Café Julia

Bought a Groupon for $ 20 for $ 40
Worth of food. I ate the garlic ahi and my wife got the furikake salmon. Both were not bad. I think the salmon was better than the ahi. The garlic mashed potatoes were really good. Service here is awesome and from 6:00 there is live music. Happy hour is 4 – 6 pm. You can park either on the street which is meter parking till 6pm or in the Alii parking structure and they will validate the first hour. One thing you should try here is the Ahi Poke Tacos. I heard their Loco Moco is really good but they only serve it for lunch.

Went here last Sunday with my family. This is one of those diamond in the rough type of places. You have to seek to find it. Thanks to a Goupon gift from my sister, my family & I had a delicious dinner. The ambiance was so inviting, kind, and relaxing. The waitress «Ann» was so sweet and very well experienced with the foods we ordered. She gave us excellent service. The food for the price was worth every dime. The addition was the jazz musician that came in and entertained us while we ate. It was a very memorable dinner for a Sunday. I will be returning to this little hide away soon

Visited café julia for a lunch. My friend had a grupon but we couldn’t use it during the lunch, only dinner menu but that’s ok. I always wanted to check this place anyway.
The location is great, just across the street from the palace, in this old historic building. Outside looks really good with a small sitting areas at a courtyard. Unfortunately, inside doesn’t look so good, outdated tables and chairs, cheap tables cloths and napkins and this wooden wall painted in green that supposed to separate tables. I don’t get it.
Anyway, we ordered a combo of vegge quiche with a corn chowder soup and a salad — $ 20! It was ok. My friend really liked the quiche but I think it was too wet. We both agreed that the soup had a weird aftertaste, like super strong, fermented? Corn; and a green mix salad. It was not worth the money they asked for.
Service was nice but slow. It took them way to long to serve something that doesn’t require preparation or cooking.
All in all, Ill be back for a dinner to use the grupon. Hopefully they let us sit outside.

Never been to the actual restaurant, but my friend had her wedding ceremony here & it was absolutely gorgeous.
The ceremony was held in the outside courtyard and had beautiful arches and designs. The courtyard has perfect places to take wedding photos. It is also quiet and is a little breezy, which is the ideal place for an outdoor wedding.
I don’t know all the details of the wedding (pricing and stuff), just look at the pictures I posted, it really is beautiful. The only thing is parking might be a hassle on a weekday, but they do have a parking structure where you can validate. Other than that, if you’re looking for a venue for your wedding, this could be a possibility.

OMG! This place is like a little hidden oasis in the city.
We walked in and was immediately greeted by our waitress «Annie». She was incredible. Always made sure we were taken care of but she wasn’t hovering over us. It was perfect! Plus she was fun, nice and relatable. I’m not used to going to fancy restaurants but Annie helped me feel comfortable.
The food! OMG! Ok after getting over the prices we ordered the Seafood Salad and the Prime Rib. OMG!!! Both were Sooooooooooo good!!! The salad jumped in your mouth while the mash potatoes just melted. Then add some perfectly cooked and seasoned shrimp, scallops and calamari, and your in heaven!
Then the prime rib came out. It was sooooooo juicy and the vegetables were crisp. It was Awesome!
Lastly, since we were celebrating my birthday the restaurant gave us a complementary dessert. So we ordered the caramel bread pudding. And we just melted. The bread pudding was so soft and the caramel just melted in your mouth.
Overall we Loved coming to Café Julia! The service, food and experience was EXCELLENT! Can’t wait to come back again!

Came here because of getting a Groupon. It was actually a really nice place in downtown, but parking is horrible! I got lucky with street parking as so did my friend. We were able to get parking right in front since we met up there right after work. I don’t know where we would’ve parked if not.
We ordered the poke tacos, escargot, foie gras, ossobuco, and shared the chocolate flambé for dessert. Everything was decently good, but none that great. Service was good, but a little slow. They came to check up on us time to time and fulfilled our needs. I did like how they flambed the dessert in front of us because there’s not many restaurants that does that nowadays.
The prices were a little high for the quality of the food. Even with the groupon it came out to be priced like a normal meal. It parking were better, I might want to try go again. But besides that, not sure if it’s worth it.

The food is excellent over here. They have great service and its very nice and cute in here. I tried the ceaser saled for apetizer which was prepared right in front of us and was good. Then I had garlic ahi which the chef who prepared it did it just perfect. It just melted in my mouth. Yummy! My first experience over here and not my last.

