It would take a normal diner multiple visits to Waikīkī-based San Paolo Pizza & Wine in order to try the 27 different pizza flavors on the eatery’s menu.
However, working your way through the menu just got easier. The Brazilian-Italian restaurant recently launched an all-you-can-eat pizza dinner concept, which is available from 6 to 8:30 p.m. every Wednesday.
Business owner Andre Alves de Moraes calls this new concept a tasting experience, as he doesn’t want diners to associate “all you can eat” with low-quality or cheap ingredients. Many ingredients for the business’s pizzas and toppings are imported from Italy, he says.
“The way we make our pizza dough is very traditional,” he says. “What matters is the quality of ingredients and the process itself. We use high-quality flour, yeast, water and salt; we control the humidity and temperature, and we mature the dough for a long time.
“In Brazil, we have so many different pizza flavors,” he adds. “This concept is the same as a Brazilian steakhouse, where they bring the meats and slice it at your table. Here, they keep coming with trays of pizza. Since we have 27 different pizza flavors, it’s hard for you to try all of them. This is a good opportunity for people to try our unique flavors; we cut the pizzas into thinner slices so people can try more flavors.”
The all-you-can-eat pizza experience costs $39.90 per adult. Children ages 0 to 4 years are free; meanwhile, it’s $24.90 for children ages 5 to10 years.
Flip the card on the table to green when you want more pizzas, and to red when you need a break or are done dining. The eatery has been testing out this concept since December, according to Alves de Moraes. The AYCE menu includes a mix of savory and sweet pizzas.
“The most popular one with Calabresa — Brazilian sausage — with Catupiry,” he says. “Another one that’s very popular is the chicken barbecue. A new one that people have been enjoying is the filet mignon. We have this combo in Brazil — filet mignon and Gorgonzola. This is a creamy, rich pizzas with caramelized onions, thinly sliced filet mignon and mozzarella.”
Be sure to ask your server about the featured pizza of the month. Alves de Moraes says this is a way to test out new flavors, which might be added to the menu, depending on customer feedback. At the time of our visit, the flavor of the month was a New York steak with truffle sauce pizza.
“The filet mignon Supreme was the pizza of the month in December,” Alves de Moraes says. “It was such a huge success that we brought it back for January.”
Other flavors featured in the AYCE experience include shrimp, honey and brie, Hawaiian, dried tomato with arugula, funghi, margherita originale, zucchini and Brazilian four cheese. I’m a huge fan of the latter, which is richer and much cheesier than a typical cheese pizza.
Be sure to save room for dessert, as the AYCE experience includes sweet pizzas as well. Choose from pistachio, banana and cinnamon, banana and white chocolate, chocolate and strawberry, or hazelnut chocolate.
If you opt for the all-you-can-eat menu, you can also take advantage of discounted appetizers, salads and desserts, which are served a la carte. While the pizza selection is more than satisfactory in terms of selection, the deep-fried creamy brie cheese ($16.80 instead of $21) and Caesar salad ($17.60 instead of $22) are popular appetizers.
The creamy brie features a fried, crispy crust and comes with thin pizza slices. The cheese itself is drizzled with balsamic glaze and honey, and garnished with almonds and chives. It’s a flavorful explosion in each bite; if you’re with a group of cheese fanatics, you’ll probably want two orders.
Meanwhile, the Caesar salad ($17.60) features Romaine lettuce, panko breadcrumbs, crispy pancetta (cured pork belly with light black pepper) and housemade Caesar dressing. It’s a light but flavorful option to offset the carbs, and that crispy pancetta is a game changer.
If the dessert pizzas are enough to satisfy your craving for something sweet, the a la carte desserts are also 20% off. Choose from tiramisu ($12), chocolate mousse ($9.60) and lilikoi dream ($10.40), or ladyfingers soaked in raspberry sauce and finished with a layer of passionfruit cream.
Stay tuned for more updates coming soon to San Paolo Pizza & Wine, including pastas being added to the menu. But Alves de Moraes says it was important to launch this option first.
“This all-you-can-eat concept is a very unique thing; I don’t remember seeing this style for pizza in Hawai‘i yet,” Alves de Moraes says. “One thing that is interesting to me is that, a lot of times, people come in here and play it safe. They order chicken barbecue, or pepperoni pizza. But this experience allows them to try so many different flavors. People are surprised, like ‘I never imagined tuna would go so well on pizza.’ This is going to open people up to a new world of flavors.”
That’s tuna imported from Italy, by the way. Not the canned version you’d find at your local supermarket.
CONTACT
San Paolo Pizza & Wine
1765 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu
808-979-1785
sanpaolopizzeria.com
Instagram: @sanpaolo_pizzaandwine
AYCE pizza dinner Wednesdays only from 6-8:30 p.m.
Validated $5 parking at ‘Ilikai Marina Parking Garage
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
