It might be billed as a wedding venue, but 53 By the Sea is a food destination in its own right.

The restaurant, located on the site of the former John Dominis, is the island’s newest Italian restaurant, headed by chef Hiroshi Hayakawa. The menu boasts an extensive variety of appetizers and entrees, many of them inspired by the cuisine of Sardinia, an island in the Mediterranean Sea.

You just have to get past the building.

The restaurant is on the ground floor of a $16 million, two-story Mediterranean-meets-gothic-style structure that’s part chapel, part reception hall with an unobstructed view of Diamond Head. To say it’s huge would be an understatement. In fact, it’s a little intimidating — and probably not be the best spot for a first date, if you know what I mean.

We were invited by the operators of the restaurant to check out the menu last night — and I never pass up a chance to eat!

So here’s what our dinner looked like:

Kamiya papaya and seasonal fruit soup

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The dessert most of the guests loved was this simple-yet-complex fruit soup ($9) with mangoes, lychee, papaya, strawberries and other fruits. It was delicious and refreshing.