still working out the kinks of heavy demand. You will likely see some empty tables, but that's because they share the space with the Poke shop in the booth over. The couple are working passionately to provide excellent service and food. Chef and owner Takeshi apologized to us multiple times about the wait, as well as the friendly front of house/server staff. The night we dined I believe the chef was training new hires on his menu, so hopefully that will be able to expedite and take some load off the kitchen. Excited to come back and try more food!! Also looking forward to trying out the owners' restaurant in Japan!
Tayler Haggerty
Feb 15,2025
Absolutely loved my dinner here! Got two pastas and both were so delicious. And the service was exceptional. Have already added it to my favorites will be back again.
Lori Gutierrez
Feb 7,2025
We arrived early because we heard it is limiting seating (glad we did). We ordered and found a table (there were 5 of us). Each dish is made to order. We shared so that we were able to try different dishes. The servings were the perfect size and everything was delicious. Squid ink pasta with shrimp was excellent!
Jonathan Carangui
Jan 27,2025
I had dinner a a few weeks while vacationing in Honolulu and it was so delicious. The service was very attentive and welcoming. The food had a homemade taste. Definitely recommend for anyone looking for good pasta in the area.
Reviews For Cucina Moon