Koa Pancake House — Restaurant in Hawaii

Yeah, food was good for the price you pay. But ahmahgad, that soda machine!? Like, woah dood! That thing is, like, the future yos.

I got a Pepsi drank, in a cup, filled it with about 1/5 full of ice. But before all that - the satisfaction of having a fountain providing me with great pleasure - I was presented with a touchscreen displaying with what I don't remember as a smorgasbord of clashing carbonated liquids. Marvelled it for a few seconds as you kinda had to. Then, as instincts drove me, I fangled the screen with two fingers. Then lo and behold, the soda selection screen popped up, introducing me to a rather typical selection of drinks akin to what you'd expect from most restaurant establishments. So I filled my large cup with the specific amount of ice I instigated earlier in this review, then was immediately drawn to the large Pepsi icon smacked dab right in the middle of the large touchscreen. I touched it. It brought me to another screen - an option screen. Guys, this was where the magic became more apparent. I was given 4 options: cherry, vanilla, strawberry and lemon.

My mind went to places that it's been briefly to before, leaving me longing for hopeful visitations there when I had to leave forcefully. This utopia of sugary sweetness in flavors unbeknownst to most aluminum cans and plastic bottles. All those places that held the convenience of an easily obtainable supply of Pepsi cola could not compare to the satisfaction I was about to be given.

I thought for a few seconds, almost seemingly as long as choosing what color your baby's bedroom should be. Most of the time a sky blue or marshmallow pink would be the obvious choices, but wanting to be a different kind of parent, you might fathom the idea of meringue pie yellow. Or even a grape lollipop purple. So thusly, I picked vanilla. I placed my fingers onto the icon that would feed my cup the deliciously flavored Pepsi vanilla from its chambers. It began to fill at an unprecedented, but appreciated pace. Then, I garnered the options that was available to me as I displaced my fingers to let the carbonated foam to settle down, not wanting my cup to overflow, but more importantly to also fill it with as much punchy liquid as I possibly could. Then I saw it. I read the statement that would blossom my eyes into a pinch of densely packed twinkling stars, and it read, "Select up to 3 flavors."

My fingers twitched a little bit at the prospect of having a cherry/strawberry flavored Pepsi vanilla drink within my grasp. I didn't care too much about the lemon flavor, but I wouldn't condemn it from my arsenal of choices. I was simply limited to just three. But I had already filled my cup half full! Why was I so hasty in my selection!? How could I miss the most important piece of instruction regarding the most important decision of my life!? It was all there, choices laid out for me with nothing more than a pair of fingers to make them.

I was falling into a stupor of foolishness and paranoia. I could hear and even feel the crass judgment towering over me with the intent of confining me within its dark shell of misery. I began to panic, sweat glands swelling as the ability to focus on anything began to drift. My confidence dwindled as my insecurities started to take hold, blurring my vision. I was crumbling from my own dread.

But then, as I was about to have a mental breakdown, I had an epiphany. I selected the strawberry flavor, followed by the cherry and continued to fill my cup, occassionally stopping the flow to allow the process of leveling the foam, and by the end I was left with a most delectable cup of Pepsi vanilla with hints of cherry and strawberry flavors. You see, it doesn't always have to be an exuberant amount of everything all the time. Sometimes, just a little bit is all that's needed. It's a caveat you hold dear, especially when cooking.

I placed a lid on the top of my tilted cup, stuck a straw in it and headed towards the table where my family had started their breakfast. I sat and dined on my omelet with a cup of water.

10/10 would...

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Environment/Parking: 😍Enjoyed a delicious breakfast with my family at Koa Pancake House (previously Koa Cafe) in Ka Makana Ali’i mall. It was a Tuesday around 830am, so it wasn’t too busy in the restaurant. It’s open seating and no reservations. There was plenty of parking when we went. If it does get crowded, there’s a bench outside to wait on. As of 7/10/24, there’s two Koa Pancake House restaurants in Kapolei. One at the Ka Makana Ali’i mall and one at the Kapolei Shopping Mall/Marketplace, so be sure to place an order at the correct location.

Service: The service is normally courteous and friendly, but it was one of those days where it was…mediocre. You can also order online on their website.

Food: We love the variety of food they have. I’ve eaten their pancakes which are super moist (chocolate chip pancakes are my fave), their French toast (both plain and the sweet three-one of my faves), and their waffles (Belgian and the guava mochi waffle-one of my faves). I ordered the guava mochi waffle this time around, which took a little while, but worth it. They also have a variety of eggs Benedict options 😍

Drinks: I wish I could give them a 4.5 star rather than a 4 star, mainly because of their coffee. There’s nothing special about it, and I believe every breakfast place should have at least a good tasting house coffee. Adding a special flavored coffee to their menu would be a bonus! Self serve fountain drinks.

Prices/Discounts: Their prices are decent and not too steep. This place also offers a 10% military discount every Monday. You’ll need to ask and show your ID. Always subject to change. You can also sign up to earn points for...

Ordered online and had a 9:50 am pick up time. However, had a few other customers who were also waiting for pick up and they were already waiting for 30 minutes more. They had a pick up system, however, it wasn’t efficient and unorganized. Receipt slips were placed on the clip from left to right with the left being the earliest. I saw my name get covered with another slip and pointed it out to girl. At this time it was 10:00 and my order was still being worked on. Finally at 10:20 got my ordered tied up and wrapped. BIGGEST mistake, however is that they counted the number of plates and did not mark off the items already in the bag. Because when I got home, I had an extra short stack but didnʻt have the bacon/egg breakfast plate. At that point, I didnʻt want to drive back to complain. Thus, Iʻm doing it here. Need a better pick up system. This is the about the 3rd time my food wasnʻt ready at time indicated and I placed todayʻs one it at 9:01 and pick up was 9:50. The restaurant had a 40 minute wait time for walk in customers. Something isnʻt working and needs to be addressed by management. Looked like had enough cooks, one on register, one delivering food on floor and 2 at online/pick up. At one point, there was one at the online counter. Girls looked really flustered....