et al. — Restaurant in Honolulu

It's been a couple of months or so since Kahala Mkt by Foodland and its in-store restaurant et al. opened. We waited for the Holidays to pass as we continued to stay-in-place within our "bubble" and cooked meals at home. I made a dinner reservation through Open Table and found ourselves to be the only diners within this spacious, comfortable, and somewhat upscale-looking restaurant.

There were lots of free parking spaces available near the front of the Kahala Mkt at Kūʻono Marketplace. So, we managed to arrive for our dinner reservation on time.

At the entrance of et al., two hostesses greeted us and confirmed our reservation. We were seated immediately with sanitized paper menus, although menus are available via QRC.

Within a few seconds, our friendly and professional food server, Jay, greeted us and offered us descriptions of either beverage or food menu items. While we were deciding on our cocktails, Jay returned with a carafe of iced water and sparkling clean glasses.

BEVERAGES: -Kahala Sunset: Astral tequila, Nuestra Soledad San Luis mezcal, fresh grapefruit juice, muddled serrano chili pepper, Giffard grenadine. The best way to describe this beautiful cocktail is to expect a spicy, smoky Tequila Sunrise. I liked it as a delicious, refreshing yet potent late afternoon cocktail. $14

-Old Fashioned: My husband ordered this classic and didn't share so I can't comment on its flavor. But, it must've been smooth to his palate as he finished it before I even got a quarter of the way with my cocktail. $10

FOOD: -Ludovico chicken liver mousse served with strawberry tomato jam, grilled sourdough. This savory and fatty rich chicken liver mousse was paired with a tart-sweet strawberry tomato jam. It spread easily and smoothly on the grilled sourdough. The sourdough seemed to balance the mineral flavor of the chicken liver which made this starter a delight to nosh on. $14

-et al. burger: Hawai'i Meats beef patty, HiSTK bacon, Grafton cheddar, Maui onion confit, jang sauce, and fresh-cut fries. I ordered this burger to be done medium rare and that's what I got. This beefy tasting burger didn't have any fillers in it The bacon, cheddar, and Maui onion confit complemented the burger very well. $17

-Kaua'i prawns finished with garlic butter and linguine fra diavolo. The Kaua'i prawns were chargrilled with heads on, deveined and clean. The naturally sweet prawns were a nice compliment to the fra diavolo aka "Brother Devil" sauce. Don't let the sauce's name scare you... though it does bring spiciness, it is still a pleasurable, silky, and piquant complement to seafood. The linguine was perfect al dente and the sauce napped each strand evenly. Each mouthful of pasta and chargrilled prawn was a perfect marriage of light piquancy, smokiness (from the prawn), and pasta chewiness. $26

DESSERT: -Seared lilikoi crêpe filled with liliko'i (passion fruit custard) sat atop a bed of coconut Anglaise and garnished with almond granola. $10

-Bananamiau: et al.'s take on the classic tiramisu. Instead of using ladyfingers, génoise (Italian sponge cake) was used to sandwich a layer of fresh banana slices and mascarpone. The layers were sprinkled with molasses snap cookie crumbles and topped with roasted mini marshmallows. A small container of coffee syrup was served alongside just so we could control the amount of caffeine kick. Honestly, I didn't think this dessert needed more flavor but, the coffee syrup added the traditional flavor that one would find in a tiramisu. $10

From start to finish, this dining experience was excellent. They complied and enforced social distancing protocols by properly spacing the seating options and face mask-wearing was encouraged unless actively eating or drinking. Jay's attentive, professional, and friendly service was welcoming and comforting in this neighborhood restaurant. The prices were reasonable for the food quality...

I made a 7:30p reservations for et al on a St Patrick's sunday night, but the reservation probably wasn't needed. The restaurant had maybe 3-4 tables seated by the time I got there.

The ambiance is romantic and perfect for date night. The whole restaurant being behind the door of the Kahala market is an oddity, but it's not a big deal.

Some reviews also talked about slow service, but I didn't experience anything too out of the ordinary. The wait staff also

The menu and drinks menu was small, but diverse enough to give you choices. I recommend the matcha whey, which had a nice mouthfeel and a smooth vanilla finish, for a drink. I recommend getting the smoked tako , which was very tender and had a nice crispy crunchy on the outside, and the Hawaiian clam chowder, which was a little thinner than your typical New England clam chowder but was teeming with clams. I also recommend the citrus brined pork chop and every bite was delicious. The pork itself was moist and had a crisp edge. The pearl onion accoutrement was a little too raw for my taste and I wished the pork chop came with some starch as well. I also got the ube pave with guava sorbet. I would skip the ube pave next time and stick with the sorbet of...

I finally got to try this amazing restaurant near my house, I've been wanting to check it out, and it did not disappoint!

I ordered the chicken and waffles, and let me tell you... probably my new favorite spot for it here in Hawaii. The chicken was perfectly crispy, and the waffles were just the right amount of fluffy and sweet. My boyfriend had the short rib loco moco, and it was so tender and juicy...total comfort food perfection!

There were so many other things on the menu I wanted to try, but I eat pretty small portions, so I'll definitely be going back. The clam chowder soup and burger are next on my list. A few people around us ordered them and they looked incredible.

This place is definitely a solid brunch spot. You do need a reservation for the regular tables, but we were seated right away at one of the high-top tables, which are first-come, first-serve. No stress at all. The staff was amazing, not just one server, but a whole tag team of four or five who all worked together seamlessly to take care of us.

The vibe is really nice too. Even though it's attached to a grocery store, you'd never know once you're inside.

Overall, 10/10, can't wait...