Family Roots Café

LOCATION:
inside of the plaza center. its really hidden on the far left corner next to subway.
SETTING:
they have a dining area to eat. super small. otherwise just take out haha idk but it seemed so dark in there for some reason haha
SERVICE:
they was okay. haha once we walked in, the guy in the front greeted us with a hello. thats about it. not really talkative. you order your food in a sequence and they have a sign to help you :) you first pick what kind of sandwich you want, then what kind of cheese and last, the toppings.
FOOD:
the food was suuuuuuper good! found this place on Unilocal because it was close to home and in kalihi AND was looking for a healthy place to eat at. i got the spinach turkey wrap which was delish! it had alfalfa, cucumbers, cheese and my turkey. i told them no red onions & no bell peppers cuz im so picky! haha i also got their acai bowl which was also super good! they had acai, granola, blueberries and bananas in it. cant wait to try their paninis which was all gone when we got there :(
PARKING:
lots of free parking outside the area
PRICES:
their prices are super affordable! their acai bowls are $ 6 something. and their wraps are $ 5 something. what a good deal!

The acai bowl is my favorite on the island. Fresh and cold and delicious Small place, nice people. Military discount. Great book about the Beach Boys on Oahu that I love to read while I’m waiting. Paninis are not quite right — not sure if it’s the bread that’s not quite the right kind? Pretty much just bread and meat — not much flavor. Pesto chicken pasta salad is good, but very little chicken in the one I got. Salads are delicious.

This is purely based on the panini’s. Unfortunately they switched their bread these use the their panini’s. Now they just use the same style bread as subway. Not as good as before

Driving around Kalihi, I start to crave an acai bowl. Thank you Unilocal for introducing me another place.
It is tucked away in the corner of the Belt Collins center. No signage is visible. Find Subway and park, look to the right of Subway and you will find a green flag. FRC is affiliated with the AlternativCare Services.
There are 2 (2) seats table and 2 sets of 3 bar seats. Very small but clean with green walls and dark wood floors.
The mini acai is a good size bowl for $ 6.95 or get a regular for $ 8.50. Smoothies are $ 4 that offers 4 different fruit variations (mango, strawberry, orange, blueberry) Or choose from their Paninis or sandwiches.
Very simple menu, no extra health offerings such as chia seeds, bee pollen, tumeric, ginger etc.
Great when in the area and want something somewhat healthy.
Service needs help. No hello, no introduction. The lady just stood there and stared at me with a pad and paper and after 5 minutes a soft are you ready to order? I don’t think that she was trying to be rude.

An okay looking place clean but really dead. Although I think they will close down on Saturday

How can I give this place half a star. First of all it starts with service. It’s 9:08 and they weren’t opened yet the girl inside clearly saw me standing by the door so at 9:10 I finally knocked and asked if she was going to open soon. She unlocked the door… and doesn’t even open it, nor does she turn on the open sign. TOTALLY FIRED. SOMEONE PLEASE TEACH THIS GIRL CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS. then I ask for a panini to which she responds 10 minutes. Helluurr you opened 10 minutes late now I gotta wait an extra 10 minutes. Dang, this place needs to get their S*#! together. I haven’t even even gotten my sandwich yet and I’m already pissed.

This place is tucked away in the corner in a Business center next to subway. I was in the area and was craving something a little healthier than plate lunch so naturally I turned to Unilocal for help. I decided to stop in, coming from Ewa on King Street this place is on your Right Hand side after Jack in a Box. Lots of parking which was very convenient.
I ordered a Turkey Panini (7.50 $), the available sandwiches are displayed in a case and you can just choose what you want and they put it in the Panini Press in the back. The Panini was not bad, but honestly it wasn’t spectacular I think I could have done it myself, with Deli meat, bread, cheese, I just need to get the Panini Press.
I glanced at the Board for their smoothies before I ordered and although they looked tasty they all contained «Vanilla Ice Cream» in them which to the health conscious might not be a good choice especially with so many healthier places out there with fresh fruits/​vegetables.
I might give this place another try though maybe I need to get this Acai bowl that looks so good in the pictures!
The customer service here was not that spectacular either, I thought they could have been a little friendlier especially with a new customer walking in when it was empty.

Pretty small and tucked away but great concept. The menu was limited. I tried the pesto chicken salad and was disappointed with the micro — sized bits of «chicken.» Don’t think I’d come back but it was cool to try.

I’ve been here twice and had their acai bowls. Their mini bowl is good for one person! The acai bowls are delicious. My husband ordered a turkey sandwich which he devoured. I wish they had more options for their acai bowls. The space is also small so it’s not a good spot for big groups to sit and eat ~ more appropriate to order to go. Parking is plentiful so that’s never an issue.

