Kalapawai Cafe

Review summary

1. A

   ART

   Hawaii

   11 reviews

   5.0

   11 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   We are supper diners and we recommend making reservations. They get busy. With reasonable expectations anything you order will be satisfying. I wouldn't say that they are a budget venue, however, fair for what you receive. They always have a chef special for steaks and seafood as well as a catch of the day entee. Their cheese and salumi platter is a great start for 4 guests with cocktails. Hope you enjoy!
   

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2. T

   Teresa

   VIP

   Hawaii

   47 reviews

   5.0

   47 reviews

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Love their food and casual local atmosphere. "Don's favorite" is our favorite too. Their fish is always done just right. Desserts are yummy too!
   

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3. I

   Irish

   Hawaii

   6 reviews

   5.0

   6 reviews

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   Food and service was excellent. The traffic made it a bit noisy
   

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4. M

   MNG

   San Francisco

   13 reviews

   5.0

   13 reviews

   Dined on December 9, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   If you used to only think of Kalapawai for just lunches and sandwiches, they are far more than that. Their dinner servings are sophisticated, delicious and quite reasonable for the serving size and creativity. The atmosphere remains very casual since seating is either outdoor (along Kailua Road) or in the back area of the cafe. Noise levels can get a bit high as the night gets busier and I really appreciate Kalapawai keeping the restaurant music-free. Don't get me wrong - - I love music - - but unless it's a concert, I prefer comfortable dinner conversation over having to yell across the table to my companions. One of our friends does not eat meat and he was impressed and thrilled that he had so many options available for him. Service is stellar and every single item we ordered on a recent visit was delicious. - traditional bruschetta to start - nice mix of fresh and sun dried tomatoes - lamb stew - - rich and tender - ahi with scallop & shrimp - lobster sauce was beautiful - portobello burger - - yum - Beyond Burger burger - - just as yum - apple crisp for dessert - - with cherries ala mode - - I could have had this for dinner alone Added plus that not only was our server great, but you can tell that the staff all like each other too and work well as a team. I've been in the service industry for my entire career, and from a workers as well as a customers perspective, if you have a crew that gets along, they always work better together and that automatically transfers to a much better customer experience as well. This was our evening and a few nights later we went back. Our cooktop went out on us that afternoon and we were forced to ditch our plans to cook at home. My husband immediately said he could go for that lamb stew again so we called in an order for that and for the mushroom bolognese. They did a beautiful job packing these up for take out too.
   

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5. M

   Melissa

   Orlando

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on December 4, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Food is always amazing and service is great! 10/10 recommend
   

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6. C

   Ceci

   Hawaii

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on December 4, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Always great service…Kealoha, Egeria and the rest of the team are the best!
   

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7. L

   Lucinda

   Hawaii

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on November 19, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Another fabulous dinner at Kalapawai Cafe in Kailua. Last night was a birthday celebration and we ordered more than we normally do. We started with the fig and the crab artichoke appetizer. Both selections were ridiculously delish. From the dinner selections, we all ordered the fresh ahi layered on top of Bok choy and creamy, perfectly cooked, lemongrass risotto. Amazing! For dessert, an order of fruit crisp and lilikoi cheesecake. Heaven! Kudos to the Chef and staff!
   

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8. R

   Robert

   Hawaii

   3 reviews

   4.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on November 9, 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Dinner was great as usual, this is one of our favorites. Service was good, was busy when we arrived so getting my 1st took a little longer. We could eat there once a week. 😊
   

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9. T

   Ty

   Hawaii

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on November 9, 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Excellent experience! The food was amazing and Rocky was outstanding. We will definitely be returning.
   

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10. a

    amber

    VIP

    Hawaii

    77 reviews

    3.0

    77 reviews

    Dined on November 3, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3

    My husband’s meal is as great. Mine was fair, the chicken added to my salad was way over done. My daughters was ok.
    

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