Cafe Ko Olina Place of Joy by Michel’s — Restaurant in Oʻahu

The family and I just came back from our O'ahu visit recently. We spent most of our stay in the Waikiki area, then moved to Aulani for the last couple of days.

While at Aulani, we didn't have a car so meal options are pretty limited. Your only choice is really what this or other nearby resorts offers (which is all pretty much the same) and maybe Monkeypod across the street. So this place was a very delightful, surprise find when walking along the beach. The pictures posted on their make-shift sign looked pretty good, so we decided to give it a try. It was so good, we ended up going there daily for lunch (total of 4 times).

Day 1 - We ordered the cheeseburger and the egg omelet beef stew tomato pilaf. This is probably the best burger you can get on the island. The only one that I tasted on the island that is comparable was at Hy's steakhouse, but that's entirely a different level of restaurant. The burger meat is large in size and juicy, yet has a good density to it. The beef in the beef stew is so tender, it can't be described. For dessert, we got the mango shaved ice and the cheesecake. The shaved ice (in my opinion) is the best on the island. The flavor all comes from the toppings and ingredients used, not from just sugar syrup that you get from Aulani or the rest of the island. The cheesecake is small, but packs a lot of flavor. The macadamia nut crust is my wife's favorite part.

Day 2 - The food was so good, we came back for more to try the other offerings. This time we got the chopped salad, new york steak, and lobster bisque. My wife also got a glass of the sparking wine, a great value at $5 compared to the resort.

I'm not a fan of salads to begin with, so I thought it was just ok. It's a good size and filling though. The steak is pretty good, but it's the garlic shrimp that steals the show. My son loved the lobster bisque. We thought it was little on the small size though, but can't knock them too much since it includes actual chunks of lobster.

For dessert, we opted to try the berry shaved ice along with the mango shaved ice. The berry shaved ice is very good, a little more tart for my liking for a dessert though. It's still very good, but we prefer the mango over the berry.

Day 3 - Back for lunch again. My daughter wanted the burger again and my son got a repeat of the lobster bisque (this time in the larger size). My wife and I tried the curry with braised beef. The curry is very good and the beef chunks is the same that they use with the omelet dish. No surprise here, excellent.

Dessert was the mango shaved ice again.

Day 4 - Our last day in Hawaii with flight early in the afternoon. We knew we wanted to eat here one last time so we already called in our order the night before, so it was ready for us as soon as they open at 11am. We bolted over to eat, then back to hotel to check out, and then right to the airport.

We had a repeat of the new york steak along with trying their loco moco (Hawaiian staple) and their tomato soup. The loco moco is good, but wasn't mind-blowingly good compared to the other stuff we tried. It could also be maybe the high level of expectations we placed on them compared to the other stuff we tried. I thought similar of the tomato soup. It's good, just nothing too special.

For our last round of dessert, we got the mango shaved ice and cheesecake again.

We did get to speak with the owners on the last day. She explained to us that this pop-up cafe was something they came up with since the bookings for weddings at the Chapel has dropped so much because of the pandemic. They hired the chef and are doing this until the Chapel gets busy again, probably a year. This explains why they are only open from 11am-7pm, have only about 5 tables for seating, and time-to-food is a little on the slow side. They've been open since June.

If you get the chance, you need to come eat here. Highly, highly recommended. Nothing in that...

This place is a little gem nestled among the Ko Olina resorts. If I understand correctly, it's a restaurant run by a wedding caterer out of the chapel due to the pandemic. They offer outdoor dining in addition to take out. You'll find the entrance to the right of Aulani (when you face Aulani) at the bottom of the chapel steps. Prices are more reasonable than resort food prices. Husband I got Japanese curry rice with shrimp and tonkatsu. We liked the food so much that we ate here a total of three times during our weeklong stay at Aulani. We also enjoyed the gourmet chopped salad, ASAP bowl, eggs omelet with beef stew/tomato pilaf, and mango shave ice. The shave ice is SO GOOD! My daughter and I shared it three times. Fine ice topped with chunks of mango and vanilla ice cream. So much better than Aulani's shave ice...

Came here based on the other glowing reviews and can’t agree more. It’s the best kept secret in Ko Olina, everything was absolutely exceptional. Particular highlights were the curry dishes, loco moco, coconut mango shaved ice. One of the best and interesting katsu curries I’ve had. Maybe the best and I’m a big katsu curry chaser. Also forget about the famous shaved ice places on the island, this shaved ice puts those to shame and no one is even talking about it. We’ll be back probably every day the rest of our vacation for...