Cafe Lani Hawaii

I did not have a good experience here:(
I came during game downtime, about 4 pm (after the lunch rush and before dinner rush) and there was still a 30 minute wait. When I went in to put my name down, the worker in the front flicked his eyes at me then proceeded to avoid eye contact with me and I had to say excuse me 2x in addition to awkwardly standing there for a few seconds until he sighed loudly and ask for how many people in my party.
After being seated, we told the server «just water for now, while we look over the menu, still». She took our extra cups away and then was not happy when she had to bring them back after we ordered drinks. There were large gaps between ordering, food coming out, initially getting the check and finally signing the check. We did not leave until 6/​7pm and we eat fast.
The bread and dips were amazing and delicious. The steak was skinnier than a kalbi strip. The pasta was decent. The soup was also decent. The desert was more aesthetically pleasing than physically pleasing.
Would not come back.

I guess I’m a pretty impatient guy as we got here because my wife wanted to eat here and it was 11:30am prime time for lunch and have a 75 minute wait. If it’s so crowded then why does it average 3 stars. It seems a little pricey for a casual café which has an above average noise level. I gave 1 star. I’ll edit my rating after my long wait if it was worth the wait.
***A recommendation for the owner would be to service the waiting customers free bread samples to keep them from getting frustrated and leave since the wait is always long. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising so keep the customers happy if they’re willing to put up with the long wait…
Changed to 4 stars. The bread with condiments were very good. I ate the Fedellini Pasta with clam chowder. Tons of clams with good flavor. The pasta cooked just right.

*This is a late review. They could have changed since then. I dunno”
So my best friend was visiting from Kauai and I wanted to bring her to Café Lani to try their desserts. We got there at 8:30pm and thought that we would have time to eat since they close at 11. We saw the outdoor sign said «L.O. 9:30»…We assumed that meant «last order». I went inside to put my name down for reservation, but the hostess said that they had already did «last call» and aren’t taking reservations. I asked if the sign outside was accurate and if L.O. meant last order… She did not answer my question and just kept saying «we’re not taking anymore people». I get it… they are popular and very busy, but all I’m asking is to correct me if I’m wrong or just tell me when is last call.
The first time I went here it was alright… but I don’t think I’ll be coming back here for a while.

I’m updating this only to give Steven, my server/​barista at the counter a recognition.
He is so far the most enthusiastic server behind that super busy bar. They make drinks, unlimited coffee, take orders, refill breads, buss the counter seats, and handle ALL bills.
But Steven never fails to remember putting a smile on his face.
He also handles situations very well in a professional way.
The lady who sat next to me was asked how her meal was (by another female server). She commented (not a blunt complaint) that her plate was scalding hot but food was cold. That female server gave her a blank stare of «oh ok. but I didn’t cook it» and turned away without a word.
Quickly she returned saying «I can ask them to cook another one if you want…» She was not rude, but the lady next to me felt that she was supposed to just say «everything’s great» as a robotic model answer so the server could handle better.
While the female server walked away to do her chores, Steven jumped in and FIRST apologized to the lady, and once again offering a remake. Lady kindly declined as she was already full. But she was very happy with Steven’s service to make up the awkwardness his co-​worker left behind.
I, myself, working in the food industry at high end establishments, would totally appreciate services like Steven can deliver, regardless what kind of setups the restaurant style is.
People always say «impeccable SERVICE can make up mediocre food; poor service can ruin a 5-​star meal».
I truly wished Café Lani can do well because I like this kind of eateries a lot. It just needs more consistency and proper staff training.

Continuous bread service was what lured us in. We arrived at lunch time and was quoted 1 hour and 45 minutes. We were told to check in 30 minutes before our quoted time. We walked back in to check how much parties were still before us. The hostess saw us and said our table was ready. 1 hr 45 mins was brought down to a 35 minute wait. Awesome!
We ordered the fedelini porcini mushroom pasta, fedelini Genovese pasta, lasagna, and rib eye. The porcini mushroom was my favorite of the two pastas. The bacon really added a great savory flavor to the creamy white sauce. I didn’t try the other dishes as I was full off of bread. The bacon bread was delicious!
Took off one star because of the uncomfortably warm temperature of the restaurant. I felt like I was sweating. We ordered a parfait to cool us down.

