New Restaurant–Wailuku

Café Central Wailuku

62 N. Market St. Wailuku (808) 249-2693

This is a new location for this restaurant which is now in the former Old Wailuku Grill space. At first the café looked like it was not open for business because we almost missed the small “Open” sign located on the side of the big “Coming Soon” banner. It turns out that it was their first opening day. The place looked empty. However, we didn’t come during the typical lunch hour rush. It was about 2:30 p.m. We were a little confused upon entering, as to what to do, because there was no host/hostess at the entrance and only a large easel menu board stood a few feet from the door. A table that had not yet been cleared of dishes, sat empty. There were no signs indicating what to do. As we looked around and down the stairs, we saw two people eating at a table and beyond them, two people behind a counter. So, we went down the stairs and approached the two women behind the counter and only then found out that we needed to put in our order and sit at a table. Our food would be brought to us when it was ready.

Two dishes ordered were Panko Crusted Chicken Katsu and Taro Crusted Fish. The chicken katsu was over fried, dry and hard. The toasted wheat bread used on the taro crusted fish was a plain thin sliced wheat bread and not hardy enough to hold up as a good sandwich medium. As the sandwich was being eaten, the bread quickly flattened and became soggy as the dressing in the sandwich dripped out. The taste of taro in the crust of the fish was indistinguishable. On a positive note, the sandwich was served with a dill pickle and chips.

Opening day for any venture can be very challenging and can only improve as kinks are worked out. The café offers a wide variety of island style dishes on their menu: starters, soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees and even “kid friendly” fare.

• Hours: Mon. - Fri. Breakfast: 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Lunch 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Closed Sat. & Sun.
• Price Range: $4.00 - $18.50
• Ambience: Casual walk-in Catering: Yes

This Café – For Now gets One Leaf