Solid breakfast across the board. We ordered the moena artichoke and poached egg thing, hash, loco moco, Chantilly banana pancakes, and veggie omelette with a side of bacon. Everything was delicious. The loco moco was exceptional, the meat fell apart and we got it on top of fried rice, perfect. The cappuccino and coffee was also the best I had on the island. Service was fast and efficient. Would return. Expect long waits of at least a half hour. read more

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Hash sausage, short rib rocomoco were wonderful! If you visit the Hanauma Bay or Diamond Head, you should have these wonderful food. read more

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Can I first of all say that walking into this place is like a slice of heaven? MAJOR, MAJOR props to whomever was the genius behind the interior design of this GORGEOUS restaurant! Seriously? For a small little eatery, Moena Café has such delightful decor! (Can you tell, I'm a freak for interior design and home decor stuff!) Anyway, beside the beautiful design of the joint, my friends and I decided to hit up this spot for a little breakfast before our hike and beach day. Welllllll, what can I say? THE SERVICE: Really good! Our hostess and server were both really awesome, quick and on it, and helpful! Especially at the end when we asked our server to split our checks (which they usually hate), she was really kind and sweet about it and happily obliged. Always a breath of fresh air! THE FOOD: Super good, BUT super pricey! For the portions they gave you, the price they charge is definitely NOT worth it. I was HUNGRY. I got their basic breakfast (whatever that is). You know, with bacon, eggs and fried rice. So sad. :( I think I got two pieces of thin, thin bacon. Maybe like ONE egg. AND what looked to be HALF a scoop of fried rice. For the price I paid, I think like $8 dollars, I could've gotten TRIPLE THAT at another spot I know (that's sadly on the Big Island). CONCLUSION: If you want to try their food, check out their restaurant and SPLURGE, why not? Other than that, I wouldn't recommend it, if only for the price to portion ratio! read more

Moena Cafe is fairly new to Koko Marina in Hawaii Kai, where good food is kind of hard to find. I had read positive reviews about this restaurant on yelp so I thought I'd try it out. Since I had read that the dish to have was the braised short rib loco moco ($13), that's what I went for. The loco moco comes with rice, short ribs, 2 over easy eggs and gravy. I opted for the fried rice. The fried rice was plain, more like white rice with peas and bacon mixed in, and was missing the true fried rice flavor. The short ribs were good but was not tender like you'd expect from braised short ribs. The eggs were over done so they didn't ooze onto the rice like they are meant to. Lastly, the gravy was almost nonexistent. All in all an average loco moco and, for the price, I would expect much better. My mom had the eggs Benedict ($11) which was average. She didn't have any complaints but also said it wasn't anything special. Lastly my friend had the Denver omelet ($9). He also said it was average. I thought the portion size was small considering for a lower price you can get a giant omelet with a side (rice, toast, or pancakes) at Koa Pancake House nearby. All in all this was average food. A bit over priced. Service was good though. Note : My mom had the chicken salad sandwich and turkey sandwich on a different trip Herr and said they were average also. read more

This place was an awesome find! We hiked Koko head at 6:30am on a Friday and we wanted a place for breakfast really close, so Yelp to the rescue and boy did they come through. Moran Cafe is a cute little cafe in the large shopping center right by Koko Head. There was no wait and the woman who seated us was super sweet! Our waitress came right away and took our order and the drinks and food came pretty quickly too. My caramel macchiato was probably the best I have ever had, but I just wish it was double the size... the breakfast was really good and large, I only ate half and took half to work. This is now my go to stop after early morning hikes or beach days in the area! read more

Moena Café - Pineapple sausage hash! Very good and a large portion! - Cafes Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Been here twice and they never disappoint! Service is wonderful and the food is fabulous! I have dietary restrictions and they bend over backwards with no hesitation. We'll be back! read more

Came here on a lazy Saturday morning. Pretty long wait for our table (25 mins+), so I was extra hungry by the time we sat down. I ordered a coffee (Kona, which was pretty good) and corned beef hash (came with two eggs, potatoes and onions). The food was good, but nothing special (especially at $12.50). I suppose that's standard fare for "nicer breakfast" cafes, and it's more or less the only game in Hawaii Kai. I had a bite of a friend's french toast, and was equally "this is good, but I'm not nuts about it." In sum, if you're in HK and want breakfast at not-Zippys, swing on down, expect a wait, and have some above-average grub. read more