I had the privilege of going to Café Lani today with a few yeeps… They were kind enough to include me in their lunch bunch…
I was totally impressed. I had no idea what to expect. I’d seen the long lines of people waiting to get in and wondered why? What was so good about this place?
I’ve often stood at the window watching the bakery operation and wondered how good the pastries were, I love baking bread so naturally I watched their techniques and loved the tiny croissants and Danish they were making.
As we sat at the table, all of the other ladies had obviously been there before. There was exciting talk about THE BREAD… huh? I wasn’t sure what that meant…
Since I was taking my husband to dinner, I didn’t want to eat much, so I thought I’d order a salad… until I was informed that salad doesn’t come with THE BREAD. Well, that did it, I couldn’t order salad. I would then order a meal to make sure I could get THE BREAD…
I ordered the porcini pasta and while we waited, the cutest server, Grace, started bring us THE BREAD… All of the ladies were right. THE BREAD was totally awesome! Each one tasted better than the last. Now I was hooked… I felt like a little piggy, stuffing each one into my mouth. When Grace came around with new items, I quickly passed the plate and allowed her to fill it with whatever she had in the basket. OMG! THE BREAD was too good to pass up.
Our meals came and THE BREAD kept coming too. I can’t tell you how many different breads we had… Every single one was delicious. Now all of my questions were answered… how good are the pastries? EXCELLENT! Why did people line up and wait in line to eat here? The food is good… and service great. Grace is so cute and friendly and very accommodating.
Restaurant is clean and well lit. It’s has such a fresh feeling
I will return again and again.
Thanks yeeps! This was a super fun day!

Because you know I’m all about that BREAD,
‘Bout that BREAD, no treble
I’m all ’bout that BREAD, ’bout that BREAD, no treble
I’m all ’bout that BREAD, ’bout that BREAD, no treble
I’m all ’bout that BREAD, ’bout that BREAD
Yea…I know I ain’t a size two but it’s because of the BREAD!
Breadaholics unite HERE.
Seriously though! What a novel idea (insert dumbfounded look) — servers walk around with an assortment of bread offering to fill you table with kryptonite strong enough to make you bend in submission and breaking that low-​carb diet! Unfortunately, you cannot just have bread alone here — but with a cup of coffee you can for the mere price of $ 9.00!
I can’t turn away from cream cheese filled, bigger-​than-​a-​bite sized pastry/​bread and neither can I turn away from their cheese bread balls and croissants. Almond, sugar, chocolate, rye, wheat, spinach — pretty much you name they probably have it all.
Our server named GRACE was so «graceful,» pleasant and accommodating — excellent service! You’ve heard about the painful wait and the you’ve seen the long lines to get into this restaurant but If you plan ahead and DON’T go at peak hours getting in is painless. Our group decided to meet at 3:30 and upon arriving our party of 5 was able to get seated within 10 minutes. As a note, they won’t serve bread until you’ve ordered entrees! Or perhaps come to order bread AND coffee. So remember the BREAD nazi…“no bread for you!!” unless you order first.
My entrée was forgettable. Shrimp Gratin was a bit dry, shrimps were overcooked and veggies too raw. I’ve had other dishes here as well and found that I should have stuck to my Seafood Paella or Doria. Any how, the stars here are the BREADS.
This isn’t like a Lambert’s Café where they throw the bread at you (here, they serve it sporadically AFTER you’ve ordered — a bread win!), service awesome (YES!) AND food portion and quality awesome (meh!) and for those reasons — this is a 4 star experience for me.