Visited Cafè Julia with my family because we bought a Groupon for this restaurant. I had no idea there was a restaurant in the YWCA!
The ambiance is nice, set in a historic building the restaurant attracts townies just getting off of work. Parking can get a little hairy if you’re not able to find street parking in the immediate vicinity. After three go-​arounds we found parking on the street near the post office. Luckily it was a Sunday so no need to pay the meter!
The service was nice, but slow. The furnishings inside the restaurant were a bit odd, with tables similar to the wrought iron ones at Starbucks. It was strange to me that such a cute place would have such cheapey furniture.
The food was delicious, although I felt like it was slightly overpriced. My seafood salad had such little seafood, it eventually was just rabbit food. The French onion soup was delicious and their wine and cocktail selection was abundant. I liked the fact that they had a musician playing during our meal. It gave it a nice touch! Overall if it weren’t for the groupon I wouldn’t have visited this place, and I probably won’t go out of my way to go back either. This spot is more for the working professional catching a cocktail and some apps after work. Not for me!

They kept the kitchen open for us, so we could eat lunch there. lobster rolls were so great, it made me feel in heaven.

I wish I could rate this place better. It’s a cool building and an historic landmark.
I’ve been quite a few times for lunch. The prices for the quality of the food are just ridiculous.
Today kind of did me in. Roast beef sandwich and ice tea. $ 30 with tax and tip. There was barely any roast beef on the sandwich and the bread was stale.
My friend got the chicken marsala. It tasted OK. I think the sauce was basically the same that was on my roast beef which was pretty funny. I think they use the same for loco moco gravy too. I mean come on. Anyway, the chicken on the marsala was dry and it was plated with the dried chicked breast just sliced over the top like someone was plating a ceasar salad. Overall the dish wasn’t too authentic. For $ 20…not worth it.
I’ve had the quiche, lobster roll, soups, some of the salads, ahi sandwich, and have tried some other things. The ahi sandwich at $ 19.95, is such a rip off. If it was 10 or 11 bucks, maybe, but not $ 20!!!
Again, it’s the quality AND price. I have no problems paying for delicious food, even for lunch. The quality just doesn’t match with the prices.
The desserts are pretty good though and the manager is really nice too.
The service is nice and the venue has such potential. I know they’ve tried a bunch of different things to bring people in. How about a new chef and someone who has a palate for tasty simple delicious food?! And bring down the prices!
I’ve also had catered events, right outside of the café by the pool. The pupu’s were great there and service was fantastic. They did a nice job on set up too. I would definitely do a small reception/​event again. It was a great value and you could byob with no extra costs.
Regarding lunch though, ugh. For a similar setting, you’re better off going to the Café at the Honolulu Art Museum or even Mariposa or Town. Food is MUCH better. Heck, go down to Nico’s Pier and for half the price you can get an awesome fish sandwich or a delicious fresh plate lunch!

My update is strictly based on coming here after work to kill an hour before my ride, or when I came here for lunch by myself.
The food is okay, it’s not bad, but not great. Fries are tasty. Honestly I think I was most saddened by the very small glass of wine that costs $ 8 and because I love to tip a total of $ 10.
Host was sweet, offering people who were there waiting on takeout some water. The bartender at the time was okay and I was the only one sitting at the bar and there weren’t many tables occupied either.
I really wish this place livens up because honestly I love the building and location!

Café Julia… no I am not bias bc of the lovely closeness to my name. You walk in, and instantly feel like you are in another city! The architecture is lovely! Our party was greeted and seated appropriately. When I come here I always order the same thing! Prime Rib, and well it is always amazing. I am never let down, so I stick to it. The Caesar is fab and the banana fosters is to die for. All and all, a fabulous treat that make my tummy purr with happiness!