The sandwiches and paninis are good. I was disappointed in the acai bowl. Mostly granola, and it wasnt that great. The amount of fruit on top was skimpy. I wouldnt get it again

After reading all the rave reviews about the acai bowl, I finally made it out to Family Roots Café! I ordered the regular acai bowl for $ 8.50. I’m not sure how many ounces the mini and regular are, but they have both bowls at the counter for reference.
Half of the bowl was filled with acai and the other half was granola, fresh fruits, and honey. Overall, it was a decent acai bowl. It wasn’t bad, I just probably would have liked it a lot more if it had a stronger acai taste. The menu says that there’s guava in it, but I couldn’t tell. It just tasted like a mix of a lot of different fruits. I did like that it wasn’t watery or soupy and it didn’t melt really fast! This kept the granola very crunchy! There was so much granola in my bowl! I love granola, so I had no issue with this :) I’m pretty sure it’s the pumpkin seed granola that you can buy from Sam’s Club or Costco. Don’t forget to get a stamp card!

One of my cousin’s gf used to work here and everyone used to RAVE about the food and acai bowl here. I always wanted to try it out, but never had a chance because of their hours would always conflict with my work schedule. Unfortunately, they only open til 4pm M-​F & 2pm on Sat.
I FINALLY had a chance to grab some food before I started my shift. I opted in for their turkey spinach wrap and an acai bowl of course. I ate their acai bowl when I first got to work and realized that that the acai was frozen, which I didn’t mind cause it surely let the life of my bowl last while I was at work and had to sneak bites in between calls. The granola they use is super yummy! The spinach wrap was HUGE and suuuuper good! Will be back for sure!!!

I absolutely love this place but because of their terrible hours I can never make the trek in Kalihi to actually eat here. The two times I have been here the Acai bowl and panini were PERFECT! The food and service is phenomenal.
Sadly I must give three stars since they are never open when I want to go. Also Unilocal has them listed open on Saturdays from 0900 – 400 but I stopped by at 215 on 10/​31/​2015 and they were closed. Their Saturday hours are actually 1000-​200.

I hardly ever have the chance to come here since I’m never off when they’re open but now… they’re open on Saturdays until 2pm! Saturdays! Till 2! That’s right, Family Roots finally answered to my last 2 years of birthday wishes and decided to open the store on a weekend.
The acai is just as good as I remember, not overly sweet and watery like other places. They even put some pumpkin seeds with the granola, such a yummy surprise. Prices have gone up a little in the past couple years but it’s still on par with other acai places. They started selling pasta salad too, which is that delicious smell that hits you when you walk through the door.
Yes, 5 shiny red stars for you. Now it’s time to think of a new birthday wish for next year.

I’ve had their açai bowls here twice now, but I decided to try their vegetarian panini today. The açai bowls are phenomenal. Mini bowls costs $ 6.95 and regular costs $ 8.50. One of the tastiest I’ve had on the island. The amount of granola and fresh fruits they give you is perfect. The only suggestion is that I think the veggie panini should be cheaper than the meat paninis.

I’ve only been here once, but I am a huge fan of their acai bowls! I got the mini ($ 6.95) and it was huge! The acai is mixed with strawberries, blueberries, bananas, and guava and is topped with more strawberries, blueberries, bananas and organic granola with your choice of honey or agave nectar syrups. I love the honey and the acai is a great texture.
It was a little hard to find, but they are in the lot next door to Jack in the Box and in the corner near Subway. Next time I need an acai fix in Kalihi, I’ll be sure to return here. :D

