Since I had the day off, I thought I'd treat myself to breakfast. I'd heard from a coworker about Cafe Kaila, in Market City Shopping Center, so I decided to give it a shot. It looks like it's only open for breakfast and lunch, but the only time I go to Market City is for dinner. From what I gather, it looks like Cafe Kaila's been open a little over a year.
I walked in at about 8:30 a.m., and there was only one other table occupied by a couple. At first I thought, "oh no, this place isn't going to last long!" How can a place stay open from breakfast through lunch with only one occupied table?? This thought was fleeting. By the time I had finished my meal, the place was pretty full. Granted, it's not a huge place, but I was impressed with the number of people who came in after me, as well as the number of people who came in to order coffee or take out.
My first impression as I walked in was that it's a very comfortable, friendly, and clean environment. Everything looked like it was in place, and it had a very inviting feeling about it. Nice and pleasant, but not too stuffy. As I walked in, there was a sign that said to grab a menu and find a table, which I did. Someone immediately came to greet me and left me a glass of water. I perused the breakfast menu. There was also a lunch menu, which I glanced at briefly, but I mostly focused on what I wanted to eat in the immediate future. The bulk of the breakfast menu looked like it consisted of pancakes and egg dishes. I decided that an omelet sounded good. There was a place in Downtown, Hanalei's Bread and Breakfast, that had the most awesome omelets, and I'd never found one as good. (We heard that Hanalei's had moved near Aala Park, but I'm not sure if it's still there.)
There were a number of omelets on the menu, but there was a "create your own" offering a choice of 2 veggies, 1 meat, and 1 cheese, which was perfect for my taste in omelets. My favorite omelet ingredients are spinach, mushrooms, and bacon, with cheese of course. There were quite a number of cheeses to choose from, and I selected the Monterey Jack. And they use THREE eggs in their omelets! There was a choice of rice or potatoes, and I decided on the potatoes, a choice commended by the waiter. He commented that the potatoes are red potatoes with rosemary, which sounded delicious, and unexpected for breakfast! I also had a choice of toast, and I selected the wheat. I also had a cup of coffee, which came in a clear glass cup.
This meal did not disappoint. While I loved the Hanalei omelets, they were "greasy spoon" omelets laden with butter and fat. Not that I'm complaining about the Hanalei omelets, because they were darned good! But the Cafe Kaila omelet was the omelet of royalty. Like the atmosphere of the restaurant, the food was pretty, clean, and fresh. The eggs were nice and fluffy, and all of the ingredients were very fresh. Fresh spinach, fresh mushrooms, fresh (and very crisp and tasty!) bacon. The cheese was excellent as well. The omelet was a nice size, and its contents were nicely balanced. The ingredients complemented each other, everything with its own individual taste, yet nothing overpowering another. The potatoes were also very good and tasty. Some pieces may have been a tad undercooked, but nothing to complain about. The toast was made from "good" bread, not the small cheapy type of bread.
In addition to the food being good, I found the service to be very good as well. There appeared to be a team of three people there, each having their own duties, but all helping each other out without the "that's not my job" attitude that is often found in restaurants. Another thing I noticed was that some of the people who came in after me appeared to be regulars, based on the greeting received by the waiter and their immediate knowledge of the menu. What I appreciated is while the waiter acknowledged them as returnees, I felt that he was just as pleasant to me as he was to the regulars. Why do I mention this? I've been to a few places with a regular following where I felt the waithelp were almost snobby to non-regulars like myself, and super-nice to the regulars. I can understand being a little extra-friendly with regulars (and we've been known to receive such treatment), but servers should at least have a baseline level of friendliness with non-regulars. *Stepping off the soapbox now* So, what I'm trying to say is that Cafe Kaila succeeded in making the regulars feel special, as well as making a newcomer like myself feel welcome and willing to return.
So, if you're ever looking for someplace to have a nice breakfast, try Cafe Kaila in Market City Shopping Center. Someday I'll try lunch there and will share my review with you.
I walked in at about 8:30 a.m., and there was only one other table occupied by a couple. At first I thought, "oh no, this place isn't going to last long!" How can a place stay open from breakfast through lunch with only one occupied table?? This thought was fleeting. By the time I had finished my meal, the place was pretty full. Granted, it's not a huge place, but I was impressed with the number of people who came in after me, as well as the number of people who came in to order coffee or take out.
My first impression as I walked in was that it's a very comfortable, friendly, and clean environment. Everything looked like it was in place, and it had a very inviting feeling about it. Nice and pleasant, but not too stuffy. As I walked in, there was a sign that said to grab a menu and find a table, which I did. Someone immediately came to greet me and left me a glass of water. I perused the breakfast menu. There was also a lunch menu, which I glanced at briefly, but I mostly focused on what I wanted to eat in the immediate future. The bulk of the breakfast menu looked like it consisted of pancakes and egg dishes. I decided that an omelet sounded good. There was a place in Downtown, Hanalei's Bread and Breakfast, that had the most awesome omelets, and I'd never found one as good. (We heard that Hanalei's had moved near Aala Park, but I'm not sure if it's still there.)
There were a number of omelets on the menu, but there was a "create your own" offering a choice of 2 veggies, 1 meat, and 1 cheese, which was perfect for my taste in omelets. My favorite omelet ingredients are spinach, mushrooms, and bacon, with cheese of course. There were quite a number of cheeses to choose from, and I selected the Monterey Jack. And they use THREE eggs in their omelets! There was a choice of rice or potatoes, and I decided on the potatoes, a choice commended by the waiter. He commented that the potatoes are red potatoes with rosemary, which sounded delicious, and unexpected for breakfast! I also had a choice of toast, and I selected the wheat. I also had a cup of coffee, which came in a clear glass cup.
This meal did not disappoint. While I loved the Hanalei omelets, they were "greasy spoon" omelets laden with butter and fat. Not that I'm complaining about the Hanalei omelets, because they were darned good! But the Cafe Kaila omelet was the omelet of royalty. Like the atmosphere of the restaurant, the food was pretty, clean, and fresh. The eggs were nice and fluffy, and all of the ingredients were very fresh. Fresh spinach, fresh mushrooms, fresh (and very crisp and tasty!) bacon. The cheese was excellent as well. The omelet was a nice size, and its contents were nicely balanced. The ingredients complemented each other, everything with its own individual taste, yet nothing overpowering another. The potatoes were also very good and tasty. Some pieces may have been a tad undercooked, but nothing to complain about. The toast was made from "good" bread, not the small cheapy type of bread.
In addition to the food being good, I found the service to be very good as well. There appeared to be a team of three people there, each having their own duties, but all helping each other out without the "that's not my job" attitude that is often found in restaurants. Another thing I noticed was that some of the people who came in after me appeared to be regulars, based on the greeting received by the waiter and their immediate knowledge of the menu. What I appreciated is while the waiter acknowledged them as returnees, I felt that he was just as pleasant to me as he was to the regulars. Why do I mention this? I've been to a few places with a regular following where I felt the waithelp were almost snobby to non-regulars like myself, and super-nice to the regulars. I can understand being a little extra-friendly with regulars (and we've been known to receive such treatment), but servers should at least have a baseline level of friendliness with non-regulars. *Stepping off the soapbox now* So, what I'm trying to say is that Cafe Kaila succeeded in making the regulars feel special, as well as making a newcomer like myself feel welcome and willing to return.
So, if you're ever looking for someplace to have a nice breakfast, try Cafe Kaila in Market City Shopping Center. Someday I'll try lunch there and will share my review with you.
10 comments:
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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