First time to the Richard’s Street YWCA. There isn’t parking in the building, but there are metered stalls on Richard Street, King Street and at the US Post Office parking lot, or in the Ali’i Place building. Entrance is from Alakea St., just past the Mandalay Restaurant. If you don’t mind the walk and it is a gorgeous day like today, you can park in the Chinatown municipal lots.
Today Café Julia is the venue for my cousin’s wedding reception. The courtyard fronting the restaurant was the where the ceremony was held. Accommodated the musicians and approximately 40+ chairs. Lots of standing room around the courtyard. (Guests faced Mauka)
Restrooms are located on the ground level in the lobby of The Y. Women to the right, men to the left.
The food is great. I am not sure of the reception food is regular menu items, just scaled down to heavy pupu style, but very tasty!
Lobster bisque with a grilled cheese sandwich stick, pasta with meatballs, sausage bites, mushrooms, red or white sauce, teriyaki beef skewers, chicken sticks, asian salad, chef salad, fresh fruits, mini cheeseburgers and roast beef sliders, I think. It didn’t look like much, but trust me, it was a lot! Definitely coming back for lunch one day.

I purchased a Groupon deal for this place and prior to that never heard of it before. Parked at the Ali’i Place thanks to a prior Unilocal review, which was very helpful being that this restaurant is located in the downtown area. After we parked, we got a little lost as to where this place was, but eventually found it in the YWCA. I thought it was very cool that it was located in this historic building. If it’s a muggy/​hot night, dress light because there is no AC here.
We ended up ordering the Ahi Poke Tacos to start. This was very tasty and I really enjoyed it. Little messy, but very yummy. My bf ordered the scallops and I ordered the Prime rib with garlic mashed potatoes. We figure we could do like a surf and turf to try two different items on the menu. The wait for the food was a bit long, considering that it wasn’t that busy. Once our food came, it kind of looked a bit on the smaller side than we’d hope. BUT, as we starting eating the scallops and the prime rib… we were SUPER full. I think the plating made it seem small, but it really wasn’t. Scallops were pretty soft and the prime rib was tender.
Overall, I enjoyed myself and the service was very accommodating. There was live music, but it wasn’t over bearing at all. Good thing they have a Groupon, because I would never have known about this place.

I snagged an awesome priced deal! The experience was quite a disappointment. I’ve been seeing this place in groupon for months $ 25 for $ 50 worth of food. One lucky day I saw this deal on sale for $ 16, and I had an extra 25% off. Oh yeaaaa~~~I only paid $ 12 for this deal for $ 50 worth of food! Finally, I can try this place.
It’s located in the YWCA building across from Iolani Palace. Parking is street parking I guess. I was close so I walked there. The décor of the restaurant was fancy. It would be nice to dine there and enjoy the atmosphere but this place is tooo expensive for my little wallet.
I was able to go on a Friday night, doing take-​out. I called them to do an take-​out order. The lady who answered the phone, also the cashier/​host, was nice and took my order. I ordered the escargot, lobster bisque, and chicken marsala pasta. She told me it’ll take only 20 minutes or so. When we got there 30 minutes later, the order wasn’t ready. It took around 40 minutes for it. Okay whatever.
The food: The escargot $ 15.50 was not to my liking. This is my very first time to try escargot and it was bleeeh~ It was salty and of course oily. I think the sauce was mixed with pesto. There were 5 – 6 pieces of snail. The escargot came with mini toasted bread. Meh, I don’t think I want to try escargot again. The lobster bisque $ 13.50 was not bad. A few lobster pieces inside. It was creamy and good with toasted bread. The chicken marsala $ 21 was salty. It was mixed with mushroom and on top of it was a piece of chicken breast. It was okay, nothing special. I was actually disappointed about the food overall. Not what I expected for the price range of this place.
I would never come here if I didn’t have a groupon. It is a very very expensive place for the amount of food you get. The food wasn’t all that good. Well, at least I did try it… I guess.

Service was very pleasant and the ambiance is nice in this tucked away restaurant in between Alakea and Richards. I went for lunch with the office crew thinking, why not try this place, it’s new (to me), it’s near work and who knows, maybe it’s a hidden gem.
I have to say I was faced with a bit of sticker shock once I took a look at the menu. A lobster roll with fries was just south of $ 20, which is pricey for a lunch item. The rest of the sandwiches seemed to be around the $ 17+ range.
The quality of the sandwich was actually pretty good, but for that price, I would have expected it to be assembled a little better. The sandwich was served open face on a bread roll that was so thick it was hard to eat sandwich style. Cutting it with a knife and fork was also awkward. The contents were decently good, not spectacular but not horrible. I opted for the furikake garlic fries which were too oily and wet for my liking.
Another menu item that was surprisingly expensive was mint water. It was muddled mint, simple syrup and water. Sounds basic right? It was $ 4.50. Sodas and iced tea were $ 4.25. That’s almost whole plate lunch prices for a fancy water.
I think I’d try it again with one of those groupons or something floating around, but I would NEVER pay full price here again.

