When well-known Island chefs Philippe Padovani and Donato Loperfido announced their partnership in a new, fine-dining Mediterranean restaurant called Elua ("Two"), I was interested but not sure what to think. How would these very opinionated chefs, both distinct personalities and both having run their own kitchens for years, create an integrated organization and menu? What did Philippe's French background have to do with Donato's Italian upbringing?

I needn't have worried. At least based on dinner the other night, they've found common ground and conquered it. My husband and I joined some food-savvy friends for dinner there on a Saturday night, and it was interesting to see how each of us gravitated to the different sides of the menu (French left, and Italian right). The commonality, of course, is the greater Mediterranean region; Philippe was born in Marseille and Donato in Puglia; the ingredients, and the bright, true flavors of these areas are second nature to both.

Our waiter, Josh, explained that Philippe was in the kitchen that night, but that whichever of the principals is cooking (they trade off, as both have other business ventures), the trained second of the other is also there, so both sides are ably covered.

The restaurant is in the former L'Uraku space on Kapi'olani Boulevard but has been so transformed you wouldn't know you were in the same room. In place of the multicolored umbrellas on the ceiling and bright white walls, the room is now outfitted in dark wood, with Hawaiian-themed artwork by the likes of Avi Kariati. Very attractive.

The food was uniformly good to great at Elua, but I'm going to rave about the service for a while. It had been some time since we'd seen our friends, so my husband, in a celebratory mood, ordered a bottle of champagne and we proceeded to have a long catch-up talk.

Waiter Josh kept an eye on us and assistants came around to pour as needed, but they never interrupted us, pushed us to put in our orders or gave any indication that they were impatient with our slow progress toward dinner.

So maybe Elua wasn't so busy that they needed to "turn the table" to fulfill later reservations, but, as one of my friends always says, "the front of the house doesn't care." In other words: As a diner, particularly in a high-end outlet, the fact that they want to turn my table isn't my problem; I'm paying to be there as long as I want to be.

So mahalo for that lovely little respite with our friends, and now let's get to the food.

First, I have to say that the value for volume here is exceptional for a high-end restaurant. We spent $200 on food for four people, and we ordered 12 dishes — by fine-dining restaurant standards, that's a bargain. Not only that, the portions are at least respectable and often generous. As I write this, I've still got half my orechiette crudaiola (shell pasta with arugula, tomatoes and Parmesan; $17) in the refrigerator.

Another nice touch: Every dish is available paired with an appropriate wine in either a 2- or a 5-ounce portion; European, American and even some Down Under wines, in prices that range from $2 to $21 per serving. The choice allows you to indulge without overindulging, and we found the pairings delicious. They've got a 24-wine Cruvinet pumping system and offer about 28 wines by the glass.

There isn't space here to describe every dish we ordered, so I'll just enthuse about the ones that rocked my world: