Influenced by many people who have mentioned i ate at Café Kaila, i decided to take my lunch partner there today. As we took a look around the small and cozy restaurant, we were happy with the ambiance. The way the restaurant was run mixed with all the other customers made it feel very "home-like". The first thing we noticed on the menu was that they serve breakfast ALL DAY!
Their menu is big for being such a small, cozy café. They pride themselves on using fresh produce and getting organic when available. They also offer "healthier" options like turkey bacon. Our waiter greeted us and told us about their daily soup, Chicken and Wild Rice. He made it clear that they made it from scratch so we ordered it while we looked over the menu. After a hard discussion on what we would order from, we decided on a Veggie and Avocado Sandwich, Roasted Vegetable Sandwich and a Turkey Bacon Frittata. Tina also decided to order a Lychee Iced Tea while i ordered a Plain Iced Tea.
I had a taste of her iced tea and was blown away at how it tasted. It had a very distinct sweet lychee taste and it stayed even when i gulped it down. Definitely worth ordering whenever you come.
Now this was a huge burst of flavor in my mouth. The soup tasted like it's been simmering all morning soaking up each elements flavors and the end product was heaven. A tomato and chicken base mixed with the different vegetables and diced, grilled chicken breast. Every spoonful was delightful and part of me wished that it was a never ending bowl :(.
This is a vegetarians DREAM sandwich. It features Avocado, Spinach, Tomato, Onions, Mushrooms, Shredded Carrots and Provolone Cheese with Pesto and Balsamic Vinaigrette between two slices of Hearty Wheat Bread. Many places serve pesto and usually it's overpowered with one of the components (Basil, Garlic, Olive Oil, Pine nuts, Parmesean) but Cafè Kaila's isn't. The Pesto is very harmonious in the sandwich and complements the other ingredients in the sandwich.
Another delectable sandwich! Although we both agreed that California Pizza Kitchen's Grilled Vegetable Sandwich is much better, this one is a runner up! The sandwich is a mixture of Roasted Eggplant, Red Peppers, Zucchini, Mushrooms, Onions, Tomatoes, Fresh Spinach, Provolone Cheese and Pesto inside slices of Toasted Foccacia. Yet another great choice for Vegetarians or customers looking for a "Healthier" option. Personally a different choice of bread would've been better for this juicy sandwich. I kind of wished for a thicker bread to soak up the juices of the vegetables but dealt with it. Like any other Grilled/Roasted Vegetable Sandwich, it's a bit hard to eat. The running juices down your hands and the frequent vegetables falling out of your sandwich are normal for these kind of sandwiches. At the end of it, i was content. I would definitely order it again...just on a different bread :).
Let me explain what this is first. Basically a Frittata is Eggs mixed with Fillings (Meat, Potatoes, Veggies) and then baked. Think of it as a baked omelet almost. Anyways, this was the best thing that i ate! Each element in the Frittata was perfect. The Potatoes to my surprise were tender and still held their firm shape and the Bacon was lovely with that slight smokey taste. The Frittata itself was very light, moist and flavorful.
Overall our time at Café Kaila was great! Great food, perfect ambiance and a very welcoming group of workers made this experience enjoyable. Probably why when i tried to go for breakfast last Friday at 7:30 in the morning, the place was packed with a line out the door!
Address: 2919 Kapiolani Blvd.
Hours: Monday through Sunday 7am - 3pm
Phone: (808)732-3330
Taste: 4
Appearance: 4
Location: 3.5
Value: 3.5
Overall: 3.75
*Based on a 5 point scoring system with 1 being Not So Good and 5 being Great*]
-Chef B
