Banana Leaf Pasta Cafe

We were still debating whether to eat here after reading the spotty reviews on Unilocal… We looked at the menu posted at the window and wondered if we should just head elsewhere for lunch. Fortunately another patron saw us and told us there was good food here so we decided to go inside to try it out.
The first thing we noticed was that there were a lot of Chinese patrons… So of course the restaurant was extremely loud (reminded me of eating dim sum on the weekends…). Even though there were only three tables (including ours) when we went, service was still kind of slow. While waiting for the server to take our orders, we noticed the cute décor. I love the feel of the restaurant… I want my home to look like that! I didn’t like the net of lights on the ceiling though… It was kind of out-​of-​place with the rest of the décor.
On to the food! The food was alright. My friends ordered pasta (one with red sauce and the other with white sauce) and they were pretty good. The white sauce was too rich for me but tasty nonetheless. I ordered the chicken and mushroom risotto based on the recommendations of fellow Unilocalers. It was $ 11.95 + 15% off if you have an iD card! We also got some free garlic bread, so be sure to dine in with someone with an iD for extra deals! The iD card works for up to four people. (: The chicken was lightly coated with flour then deep fried. It paired nicely with the rich, creamy mushroom risotto. They definitely don’t skimp out on the chicken and mushroom!
I thought that the garlic bread wasn’t as good as everyone said. It wasn’t as garlicky as I would have liked and it cooled down really fast, making me believe that it wasn’t that fresh. I know a lot of people don’t like how the pasta is a bit more al dente than other restaurants, but I kind of like it. It’s not cooked as long, so the noodles are more firm but they are definitely cooked all the way through!
The parking is a hassle, but it’s McCully Shopping Center. Good food, good prices, difficult parking, spotty service = solid three stars! I wish I could give them 3.5 stars since they were actually pretty good!

I went for lunch on a Sunday… not sure why it was so incredibly empty. I’m writing this review in hopes that this place stays in business!
I’ve been to Banana Leaf maybe about five times. The first time I went inside, I was so surprised at how clean and nice it was inside! It has a very bright and clean feel which I love.
I had the mushroom risotto. Mmmm it was so tasty. I also recently tried the cajun risotto which was EVEN BETTER! It was just spicy enough to make my mouth happy! The garlic bread and mozzarella sticks were wonderful as well. The service, as I’ve experienced, was always great.
I would describe this place as an Asian-​Italian fusion restaurant which might be why it appeals to my palette so much. Not that I know much about Italian food, but it’s probably not the most traditional Italian place. But I still love it!

Not bad. If you need a quick Japanese style pasta fix, this is the place to go. Prices are a little pricey but you do get a lot of food. And the best part, it’s BYOB.
My motto is go with a lot of people so you can try a lot of different things. One pasta for one person is way more than enough, especially if you order their delicious garlic bread and other apps. They do have some selection of rice dishes, but are known for their pasta, so that’s probably what you should get. The alfredo and shrimp linguini pastas were good.
Note: Parking is scarce, especially on a weekend evening.

I really wanted to give Banana Leaf Pasta Café a good review. My fiancée and I were big fans of the Banana Leaf Bistro prior to its conversion to the Anytime Café and had high hopes for this location. Unfortunately, quality at this location was subpar, as is the case with Anytime Café.
The Good:
— Great Service
— Cleanliness
— BYOB (no corkage fee)
The Bad:
— Quality of food
Anyhow, the fiancée and I actually ended up at Banana Leaf on accident. We had gone to McCully Shopping Center to get dinner at Yotteko-​Ya after the auto show. Unfortunately, Yotteko-​Ya had sold out for the night. So we decided to give Banana Leaf Café a try.
Service and cleanliness here are good. As we walked in, we were immediately greeted and sat. Service throughout our visit was very prompt and courteous. This was, perhaps, the establishment’s strongest point. Unfortunately, the quality of the food is not comparable to the service.
On our particular visit, the fiancée ordered the Pepperoncini & Shrimp pasta, while I ordered the seafood combination pasta. Our pastas arrived ordered within a reasonable amount of time, though they arrived at a near boiling hot temperature. This was a bad sign… usually pasta served at this sort of temperature are overdone and this was one was no exception. The pasta was overdone (a BIG pet peeve of mine), while the sauce that it was served in was very soupy and thin. The pasta, however, was still edible, as I’ve had WAY worst before. Unfortunately, it didn’t end here. The seafood in the pasta also tended to be overdone and on the fishy side. The best part of this dish, was actually the garlic parmesan bread served on the side.
While other dishes seemed interesting, I probably won’t be back to give them a try. Our experience here was very similar to our experience at Anytime Café, so I should have know better. It’s disappointing to see a good duo of restaurants like these fall the way they have. It is my sincere hope that these two restaurants can turn themselves around, however, I do not see this happening, as it appears that the owners our satisfied with maintaing the status quo. Very unfortunate!
Three stars for excellent service, but poor quality of food!

