Kaka’ako Kitchen

Don’t get me wrong, the ahi sandwich and everything else was delicious and the prices are not too bad. The reason for the bad review is that EVERYTHING was served in plastic containers even though we were dishing in. Not cool. Get a dish washer or buy an alternative to plastic.

The food was good. Well at least mine was. I had the fried furikake catfish with brown rice and a mix salad. The catfish portions were huge! 2 catfish filets deep fried into crunchy goodness. Brown and crispy on the outside, white and tender on the inside. I’d order it again, most definitely. Neil on the other hand opt for the kalua pig loco moco. Nothing special about that meal. Just regular kalua pig on top of white rice, over easy egg and gravy all over. I don’t know what he was expecting with that dish but it seemed a little plain. Like something was missing, maybe add some onions to the gravy, or mushrooms? Something to give the entrée a little more umph. Also tried the nitro coffee.ehhh.nothing exciting there as well. $ 5 for 8oz? I guess i can say at least I tried it?

FOOD IS DELICIOUS!!! Had the ahi salad and another ahi dish. Freaking delicious and so are all the dressings and dips. I am leaving a three star review because of the amount of plastic the owners use for each dish. All food is served in thick plastic one-​use containers and eaten using plastic cutlery. Dips are all in disposable containers. Cups for water are plastic :(plastic is killing our earth :(

We had the ahi chopped salad & the futikake catfish. The salad was great. We had 2 generous pieces of catfish but unfortunately 1 piece was undercooked. Love the selection of drinks. We also ordered the lemon bar, the best I’ve ever had. So tangy it was extremely delicious.

Made a stop at Kaka’ako Kitchen to get a bite to eat for breakfast. At Kaka’ako Kitchen, I also found a lot of tables where I could sit and enjoy my food.

The outside tables & chairs were VERY DIRTY due to the condo construction across the street. Unbearable! Just wiping with a napkin wasn’t enough so I used damp restroom paper towels. How can management tolerate such conditions? Management ought to negotiate with the landlord & reduce their rent by a few hundred bucks for the extra labor needed to wipe tables & chairs clean many times everyday. My server gal said the tables get dirty again in 20 minutes! KK’s white chairs were el cheapo & scuffed up badly & likely never got wiped clean (just the tabletops). I saw her wiping tabletops; she never wiped chairs. Could it be she figured let customers’ butts do the cleaning? It’s likely that management cares nearly nothing about this matter. It’s just good vs. bad management. It’s NOT minutiae. There’s a few tables inside which can’t be dirty, but the outdoor covered dining area (no a/​c, just tradewinds) is the charm of KK.
My brown rice was HARD & not cooked enough. Time to put management on probation, send ‘em to rice cooking school, & don’t blame the line cooks. Quality control not in existence. My dining partner, on her 1^st visit to KK, didn’t complain, but ya get only 1 chance to make a 1^st impression!
Self-​serve drinks are $ 2.75 — much too high! KK’s machine was malfunctioning badly — too much pressure (a BLAST!) causing several inches of foam. You wait for the foam to dissipate & then see your cup is not full at all! I shocked the cashier gal by paying her 26 cents (I included 1 cent tax! I hope I «made her day.») for a refill — nearly everyone ignores the 25 cents refill sign. And any cashier gal most certainly wouldn’t challenge a customer sneaking a freebie refill. It’s not enforceable, like a law banning burning of the U.S. flag.
5 Spice Shoyu chicken isn’t so great. Maybe it’s due to too much simmering. There was white stem cabbage under the chicken — good idea. Surprisingly, KK’s everyday menu has changed little since day 1. I believe there’s daily specials which might be a better choice.
KK’s not responsible for this, but their landlord ought to remove certain plants that are (very pretty, but) hostile to humans. The very popular mini date palm has many long (about 4 inches each) & very pointy, hard-​to-​see THORNS which can cause serious injury. This plant is great if it’s far away from humans. As I ate, I saw a tourist lady posing her party of about 8 kids, age 5 to 10 or so, in front of this type of palm. Kids = horsing around, & with 8 of ‘em, danger lurks all the time. I didn’t enjoy my meal. I should have switched seats (another chair to wipe!) & thereby lessen tolerating the yuck of dud management here, there, and everywhere. I hope readers will endeavor in their own ways to stop this innate human characteristic.