Delicious short rib loco moco. I want to Just chow down the whole order but I didn't. Clean and nice, slightly inconspicuous even though the location or right by bubbies. I'll definitely be back here. Slightly annoyed by the last across the table that kept starring at me because I was eating one and she's with her guy. read more

Came here for lunch after hiking the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail. THANK GOD as I was about to enter hangry mode. Ordered the short rib loco moco w/ fried rice, a tropical iced tea (blend of passionfruit, mango, and pineapple - I believe), and the scone of the day (blueberry cream cheese) to hold me over while we waited for our food. EVERYTHING was delicious as previous reviews and pictures suggest. I would definitely recommend and can't wait to go back to try their sandwiches (we totally missed the back side of the menu since we were so hungry). read more

Be ready for a heckuva wait. The place is clearly popular. Nice decor and attention to detail. Really too small for the amount of demand that it generates. This is not a super fast operation. What they lack in efficiency, and they make up with their food. About 40 minutes to bring the food. Yikes! The short lib loco moco was a must-try, and I don't even like loco moco that much. Red gravy and shaved green onions on top. Fried rice on the bottom. "Spectacular" was the word my wife used, and she's the connoisseur. Coffee was nice, too. Had plenty of time to enjoy refills... My wife ordered the bleu cheese burger but found it over cooked. Just ok tasting. Not juicy, but the bleu cheese helped. Better to stick to the basics here. We'd give the food FOUR STARS! The service was friendly and fairly attentive, but the wait times were unacceptably long. Need to fix that somehow, please. read more

Came here with my friend for breakfast for the first time after doing the Koko Head hike on a Sunday. The wait was about 20 minutes. We ordered to share the potato hash and short rib loco moco over fried rice..both dishes were with over medium egg They were both DELICIOUS! If I had to choose one of the two, I would choose the short rib loco moco and my friend would choose the potato hash. The only reason why I would choose the short rib loco moco dish is because there is a lot of meat! And I like my meat!!! After eating here I thought to myself, Oh my gosh! Why haven't I been here before?!?! I need to come back again...soon! The wait is a bit long...so don't come here when you're already starving for food. read more

We were looking for a place to eat breakfast after an amazing hike to the lighthouse and found this tiny gem! The service is amazing, the food was some of the best I've ever had from a breakfast place! The kids each had 1 ginormous, fluffy made from scratch pancake with a generous side of bacon. My hubs had corn beef hash....so, so, so good! I had the Kalua Pig Benedict - OMG! Delish! My only angst for a lack of a better word is I felt the price of the Petite Stack pancake and only 1 free refill for a cup of coffee was a bit stiff but not enough for us to not come back. Actually the fact that they serve real syrup and the cream for the coffee is served hot is a major plus...so there you have it, no gripes...just praises for a small little place that handles big crowds well and serves heavenly dishes sure to satisfy every appetite! read more

Their short rib loco moco is THE ONE! Hands down best loco moco ever. The short ribs is to die for. Very tender and some fat on it just the way I like it! The gravy is also made to perfection and to top it off their sunny side up eggs.this was so good that I am actually going to come back for breakfast tomorrow and will now be coming here any time I come back to Hawaii! Ahh I can't wait to taste it again it's pure joy when I think of good ol comfort food. The ambiance is so cute. I love the way they arranged their decor it made me feel right at home. Customer service I had nothing to complain about everyone was pretty nice and accommodating. read more

Went here twice in the last two months and it's on first come basis so had to wait around 15mins since there was limited seating. Food and service was great. Good place for brunch/lunch on the East side. read more