Hmmm Café Julia?
I wonder who Julia is?
Is it the owner?
I was about to ask the waitress that night,
but when I glanced at the take out menu,
I got my answer.
Café Julia is named after its architect, Julia Morgan.
She was one of only handful of woman architects in America during the 1920s.
This building @ YWCA Laniakea Center is registered as an official historic building.
I learned something while dining here.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this place.
I took my other half here for dinner, pre-​celebration Father’s day.
The restaurant is located at the YWCA on Richards St.
right across the Iolani Palace, before you hit King St.
Don’t make the mistake of going to the white building on the corner right across the State Capitol like I did.
Thank you to the host, that night, for waiting in front of the building, until we found the place.
Street Parking, if there is none– parking @ Alii place.
Reservations is recommended.
Yes! It is pricey here.
Café Julia has a lunch & dinner menu.
Dinner menu is limited & they serve different items during both lunch & dinner.
Next time, Id like to go there for lunch.
We had a hard time deciding on what to order,
finally opt for the pasta entrees.
We just got the special that night,
which was a Seafood Pasta: 28.00
(clams, shrimp, calamari, scallops, & mussels in marinara sauce)
&
Chicken marsala :22.00
(chicken breast & mushrooms)
I am use to the chicken breaded
This was mediocre.
I wanted to order appetizer but, I didn’t see anything on the menu that interest me.
We didn’t have dessert as we had plans to stop for Boba drinks after our dinner.
Wait staff was excellent, our waitress was very friendly, the bus boy made sure our waters were filled.
When we dined here, there was an event outside, a wedding? Great choice!
This is a nice place to hold events here. (wedding, birthdays, graudation parties, company parties)
I wish they have more items on the dinner menu, maybe combine the lunch menu with dinner.
Overall, We enjoyed our dinner, our dining experience & we will be back!
for lunch & dinner.

I ate lunch here yesterday and had the mushroom & bacon quiche, that came with cream of potato soup & small green salad with balsamic dressing for $ 18.50. The food was OK but I haven’t had this place on my regular rotation of lunch eateries since I find their prices to be a bit high. In the past, I’ve had their ahi tacos (2 for $ 10.50) & lobster roll $ 17.95, both which are good but didn’t wow me.
Indoor seating is kept cool with ceiling fans & there’s dining tables next to the pool. It’s otherwise pretty hot to sit outside, even with table umbrellas as the afternoon sun is strong.
Service is prompt & friendly. I gotta give a shout out to our server Annie, who recognizes us from her previous days at Laniakea, the restaurant that previously occupied Café Julia’s space & still remembers us when we dine at Café Julia, if we haven’t seen her in a long while.

After much debate on just how many stars to give this place, I at first settled on the middle of the road 3 star rating. We went for happy hour and dinner.
My friend had a groupon he wanted to use. So the waitress closed out our happy hour tab (getting the happy hour prices) and reopening a new tab for «dinner» where we ordered the lamb and a couple of salad, getting more bang for our buck. So I gave them an extra star for the fact that they were so darn accommodating — thus the 4 star rating.
So, the low down on this place. Its located at the downtown YWCA. The atmosphere and service are awesome! Location, fantastic. Happy hour specials, decent, not too much selection for drinks though. Pretty much beer or wine, no specials on cocktails are offered. The 25% discount off the food is pretty decent.
As for the food, I’d say it is just average. Sure, its pretty awesome getting salads and deserts and lamb chops prepared at the table side, I’ll give them that. .. but, as for the taste and quality of the food, again, just average. The only thing that I’d give 5 stars to is those darn ahi poke tacos. Heavenly! I could just sit there and eat a few orders of those.
I do need to try this place out for lunch someday as the menu is different for that. .. .