Family Roots Café is yet another business that I never would have found had it not been for Unilocal.The café is located in the far left corner of the Belt Collins Center in Kalihi, not easily seen from anywhere in the parking lot, event when you’re standing nearby! FRC is hidden right around the corner from Subway and occupy a tiny space of the building, so tiny that there are only 2 tables and a tiny counter space in the café. I was stoked when I first discovered Family Roots Café on Unilocal because of all of the positive reviews and after having been several times, I’m still on the fence about the business based on the customer service.
Operating Hours
Very limited. They’re open Monday through Friday from 9am-​4pm. That’s it. No love to the people who get off of work later in the afternoon and no love for customers over the weekend.
Ambiance
Very clean and skater/​surfer-​themed. There are a bunch of surf books and magazines laying around for customers to look through and they often have skateboarding videos playing on their TV and reggae music playing in the background.
Food
My go-​to menu item is the acai bowl which is really good and very similar to many other acai bowls from other restaurants. What supposedly sets their acai bowls apart from other acai bowls is that it contains guava. Or does it? I’ve had acai bowls that contain guava from other places before but there is seriously no trace of guava in FRC’s acai bowl. I suppose there might be a tiny portion but if there is, it’s definitely not recognizable. Their panini sandwiches are pretty good too and come in a pretty generous portion. They also sell random mini bags of chips and fruit bowls.
Customer Service
Definitely not their strong suit. I can’t say that I remember any of the employees smile and most of them are monotone when taking orders. Some of the previous reviews mentioned that orders should be called in ahead of time as they get busy, especially during the lunch hours. I didn’t call ahead on my first visit because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to order and I ended up waiting about 25 minutes for an acai bowl. There were about a handful of customers ahead of me but none of them had large orders. I learned my lesson and called in my order for my second visit but even so, I waited about 15 minutes for an acai bowl with only two customers ahead of me. They have an open kitchen so you can watch pretty much all of the food prep and when I watch them, there is absolutely no sense of urgency in what they do. On my last visit, I ordered my usual acai bowl and a panini with no customers ahead of me and still waited for 20 minutes. Mind you, their paninis are pre-​made and displayed in their glass case so really, all they had to do was heat it up.
Their operating hours could be a lot better, the food’s great and the customer service needs some work. I’ll stop in once in a while but FRC is definitely not my go-​to lunch spot, especially when I don’t have a lot of time on my hands.

I really enjoyed their acai bowl. Their granola and fruits made it more enjoyable.
I went right at opening time… Perfect breakfast in a bowl. Their store is tucked in the corner and may be easy to miss.
There’s not much room to lounge inside so it’s best to order and take out. I ended up eating there because it was empty.
I also orders their turkey panini sandwich for takeout… It lOoked so delicious, so I got it for my lunch meal.
I’m definitely coming back here for more acai paninis!!!

For the longest, I’ve always been hearing great things about this hole in the wall café and always wanted to try it since it’s in the area where I live. Since I have a 8 – 5 office job every day, I can never go to this place for myself during their business hours. So luckily my boyfriend was sweet enough to pick up an acai bowl and deliver it to my working place in Waikiki.
I really wish this place opens on weekends so I could enjoy it freshly made rather than get a bowl delivered to me half an hour later. Nonetheless, when I first tried it, it was probably one of the best acai bowls I’ve had. The portion of the acai was huge, the fruits were fresh and sweet. They weren’t greedy with those delicious fruits and granola to top off their presentation in the bowl. It left me satisfied and over full of yummy goodness.
I’d definitely would go back if I could and try the other food items they have since there’s quite a lot of other recommended choices based on other Unilocalers. There’s not too many around in Kalihi that offers acai bowl other than Jamba Juice in Kam Shopping that I know of. But Family Roots’ acai bowl out beats them anyday. If they were open on weekends, I’d probably go there more often as a healthier food choice option.

I have been going to this place since it opened because it’s in the building that my dentist is in and I often have my appointments around lunch time. The food is great and so are the prices. I love the paninis, the acai bowls and pretty much everything else. One of the nicest things about going here is the people. They are so nice and efficient. It makes going here all the more enjoyable. I think the prices are reasonable and for the quality of the food, the prices are great.

Highly effective eating in 7 easy steps:
1. Choose a meat from turkey pastrami, herb-​roasted turkey, deli-​sliced chicken breast, roast beef or honey ham.
2. Choose a cheese from provolone, mozzarella or American swiss.
3. Choose a dressing from ranch, Italian, Caesar or balsamic vinaigrette.
4. «Drag through garden» of sprouts, romaine, tomato, green bell pepper, cucumber, red onion.
Ba-​bing!
5. Gladly pay Jayson $ 6.75 plus tax for your custom work of art.
6. Dig in.
7. Repeat.

Healthy, fresh, hippie food deadsmack in the middle of Kalihi. With all the makings of an earthy, homegrown food shop, this place offers the ubiquitous acai bowl, spinach wraps, sandwiches and, of course, smoothies.
The portions are generous. A «mini» acai bowl is probably double the side of a «small» acai bowl anywhere in town and the spinach wrap was like a footlong of lean meat, cheese and veggies.
The café is certainly in an odd location next to a consignment shop and adult care center. However, once you walk through the door, the mellow vibe and Bob Marley «Legends» album transports you to a super chill Hawaiian tropic isle.
If you’re looking for a healthy spot to grab lunch, but don’t want to pay Townie prices, hit up Family Roots café. It’s a refreshing shop with ono grinds, friendly workers and a menu price that won’t break your wallet.