Cafe Alani — Restaurant in Honolulu

In a city where every coffee shop seems to scream for attention, Cafe Alani whispers. Tucked into a shared food court space on Kapuni Street, this deliberately low-profile establishment has mastered the art of hiding in plain sight, just steps from Waikiki's tourist thoroughfares yet worlds away from the chaos.

The setup is charmingly humble: wooden picnic tables scattered beneath shade sails, colorful string lights adding whimsy to the industrial-casual vibe. High-rise condos loom overhead, but the atmosphere feels more like a neighborhood backyard than a commercial dining space. Locals chat at adjacent tables while visitors study menus, creating an authentic cross-cultural breakfast scene increasingly rare in modern Waikiki.

What immediately strikes you about Cafe Alani is what doesn't exist: no founding story splashed across walls, no owner bio on social media, no press clippings trumpeting accolades. This mysterious absence of self-promotion feels intentional, even radical, in Instagram-obsessed Hawaii.

The food justifies the quiet confidence. Their salmon omelette plate ($18.99) arrives as a generous arrangement that could easily satisfy two: silky ribbons of salmon draped over house-baked bread, accompanied by crisp cucumber rounds and a vibrant salad dressed with spot-on vinaigrette. The portion borders on excessive—easily three to four ounces of that quality smoked fish—making the price point surprisingly reasonable for Waikiki.

The matcha latte showcases their Hawaiian Mana coffee program, delivering the subtle complexity customers consistently praise. Unlike the aggressively sweet drinks dominating tourist cafes, this version respects the tea's earthy character while adding just enough creaminess to balance the flavor profile.

Service operates on island time, which means patience is required but stress is optional. The split schedule—7 a.m. to 1 p.m., then 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.—suggests a business model prioritizing quality over convenience, breakfast and dinner rushes over all-day mediocrity.

Cafe Alani's greatest achievement may be its successful courting of both demographics that matter: locals seeking authentic flavor and visitors craving genuine Hawaiian hospitality. The cafe's February 2024 health department incident (quickly resolved within 24 hours) barely registered in customer consciousness, testament to the loyalty this place inspires.

This is decidedly not a destination restaurant demanding pilgrimage. Instead, Cafe Alani functions as something rarer in modern Waikiki: a neighborhood spot that happens to welcome outsiders, rather than a tourist trap masquerading as local culture.

In an era when restaurants live or die by social media presence, Cafe Alani's deliberate obscurity feels almost subversive. No dramatic backstory, no celebrity chef, no Instagram-worthy interiors—just consistently good food served in a genuinely peaceful setting where the only performance is the quality of your meal.

The mystery surrounding its ownership and origins only adds to the appeal. Sometimes the best stories are the ones that remain untold, and the finest restaurants are those that let their food do all...

It’s been a while since I visited this place, and the sting of the terrible service still haunts me. It was a weekday morning, and my partner and I chose this place for breakfast over the many other similar ones because of what the menu offered. When we got there, there was no line and we were the first at the counter. While we were ordering, a line of about 6-8 people formed behind us in just a few minutes. We asked for certain menu items, but kept hearing “we’re out,” “we’re out,” “we’re out.” When we finally finished ordering, the guy looked at the line behind me and said “it’s gonna take about 20 minutes.” “20 minutes?” I asked, because the restaurant was dead before we got there and we ordered dishes that were extremely simple to cook. Why wouldn’t they just fry up the eggs we wanted in the order the orders were received? The guy shrugged his shoulders. A WHOLE 45 MINUTES LATER, I went back up to the counter. “Excuse me, is our order almost finished? You said it would be done 25 minutes ago.” I had also noticed that several people who ordered after me were collecting their food the whole time we were waiting. Another important detail; I was pleasantly understanding and calm during every interaction, so it’s not like they were trying to punish me for being difficult. It’s just that they were extremely poorly organized. And what was their answer when I asked whether our food was almost ready? “We haven’t started it yet.” Are you kidding me? How could you take a small, simple order from a very polite customer when the restaurant was empty but not cook it until almost an hour later, when everyone behind her already got their food? Horrible experience. We politely told them that the wait was way too long; it was 10:30 AM by this point and no matter how good the food was, it wouldn’t make up for being treated like dogs who eat scraps after everyone else was finished. When I asked for the refund since they hadn’t cooked the food anyway, they agreed, but then asked if they could keep the tip!!! I said yes because I wanted to be the bigger person. But suffice it to say, I’ve never been made to feel less important at an establishment and resent how much time and energy was wasted by trying...

Café Alani is a food stall based in a small house within an area of food trucks on Kuhio Ave near Kapuni St, one block away from Lili’uokalani Ave. The whole spot is great for unique food choices, and Café Alani is no exception. They have outstanding breakfast sandwiches and crepes, sweet and savoury choices, good coffee (with multiple options and styles) excellent smoothies, and açai bowls.

They have recently started offering lunch/dinner options with roasted and seasoned Hawai’ian street corn on the cob, as well as sandwiches/shawarma/wraps and homemade sauces. Finding good roast corn on this side of island is very difficult, and one has to travel all the way to the North Shore of Oahu to find similar offerings. I HIGHLY recommend going to Café Alani for their corn; it is amazing!

The staff and owner are all pleasant and friendly, and if you want another great reason to support them, just know that many/most of them have gone through a lot and have left behind a war-torn place to start anew providing outstanding food to the people of Waikiki. Talking to them, it is clear that it has not been easy to settle in one of the most expensive cities in the world, but they are here with a positive attitude, already full of aloha, really genuine and trying to provide some high-quality food. Plus they have some items to eat that are not easily found on island. They are a hidden gem just a few blocks from the beach, so it is easy to pick up and go, and there’s even a decent amount of seating if people want to eat on the premises.

DEFINITELY check out Café Alani, there aren’t many places like...