Café Lani is located in the new Ewa wing of Ala Moana on the Mauka side near Longs Drug store. The décor is modern but homey!
One star is for the comfy couch type seats with fluffy pillows. They also have some nice long tables for larger groups.
The next star is for the bread service. You can choose fresh and yummy bread throughout your meal. Not the best for your gluten free diet but who can pass up fresh croissants! They also had a dish that had two pats of butter and a section with chocolate (not balsamic!) and a section with simple syrup and berries you can mash into syrup to make your own jam. Cute and yummy.
The third star would have been a half star for service. Because our server was polite but not very attentive.
The menus selection was extensive and the menu had nice pictures that made it difficult to decide. Here is what we had
Me-​Seafood Pesto — pasta with shrimp, asparagus, tomatoes, mussels, & onions — this was standard but not amazing
Bff1– Seafood Paella — shrimp mussels on a bed of pallea — she said again pretty good but thought the shrimp was overcooked
Bff2– had the pork cutlet and that was hands down the best thing ordered.
Wine selection was limited — minus half star
Food service — very slow and it was not a busy night — no apologies for the wait when the food finally came. Minus star
Also we had a weird exchange where at the close of our meal a diff waiter came to ask if we need anything else and so we said yes maybe could we look at a dessert menu. Then he proceeds apologize for us not getting a dessert menu and tells us that our origin a waiter is in the bathroom. Um… ok didn’t need to know that but sure. Minus half star
I got flashbacks of the Seinfeld episode where Jerry sees the chef in the bathroom and he didn’t wash his hands.
There were other things in the menu I had my eye on and prices were fair. But I think I will come mostly when I want to look gluten straight in the eye and say! I am not afraid of you Gluten! I will have a croissant, baguette, corn bread, rye bread and any other baked goodness is flaunted in front of me! So there!

SMILES
+ All you can eat bread… well not really. See frowns below for more details.
+ Super cute dessert choices.
FROWNS
— To me, those community tables are just awkward.
— Pricey
— The bread. Granted the bread is delicious and you can get as much you can eat… BUT they walk around with a tray of bread and once its given away, it takes a while for that same type of bread to come back because they bake their bread in batches. While I was there, I got to try about 5 different types of bread… but there was more going around. And I hated the feeling when the tray was about to run out and there wasn’t enough for you to try.
— Servers didn’t do that great of a job explaining the dips you can use for your bread. I had to just guess what to do and what it was.
MISC
= To me, the hype has died down and the wait is not so bad. I just hate those community tables. Would rather wait or sit at the bar.

We had dinner beforehand, but came to Café Lani for dessert. My dad, mom, and brother have been wanting to do the Mega parfait for sometime now. But since it’s suggested for 4 – 6 people, they waited until I was in town to finally try it.
We came in at about 8:30pm on a weekday and the restaurant was packed. However, we were seated right away because we told the host we were only going to have dessert. Our server gave us dinner menus, but we told him we just wanted the super jumbo parfait. He kind of chuckled but said he knows we could finish it.
It took about 20 minutes for them to prepare the gigantic parfait and when our server was carrying the it across the restaurant to our table, many heads turned. This thing was huge. My family dug in right away while I had to snap some pictures of this epic creation. I honestly only had a few bites because I was too preoccupied with my phone, but it was really tasty! I liked that there was some cornflakes and fruit buried in there for added texture. I can honestly say that my dad, mom, and brother could’ve easily tackled this on their own, as I had a few bites at max. Would love to try this again!

PARKING: plenty of free Parking in the garage since it’s located at ala moana mall.
SERVICE: Staff was friendly, but they were kinda slow. Also, when the food is ready the chefs put it on the counter where we can see it. So I saw our food sit on the counter for a while before our server actually brought it over. I think If they’re not gonna serve it right away it should stay behind the scenes.
ATMOSPHERE: this place is super cute. They have a «community table» where multiple parties can sit at it, hence the title «community table». Laid back and good for big groups and catching up as it was not too loud.
FOOD: They give you different types of unlimited bread throughout dinner with different sauces to dip them in (chocolate, fruit spread and butter). I thought the bread was better than the main dishes my mom and I got. I got the fedelini porcini mushroom with cream sauce and my mom had the fedelini bolognese with mascarpone cheese. I felt like it was nothing special. I think I would of like mine better if there were more mushrooms in it. It wasn’t bad, but the flavor/​sauces did not «wow» me. I may have to go back and try other dishes!