Banana Leaf Pasta Café is located on the bottom floor of McCully Shopping Center. I actually quite enjoyed this quaint little establishment but my boyfriend had different opinions so I’m rounding this review out to a 3.5 star experience.
What is thoroughly impressive is that there is ONE person working the entire front of the restaurant– he does everything from hosting, taking orders, food running, bussing tables, take-​out orders, and cashiering ALL BY HIMSELF! It was honestly like watching a real life game of diner dash… I give him props because it’s hard to do what he does and he does it pretty calmly.
Bf and I ordered the:
*Thai Iced Tea ($ 3) — not the best, but it is a good sized cup.
*Fried Seafood Salad ($ 10) — nice light vinaigrette dressing with fried calamari and shrimp to top a bed of lettuce. This was surprisingly pretty good.
* Shrimp Pepperocinni Pasta ($ 12) — huge pieces of shrimp tossed in a garlic chili sauce over a bed of spaghetti. Much like something you’d get from Kit n Kitchen or Angelo Pietros.
*Chicken Puttanesca ($ 15) — nothing special. This was the only problem of the night. Diner Dasher brought out Chicken marsala and quickly realized it was the wrong order, dashed back to the kitchen and returned 5 minutes later with chicken puttanesca served with rice… um, I’m pretty sure the menu said spaghetti but at this point my bf was already irritated so instead of making the waiter bring food back for the second time, he ate it, minus the rice.
Fun Fact: they accept the ID card here– free order of garlic bread (with the order of 2 regular entrees) AND 15% off the bill.
Overall, the food here is actually not bad, and they are priced about the same as any other pasta fusion restaurant. Will I frequent this place often? Probably not, but if you’re ever in the area, stop by and experience Diner Dash live in person :)

Went here with a friend for lunch the other day, always wanted to try this spot.
The place was relatively empty maybe just two other tables there. Service was ok, no complaints, but again hard to tell since it was relatively slow.
Anyway on to the food, I opted for a Shrimp Spaghetti Pepperocini Style with a side salad while my friend tried the Tiramisu.
The salad was a little disappointing, dressing was bland definitely could have been spruced up a bit. The Spaghetti came very very quickly which well, can be good or bad, depending how you look at it.
My only complaint with the Pasta was slightly undercooked noodles, I enjoy al dente but the noodles were still a bit undercooked for al dente. The flavor was there though, simple not overbearing and the portion size was good for a quick lunch.
I’m not a big dessert person but I enjoyed the Tiramisu, had a taste of it and it was light and tasty.
Overall, it’s worth another try for me, a placed mixed with positives and negatives but I’m always looking for new italian spots so I’ll give it another go soon.

It’s a bit difficult where to place this restaurant on the greatness scale. Reading other reviews, I agree with them. This place is spic-​and-​span and the food is pretty good. I think it just didn’t «wow» me like other restaurants do. I don’t feel that same «OMG» effect that I normally do with some of my other reviews. It was just «OK» as «OK» can get.
I had Chicken… um…[insert italian word] (it was stewed in a tomato-​based sauce with olive, veggies, and capers). My girlfriend had the Chicken Fettuccine. Both were pretty good. No surprises in the good way nor the bad way. Very simple and classic Italian fare that exemplifies the purpose of the cooking style: less ingredients, better quality.
The only real gripe I had was with price and portion. Portions were quite small for the price. I feel they could’ve gave a little more to make me feel like I stretched my hard earned dollars a little further.
We also had dessert and that too seemed ho hum. Our «chef’s choice» plate included 2 cream puffs, a small scoop of vanilla ice cream, and a mini cheesecake square with chocolate and strawberry drizzle. It too was ooooook. The cream puffs seemed like the ones from costco. But the ice cream was good. And the strawberry sauce.
Overall, I don’t really know how to feel about Banana Leaf. It was good, but not bad, but not that good. So I don’t know how I truly feel about my experience.
But I will say it is clean, the staff is nice, the atmosphere is very pleasant, and the food simple, familiar, and above all else, GOOD. For anyone who is on the fence about going to eat here, try it. You won’t be disappointed. It’s good Italian fare. Really it is.