It’s been awhile since I have been to Kakaako Kitchen in Ward. We were walking around the shopping complex and in need of a place to eat dinner. One companion expressed a desire to visit Kakaako Kitchen so we walked over. I remember when they first opened and they have really changed throughout the years. when you walk over to Ward Center, they are located right off the cross walk, you can’t miss the outside seating. Walk through the doors and you can see their menu right up on the wall in front. They have salads, sandwiches and wraps but their mainstay is plates. Their plates are based on the local plate lunch and most come with a choice of white or brown rice and mac or green salad. The plates are organized into Classics, Chef’s Picks (daily specials), House Specialties and What’s New. There are also a Keiki Menu for the kids. We selected the Chinese 5 Spice Shoyu Chicken, the Sweet Chili Chicken and the Chef’s Pick for the Day, the Chicken Katsu Curry. You order at the counter, pay, they give you a number to place on your table and you find a table outside and you are set to go. After a little while, someone will come by to deliver your food. Comments from my companions were that the shoyu chicken was «yummy» and succulent, the chicken katsu was one of the best she ever had (it was mac nut crusted) and the chili chicken was good. One thing that I particularly like is that they serve the green salad with a special house dressing. It’s a lemon miso dressing that they also use at 3660 On The Rise… yummy! There’s quite a bit of food so we ended up packing it up to take home. They do use recycled containers (great for the environment!) but they do get soggy if you leave them in the fridge too long. The desserts are good but we were too full to partake of any. They usually have lemon bars, brownies and bread pudding… delightful!
If you are shopping or just want a place for a casual dinner, this is a good place to go. Lots of parking at Ward and awesome local style food. Great for your family or even for a couple on the go.

I haven’t been here much since they changed some of their menu items a few years ago. I really miss the Chicken Ranchero Wrap they used to have, but they’ve since replaced it with the Blackened Ahi Wrap, which I normally order when I do stop in. It’s good, but there’s nothing special about it. I’ve tried the Ahi Wrap from GRYLT and it tastes the same. I should note that the ahi during this most recent visit to Kakaako Kitchen was poorly seared. It was raw, which isn’t necessarily bad (I love poke), however, I do remember from my previous visits that it should be seared. Oh, and it comes with curly fries.
Anyway, my husband ordered the Reuban Sandwich, which also comes with curly fries and our daughter ordered the Shoyu Chicken. Again, both were good, but you could get the same thing anywhere else and it wouldn’t stand out.
Last, but not least, our son ordered the Indian Curry. I believe it was one of their special menu items. He said it was good, but he couldn’t finish it because it was too spicy. He ate about half the plate and went up to get water at least three times.
Drinks are self-​serve and refillable for a 25-​cent fee. Complimentary water cups are available.
There’s very limited seating inside, but lots of seating outside (if you don’t mind the pigeons). Tables and chairs are metal and a bit uncomfortable to my liking.
There was a minor glitch with the cash register, which created a line behind us while ordering, but the service was quick and friendly nontheless.
Overall, this place is just ok. Everything came out to just over $ 50, including a large drink.

4 stars only for the Furikake Tempura Catfish priced at $ 10.95~~
I’m glad that I got it for my first time. Nothing else, because I was reading the reviews and judging all the pictures. If you’re looking for Hawaiian food, I do not think this is a good place to go, that’s just because I like L&L and Liliha Bakery for my staples of loco moco and hamburger steak.
The Furikake Tempura Catfish comes in a plate lunch style with your choice of white or brown rice and mac salad or nalo farms fresh greens. Kaka’ako Kitchen was very generous in portions of the catfish. I had two very large pieces of fishes, deep fried in furikake tempura batter mmhmmmm. The outside was crisp and crunchy, and the fish inside was cooked just right. I liked the ponzu sauce that came with it as well. It was sweet and tangy, and I actually loved it sooo much that I used it for salad dressing instead of the regular dressing that it came with haha.
To be honest, the catfish was definitely the savior of this meal because although the rice was decent, I did feel like they were a bit skimpy on the salad. I think I only had enough salad for about three forkfuls. That’s fine, because by the time I was done with my catfish, I was stuffed. Kaka’ako Kitchen has take-​out, but for this occasion — we sat in and after you order, they deliver your meal to you with your order number. A little different than the service I’m used to at restaurants, but it was all good. Don’t forgot to ask for a water cup! You can get free refills on your own inside.