Went to Café Lani on a Sunday for lunch dreading the line. Went there right when the lunch menu was starting and surprisingly got a seat in 10 mins!
Service despite other reviews was top notch. Our waiter was so helpful, nice, and generous. He even told us to take more bread even though we were full just to try everything and told us he’d give us a box to take them home even though he wasn’t supposed to suggest it. He always came by to check on us and give us more bread or refill drinks.
We ordered the fedellini genovese which is like a shrimp and mussel pesto, fedellini porcini mushroom cream sauce, and a Café Lani paella.
The paella was just ok and the rice needed more seasoning. Not bad though. The fedellini genovese also needed more seasoning but was edible. The seafood portions of it was delicious and fresh. The porcini though was delish! Very creamy, full of flavor and bacon/​mushrooms! They give very generous portions.
They have really unique soft drinks and the passion fruit iced tea was very refreshing.
But the star of the show were the breads. Baked fresh right there every 20 – 30 mins in batches. There’s rye rolls, corn rolls, baguettes, danishes of all kinds, and my favorite the croissants! Flaky, crispy and has a delicious glaze on it.
Café Lani is on the ewa wing of Ala Moana on the second floor. This is where the old Longs kind of used to be and where the current Nitrogene and Magnolia Bakery is. Parking is usually abundant if you park on the upper levels and just take the elevator down.

Café Lani! White pineapples and clean décor — awesome! Came here on a Thursday night, at 6:30 and bunch of people were waiting outside — doors were opened for us like royalty and I told them table for 2, wait was about 40 minutes for a table but the community table was open so we took it… What’s a community table you might ask, it’s a long banquet table seating about 25 people, and you and your guest sit across from each other with lovely strangers next to you listening to every word you say. I didn’t mind at all! Haha.
We got waters in cute mason jars, a plate with butter and other stuff like chocolate for our bread. Bread is free and the server comes around describing each bread, I’m not a bread enthusiast so I just tell the server to give me one of each. He came around 6 times asking for bread, I ordered the bacon pasta for $ 16 and wanted to try their fruit parfait. Wait time was about 15 minutes. Bread kept us not thinking about the wait!
Food came and it was yummy! Then right when I was going to get my last bite. our server comes and takes away my plate… hmm maybe it looked I was done? Haha I didn’t want to be rude so I just let it slide… So we were about to get our parfait on but nope the server gave us the check. So I’m not sure if it’s the community table thing where we have to hurry up and eat and get the heck out of there but idk what was up! He was actually a great server. Maybe it was really busy and he didn’t want me to eat parfait? Idk. I really don’t know. That’s why you get 2 stars!
I will definitely come back to try out their parfaits — something so cute about this place, really sleek and good looking. Just don’t take away my last bite.

Decided to eat here for lunch since we always see lines out the doors to this restaurant. We went on a weekday at about 1:30pm and still had to wait about 15 min to get a table.
Everyone always raves about the bread, and rightly so! That is the best thing here! All the fresh baked bread coming out very warm and soft make the meal! It’s nice how they always have a variety of bread too, so you don’t get tired of eating the same dull bread. I LOVED the croissant the best. They also give you a sauce platter to try the different breads with sweet sauces (chocolate and a berry jelly) in addition to butter which is interesting. I am personally not a sweet tooth so I prefer to stick with butter.
The décor in here was very local/​modern/​cutesy like the Japanese would do and it’s very clean so kudos to them on that. Also, with the open kitchen concept, I don’t care for because then the restaurant gets a little loud.
Everything else here was subpar. They serve a mix of things. I got the pasta, which I don’t think was worth $ 16. I wouldn’t mind coming back for the bread, but I wouldn’t wait longer than 5 minutes to eat here again, but that’s just my opinion.

Was excited to try this place for a while, and glad to come here with a good friend after visiting home. On a weekday lunch ~12pm we had a 45 minute wait, which wasn’t super bad considering how popular this place is.
After getting seated, we were put on the long communal table (sucks, but we got over it). Just found this an opportunity to learn about two different couples, since we could hear all their conversations. =p
We both ordered combo items, which include a soup (Clam or French Onion), Salmon sashimi with cheese pupu, and unlimited bread (people come around with trays to serve you). The Teri Chicken meal was decent, but not fantastic. However, the real star was the bread selection. I liked their croissant the best, and loved it with their chocolate dipping sauce. They also have a berry and regular butter side as well for the breads.
Although the place was pricy (~$ 25) it was fair given the large portions, sides, and all you can eat bread. I wish we were less full so we could have tried their sundaes, which looked amazing. Will do next time.