Went to Moena Cafe on Saturday morning (6/02/12). Absolutely loved this place! Ambiance was great, service and food was excellent! We arrived around 9 am and were happy to be seated right away by a friendly waitrds/hostess. I was afraid we would have to wait a while like Cafe Kaila on a Saturday but we did not. Big plus! We ordered coffee, which was excellent by the way since each cup is fresh brewed. I usually will put cream and sugar in my coffee, but it was so good, I didn't need to. I did however use some of the fresh steamed milk since my husband said it was really good in the coffee. He was right! I ordered the breakfast sandwich, my husband ordered the Eggs Benedict. To be honest, I thought the breakfast sandwich should've had a small piece of fruit or something to go with it but it more than made up for it with the taste. I thought I would still be hungry after the sandwich and be able to try a dessert or get one pancake, but no such luck. It was very satisfying and you don't feel like you need a wheel barrel to roll you out of there. My husband's meal was plated so beautifully that it was almost a shame to mess it up and eat it. We had to take a picture of it! The hollandaise sauce was so good, yep I took a scoop and drizzled it on my sandwich...absolutely loved it! He said that the eggs were cooked perfectly and the thick piece of ham made the meal! Overall, we were very pleased. We will definitely be going back! Oh yeah and the 15% off with the iDcard is an added bonus. I'll be recommending this place to everyone. Try it, you won't be disappointed! read more

Good price, great service, friendly staff. Food is a master piece, crafted to your bellies desire. It's going to be a small portion but u will never feel guilty for over eating. It's a family type of place so don't bring your smokes or bad mouth. Came early cause the line gets long but well worth the wait. read more

Moena Café - My husband and I killed this breakfast. - Cafes Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

We decided to try it out before our hike up to the Makapu'u Lighthouse lookout. So we got there shortly after 7am and being that it was a Tuesday, it wasn't crowded and we were seated right away. As we looked over the menu, it became harder and harder to choose because everything sounded better and better. We finally decided on the short rib loco moco for me and a petite stack of the banana pancake with chantilly topping. OMG!! That pancake is huge! It's the size of a dinner plate and they don't skimp on the thickness either. It was so delicious. I'm partial to chantilly of the Liliha Bakery likeness but oh boy, Moena Cafe, you did it right!!!! Not too buttery or thick, just right. I can't wait to have my leftovers. The short rib loco moco was delish also. I requested brown rice and they happily obliged me. The brown gravy is perfectly seasoned and those short rib pieces are so fork-tender. My husband got the Cinnamon roll pancakes. He thoroughly enjoyed them as well. As we were about to leave, the cafe was filling up so I really recommend going early. The waitstaff seems efficient and not rushed. The ambience is relaxed and the music overhead reminds me of the music that plays in Williams Sonoma. Perfect. We will definitely be returning soon to try some of their Eggs Benedict dishes. read more

Strawberry milk pancakes were perfect. Not overly sweet. The pancakes in general are light and fluffy. The Denver omelette is also very tasty read more

Moena Café - Strawberry Milk Pancakes - Cafes Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

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Came after the beach one morning Good: Very friendly wait staff Excellent menu Really good fried rice Didn't have to wait long for seating Unique atmosphere Very clean Mom and pop read more

Went here for breakfast. Nice small place. I had the fish and eggs. Im glad i tried it but prob not going back. read more

I have only great things to say about this place... except for the wait time, but 20 minutes is nothing for such a great breakfast! We ordered the savory crapes and added an egg inside and it was mouth watering. The french toast is perfectly crispy on the outside and warm and soft in the middle. We got it with fruit on top. The syrup has a hint of fruit or something yummy in it. I will warn that it's borderline dessert. Once we sat down, the service was good too. read more

Yummy yummy. If you are on a gluten free diet, this is not the place for you. We started our morning off with the Hanauma Bay Ridge hike and put back in the calories at Moena Cafe. We ordered the specialty pancakes - strawberry and milk regular size, which equates to huge, and the short stack of MC fruity pancakes. The pancakes were fluffy and the fruit fresh. What was impressive, was the service - the cafe was brisk with business and we had minimal wait time to be seated and our food was served in a timely manner. We'll be back. read more