The prices of this place have always scared me away. But feeling a bit adventurous today, I decided to give it a try.
The service was superb. The people at the counter made me feel like they were happy to see me, not just another customer.
As I do at nearly every place I try for the first time, I ordered the Loco Moco. It came atop a bed of rice with a luau dish of mac salad (although you can get tossed as well).
It was outstanding. The burger was super tender. I didn’t even need the knife; it cut easily with the fork. Gravy was very flavorful, just how I like it. My only knock might be that my over-​easy eggs were a little overcooked. But the dish as a whole was so good, I’m willing to overlook it and just order sunny side up next time.
I’ll be back. As a poor college student, I’ll have to save a bit again, but I will return when I am able.

How is that I always pass by this place and never even bother to stop and eat here? Finally, it has come. I came with my friends for a girls night outing. It gets busy during the peak hours. Basically, you order your food at the counter and get a number. Sit anywhere and they’ll bring you the food in containers.
Menu: burgers and sandwiches, plate lunches, soups and salad. The tempura catfish looks delicious, but I also wanted to try their beef style. So I got the mixed plate for $ 11~. It came with 1 scoop of brown rice, salad, 1 piece of fried catfish, and a big scoop of beef stew. The sauce for the tempura catfish was sweet and sour. My friend put it on the salad instead of the catfish. The beef stew was sooo salty. I regret getting that. The catfish was well cooked. Sooo good! Wish I gotten a full plate of that. I also tried my friend’s hamburger steak, dang, it was salty too.
I’m coming for the catfish next time. I think most people do.

These were some quality plate lunches! :)
Last night, the boyfriend and I went to Ward for the Unilocal at the Movies event. We had some time to kill before the movie started so we decided to go to Kaka’ako Kitchen for dinner. The menu was HUGE and I was a bit overwhelmed. We decided to get the Garlic Ahi Plate and the Furikake Tempura Catfish Plate. I didn’t want a regular sized plate because I knew I couldn’t finish it so I asked if they had any mini sizes and she said they only have keiki sizes. There’s 4 options for keiki plates and the Furikake Tempura Catfish was one of them! Score! That’s exactly what I wanted. Keiki plates are $ 7.50 each and come with one scoop of rice and one scoop of mac salad. Regular size plates range from $ 10 – 15.
I really loved the catfish! It was moist, all white meat on the inside, and a light, crispy batter on the outside. It came with house made ponzu sauce instead of the usual tartar sauce and it was so good! I highly recommend this dish! The boyfriend loooved his garlic ahi which was the special of the day. They were bite size chunks of ahi that was dipped in garlic sauce then cooked to perfection. It had really great flavor and wasn’t at all fishy.
We will definitely be back again and maybe next time we’ll try their desserts! ;)

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had very mixed feelings about Kakaako Kitchen. Granted, their food has always been consistently good (& maybe even great, as far as plate lunches go!), and their workers are friendly and do their best to keep things moving at a bearable pace. But my strong aversion to outdoor dining (the main exceptions being picnics, «grazing”-type fundraisers, or anywhere there’s a cool breeze & outstanding view) – and even stronger aversion to waiting in lines – has always kept me from reaching true bliss at this local eatery. Even the few tables located inside are not truly «indoor seating» bc the windows are often left open, leaving you to the mercy of the roadway air. Then again, if you’re inclined to phone-​in your order ahead of time, & get that «to-​go,» I guess these little gripes go right out the window!
Couple of quick tips: The portions are pretty big here, so most of their plate lunches are good for 1.5 — 2 meals (for the average appetite). If you’re having lunch with a friend – or dinner, & you’re both relatively small-​eaters – you can easily share a plate & get a dessert to share, & be perfectly satisfied. My faves are the tempura catfish, or deep-​fried pork chops… not exactly low-​cal, but both sooo yummy! Just be sure to order «all rice» if you each need your own scoop (otherwise it’s just one scoop of rice per plate). And if you do end up phoning-​in for take-​out, there’s special pick-​up parking just outside the restaurant, or around the bend behind Kua’aina. If those are full, there’s also 30-​minute parking on the ground floor of the parking structure.

