Café 8 1/2

3/16/2017

Iv'e never been her but I'm going to give a high rating based on those who have been telling the truth. I know the reasons for the low ratings, and thees people are all telling lies, they are made up stories and they are all politically based. I never have like Donald Trump and don't like him still, I wouldn't and don't agree with discriminating against people who do like him but I would never lie on someone who only says they would or even if they did. I would bet none of you who are giving this venue low ratings have ever even been there, and probably didn't even know about this place until this incident. This makes me hate Trump being president even more because now all of the nut jobs are coming out.

Now I"m starting to question the reviews here on yelp, not the site, I think it's a wonderful site, but I'm not sure I can trust the reviews I see on here since there are those who use it when they have an ax to grind.

2/23/2017

• 2 check-ins

I always thought this was some kind of secret club when I would walk by this place.  Which was usually at the end of the work day.  Little did I know that this was a restaurant!  Fast forward to my coworker wanting to go to lunch because he didn't bring lunch.  He commented that I never do anything fun during lunch except workout or study.  I told him I can be fun!  And he said prove it!  So off to lunch we went.

It's located on Alakea with no big sign announcing it, tucked between buildings and an alley.  This is a good location to walk to if you work in the area.  Otherwise, you need to find parking in the buildings around the area, municipal parking, or metered on-street parking.  It's open usually on weekdays and sometimes Saturday with reservations, depending on circumstances of the husband and wife owner, cooker, server team.  We got there right at opening because it does get busy and we had to make sure we get back to the office on time to work more.

The menu is short and sweet.  I got the radiatore verde because I needed the protein for my workout later.  It was very good and chunks of meat in it.  I must have been hungry because I finished the whole thing!  I wasn't planning on doing that because it was a decent amount of food, but I did.  I definitely want to return here, but it'll have to be a day where I'm not working out or studying at lunch.  Yeah, I'm that boring...

1/31/2017

• 2 check-ins

Panzanella.  It's my favorite item on the menu.  Greens, tomatoes, Greek olives, pimento stuffed olives, capers, fried homemade bread broken into croutons, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar.  

I feel so special when Chef Robert makes time to sit with me for a few minutes of chat.  I love his stories of food, fads, and facts.  He and his wife have seen a lot in this world.  

Cafe 8 1/2 is charming, eclectic and if you get a table, any choice on the menu will be certain to please.  Don't go if you're in a hurry.  Go to soak in the good energy.  If you're lucky, Chef just might come out of his kitchen to say hello and you might get a hug from Jali, too.

3/10/2017

Will never ever go to this restaurant again who's owner discriminates against anyone based on age, color, national origin or political affiliation. This is un-American and unconstitutional. The owner is a bigot. I do recommend not rewarding this business with your business and hopefully the bigot owner will be out of business by end of year. So called chef Robert is abusive and demeaning to his wife who obeys him and works so hard to please, she could do so much better. What a shame.

3/16/2017

We had the unfortunate luck of eating here back in December 2016. Very poorly prepared, tasteless food. Maybe we were expecting too much, as this is just your basic tourist trap fare pretending to be Italian cuisine. Save your money.

3/16/2017

I ordered Mussolini Benito with red sauce.  It taste very delicious.  The service however is unsatisfactory. We order two dishes, both arrive late. The foreign family next to us who came later received their dishes 20 minutes before we do.  It seems that they treat Americans differently than foreigners.

3/16/2017

Intolerance and bigotry is not to be rewarded no matter what your political views.

3/16/2017

Not impressive, people that work there seemed inconvenienced that we came in. Service was slow.  Some tables had crumbs on them which I don't understand since they were slow. We had the carbonara , bolegese and pasta. Not the quality that I am use to. Won't be back.

3/17/2017

Don't waste your time on this place
So many other wonderful places to eat
All I can say is YUCK!!!!

3/17/2017

Great trip to Hawaii but regret eating here.  The food was nothing to write home about as it was bland and needed a pound of salt and pepper.  Will never return and I so wanted to love this place.

3/16/2017

This place is for Obama lovers.... they idolize Obama by having a picture of him hanging on their wall. Don't know if there food is any good but with Obama hanging in the wall - it was enough for me to not eat - I would have been nauseated with those pictures up! As far as the openness to other ways of thinking, this place is definitely closed mind.... the owner doesn't like Pres. Trump because he wants to build a wall... however, they have a fence around their house - how hypocritical can you be.... sorry... I won't be patronizing a place that is not open to different ways of thinking!!!!! Eat at your own risk!

3/16/2017

For being in HI, you would expect environment to be welcoming...

How wrong I was.  Food - below average, but the atmosphere and way the place is run will not only make me not go back, but warn others so that it doesn't ruin their vacation.

3/17/2017

This restaurant will be a top priority on my list when I visit Hawaii. :) Trump sucks balls. Simple as that. He's an embarrassment to the U.S.

3/12/2017

Went out of curiosity given all the hipe. Eh, ok I guess. Nothing special. Average pasta with average sauce. Definitely have had better at other establishments and could have made better at home myself. Decor is nothing special either. Service was decent, but slow. Price too much for quality of food.

3/10/2017

Terrible service & the food was nothing to write home about. I don't recommend it. Lots of other great places to eat on the island, why settle for mediocrity and stale attitudes.

2/26/2017

If I could give it negative stars, I would!!!

I am so disappointed with the service we received. My friends and I were so excited to make reservations to go for dinner again. We enjoyed the food so much last time, we wanted to go again. Unfortunately, the weather was so bad that night that we didn't want to risk driving in it so we tried to cancel our reservations. We were not able to get ahold of anyone so all but one of our party risked it and showed up. The disappointing part was that the owner didn't understand or take into consideration that all but one showed up...and he charged us $30 for our missing person! It was so disappointing that it soured the food and I will not return!!!!

2/23/2017

Menu selection was good. Atmosphere was ok. Service was mediocre. Food was terrible. The food looked well plated and appetizing but after eating it I thought to myself, "I think the garbage italian at Olive Garden is better." I ate at 3 restaurants close by over the course of our vacation. Believe me when I say there is much better options nearby. Food was so terrible I can't believe this place stays in business. Parking could be better but was at no fault of the establishment.

3/17/2017

Stomach still gurgling from my food choice a couple week ago. Do not recommend. Also, surprised to read the comments on discrimination practiced here. Sad when liberals act out like this. Don't recall this behavior under the last president. Maybe that is a good indicator of which groups actually demonstrate tolerance and which groups just talk about it.

3/16/2017

I've never been here either but I completely support the owners right not to serve racist and deplorable people!!! If you voted for Dump you must be both!!!

3/16/2017

I will be in Honolulu in 2 weeks. When we go out to eat, we don't want to talk religion or politics or be reminded of it with signs posted on the door, so we will definitely avoid this restaurant!