KOKO HEAD CAFE
ADDRESS: 1120 12th Avenue #100, Honolulu, HI 96816
WEBSITE: https://www.kokoheadcafe.com/
After a morning hike out at Diamond Head, my wife Cami and I were looking for a place to pick up some food after the calories we just burned climbing up and down the crater. There actually was a place that I had bookmarked for quite some time, Koko Head Cafe, that was relatively close, so we ended up taking the drive over there.
Koko Head Cafe came onto my radar after I had learned that it was owned by Top Chef alum Lee Anne Wong. The restaurant was located in the Kaimuki neighborhood, right off what appeared to be a section of Waialae Avenue that housed a number of other local shops and restaurants.
From what I understand, it’s a pretty popular brunch spot, which was evidenced by several groups of people waiting around outside once we got there. We ended up waiting for probably about 15 minutes before we were able to get seated. The inside of the restaurant has two main dining rooms, along with bar-style seating that faced into the kitchen. In addition to the interior options, there were also some outdoor tables that were set up in a covered tent area as well.
The brunch menu featured a variety of different savory and sweet options, which seemed to be a mix between Asian, Hawaiian, and traditional American breakfast. Omelettes, skillets, and pancakes were all on the menu, along with a number of different plate specials that sounded equally as intriguing. We ended up choosing the Koko Moco (their take on the Loco Moco Hawaiian breakfast plate), the Natty Skillet special, along with an ube latte inspired cinnamon roll.
On that particular day, the service seemed a bit hit or miss, as there were stretches of time that no one stopped by even to refill our waters. I’m not sure if there might have been a breakdown in communication between the kitchen and waitstaff, since it seemed like the orders began to get backed up. It was probably about 30 minutes from when we ordered before we ended up seeing our food come out.
The cinnamon roll arrived to us first, with the two entrée plates not too long after that. The roll ended up being a pretty decent size, with ube in the base dough, topped with coffee cream cheese frosting and ube icing. All of the flavors ended up being well-balanced, since it was sweet, but not overly so. It was a nice way to get the meal started off, especially since we were already pretty hungry after the hike.
Balancing out the sweetness was our two savory dishes in the Koko Moco and Natty Skillet. The skillet featured ao nori fried ahi poke, crispy rice, scrambled eggs, garlic ong choy, house pickled vegetables, masago aioli, and scallions. The Koko Moco was a beef patty topped with savory mushroom gravy and a sunny-side up egg, on a bed of crispy rice and tempura kimchi on the side.
Between the two of the dishes, I think that I enjoyed the Koko Moco more. The beef, gravy, and rice combination was definitely reminiscent of the traditional Loco Moco flavors, and I thought the added crunch and slight spiciness from the tempura kimchi was a nice addition to the overall flavor profile.
For the Natty Skillet, I just felt like there was a lot going on with the plate. Don’t get me wrong, all of the components still tasted good, but I don’t think that they all spoke to each other as well, especially with the vegetables trying to tie in with the other ingredients. Perhaps it might be a combination that works for others, but it’s not something that I’d be looking to get again if I was back for another brunch.
With the variety of different flavor options on the menu, it’s easy to see why Koko Head Cafe is a popular destination for brunch. While the food tasted good, the service was what had opportunity for improvement. The infrequent attentiveness for us sitting right at the bar seating, (which is where the waitstaff went to get food from the kitchen pass and make drinks) along with the extended timeframe to get our food, detracted from our experience. If you’re in the area, Koko Head Cafe would be a good option, but I wouldn’t say it’s worth driving out from another part of the island to visit.
Let’s now take a look at the Koko Head Cafe Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Ube Latte Cinnamon Roll **
Purple sweet potato infused into dough, topped with coffee cream cheese frosting and ube icing.
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** Koko Moco **
Beef patty on a bed of crispy garlic rice, topped with savory mushroom gravy and sunny side-up egg. Served with tempura kimchi.
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Natty Skillet
Ao nori fried ahi tuna poke, crispy rice, French-style soft scrambled eggs, garlic ong choy, house pickled vegetables, masago aioli, and scallions.
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And finally, here are my rankings for Koko Head Cafe:
Food: 4.25 / 5
The food overall was good, with a nice blend of different options that ranged across sweet and savory flavor profiles. From a brunch standpoint, the mixture of Asian, Hawaiian, and American influences into the dishes made deciding what to eat slightly difficult.
Atmosphere: 4.25 / 5
There is ample indoor and outdoor seating options, along with the bar seating where we were located. Even though the restaurant itself was at capacity, it didn’t even end up feeling too crowded.
Service: 3.5 / 5
I’m not sure if they were short-staffed on that particular day or if they had different people covering the bar area, but the attentiveness of the service felt very inconsistent. This was more disappointing given the staff need to come to our area in order to pick up food and drinks, and we felt like we got left behind amidst the busy nature of the dining room.
Price: 3.5 / 5
While all of the dishes themselves tasted great and everything was made from scratch, they were expensive for what I felt like you got. Both of our skillets ended up being $25 each, when I felt like maybe closer to $18 or $19 would have been a more reasonable price point.
Overall:
15.5 / 20
(78%)
Categories: Hawaii, Restaurants
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