Spero Spera — Restaurant in Honolulu

Hello! I'm Korean American born and raised in Hawaii. I'm a repeat customer from the day of this business' inception approximately 13 years ago. This place used to be the usual haunt for me and my friends (UH at Manoa students). The food was and still is spectacular! I've been away from Hawaii for some time so I'm here to report some things I have noticed; primarily changes/updates made since the unfortunate Pandemic occurance. I have been coming here for a very long time, I know the owners and their children (their children are roughly my age), thus take my words with a pinch of salt. I will have some inherent bias in my review, it's unavoidable, but understand my experience comes with a deeper insight as well. You won't be able to know for sure unless you visit!!!

Below is a detailed description of my thoughts about Spero Spera.

The interior is beautifully constructed and designed in a fashion that accurately represents the style, atmosphere and feel of modern miniature cafes in South Korea. Upon entrance you will first notice it has a loft that can be accesed via stairway at the rear; the second story has a rail guard for viewing pleasure of the interior dining space below where you also take your order. This gives the ground floor dining area access to a very tall ceiling which adds an extremely pleasant "openess" to the interior environment; it's as if you can't believe you're still in-doors. All interior decoration was done by hand, specifically by a relative of the owners (a great ice breaker). Establishment has a single restroom for customer use only (very cozy and homey as well). Plenty of seats and sitting areas above as well as below.

Parking has improved! The asphalt of the lot has been repaved and repainted for accessability (no more potholes :D). Additional parking spaces have been added with the re-painting of the stalls.

Food was AH-mazing. Food STILL IS AH-mazing. Freshness of ingredients is immediately apparent. The quality of work put into the ingredient-preparation is superb; if you know what to look for (I have experience as a line-cook and with food-prep). Some additional menu options seem available now as I do not recall some of these for instance the "Bisque, Tomato Soup, Steaks", and a multitude of desserts! Hands-down, will be trying these soon. My personal favorite is the Mix-Tomato + (secret: Ajumma Latte. A VERY strong and sweet coffee latte).

There used to be free Wifi however, after the pandemic, due to cost-related issues, it was discontinued.

An additional guideline is also enforced: 2 Hours is the maximum stay-time for any individual or party. This is to help facilitate interior traffic. The owners would like to keep the atomsphere open and uncongested; as it should be with the intricate layout and need for maximization of space; don't ruin the Pungsu-Jiri! (Feng Shui).

I hope this review is helpful! Let me know if it was with a react heart!

My kids are really picky about what they want to eat outside. They have good options for children, and if all else fails there are always strawberry banana smoothies and ice cream. My son is obsessed with the grilled cheese, and I always get the salad. The salad is always fresh and crispy. My husband loves their vegetarian option sandwiches, acai bowls, and their coffees are excellent. We always come here whenever we want to eat healthy. Finding a good salad can be a challenge sometimes, but what is harder is a restaurant with healthy options that my kids will also enjoy. The atmosphere is always calm. I like the music. My kids love the peanuts, coffee shop theme they have sometimes when we walk in, and everything is so clean. My daughter is always fascinated with the decorations. All the teas and drinks are fantastic, this is also a great place take a break from the heat. The affogato with the green tea garnish...

Spero Spera is a cute little mom and pop shop tucked in off of Young Street. The surrounding shops may be a bit questionable but don't let that take away from this treasure of a find. There are lots of espresso and tea options. It's the perfect place to enjoy either a salad or sandwich as a light lunch. I've only tried their avocado sandwich and grilled cheese with tomato bisque. Both were tasty so perhaps I'll give the other options a try next time.

The loft setup and decorations are very reminiscent of cafes in Japan and Korea. I like to come here and reflect on my travels to those countries and where my next adventure will take me. It's really cozy and offers a unique experience compared to most cafes here. It's a great place to study or just relax and read. They offer wifi when you make a purchase. There's a few parking spots in front of the building as well as many street...