Kamana Kitchen — Restaurant in Honolulu

I've had Kamana Indian Cuisine on my mind since March 2018 but have finally gotten around to trying them. What brought us here to try them was our visit to the recent Honolulu Magazine's Best Of... Festival and their award-winning Biryani rice.

We wandered into this restaurant around 11:30am when it wasn't quite yet crowded with other downtown workers. Since there were only the two of us, we were directed to sit at a table for two either along the front window or along the wall away from the entrance. What struck us immediately was the very warm temperature in the restaurant which we figured to be because the outside temperature was so hot and our humidity just sat on our chests like an elephant. But, there was an air-conditioner that was doing its best to cool down the space.

As we were walking to our table, our server followed us while bringing menus and glasses of iced water. She was friendly and asked if we've eaten Indian food before or if we needed suggestions. We did peruse both the regular menu and the lunch specials even though we already had in mind what we planned on ordering.

FOOD: -Biryani with chicken: traditional aromatic Basmati rice tossed with herbs and spices with chunks of tender chicken. The portion was huge, as my husband and I paired it with the lunch special, we had left overs. Indeed, this Biryani rice was flavorful and reminded us of what we've eaten at Singapore's Tiffin Room (Raffles) and Little India neighborhood or Los Angeles' Badmaash Restaurant. We agreed with Honolulu Magazine's voters for awarding this dish as a winner. $15.95

-Saag Paneer (Lunch Special): served on a Thali (compartmental metal tray), generous portions of saag paneer, yellow dal, vegetable curry of the day, achar (Indian pickles), half naan and basmati rice were steaming hot and appetizingly aromatic. It was a good call to order this lunch special to pair it with the biryani as we got to sample more dishes than to have just ordered an additional entrée of saag or curry or mixed grill. After all, it was lunch time and we didn't want to overeat and fall into food coma. $9.99

Food flavors, portions and value are excellent here. Service was friendly though a bit spotty as the restaurant filled but still good. There seemed to be more people ordering and picking up their takeout than dining in. Perhaps they had already experienced the warmer room temperature of...

We walked in expecting a meal, we did not expect a true dining experience. From the instant we opened the door, we were greeted by the enticing sights and sounds of Bollywood and the gentle wafting of fresh naan from the kitchen. Upon sitting down, the first things that greeted our eyes were a delicate paper placemat and paper napkin to match. Not to worry, we were soon served a green cloth napkin upon a porcelain plate. It was a good thing that my dining partner and I had both wore green to complement the napkin. Next we received the gold-embellished menu, which was adorned with appetizing photos of the options. We were glad to see many options for vegetarians, vegans, and meat-eaters alike. We ordered samosas first. They were brought out on a silver platter with two delectable dipping choices. Our main courses arrived with a side of butter-brushed naan glistening. Our waiter had outstanding spacial awareness and an artistic eye for where to place the food for maximum dining experience. The food was excellent, but it was after we had finished eating that the true service began. Our waiter surrepitiously peaked his head around the corner to assess our progress. He did not rush us, like many restaurants you find in America. Finally, after I had concluded my post-meal nibbling, he brought us a thoughtfully arranged array of boxes designed to hold every type of leftover we possessed. He even, like a magician, produced a plastic bag designed to hold our one, treasured leftover piece of naan. As we stood to leave, I accidentally forgot my bag in the establishment. But I did not fret! When I stepped back in to retrieve it, he was already prepared to chase me down the steeet to return it to me. Overall, this was a delightful and...

I’ve been going here for a couple years now and never had a problem, but I went here on Saturday March 25th at around 8pm. I went with two other friends and I ordered the chicken pakora, chicken tikka masala, cheese naan, and a Taj Mahal beer. It all tasted decent but within a couple hours of being home I was in the bathroom with it coming out of both ends. I was up all night sick. On Sunday the 26th I ended up going to the ER at around 7pm. I would’ve gone earlier but I was so weak and dehydrated I couldn’t get myself out of bed except to go to the bathroom. The doctor was sure it was food poisoning and I am still recovering today, Monday the 27th. Total bill was around 120$ and I couldn’t even eat my leftovers. I give this place 3 stars because I’ve had good experiences before and one bad one shouldn’t determine their entire store, but I have to write a review now when something bad does happen so they know. I was horribly sick that night and the following day and I’m still rough today. Another friend I went with said his stomach was off but he ordered lamb I believe so it may have been cooked differently. Either way I hope nobody else got as sick as I did that night, but this is still the best Indian food...