cafe kaila

we came here at 7:30am for breakfast and there was noline(big thumbs up!!). i ordered the belgium waffles with blueberries which were slightly crispy on the outside, moist and fluffy on the inside and they didn't skimp on the blueberries either - delicious breakfast, but nothing too out of the ordinary or spectacular. my partner had the eggs benedict which was a very tasty dish also, definitely worth coming here early for a bite before the crowds come in :)

i've wanted to try cafe kaila for a while now since i love breakfast, and our family recent went down early so we wouldn't have to wait in a long line. frittata eggs, bacon, rice & toast pancakes kiddie meal - one pancake with bacon and a drink cookies and cream waffle we arrived at cafe kaila shortly before it opened, and were the second party in line, but by the time it opened at 7am, thelinewas quite long (a van full of tourists was dropped off). because there was a bit of a mad rush to get people seated right away, orders were not taken in the order of tables seated (e.g. although we were the second table seated, our orders were one of the last to be taken). fortunately we didn't have to wait too long for our orders to be taken, and getting free samples of their belgian malted waffles while we waited for our food was a nice surprise.    i had the   frittata, which was gigantic. it was full of potatoes, cheeses, and meats, and i couldn't even finish it.  a special that day was coo

cafe kaila is a great restaurant for breakfast in honolulu. just check the reviews on yelp and ask the locals. portions are big. food tastes great. definitely a neighborhood gem. cafe kaila is a very popular eatery do be sure to get there early because people literally wait onlinefor up to 30 minutes to be seated. if you happen to come at prime time, be sure to sign your name on the sheet in front of the restaurant and wait for your name to be called. if you're lucky, one of the staff members will pass out samples of their food while you're waiting. pray it's their waffles because it's so delicious - crispy, thin, sweet waffles! what to get? their waffles are delicious. an added bonus: they are topped with fresh fruit. another great choice: the local scramble - eggs, cheese and your choice of meat scrambled with a side of fruit, toast, and roasted potatoes. i couldn't resist getting spam - it added the right amount of saltiness to the scramble. a meal big enough to share with someone

it is just, at the end of it all, just eggs.... this was a recommendation by others and being a person who likes to eat breakfast food at any time of the day, i was anxious to try this place out. a rival of the original "eggs n things" of the pink cadillac era? one could only hope.
and apparently we honoluluans need to keep hoping. a breakfast party of six people ended up being slightly over $120 with tip included (let it be known that i am usually generous with tips..even when the server is asinine).
the sign-in sheet and crowd outside normally makes me feel excited. at the cramped location and sidewalk of market city mall, it just made me grouchy.
so what did all of that cash get us? not much. i make better scrambled eggs, actually better eggs period, using farm fresh eggs that i procure from a hatchery in kalihi. the pancakes were, how shall i put it, banana flavored...but there were no bananas...that was the smell and taste that uncooked flour seems to impart and with increasing frequency at cafes and drive inns in honolulu...either thelinecook is not trained, or batter items are served tataki style everywhere.
then of course there was the easy banter between the customers who obviously come to the place (to eat, to be seen, to be hip, i don't know...) and the overtly cool staff. do you know how irritated you become if someone brought, uninvited, a guest to your party who made off-hand caustic remarks, in the belief that it they are cool and funny without realizing they are anuses? that is exactly the kind of waiters that work here, or i don't know maybe these guys are the owners. i want to tell you now, because you will find that most of my reviews center around the wait staff, that i tend to be generous with my tipping and compliments if the service is deserved of such accolades. i firmly believe that good restaurant service is an art not just a job. when you find a restaurant with excellent staff that is because the owner/manager is treating them well which is a good sign. i am not interested in being assisted by a phd candidate trying to make ends meet and wants you to know that this is not their real aspiration...well sorry but that phd is yours and yours alone, can i just have my coffee refilled? save yourself the time and agony of waiting on the sidewalk...get yourself a good pack of extra thick bacon from sam's club and go to asagi hatchery or peterson's farm and get fresh eggs...it will be much more fun and you can leave your coolness in the closet