Java Jazz — Restaurant in Hawaii

overall a very poor experience. i immediately felt uncomfortable, but stayed because my parents were recommended this place and were excited to try it. we were at the big table near the entrance, which had right-wing propaganda on it. in fact, there was propaganda all over the place (very extremist too, not subtle at all). i understand freedom of speech and all that, but it was just very uncomfortable. there were many signs that were pro-trump, or just generally xenophobic (speak english, etc). not only that, but the food wasn’t very good either. we waited ages to get our food and drinks (which were just beer and soda, nothing fancy). It was also a bit grimy, and my plate and utensils had old food caked on them. as someone with a dietary restriction (celiac), i’m usually pretty understanding about kitchen difficulties, but between the grime and the waiter’s lack of knowledge on the food served, i felt very unsafe eating there. despite this, i ate the one gluten free dish they offered, which didn’t taste too good, and later made me sick (which i’ll take responsibility for, i felt like it would and i ate it anyways). out of the seven dishes at our table (five personal, two shared) the overall consensus was that only the lemon pesto spaghetti was good. after reading the reviews, it seems like this is the place to be if you are a very patient right-wing american without concern for the cleanliness of the kitchen. if you read the other negative reviews, you can find some hilariously rude responses from the owner. i’m rarely one to write reviews, but we were totally blindsided coming in, and it made for an uncomfortable...

Everything started off well at first. We told our waitress, Sydney, that it was my birthday, and he assured us he would take good care of us, even offered to start us off with some birthday shots. Naturally, when someone says they’re going to take care of you and offers birthday shots, you assume they’re complimentary, right?

We ordered fries and nachos, and when Sydney asked if we wanted any dip for the fries, we requested ranch.

When the bill came, we were stunned to see it totaled $119 with no explanation. We had to ask for an itemized receipt to figure out how the charges added up. Turns out, Sydney had charged us for the birthday shots $20, $2 for ranch, $5 for using a credit card, and a bunch of other questionable fees.

When we mentioned that he was the one who offered the birthday shots, his response was snarky—he said, "If Lamborghinis were on the menu, everyone would want one but not be able to afford it," implying that we should have known better.

We Did Not order the shots or see them on the menu; he offered them to us!

It was frustrating to realize that Sydney seemed more interested in upselling than actually providing good service. It felt more like a sales pitch than a dining experience. Maybe he thought we’d be too tipsy to notice, but we were perfectly aware of what was going on. If he wants to be a salesperson, he’d do better at a car dealership.

On a positive note, the live music was fantastic— the guitarist reminded me of Carlos Santana. It was definitely the highlight of the evening. The fries were decent, but the nachos were disappointing; they tasted like they’d used spaghetti sauce instead of...

Not a fan. Took over 10 minutes before a service came to our table (was not busy). Took over 45 minutes for a pasta dish and sandwiches to come out. We didn’t have high hopes waking in…..our fault for waiting until last minute to figure out what we wanted to eat. They had live music which wasn’t bad but the bartender made a rude comment to the gentleman about his singing and how he mumbles. Not sure if he was being sarcastic towards him but for customers not from the area it was rude and awkward. Menu mentions specifications on your Parmesan cheese since it’s added to eat pasta mean. Well I asked about it and said yes I would like some…..well my meal only tasted like that. Not sure how breakfasts or lunch is but I would skip for dinner. Food trucks across the street are way better.

Edit- Responding to the owner who after a month has decided to reply. I would like to believe you were short staff but for someone who’s works in the restaurant industry for more than 10+ years your front staff was not “short” but could use more training. That would be more beneficial than complaining about being short staffed. For your kitchen staff I can’t speak on behalf as a customer. Also on the roach comment……Hawaii is filled with them….so if they have them your restaurant most likely has them but that come with the territory obviously. Best of...