If service and cleanliness are important attributes to a good restaurant in your book, this is your place. But if you favor restaurants with outstanding food and/​or authenticity, keep on searching.
The service here is awesome. We got our menus right when we got seated, our orders were taken promptly and arrived soon after, and everyone’s orders were correct. But I didn’t leave the restaurant with a satisfied tummy. My fresh clam spaghetti was soupy and on the bland side.
I will point out that their garlic bread was delicious — very buttery and it looks like they make it on a grill.
The fried calamari on the table next to us looked and smelled delicious too.
But, I probably won’t get try it because I probably won’t be back again. I’m one of them people that prioritize the quality of the food. :)
Flash your iDcard for 15% off Monday thru Thursday and one free garlic bread for each two entrees purchased.
B.Y.O.B. (no corkage fee!!)

This was my first visit here and I really enjoyed it. There was six of us and we actually decided to come here because our plans to go to the HNL Farmer’s Market got rained on! Banana Leaf Pasta Café is a nice comfortable place with a casual setting. The menu is fairly easy to navigate and there is quite a selection to choose from. I ordered the shrimp and scallop fettuccine with tomato sauce which arrived nice and hot. The portion size was a bit smaller than I had expected, but the meal was very tasty. The gf had the clam spaghetti with white wine sauce which she also enjoyed. But you’ve got to have their garlic bread. It was toasted just right and the garlic wasn’t overpowering. Topped off dinner with a panna cotta for dessert which was great! Their service is very attentive and friendly, plus the restaurant is very clean. Before I end this review, I have to comment on the glasses of water. Some may not think like I do, but I thought it was extra refreshing, a nice glass, lots of ice and a lemon… Not just a standard glass of water… :)

Yes, I gave this place a four-​star. And I am a fan :)
The Good
* BYOB b! tches! always a good thing to have 711 just next door to get your alcoholic drink to bring into the restaurant and they encourage you to do so too!
* Pasta is always good here. I especially like their eggplant spaghetti.
* I am a big fan of their saffron saucedddd risotto. yummm.
* Service was superb. I just ate here this weekend, and the gentleman was so nice. Very attentive, but didn’t bother us too much like how some people do. He explained all the dishes I asked questions about. When he didn’t know the answer he said the right thing… which was: I am not really sure, but if you will let me, I will ask our chef. *ding*ding*ding. THANK YOU for your honesty and politeness :)
The Bad
* The prices are a bit up there compared to the other cheap good eats around the McCully area
The Weird
* Almost all the workers here are Chinese *ding*ding*ding
* There was this lady that came in when I was eating.. .. . I think she enjoyed the «BYOB» a littttttleee… too much…

If I had to describe Banana Leaf Pasta Café, I would have to say it’s very… cute. It gives a warm, clean and cozy environment, and the dishes are adorable!
Overall, the pasta is okay. The mushroom and chicken risotto is tasty but I prefer to have more salt. The chicken is delicious but the mushroom is a bit overpowering. Moreover, the spaghetti with white sauce is creamy and thick but I thought it also lacked taste.
However, I love the bread! The garlic bread is toasty and seasoned perfectly. For the price, it’s definitely worth it!

