Fresh Cafe is located in Kaka’ako nearby Ward Center and Ala Moana Mall. It’s where the hipster, musician, student, and artist comes to relax or to study. It’s common to see a doorman with a cute bow tie and crisp white collar shirt opening the front door to the cafe. What’s even more common is the location being used for film. I’ve seen twice, camera crews (professionally and amature) being filmed at Fresh Cafe. Fresh Cafe believes in that food should be fresh and local. Everything is made in-house or bought from a local vendor. By purchasing from local vendors, not only does it minimizes carbon foot print, but helps support our local economy.
The cafe is spacious with a lot of mixed match deco. There is a lot of long picnic tables that can hold up to 8-10 people. There are 2-4 seaters in the middle of the cafe, as well as outdoor seating. No cafe would be complete without free WiFi, but Fresh Cafe is smart about their WiFi. It’s free with purchase in the cafe. No smooching here.
Since everything is made when you order, the wait time can be long. Luckily, Fresh Cafe has a library. There is a lot of books, but there is no order to them. Just stroll and just find one that pops at you.
I picked up this gem right here.
I got the sandwich and soup combo for $10.95. I picked the chicken salad on an everything bagel and a cup of corn chowder. The chicken salad contains shredded chicken, Fuji apples, red onions, swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, mayo, and yellow mustard. The bagel wasn’t toasted, but I bet if I requested it, there would be no problem in that. Shockingly, the filling stayed inside the middle. I hate when sandwiches falls apart in my hands, like sloppy joes (not a big fan of sloppy joes).
The corn chowder came in a mug, which made it easier to eat/drink. Besides corn, I found the chowder had bits of bacon, cream, milk, salt and pepper. Very simple.
Unfortunately, I didn’t like the chowder. It had too much corn, every bite was filled with a spoonful of corn. The chowder was watery for my liking, there was no creaminess in this chowder. I found the flavors too be a little on the sweeter side, maybe a little too sweet. I wished the flavors were a little more balanced.
No meal would be complete without something from their coffee/tea menu. I don’t drink coffee that often, so I opted for iced tea. I asked for the most popular tea, which was jasmine green tea. It was mildly sweet and refreshing. I liked the fact that it came with a nice slice of orange, instead of the usual lemon.
I love Fresh Cafe. It’s a fun place to hangout from an hour or two. I’ve had one meeting there, it was a nice environment to meet up with a group. I must admit, it’s pricy for the average college student, but it’s a nice treat when you have the time and money for it.
In a nutshell:
- Awesome menu: breakfast, lunch, and pasta!
- Friendly staff
- Clean
- Love the Fresh and Local philosophy
- Parking is free, but limited and it’s a bit tight (Big trucks is not encouraged)
- Arty decor
- Hipster central
- Free WiFi (sorta)
- When busy, wait time might be long
- Everything is made to order
- Alcohol (beers and wines)
- A bit pricy for the amount of food
- Drinks are bit pricy and not refillable
- Water is not free, must buy a cup
Stay away:
- Corn Chowder. It should be called corn soup, than chowder.
I’ve given FC two tries and was a bit disappointed both times. I stopped after work to grab a sandwich, I wish they had a larger selection of bread, although the ingredients were fresh and plentiful both times, the bagels were stale. Convenient location, nice atmosphere, good service, however bread is life and its been stale there.
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. I do agree with you on the bread selection. I would like it if they had a bigger selection of bread, like at a New York Deli. I’ve never had stale beagles, but that would be so disappointing if that happened to me. Yuck!
Have you tried The Whole Ox Deli? I heard that place is AH-mazing.
A new place to try, thanks for the heads up. They’re open for breakfast and lunch so I’ll have to stop by on a weekend.
I haven’t tried it yet, so let me know how it goes. I’m trying to find a place for our ICS meetup. I liked your idea of somewhere nice and quiet. I would like somewhere were we can have our own room. If you think of anywhere, let me know. I want to keep the price down as much as possible.
Jen, your posts like this always make me hungry. Maybe, I should stop reading your blog while dinner is cooking
. I am a big fan of places like this, I would much rather eat at some eclectic place than some horrible chain.
HAHA. I hate when that happens too. I try to avoid the Food Network and Travel Channel during the late night hours. Once I was watching one of those cupcake wars and ended up making cupcakes at 1AM. Man, the cupcakes were tasty, but I felt like a stoner. Who bakes at 1AM???
I agree with you on those horrible chain. I try to avoid it, but it’s hard sometimes.
I always drove past that place but never went in (not a hipster dat’s why, jus kidding). I remember when it was a shop for Hawaii made artist goods next to the place that sold stuff on ebay for clients but once it turned to a cafe I somehow never made it back in. Love the decor and it sounds like a great vibe. Kinda made me think about that coffee place in Kaimuki (the one on the corner across from Toys N Joys).
Coffee Talk…love that place, too. I love how they turned that safe into a private room. I’ve always thought that was cool. Ya, the ebay store is still around, I think. I swear I saw it across the street from Fresh Cafe, but don’t quote me on it. I’ve always thought that was weird, paying someone else to do your ebay-ing for you.
Oh, girl, we all have a little hipster in us. Trust me. LOL
I used to go there a lot when I worked at the Advertiser, since it’s right around the corner. They have a wasabi chicken salad that was pretty bomb.
And sorry to spy on the comment above, but Coffee Talk is awesome, too! We have a TON of work meetings there, lol!
Spying is A-OK here! LOL Coffee Talk is DA bomb! I wish I could go there more often, but I’m kinda too far away. Plus, parking is killer. LOL
I’ve never had the wasabi chicken salad. I’m going to try that the next time. I really want to try the omelette, but I always forget when I walk in. I always feel pressure to order something, because the line gets long pretty fast.
I would curse you for showing me such yummy treats at dinner time if I hadn’t needed inspiration for dinner. I can modify this into a pasta salad and the kids will love it. Thanks Jen!
LOL. I know, I know…I’m terrible, but I can’t help myself. I just need to share it with the world! LOL That’s a great idea about modifying the chicken salad into a pasta salad, I would never think of that. So, thank you for the great suggestion!