After reading Jeana P.‘s review & seeing her 5 spice shoyu chicken post,
I just had to stop by to get myself a plate.
& 5 spice sounds even better!
They were busy during my visit here.
I placed my order, got take-​out & shared plate with my son.
I got the 5 spice shoyu chicken, combo,
Since my son likes garlic chicken, I got this combo.
Note: there isn’t a shoyu chicken/​garlic chicken combo.
It cost an additional 2.50 to sub for garlic chicken.
This doesn’t sound right!
Subbing sweet chili chicken for garlic chicken.
They are both chicken???
I got fries w/​my order & Mac salad.
My son said the chicken taste like orange chicken,
(I wasn’t sure why) until I tried it & it was on the sweet side.
Come to think of it, they forgot to sub my chicken to garlic chicken.
I really enjoyed the shoyu chicken & the Mac. Salad was good!
The fries were soggy & oily.
I did call to inform the cashier, which was the manager on duty.
Thank you Jeana P.!! Atleast I found my go to place for shoyu chicken.
*tip: check the daily specials, they are great choices! (One day I will come back for this)

Kaka’ako Kitchen located at the Ward Centre on Ala Moana Boulevard with walk in access from Auahi Street and Kamakee Street. Parking available in the Ward Centre garage or Ward Village garage near TJ Maxx.
Many years ago I would come to Kaka’ako Kitchen after working the graveyard shift. I would order some french toast with bacon for breakfast (it’s been quite a long time since I had breakfast here) and have a bottle of juice to drink. After I order my meal I would take the plastic number that the cashier would give me and place it on the table out in the outside eating area. Once my meal was ready then one of the workers would come and deliver it to my table as well as retrieving the plastic number. I would enjoy my meal and watch my surroundings. After having breakfast I would then head on over to Borders Bookstore (sad that my favorite bookstore is no longer around).
Fast forward to the present year… my most recent visit to Kaka’ako Kitchen on Friday July 10, 2015 was for a late lunch. I actually purchased a 5 spice shoyu chicken plate for my younger brother whom I haven’t seen for over a year. I placed the order and it was ready in under 10 minutes. Fast and friendly service by the employees. My brother enjoyed eating the shoyu chicken plate lunch… just by looking at his facial expressions made me want to order the 5 spice shoyu chicken plate the next time I am at Kaka’ako Kitchen.
This food eatery accepts cash and credit cards as payments. If you need cash… there’s a American Savings Bank ATM available near the front entrance.

Shopping and/​or dining in the Ward Center has its benefits, mainly free parking in their structure. We met a friend of a friend at Kaka’ako for lunch on a Tuesday afternoon. After checking the large overhead menu board behind the counter, we waited in line, placed our orders and looked for an open table. Having a choice of indoor or outdoor seating, we opted for a table in the covered patio area.
After a short wait, our orders were brought out to us in lunch plate boxes. My friend and I ordered the similar Mixed Plate #1, old fashioned beef stew and furikake tempura catfish with white rice and macaroni salad. The light batter on the catfish was nicely seasoned with the furikake and the catfish was moist. As for the beef stew, the tomato based sauce was tasty. However, the two large chunks of potatoes and celery pieces swamped my two small pieces of beef. Didn’t I order BEEF stew?
My order: (
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My friends order: (
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Our other friends ordered:
Tuesday special — Roast turkey with sage stuffing, mashed potatoes and natural gravy. (
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Loco moco — hamburger steak over steamed rice topped with carmelized onion gravy with two eggs any style. This looked pretty delicious. (
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Overall, the food was pretty good, but wished I had more beef in my beef stew. Maybe in my next visit, I’ll get a raincheck for the beef that they forgot to give me. Need to take ½ star off for this visit.