Unilocal 365: ⁰¹⁵⁄₃₆₅
If you want Italian food with a twist of Asian flavors, no need to look any farther! Banana Leaf Pasta Café is the place for you! Seriously, this place has some of the best fusion styles of Italian cooking in Hawaii. From the risottos to the noodles, you got Asian Italian goodness glistening from the dishes.
Food: I have never gone there and had it be an off day at this venue. They have specials which introduce more ways Italian/​Asian fusion can rock your world. Their cream sauces (what I usually go for) are not heavy, but actually really light. The spaghettis are great over here as well. They now have a variety, not consisting of anything Italian, for lunch now. Plus, if you have the Isle Discount card, you get 15% off your bill and a free order of special garlic bread along with the complimentary bread and butter. The special garlic bread also has a sort of Asian flair in it’s taste. They also have sets for those of you who want a set meal: appetizer, main dish, and dessert.
Service: The service has gotten better over the past couple of years. When it first opened, it was kind of slow, but in recent months, the service has gotten better. The wait staff got more curteous and the you do not have to wait long for the food to come out. The water was always checked on and although there has always been only one waiter whenever we went during lunch, he knew how to make sure everybody in the restaurant was doing okay.
I liked how this restaurant has improved with recent years and have to agree with the misses’ five star rating of this place. Drop in and see for yourself why we think highly of this place. Until next time, Unilocal POWER!!!

Cheap, good food. Dinner Italian style for around $ 15 incl tip and tax! All around, this place is pretty darn good, with a few surprising twists.
The bread is really good. Light, fluffy, crisp on the outside, warm on the inside.
House salad was nice too – their vinaigrette was sweet and light.
Chicken and mushroom risotto was delicious! I was really surprised though when it came out and my chicken was deep fried and battered! Though it tasted wonderful, it kept throwing me off! It was like I was eating chicken nuggets with my classy risotto, it just didn’t make sense. Also confusing because previous Unilocalers’ pictures do not have this McDonald’s like addition – the chicken is not battered and it’s just mixed in. Tasty, nonetheless.
Chicken puttanesca was also delish! It came with rice instead of pasta (also interesting island twist), but the flavor was deep and wonderful. You could tell effort went into the sauce. Mmm.
I would definitely come back here for dinner – it’s cheap, they have prix fixe options (around 15 – 20 dollars per person), and for lunch they also have your standard plate lunch, along with smaller versions of some of the dinner entrees.

When you incorporate Asian and Italian concepts into your name, it is definitely going to be either a great experience or intolerable. Banana Leaf falls in between where I found the overall dining experience to simply be ok. The menu is simple, the food decent, and the service good. However there was nothing truly noteworthy that would keep me coming back for more.
The menu is your standard Italian fare, however it is definitely not authentic. I’m sure if I took a plate of their pasta to Italy I would be laughed at until someone died of exhaustion. It certainly will please a wide ranging palate though.
The crispy shrimp with a hot & spicy sauce wasn’t very hot & spicy nor was it very crispy. It does offer a rather good flavor profile, however if you are expecting hot hot hot, it definitely is not not not. The chicken picatta was alright with a nicely cooked chicken breast with decent flavor. I opted for pasta instead of the rice and found the linguine noodles to be slightly undercooked. I also found it strange that a pasta restaurant would only carry spaghetti or linguine noodles and no short noodles?
The location is convenient right in McCully Shopping Center, however parking can become a challenge at a peak time. Don’t forget that the center has an underground garage accessed off the side street. The ambiance is comfortable with clean and simple look. Definitely will not wow, but definitely not make you cringe.
Service was decent and the one highlight. Our server knew the menu and the details that would allow us to make the right food choices and my water glass never went empty.
Definitely a decent place to grab a meal. It certainly won’t wow you, however at the same time it certainly will not disappoint you.

First and definitely won’t be the last meal I have here. BYOB; This place was exactly how I imagined my dining experience would be from just reading others reviews. Service was alright, restaurant would fit about 35 people pretty small but that’s the great thing about these little cafes. The waiters seemed to be preoccupied doing other things and serving other customers after our food was served they only came to our table about 4x throughout the 1 ½ hrs we were sitting and eating our dinner which was alright with me because I don’t really like to be bothered constantly. I actually like to enjoy my food and have a good talk with the bf over dinner.
On the menu:
–Garlic Bread —tasty!
–Seafood Spaghetti —WOW! I did not have to add any salt (for all you pasta lovers that dine Italian, most don’t put salt in their sauce because of taste preference) their white sauce was thick and creamy add in some crushed red pepper flakes and BAM!
Dessert: Chef’s choice = cheesecake + cream puffs w/​vanilla ice cream wowoweee!
Total dinner for 2 w/​gratuity $ 48.00

I came here recently for takeout for dinner (didn’t have much time to sit and relax because I was cramming for finals!) I ordered the shrimp and scallop fettuccine. I would say it was alright, the sauce was heavy (as expected with fettuccine i guess) but the picture online showed asparagus, but i didn’t get any! Instead it came with peas, which made me very sad (since asparagus was why I kind of chose the dish). The portion was fairly small, with minimal amounts of seafood. It was disappointing for 14 bucks! Other than that, the food was decent, not all that great in my opinion.
I have dined at this location before, and the service was good. It is a small restaurant, but clean and nice atmosphere. I remember the dishes weren’t all that spectacular last time i went as well, but not bad. I’m not sure if it’s possible to screw up pasta all that bad! And, as usual, parking at McCully Shopping Center is always difficult and annoying. Overall, decent place, but overpriced for the quality of food.