«Oh you fancy»!
Absolutely not.
Before you read this review, keep in mind that I work in the service industry dining sector so I know the ins and outs of what good service is. Likewise, I also know when someone is doing their job poorly.
Today, for a birthday brunch we all left unsatisfied. We all ordered our dishes with bread with unlimited refills. Sadly, the bread refills were slower than an Olive Garden unlimited bread and salad refill. What makes me even sadder is that with the limited choices that is their breakfast menu, the bread as many Unilocalers have stated is their star offering. While, I did order last because of my late arrival, once I ordered my dish, my bread plate and dipping sauces never arrived. I was informed that is standard practice here at this restaurant. Furthermore, I had to grab ANOTHER waiter by the name of Shane (Asian guy) and he had to get our bread refills and my separate bread plate. In addition, Shane did mention to us that the sauce plated for the bread was generally 2 per table to share. They brought out another sauce plate for me anyway.
Now, going on with the slow service or rather poor service. We were not checked on once by our server (Riandara) until I went to get Shane’s attention a 2^nd time (NOT EVEN OUR WAITER). Then we were checked on multiple times within a 10 minute span. Did they peep my Unilocal page and realized that our server was neglecting our table? Was it the tip that I wrote on their business page as servers breezed by?
I don’t know. But they certainly wasn’t particularly busy with the wait time being minimal.
What I do know is that this place wasn’t worth it for me and certainly not for the birthday girl.
I thought the menu offerings were short and didn’t really draw my attention. The FOOD was presented beautifully. Although, my dish (Omelette Soufflé) and another party at my table’s didn’t match in size, one was clearly smaller portioned than the other. The best presentation was the Eggs Benedict. Tastewise, I thought the soufflé was good not great. The soufflé had the nice puffy consisteency throughout but there still should have been flavor without adding the gravy sauce.
The drinks particular for the fresh juices wasn’t even filled to the top. They must think we are in NYC. We don ‘t even do that in New York.
The price didn’t match the product for me. And while I did leave a 20 percent tip instead of a 10 percent one for poor service, being in the industry I couldn’t stand for that. I thought about writing a note on the back of the receipt to drive that point home but it was too much work. I’m on vacation for fu_​k sakes.
The décor was classy and very amicable so I will tip my hat to that.
While others have stated that they will try Café Lani again. I, will not. I would also think twice about letting any of my friends/​Yelp friend make that mistake. Unless, you could choose your server.
Not a fan.

I see a lot of my fellow Unilocalers have already come down to Café Lani Hawaii in the Ala Moana Shopping Center to dine… so it was finally my time to make down here this past Sunday for lunch with my friend.
We decided to meet up here at 12:45 PM, and upon walking into the restaurant, there were a few people already waiting for a table.
When I got up to the host, I told him I needed a table for two. Guess what? Within 2 minutes, we were seated… I don’t know what happened, because there was absolutely NO WAIT time for us. Go figure?
As we are seated at this long table with other people, a waitress comes by to drop off menus, take our drink order, & drop off water.
Upon looking at Café Lani’s wonderful menu… and I say wonderful, because the menu is done so beautiful with very large bright pictures of their food on the menu.
So much items to choose from, hard to decide… so I ended up getting the
— Grilled Chicken with Porcini Mushroom cream sauce. ($ 15.00)
and my friend ended up getting the
— Opah in a white wine cream sauce. ($ 22.00)
With your meal, they have this bread service… where a person walks around with a basket of various types of bread & pastries, and you can ask for as much bread as you like.
If you like carbs… it’s a carbohydrate lover’s dream!
With your bread, they provided (4) type of spreads — they had butter, cream cheese, some kind of liquid chocolate sundae spread, & a berry fruit spread.
The GRUB —
If you like fancy presentation of food… then this is the place to be!
My Grilled Chicken was just a single piece of chicken that was de-​boned, with a rich Porcini Mushroom Sauce, and the chicken came with some potato, carrots, & watercress. I thought the serving size was a bit small, but with the all you can eat bread service… if you took advantage of stuffing yourself with bread, I guess that would have made up for the shortfall on da meat product! Lol!
The Very Berry Parfait I shared with my friend was basically a «fruit & sugar overload!» Our parfait had lots of fruit, ice cream, & these very large cornflakes in the middle… which gave our parfait a little crunch texture.
The dessert tasted okay… but if I had other choices like a custard pie… you know what I would go for!
I like to try all types of food, and eat new things so I’m glad I came here, but if you asked me if bruddah Fran would rather eat here, or a bucket of Popeye’s Fried Chicken, or a plate lunch from Rainbow Drive Inn… for you folks that know bruddah Fran… you know what the answer is! Lol!
Service here was excellent! No complaints at all, as drinks were filled on a timely basis, and the bread kept coming endlessly.
Again, I must of lucked out this past Sunday (Mother’s Day)…as I mentioned that I did not have to wait at all to get a table…

