Kalapawai Cafe

Wow… we really loved dinner here a couple of days back. It was real! We saw the kitchen staff working away, we had a great server, drinks were superb and everyone enjoyed their meal! Fresh fish, some steaks and burgers, great salads and yes… desserts! We will return. Also very good should you have any vegetarians in the family. Tables are plain… chairs are like those in the kitchen at home! Come as you are… down to earth!

Delicious food and excellent service!

We love dining at Kalapawai, you get the Hawaiian feel in the ambience and the food is excellent!

A lovely restaurant in the heart of Kailua. The dinner menu is awesome and there are at least 3 daily specials. Great service.

Kalapawai is always an amazing experience with wonderful food.

Kaitlyn our server was outstanding. The white sangrias were amazing!! Ahi tuna melted in our mouths and of course the lemongrass risotto is a must. Thank you for making our Kailua visit so special.

Love it every time

We enjoyed the meal and all the food was wonderful. The table on the front lanai was loud due to the traffic noise. The server seemed a little overwhelmed with the number of tables she had. The asparagus was cold by the time it got to the table though it tasted good.
We will come back though hope we can a table inside.

A very nice place for something a little special, but a little expensive for everyday dining. Simple though and the food and service are always very good. Been there many times and will continue to go back.

Fire roasted chicken was spectacular along with the Ahi and risotto. Service was outstanding - a wonderful dining experience, including dessert!

Excellent as always, thank you 😘

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Anniversary

We love Kalapawai and are glad to be able to go back on shorter notice. Was too crammed over summer for local folks to get in unless we planned way ahead. We also appreciate the checking of vaccine cards and IDs as is suppose to be done. Not all restaurants actually comply with this. Food was very good as was service. Only drawback on ambiance was we hoped to sit inside since it is quiet and had to sit outside mauka which is too loud bc of car noise. Other than that though, great dinner!

Loved it! Cool space and food was great. Nice wine selection too!

Great local fish - possibly best dinner of the week- highly recommended if you are in Kailua

The food was absolutely outstanding and the service was exceptional! My husband and I had the bacon wrapped figs for appetizer, the pork chops and seared ahi tuna for entrée, and the cheesecake and cookie for dessert... we were so impressed with the quality of food and excellent ambiance of the restaurant and service!

Some of the food was a little cool and a few things were heavy on the cheese when asked to go light. Good variety.

We love coming here for date night. My fave dish is the lemongrass risotto with auction fish! But I have deviated twice due to their Mai ke kai specials of the night! Last night was a Thai curry with scallops, prawns and marlin! It was delicious! The other half can never stray from their Wagyu burger…although the fries were cold this time. It can be loud inside due to an open kitchen, outside is also loud because it’s near the main road in Kailua. But that really didn’t bother since their food is delicious! We also took home 2 salted chocolate chip cookies - the best!

Great service and food. Always our go-to Friday date night restaurant.

Good meal, great service.

First time eating here and it was delicious! We had a party of 5 and we all enjoyed our meal. The staff was wonderful!

So good! Everything was delicious, but the risotto is a don’t miss treat. Attentive service, great experience.

Amazing food. Outstanding service. Mellow ambiance. One of Kailua’s gems.

Always a great experience. Hope they can add back some of the tables 'cuz its hard to get in here - but the food, service and ambiance are great. My go-to in Kailua.

This restaurant was recommended by a local. It is unassuming on the outside and operates as a daily by day so I was pleasantly surprised by how fantastic the dinner was. I highly recommend and would definitely return. My fresh catch (ahi) of the day with lemon risotto was delicious as was my husband’s choice of free range chicken with potatoes and gravy.

Fabulous Kama’aina spot that has joined the club and
gotten over run like everything in Kailua.
Covid silver lining: they take reservations
if you are lucky to get one!
Consistently good food,, servers are friendly, wine list has changed a bit but the flights are a nice way
to get out of your box.
Owned and operated by a great local family. Jason is the executive chef and is committed to serving local meats and produce. It won’t disappoint !

Delicious food, nice casual environment! We will definitely be back!

Service was very good & our server was very friendly. Food was overall very good! Pleasantly surprised and it's worth a repeat.

Great food. Wish it would have been staggered a bit--it ALL came to the table at once from pupus to main. Not a huge problem we ate it all!

Great food. Very nice staff. I would definitely eat there again.

Outstanding service!
The food was incredible also, especially grilled octopus! The Lilikoi Sangria is also a must have!

Wonderful food on a lovely quiet lanai. Amazing gumbo and pork chops!

Great food, awesome place.
Best Old Fashioned I've found on the Island.

This place is very unique and a great experience. It’s 5-star quality food and the ambience is cute cafe. Not much seating and there is limited parking but great food and service.

Always enjoy the food and friendly staff.

Had a great Father's day dinner.. food was awesome and our waiter was very friendly.. overall good experience!

Noisy that night, not usually an issue but was that night. Vegetables were burnt at skin but totally raw inside. Still, this is a nice place with dependably good food and will be back.

What a great place to have a wonderful dinner. By making reservations via Open Table we did not have to wait at all. My fish of the day was delicious ahi grilled as I requested, along with kale and Kalapawai's risotto. Our friends loved their entres as well. So good to have you back from the pandemic shutdown.

BEST food in Kailua. Hands down. Our server, Mike, did an impeccable job describing food choices and answering any questions we had. The tables were spread apart, creating a very safe and personal meal! Five stars. Outstanding dining experience! Thanks so much!!