Getting there: McCully Shopping center is easy to find but the parking is pretty hard to get. Always busy.
Ambiance: Medium-​dimmed lighting, no music, a small wall-​mounted tv makes this place a little schizophrenic. I’m not sure what kind of atmosphere it is going for but it is a clean establishment.
Service: Excellent. Only a couple of wait staff when I went and though it was not busy. Water always refilled and free parmesan cheese and fresh grounded red chili pepper to spice up your meal. And the bread was baked soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside.
Food: The shrimp and scallop risotto caught my eye as I don’t know where on the island to get risotto nor do I know how to make it at home. The saffron cream sauce and perfectly cooked rice was topped off with three or so pieces of shrimp and scallops. It was very filling though I wish they included a few more pieces of shrimp and scallop.
Who to bring: The place is small but can fit a group of 2 – 6 comfortably.
How much to bring: Twenty will buy you a meal and more.
Verdict: Would easily go back for the risotto and to try other dishes and dessert.
Final notes: Anyone reading this please suggest more places to try that make risotto! Thanks!

The décor and menu reminded me of the cute little pasta places I used to love eating at in Seoul, Korea. It’s not super authentic or fancy, but it did the job of filling my belly and my nostalgia tank.
The lunch special included a salad with an entrée. I got a pasta dish that included prosciutto, onions, mushrooms, green peas in a cream sauce. The sauce was a bit thin, but that’s what I’m used to in Asian-​Italian style dishes. The pasta was perfect, cooked just right, with a bite. But the prosciutto was a bit gamey. I think I would’ve been happy with just the veggies in my pasta. It was tasty and I killed the whole plate once I picked all the pork out. The salad was standard: greens, tomato slice, cucumber slice, and shredded carrot with a vinaigrette. We also got some garlic bread to share, which was my favorite! Slices of crispy bread covered with a topping shell of cheese and garlic. Mmm!
I also enjoyed the plantation iced tea! It was so pretty to look at too!
Service was A+, and I want to go back to try more of their menu items.

I’ve been here a couple times and it’s a great meal for the price. The place is fairly small but cozy. It’s a nice play to go with a small group of people. The only problem is that it’s in Mcully Shopping Center so parking gets a little rough at dinner time.
I really like the Chicken and Mushroom Risotto. It has a nice broth taste to it that makes you keep wanting more. The Spicy Garlic Shrimp appetizer is also delicious, it come with about 8 pieces of shrimp, good enough for 2 people. I also had the Tiramisu for dessert but didn’t really care for it.

I’ve come here a couple times, but for some reason haven’t been back for a while. But when my mom asked me where I wanted to go to dinner the other night after doing some Unilocal research I decided to give her a list and told her to choose a place and she chose here.
This a smaller restaurant in Mcully Marketplace, but it is very modern. It’s BYOB so that’s always a plus. When this place first opened there was always a wait, but when we went (around 6:30p.m.) there were only a couple of people in there, perfect for us. They have an array of different dishes with appetizzers like steamed clams in a wine sauce, calamari, fried seafood salad, pasta dishes like seafood soup spaghettini, meat lasagna, risotto dishes like chicken and mushroom and king crab, pizzas, and more.
I love the variety and different combinations and the dishes are all moderately priced from about $ 10-​$ 16. The food comes out very quickly, is served with warm house bread, and your water even comes with a tiny slice of lemon already in your glass. The food is pretty good, not spectacular, but not horrible so that you’d never come back. In fact, ever since I went there the other night I’ve kinda been itchin’ to go back… so why not grab a bottle of wine or a 6-​pack from the 7 – 11 right next door and head on down for some pasta (or pizza, or risotto, or a salad. you get my drift)!