Hate to be the bearer of disappointment, but after so many good reviews we decided to give this place a try. We waited for about 15 mins for a table.... not bad for how busy it looked. We ordered the famous corned beef hash and eggs, French Toast, chicken panini, and a side of rice and kalua pig (my daughter's favorite meal). Then the disappointment started........ We waited, and waited, and waited..... about 40 mins went by. That was long with a 7 month and 4 year old. The food finally arrived, but not all of it. The panini was missing and the server said "sorry it will be out shortly, there was a mix up." Um, okay? She never mentioned anything while we waited 40+ mins. The panini arrived about 10 mins later. My daughter's plates were hot, but the rice was crusty and hard and the kalua pig had a crispy crust and was bone dry. Signs of sitting under aheat lamp for a while. We didn't complain at first because we didn't want to wait any longer, but i finally said something when my daughter couldn't eat it. The server dropped off a scone to compensate, but would have been nice to just take the rice and pig of the check, especially when only 3 fork fulls were eaten. No one at the damn scone either. The other dishes were standard, nothing that special. My standard for tipping stays at 20%+ and usually decreases as the situations occur. Needless to say the was no tip. The server can thank the manager for that, since he didn't want to comp, or even to come talk to us. NEVER AGAIN! read more

This place has great breakfast food so don't pass this place up they also have sandwich & burgers just incase your not in the breakfast mood. read more

Moena Café - Banana Chantily Pancake with Blueberry's - Cafes Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

Love the food here! Highly recommend eggs Benedict for breakfast. My friends always get it with avocado and say that's the best. For lunch the grilled chicken sandwich and kale chicken Caesar were amazing. Service is usually slow to very slow but the waitresses are very nice read more

Moena Café - Lunch menu - Cafes Near Me - Honolulu, Hawaii

2 things are a must! 1. The braised short rib loco moco and if u wanna make it fancy get swap for the fried rice base! 2. The banana pancakes with toasted coconut and chantilly sauce was so light & fluffy it melted in your mouth! My husband & I split the loco moco & the petite banana pancake and were stuffed! I will definately come back here on my next vacation. It was a great stop on my way back from snorkeling at the bay. read more

The food was delicious, the coffee too and the service exceptional! Great place to stop on the way out of town! I am coming down w a cold & the waitress was so sweet, brought me honey & a second round of hot water to maximize my tea bag usage. It's the little things in life.. read more

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Great food and friendly service. They serve their entire menu until closing, but you better come early because they close at 3 and there's always a wait. It took about 15-20min to be seated, but it was well worth the wait. My girlfriend and I got the breakfast sandwich, short rib loco moco, and a petite order of banana chantilly pancakes. read more

When Moena first opened, I used to come kind of frequently until I realized how pricey everything was. The food is good--don't get me wrong, but it is just not worth it to drive out to HK for. I've had the banana chantilli pancakes, fried rice, loco moco, fruity French toast, banana Nutella crepe, spinach florentine, Kalua pork Benedict, and the acai bowl. They were all good, but the dishes tasted like any other brunch place--just more expensive. The fruity French toast is $15 and with tip almost $20. Additionally, the wait is always so long. I do think that Moena is the best place to get brunch if you live on that side of the island, though. There is cute brunch appropriate decor inside and the food is good. The service is also usually good. I ordered takeout the other day which they had ready for me even though I went to pick it up a few minutes early. However, personally there are other brunch places I would go to before choosing Moena. read more

We found Moena's after hiking Koko Head Crater. It was an awesome hiking, although I asked myself, why the heck I'm doing it! We were hangry by the time we reached the bottom. Moena's was close by and the reviews were pretty good. When we got there at 11:15am, there was already a waitlist. Not too bad though, we got seated within 10 minutes. There was a lot of good breakfast items on the menu. I decided to get the "petite" pancake with a side of bacon. When I got the pancake....it wasn't "petite" at all! It was ginormous! Geez, I'd hate to see what the regular pancakes look like! I love my bacon and Moena's gave me some real nice thick bacon! Yes! My hubby got the salmon omelette, it was superb! It was so fluffy and delicious!! The place was quite small but they used the space wisely to fit as many people, comfortably as possible. It's clean and modern. The service was great. My only complaint is the coffee. The serving was a bit small. I love my coffee, so this is why my rating is missing that last star. But I'd go back for the food! read more

