KALAHEO — There aren’t many reasons to wake up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday, but breakfast at Kalaheo Cafe and Coffee Company is definitely a reason to get out of bed on your day off.
Playing tourists for the day, my girlfriend and I woke up early last weekend to go see Waimea Canyon and its stunning views. We wanted to get some breakfast and I’ve heard some good things about Kalaheo Cafe from a friend who lives in Kalaheo, so we decided to check it out.
When you think of a cafe, you wouldn’t normally associate said establishment having a full-fledged seating area (inside and outside) with such a vast menu of breakfast dishes; I couldn’t have underestimated this place enough.
In terms of parking, however, the early bird truly gets the worm.
We were lucky to grab one of the last parking spots in the small lot outside of the cafe, but there were a few cars waiting for people to leave which surprised me, seeing how it was only 8:15 in the morning.
The cafe has two separate counters: one to order your food to sit down, and one to-go area for your coffee, pastries and takeout. The menus are available to grab as soon as you walk in, which is a nice change of pace from the average breakfast spot.
Seating is first come, first serve so make sure to grab a menu and a grab a seat as soon as possible.
Other than the parking situation, the most frustrating aspect of Kalaheo Cafe was figuring out what to order. I wasn’t feeling that hungry until I sat down and surveyed the menu, which featured sandwiches, wraps, traditional breakfast dishes, waffles and pancakes and the build your own omelette section of the menu, which I eventually decided to order.
I ordered a Portuguese sausage, onions and provolone cheese omelette which was served with cafe fries and a corn muffin. For $12.75, it was a reasonable price for a custom-made order.
My girlfriend ordered one of the traditional breakfast dishes, The Kahili Breakfast, which came with Portuguese sausage, ham, green onions, tomatoes and melted Monterey Jack cheese scrambled with three eggs. Oh, and don’t forget about the corn muffin and cafe fries it comes with.
Believe it or not, this massive dish was only $10.75.
The food came out in less than 10 minutes. A friendly waitress brought our food outside to our table and must’ve seen the stunned look on our faces once we saw the massive portions of our food as she smiled and said “enjoy!”
It was a good thing I got hungry in a hurry because the size of my omelette covered about three-fourths of my plate and was filled to the brim with Portuguese sausage and cheese.
It was an omelette lovers dream.
I enjoyed every bite of my omelette and wish I could’ve eaten the last few bites of it, but knowing that I would be driving up a windy road to the canyon for more than an hour, I thought against it, much to the dismay of my girlfriend who has a habit of shaming my appetite when I can’t finish a meal.
“This is like The Cheesecake Factory all over again,” she said.
Add in a cappuccino, which my girlfriend was very impressed with, the bill came out to $28.59. Not bad for a meal that held us over until dinner time.
For a quality breakfast that doesn’t break the bank, Kalaheo Cafe and Coffee Company is the best way to kick off your weekend, even if it means beating the sunrise.
Breakfast is served from 6:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and all-day Sunday.