I was pretty surprised to see the suggestion to write a review for this place since I was almost positive that I had after one of my many happy dining experiences here.
I first tried this place during lunch at work when I coworker and I wandered over on a perfect day for a long walk. That day I had the Ahi Chopped Salad, and since it is a «market price» entrée, the staff was kind enough to share the price prior to ringing it up in case I wished to make a secondary decision. The salad was delicious, and I regretted nothing about my pricey lunch purchase.
I have since dined here for lunch and dinner and had their Mixed Plate with Beef Stew and Shoyu Chicken, Madras Chicken Curry, Furikake Fried Catfish and other items that escape me. The beef stew here is phenomenal. Perhaps rivaling anything that even your grandmother makes and the curry was to die for not too spicy, but with the perfect kick.
The staff is friendly and knowledgeable about ingredients which makes someone like me with food allergies grateful. They have amazing looking deserts, but unfortunately I haven’t gotten a chance to try them.
If you’re looking for a quick and fresh bite to eat in the area, I highly recommend this place. Also if you’re an ID card holder, they offer a discount so don’t forget to present it when ordering.

I love shoyu chicken and would turn to kakaako kitchen for their famous shoyu chicken since I am not that skilled in the kitchen myself (I know, people have told me shoyu chicken is one of the easier things to make).
I came yesterday for take out. I ordered the shoyu chicken with green salad. Because kakaako uses flimsy paper take out containers and my shoyu chicken was nice and saucy, the container caved in on itself and sauce spilled all over the bag as I was carrying it around. I would recommend bringing your own little piece of cardboard to slide under the container if you’re going to be carrying it around.
When I got home, and started eating, I found that there were feathers still stuck in my pieces of chicken. I almost threw up and obviously couldn’t eat any more of my $ 11 shoyu chicken plate. It was disgusting. Even when I was visiting slums and farms in Indonesia, they knew how to pull out the feathers before preparing the chicken or consumption.
I’m so disappointed and will absolutely not be returning to kakaako kitchen.

Kakaako Kitchen has consistently good service and for the most part, the food is consistent as well. My all-​time favorite is the Kakaako Kitchen Kobb Salad (try saying that 3 times fast!). I hadn’t had it in a few years, and noticed a bit of a change in the ingredients (green and yellow squash instead of eggplant, less bacon than before) and the salad dressing seemed a bit different but it was all still very tasty. It’s a very satisfying entrée salad. 90%of the time I go to KK, it’s for this salad!
I also like the Furikake Tempura Catfish, Old Fashioned Beef Stew, Sweet Chili Chicken and lemon bars. I really should branch out more and try other things, but really, I’m usually just there for the Kobb Salad.
Tip: Seating is in a covered but outdoor area (which I love… we need more outdoor seating with good food!). If it looks like a storm is coming, you’re sitting on the side and the rain is threatening to pour in on you, don’t be afraid to let the «curtain» down on your own to keep your food from getting wet! Nobody will scold you, and your neighbors will probably thank you.

Can you believe that it’s been at least or over 2 decades since Chef Russell Siu opened Hawaii’s palates to his Euro-​Island cuisine? From his celebrated restaurant, 3660 on the Rise, to this more casual «plate lunch» café, Chef Siu’s innovative creations have been pleasing our tastebuds.
Over the years, we’d come to Kaka’ako Kitchen more frequently for breakfasts on weekends rather than for other meals. However, since we recently retired, we’ve found ourselves in the Kaka’ako area for more entertainment and dining options than in our own neighborhood. So, Kaka’ako Kitchen has become part of our lunch time or after movie quick, cheap eats spots.
We have «sort of» eaten our way through KK’s menu, including some of the ever-​changing daily specials. But, our favorite dish is their signature Furikake* Tempura Catfish. The portion boasts 3 large catfish fillets that is encrusted in an airy, golden-​fried, Furikake-​flavored tempura batter. The deep frying is perfect as the fillets are moist and flakes with a «sheen» when cut into. The entrée is served with a Ponzu sauce for dipping. You have your choice of white or brown rice, locally-​sourced mesclun greens with signature salad dressing or local-​style macaroni salad all for $ 10.50!
Sure, there are less expensive plate lunches to be had on this island but, you’re getting quality and locally-​sourced cuisine from an internationally recognized «local boy» chef.
*Furikake is a Japanese seasoning which usually contains sushi nori (seaweed), sesame seeds, dried and ground fish, powdered soy sauce, salt and sugar. It is popularly sprinkled on hot rice, fish or stir-​fry.