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My siblings and I finished a sunrise hike at Koko Crater and came to Moena right after to sate our hunger. To our dismay, we found a huge line already waiting to be seated. Time seemed to go by so slowly until we were called, but in the end, it was so worth it. The restaurant itself is pretty small and can fit maybe around 30 people. The space is simple and neat, and has a clean aesthetic. We got seated right by the kitchen and had all these delicious smells wafting towards us and driving us crazy. We ordered the short rib loco moco, the MC breakfast, corned beef hash, and fruity waffles. For a party of four hungry people, our picks more than filled us up. The star of the show was the loco moco, fasho. I've only had loco moco once before in Hawaii and didn't really like it, but if true loco moco tastes like Moena's loco moco does, then I'm sold. It was actually disappointing when the last few bites were left. The pancakes were humongous and fluffy. The fruits paired well together and this dish went fast as well. I wasn't crazy about the corned beef hash, but there was really nothing bad to say about any of the dishes we ate. Solid breakfast joint, great place for a fulfilling and satisfying meal! read more

Service was stellar for LA , for Hawaii, off the chain! The only problem, they have very complicated names. Greyson and Emily were fun and accommodating to my lame mainland demands of attention. Thank you! The loco moco was way better then the usu. short rib instead of a fatty fat grizzle slab of hamburger. Well done kids. The coffee gets a free refill, nice touch but... Come on guys, you got nothing on the iced thai latte at the powerhouse corporation (Starbucks) down the way. read more

Exceptional Hawaiian omelette, coffee, and service! I will definitely be back again! Thank you Moena Cafe staff!

After hiking KoKo Head crater trail, this is our go to spot. Service is always amazing, the crab Benedict's are spectacular, I had the short rib loco moco-super Yum! Great job as always. read more

This is a small place and on busy days you may have to wait a bit, but when we went it was busy but we were seated right away This restaurant specializes in light fare and breakfast items...but, oh my, what a breakfast. I had a Nutella & banana crepe, which was overstuffed with bananas wih just the right amount of Nutella. A member of my party had an Acai bowl and, it was delicious. Looking around at the other diners' plates, everything looked yummy and was very beautifully presented. read more

We've wanted to come here since they opened, but there was always a line. That wasn't the case when we dropped by on a Monday sometime in the afternoon. Yay, finally! My husband ordered the Crab Benedict which had big chunks of real crab meat. I say "real crab meat" because other restaurants sometimes use imitation crab meat, which is a huge difference. I ordered the Kalua Pig Benedict which is my favorite. Both were very delicious! The server was very helpful (I think his name was Jim) and we left very satisfied, so we'll definitely be coming back! read more

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Bottom line: delicious breakfast options in Hawaii Kai If you're on the east side of Oahu, there aren't too many choices for a nice breakfast. Moena Cafe should be on the short list of breakfast options. The food here seems to be well prepared. Portions are modest - not over-sized. Everything tastes good without being overly seasoned. I'm a fan. Be aware though - many people share this opinion and there will likely be a wait to sit and eat. read more

My husband and I were looking for a place to eat that was nearby and so we decide to stop by this place for breakfast. we order the banana Chantilly pancake (the small stack) and it was huge. I thought it was a mistake that they gave us the big stack but the waitress stated that it it was the small stack. we order the pineapple sausage on the side of the pancake and the sausage was sweet and salty at the same time. it was delicious. We also order the crab egg Benedict and it was really good. i was hesitating at first but after the first bite, I couldn't put it down. I devour it in minutes. it was a very trendy and cozy cafe and had a great breakfast menu. so if you are looking for a breakfast place,come by and check this place out. Plenty of parking space and the price is reasonable on the portion of the food they serve you. read more

I've been here when they first opened and it was great. I went on Sunday the 8th and it was not a great experience. we ordered the shortrib loco moco. what a disappointment. it was over $15 and had two little tiny pieces of meat. It felt like i was eating gravy and rice with an egg for $15. My mom's side fried rice was not bigger than a miso soup bowl and it was $6. I guess not that they are popular, they can cut portion size. they also take forever to serve. we will not be going there again for sure. this is more of a place for the atmosphere than anything. a hip trendy place to go but you pay the price. read more

Came in after a morning hike with friends. Waitress had great suggestions so we needed up getting the corn beef hash, eggs Benedict with avocado on French bread and the chantilly banana pancakes. The food and service was good. Could use a busser because there was only one server and also more napkins. Will come back for sure. read more

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