Café Julia Hawaii — Restaurant in Honolulu

Cafe Julia, you have my whole heart!

We got married here a month ago. Elijah and the Cafe Julia team were an absolute pleasure to work with. Two years ago, we decided to check out the cafe to generally scope out the space. I think we were the only non-business folk visiting the cafe during business hours. But we had SUCH a great time. Our waitress was so lovely, she helped introduce us to someone on the team who could show us around since Elijah wasn’t there that day. We were honestly sold just based on the customer service we received that day. Meeting Elijah was just a formality at that point!

Even after we decided to book, Elijah was gracious with his time - offering us recommendations and the chance to lock in rates before our wedding (although it was still a year and a half out - we were engaged for two!). Closer to the date, we revisited our menu selections and wanted to make it a little more interactive and fun for our guests. We asked if Elijah would allow us to shift to a live-action buffet, which seemed to be new on the 2025 menu. He was open to it and also allowed us to order a few side orders of vegetarian/Celiac disease-friendly meals for our dietary restricted friends and family which would not impact our selections for our main buffet (this was completely voluntary and incredibly gracious! Their staff also came to ask who specifically needed these meals, and I watched them hand deliver them to the guests directly which was so, so sweet and thoughtful!!) The food, by the way, was THE most raved about thing at our wedding. No regrets honestly on the live-action stations - the crispy pork belly baos and the prime rib carving stations were an absolute hit!! The staff ALSO brought out tapas-style plates of EVERYTHING on our menu to our sweetheart table (portions for the both of us!) Our table was impressively overflowing, and just when we thought they brought out everything, they came out with MORE food! I am beyondddd over the moon with their service and how well they executed everything from the ceremony set-up to the ceremony-to-dinner courtyard flip to making everything seemingly flawless.

We had no rain on the weather forecast for the day, but I think my dad came and blessed us with his spiritual presence because right after we got married, it began sprinkling enough for us to notice and come outside.. Only for the clouds to part and a double rainbow to reveal itself! After dinner, we had another light sprinkle and Elijah and team rolled out a rack of gorgeous white umbrellas which they allowed guests to use until the drizzle passed. My friends thought we were well-prepared for the chance of rain, but little did they know that we hadn’t even considered it to be a chance. This was ALL Cafe Julia’s preparedness :)

The space was PERFECT for our wedding - I can’t imagine having had it anywhere else. It was large enough to freely move about without feeling tight, but closed in enough that it felt like a small, intimate wedding (which was my dream - I was actually very worried about it feeling too big!).

Elijah, Cafe Julia, the team: Thank you! I cried the majority of my wedding program, and now I’m crying reminiscing about what an absolute dream of a wedding this was. Thank you for celebrating us and for being a part of such a core memory. We WILL be back for years...

Talk about hidden gems. I have heard about this place, but didn't pay much attention because I was never really sure where it was. Just by chance, the family had finished going on a tour of Iolani Palace and were hungry for lunch. Well there it was, right across the street in the YWCA building on Richards. Of course, to was the stanchion signs that caught our attention in front of the Y's entrance.

The building is a cool historic building that has a court yard that the restaurant shares for outdoor seating, but they do have a main dinning room and bar area. Lots of great natural lighting from window that almost hit the tall ceiling. Felt like something you'd find in a historic Latin city somewhere else in the world.

Menu offers an assortment of full plate dishes, to sandwiches and salads. It's not vast, but there is a good assortment to fit anyone's tastebuds or appetite. It isn't a cheap eat type of place, but prices are not bad for the quality and type of dishes being offered as well as the nicer setting. Of course, we had great service as well.

I had the garlic ahi sandwich that had a nice sized fish filet that was perfectly cooked and plated. The Salmon Ochazuke was also ordered and it was beautifully plated presentation that words just can't describe. Also, a Chinese Chicken Salad which was of fairly large proportions, but nothing unique by design.

The place is located on the edge of the downtown professional business district, so I can imaging that it can get very busy. It was a late lunch for us being after 1pm, so it was calm and there were lots of seating options. It would probably be best to get their early or after the lunch time rush hour to be able to fully enjoy...

Café Julia combines a chic stylish elegance with the friendly & casual local ambiance for patrons to experience a refined dining experience in a very relaxed atmosphere. Located across the street from the Iolani Palace, Café Julia is embedded in an historic building which has retained it’s old Hawaii architectural charm.

The dishes we tried were the Salmon Ochazuke, Julia’s Chicken Caeser Salad, Seafood Risotto, Steak Sandwich with Garlic Fries, and the Chicken Katsu w/Thai Curry. The Salmon Ochazuke and Katsu Curry were the highlights of the meal. Good sized portions, authentic flavors and you can see and taste the careful attention the chefs have applied in preparing these dishes.

While the food was mostly delicious, one honest feedback I’d provide to Café Julia is that you can always make a dish saltier but not the other way around. Perhaps it was just for this visit, but all of the dishes that we ordered tasted a bit too salty; such that all of us at the table ended up frequently emptying our water glasses.

The table service was attentive, friendly and prompt. However, the reception staff/host may require further training because when we called with a simple request to see if it was possible to push our reservation by 15-20 minutes, we receive an unexpected haughty response of “What?? Fine. But you should know that the restaurant is filling up fast!” We quickly rushed over to find that 85% of the tables were empty and they remained empty for the entirety of our meal. It may not matter to some, but for this diner honesty and courtesy...