Amazing location!
Atmosphere: Café Julia wins! The place is absolutely stunning. Right next to the capitol building. The courtyard has amazing arches and inside the restaurant has high ceiling and live music playing at dinner. Very romantic and inviting for intimate conversations.
Service: Top notch service here. If it can be prepared table side they will. They made caesar salad from scratch right at the table. Fresh caesar salad dressing all the way… even with fresh egg yolk… who knew?!? The meat was even sliced at the table.
Food: Where do I begin? The food here is great. I started with the french onion soup and calamari. The french onion soup was great with baguette slices topped with melted cheese. The calamari so crisp with an amazing sauce. Every one at the table at something different I had the prime rib, while others tried the grilled seafood salad, chateaubriand, and the filet mignon. No one had any complaints. I finished dessert with the «Homestyle» bread pudding. Man o’ man! Everyone at the table tried it and some were just blown away at the flavor and texture. It was topped with carmel, whip cream and strawberries. I will let your imagination do the rest… or better yet try it for yourself.
Intangibles: The restaurant is great. My review may be slightly biased because during the middle of my meal I found out that there was a Groupon available for $ 50 certificate for only $ 25. Otherwise I think the food here is a bit overpriced. The atmosphere and food though are great and I would come here again, but I do hope they do something to help my wallet again.

Overall impression:
Dinner-​A bit pricey, so get the living social deal. I would say it’s worth it because of the ambience. Great place for a very nice date.
Price: $ 40 – 50 each for dinner
Parking: on the street (free after 6 and Sundays!) or in the complex nearby
Positives:
–great ambience/​atmosphere with live music for dinner and open air
–very good service
–food is plated very nicely
–perfect sized portions
–some of the foods are delicious
Negatives:
–quite a bit pricey
–appetizers have been average
I’ve been here twice for dinner with a living social deal. The best thing about this place is the ambience. It’s an open air environment, but still covered enough that it’s nice even when it’s rainy. They have live music which is very good. The decorations are nice and simple. It just makes me happy to be there. Also, you can either dress up or wear fairly casual clothing and not feel out of place.
The food has been fairly good, in general. The absolute best thing in my opinion is the grilled seafood salad. Best deal for your money and it’s very filling. You can just get that and be very satisfied. I also really liked their cheesecake for dessert.
Service has been great. They are always checking up on you, filling water, and they’re very fast with the food. Even the hostess has been great.
Overall, a great place to go for an anniversary dinner or a fancier type date. My suggestion would be to get the living social deal, order the grilled seafood salad and the cheesecake and boom, you’re golden!

A very nice downtown option for a quick lunch. You will rarely find me in downtown, but for a free lunch from the boss, I’m in. The atmosphere is really nice, open air with inside or outdoor dining.
Talking to the very hospitable and personable owner, we found he was co-​owner of Hys steakhouse for many years before retiring. Unable to stay away from the business, he opened Café Julia. His clientele is usually from the area, meaning they only have an hour for lunch. He stated he upped his service to accommodate his clients, meaning you can have a nice gourmet meal in about 45 minutes. His business model is working as the service and timeliness of the food was very quick.
Our poke taco and furukake fried came out immediately. Both were excellent, with the taco being my favorite. Our main courses followed shortly after. I had the pork chops, while although very thinly sliced, was very tasty and moist. These are very simple dishes but presented nicely.
1hr Validated parking at Alii place makes it very convenient. This was our post holiday party so we took more than an hour but the cheap rates (.75/​half hour) at Alii place was really nice.

I’m a bit on the fence about this place. If I were rating only the restaurant space, then it would be an easy 5 stars, Café Julia is beautiful inside and out. If I were only rating the food, it’d be 3 stars, the food is good but not very creative and quite overpriced. So does that equal out to a 4 star rating? I don’t think so. While the ambiance is fantastic, I always leave feeling a bit disappointed.
The menu feels like a throwback to the 80s. Chateaubriand, Prime rib, Osso buco, Filet, Lamb chops. along with a couple of pasta dishes and Furikake salmon and Garlic ahi. I’ve never had a bad meal here but I’ve also never had a GREAT meal here either. Just kind of middle of the road.
I will give them props for doing table side service on quite a few of the items. They do a true table side Caesar where they crush up the garlic cloves with forks right there, not like a lot of places that bring out pre-​minced up stuff and just throw everything in a bowl and mix it together. They also do the Chateaubriand and Lamb chops table side, as well as some desserts.
Overall, it’s maybe a 3.5 or a bit less but because it seems like there’s so much missed potential here, it’s a 3 for me.
* This review is for the dinner service only, which I’ve been 4 or 5 times in the last 6 months. I haven’t had the lunch here.