You might say that after spending a week in New York City and another on a lake shore in New Hampshire, my partner in Night Stuff and I were nowhere near ready to lustily dive back into the Honolulu after-hours scene.

A glass of wine or two, some appetizers, a quiet room of diners and imbibers? The absence of someone on a nightclub sound system shouting the evening's flavored martini and Crown Royal shot specials?

All of the above sounded sublimely appealing after several days of lingering jet lag from a 10-hour flight from New Jersey.

Enter Fabrizio Favale and his pleasant little 5-month-old Waikiki wine bar Pane & Vino.

Tucked away in an upstairs corner of a two-story Lewers Street walkup, Pane & Vino aims for the welcoming vibe of a neighborhood enoteca. Country rustic with mild industrial accents and an open-beam ceiling that give it a pleasantly airy feel, Pane & Vino's interior is all about homespun simplicity.

Dark wood furnishings, mismatched wall hangings, a couple of candelabra and wine barrels were scattered throughout. The single-room wine bar was smartly lit by small table lamps, a quartet of vaguely industrial lamps hanging over a brushed galvanized steel bar and tiny beams of light peeking from holes punched into hanging aluminum rain gutters.

Teak blinds kept the outside world from ruining the dinner-party vibe inside. Downtempo house and Sade's "Diamond Life" played softly in the background.

To say our evening at Pane & Vino was somewhat akin to being a dinner guest in an Italian country home wouldn't be much of an overstatement.

The ever-charming Favale himself arrived mid-meal — 'round 8:30 p.m. for us — all but dancing through the room with bags full of groceries, a gleam in his eyes and full of chatter.

Pane & Vino's smallish menu of appetizers, pastas and meat entrees focused on homemade Italian comfort food. Rich with slivers of garlic and tomato in a salt-kissed olive-oil brew and spread over fresh-baked bread, Favale's bruschetta recipe ($5.75) from sister restaurant Mediterraneo was a welcome starter.

Similarly, we scraped up every morsel of a wonderfully flavorful eggplant and homemade Italian sausage lasagna ($13) and grilled bistecca (beefsteak) entree ($18). The latter arrived tender, juicy and rich with flavors deceptively simple (my guess: olive oil, salt, pepper, perhaps a couple of secret seasonings).

My only complaint? Pane & Vino really should put together a more informed wine menu with a complete listing of winery names rather than just "Riesling" or "Costamolino Vermentino." Sure, one could simply ask for the brand, as I did of our gracious server. But why not keep things even more simplified?

(If the idea at work here, however, is to keep annoying wine snobs far away from Pane & Vino's laid-back charms, more power to you, Fabrizio.)

An amusing host, Favale delighted in chatting with guests. A table of Japanese tourists was asked if they knew how to Eskimo kiss and then given a demonstration. Rather than hire entertainment, Favale sang in Italian while animatedly sharpening his knives behind the bar.

We felt so at home by meal's end, we were somewhat surprised when the check arrived.

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.