"I asked them to serve it without the salad the last time I had it and, I'll admit, that was a huge mistake," said owner George Vandeman, a semi-retired mergers-and-acquisitions attorney whose first contact with the islands was to help stave off a Mainland company's hostile takeover of Aloha Airlines in the 1980s.

Since the appointment of Italian native Francesco Valentini as executive chef consultant, the food at Sergio's has dramatically changed ... and for the better.

Bellicose and good-humored, Valentini described the new menu changes as simple, delicious and, most importantly, authentic.

"I do what I know best," said this Tuscan native, who — when not consulting — assumes a role of personal chef for private parties. "And what I do best is cook Italian food."

That he does. His veal Milanese, for example, is light and refreshingly garnished with a lemon purse. It's a dish that's as good as any mama-and-nonna trattoria in Italy.

Three years and the same number of chefs and managers later, Sergio's is finally living up to its potential.

"We want to wow our guests," said general manager Kyle Matsumoto, placing an emphasis on wow. "We have a menu that's constantly evolving with dishes that you won't find anywhere else except here."

A case in point is the savory ribolita minestrone ($5.50), a classic Tuscan soup that's 100-percent vegetarian, according to Valentini.

"It's a vegetable-stock-based soup with Canellini beans and maybe with a piece of bread," he said. "It's a flavorful but light soup."

And it doesn't contain elbow macaroni, laughed Barbara George, a Los Angeles-based business coach who's engaged to Vandeman.

"It's robust," she said. "But it doesn't weigh you down like other minestrone soups you would find at other restaurants."

In fact, a lot of the new dishes here aren't overwhelming in portion. They're just right.

For example, the fettuccine Alfredo ($16.95 or $11.95 as a side dish that's enough for two) and the fresh spinach tagliatelle tossed in a countryside Tuscan-style ragu ($16.95) more than satisfy.

Valentini's ragu (meat sauce) is as homemade as they come. It's also an excellent example of Italian-style comfort food. The sauce is prepared with at least 60 pounds of different meats — including beef, lamb, veal, pork and pancetta — which are simmered in fresh tomatoes, herbs and spices for two to two-and-a-half hours.

"This dish and the veal Milanese convinced me on the spot to hire Francesco," said Vandeman, who first tried the two dishes during a private party at his former rental home in Kahala. "From that point on, I was hooked."

In a collaborative effort to "wow" guests, Vandeman, George, Valentini and Matsumoto plan to keep the dining experience at Sergio's as authentically Italian as possible.

Vandeman even went through the trouble of securing 14 original Enrico Sereni paintings from a Tuscan art dealer, making him the largest collector of Sereni paintings in the U.S.

Francesco Valentini and Kyle Matsumoto help guests select their wines.

This month, Sergio's will not only celebrate Valentine's Day with a special $60 set menu (available from Feb. 10 to 14), but also carnevale, which is the last hurrah before Lent.

And according to tradition, the "huge dinner" that will be served during carnevale will include lasagna with meat and risotto among many other festive foods.