A mixed bag, more minuses than pluses. Bottom line: it’s not worth the 45++ minute wait.
Let’s start with the positives. The AYCE bread is a gimmick but a very good one. You get a wide variety that is fresh and literally hot off the oven. Service is good with multiple refills of water and many rounds of bread. The restaurant is new and clean.
Unfortunately, it goes downhill from here with some execution issues. My wife ordered the foie gras with tenderloin ($ 36) medium rare. The steak came out medium well with some parts being well done. At least this was a good cut of beef so the mistake is not as bad and our waitress apologized. How could you mess up foie gras (which they didn’t)… this was a good combination and idea to pair the two together.
I ordered the prosciutto and mozzarella pomodoro ($ 16.50) which was ok but was severely under seasoned with no trace or salt or pepper /​spices. Noodles was cooked perfectly al dente.
At least we got to try the place and probably won’t come back unless we can just walk in.

People weren’t kidding about getting your name on their list ASAP! We arrived about 10am to put our name on the list for lunch at 11am and four parties were actually ahead of us! With an hour to kill, we walked around the new Ewa Wing while enjoying a Starbucks coffee. When we got back to the restaurant, there was a crowd of people standing outside. The staff promptly started calling out the names of the parties in order for seating. We didn’t have to wait long and was seated right by the window.
Service (5 out of 5): Marc and Jaime serviced our table and they were awesome! Marc with a «c» helped us, there is another Mark with a «k» and I wanted to clarify which of the two helped us. They both came back around numerous times offering different types of bread and refilling our coffee. Marc was extremely helpful with recommendations and answering all our questions as it was our first time dining there. Jaime made sure that we were enjoying our meal and dining experience. I would highly recommend asking for them if possible.
Food (4.5 out of 5): We ordered the Chicken Salad, Fedelini with Porcini Mushroom Cream Sauce Pasta, French Onion Soup, AYCE bread, Siphon Coffee (FREE refills!), Cappuccino and the Very Berry Parfait. I have to say that all the food exceeded my expectations for flavor, quality and presentation. Their Croissant is probably the best I’ve had in Hawaii. It’s a must try! (Lost ½ star because it’s so much carbs!!)
From the time we ordered till we got our order was about 25 – 30 minutes. The drinks we ordered arrived within 5 – 10 minutes. Great time to enjoy the company of your party and the AYCE bread. Keep in mind that dining here will take time so make sure you have the time so you can enjoy the experience. We left about 1:15pm to give you an idea how long our lunch was. Overall 4.5 stars! If you go in prepared then you will have a great experience.

This was a long lunch but I enjoyed every moment of it! I didn’t like that the overall lunch took a few hours but I’m very happy that we came. Everyone keeps talking about the varieties of bread that you get to try and I was looking forward to finally trying it. My favorites were the Croissant and Custard Danish. I couldn’t get enough of it and recommend everyone to order their all you can eat bread option.
The restaurant has a nice open concept. We were so lucky to be seated along the window. It was the table I was eyeing out when we were waiting outside. The lighting was perfect for photos lol. You can see the bakers from the outside making the bread while you’re waiting. I liked that you can see the bar where they make the drinks, especially their Siphon Coffee.
I ordered the Chicken Salad and it was delicious! It had different textures to it and I liked that they put the salad dressing on the side. The chicken was seasoned and cooked perfectly. We also ordered the Very Berry Parfait. The fruits were refreshing and the presentation was pretty. My Cappuccino was a lot better than expected too!
Our servers were the best! Marc and Jaime provided us with exceptional service. There are two Marc’s and the one that I’m talking about is Marc with a «c.» They were friendly and came back throughout the entire meal to offer us different types of bread to try. I didn’t know what some were and Jaime explained to me the taste and was very patient with me as I decided if I wanted to try it or not. Café Lani for me was worth the wait. I can’t wait to come back again!