Fresh Café

I’ll def be back to try more of the other goodness being served up in here!!! So good and so filling.

About 2 weeks ago I tried to place a phone order for lunch pickup at the Queen st. location— called over and over no answer– just rang and rang. Still trying to call when I got there (walking). Walked into the café– phone was on hook. Tried to call again, just rang and rang on my end– café phone didnt ring.
2 weeks later— same issue, this time you lost my business. I cant imagine how much other business you lose due to this. Busy professionals do not have time to wait around, hence the function of calling ahead. I have 30 mins to get the food, eat, and be back to work.
I tried calling the nuuanu location and that number is completely out of service.
p. s. this message is being copied to Unilocal as well.

Came here for lunch with my coworkers. We did take out. When someone picked up the order and brought it back to the office we were missing quite a few things.
We call them and no apologies over the phone they said come and pick it up.
I went in and one of the young girls behind the counter just looked at me and continued to talk with one of her make coworkers.
After saying excuse me several times she comes over and I told her I was there to pick up the rest of the food that wasn’t in our order when we picked up earlier and she was telling me with an attitude that she couldn’t help me and we should have checked saying it wasn’t her problem we didn’t check. At that point very upset another girl comes from the other side of the counter and tosses a bag of food on the counter and said here and walked away. Still no apologies made.
I will not come back here.

I was so excited to try this place, as I love cafes that serve sandwiches, teas, etc. Plus they had cranberry turkey sandwiches. my favorite! I ordered this sandwich and the ginger wasabi salad with chicken (the combo meal for about $ 12), and got a free pikake tea with my Unilocal check in.
CRANBERRY TURKEY SANDWICH: this is my favorite sandwich in general, but when i ate it here, the taste of mustard and cheese was overpowering. I didn’t taste much of the cranberry flavor at all. The bread, however, was pretty good (it was ciabatta bread), and the turkey was cooked well and was tender. Maybe i ordered this sandwich on a bad day?
GINGER WASABI CHICKEN SALAD: The 2 dressings that accompany this dish was pretty flavorful (if you like ginger). Overall, this salad was okay
PIKAKE TEA: very watery
SERVICE: service was okay, i was waiting to get my pickup order, but the 2 ladies in the front were talking to a customer, while my food was on the counter and i was getting a little impatient because I was in a rush (on my way to class). Other than that they were pretty friendly
Maybe I came on a bad day, but i was pretty disappointed with my meal. I’ll have to come back and try it again.

We came here for lunch to celebrate a friend’s birthday, first impression was the stylish décor and ambiance. Fresh Café put a lot of effort into what type of demographic they were trying to attract and its location is central to what is certainly a hub for mid twenty to early forty suburbanites.
While excelling in one aspect necessary for success, they seemed to have given a back seat to their food and service. I ordered the shrimp with pasta, it arrived on the bland side with shrimp that had not been deveined. I tried the veggie pizza which was good but came out almost room temperature.
We all had a few martinis which were very well made but for being not so busy our rounds took a while to get to us. Had the service been quicker Im positive we would have ordered at least two more rounds.
Overall I was really not impressed by the food and service but I would give this place another try.

Whoop* there it is, whoop* there it is. You’re new go-​to place to do some homework, have lunch and leave in 30 minutes unless you get the better stalls. This is honestly my only issue.
Every time we have a meeting at Fresh Café Kakaako, I make sure to leave early to get the better parking. This is real life, it’s hard to find street parking on Queen St. when there’s only a few designated stalls to the business you’re going to. Unless, if you don’t, there will seriously be an alarm that goes off telling you that you’re not supposed to park there and they’re calling HPD, I’m serious.
Other than finding parking, I’m like, «Yeah okay, let’s meet at Fresh Café Kakaako!». The best place to have meetings is outside, it’s quieter, you can hear everyone and as long as you move the tables back, you can move the tables. If you order something and let them know you’ll be outside, just take your number and go sit outside. There’s free water, free seating and FREE WIFI. That’s the deciding factor.
The food at Fresh Café Kakaako is also on point. My pesto pasta salad served cold with cherry tomatoes and thin slices of chicken come out the way I’ve always craved it. Evenly tossed in pesto, slightly el dente and tomatoes I like tomatoes. Their turkey pesto is also very tasty. Crisp bread, the swiss cheese and turkey just melt in your mouth. Maybe I just have a thing for their macadamia nut home made pesto, that stuff is awesome!
Fresh Café, is definitely one of those places you’d say hipsters go to. Hipsters too are also associated for being millennials and you bet that’s who works here. So if someone happens to forget to put your order in because they were busy, don’t be upset. They’ll probably offer to make you a drink on them because they messed up. Shoutout to white-​shirt Adam for the free Peach Mango Iced Tea.

I love coming here to just chill and catch up with my friends over the phone or to browse on my laptop. They do have free wifi. I always order my hot dirty chai latte which comes in a large porcelain mug and some times I have a corn chowder along with it.
I ordered their mango smoothies and berry smoothies. They are healthy since they use fresh fruits.
Just the last time I went, the inside seating was packed so I sat outside. They have plenty of outside seating with roofing so it doesn’t get wet even when its raining.
They also just started using frequency cards which is a good thing since I go there frequently.
Overall, they have good service and staff is friendly.

Checked out this place for the first time and it was an experience for sure. As far as the food is concerned it was a toss up. I was super excited for my Thai Latte. Until it came, the first time it’s was just coffee. What?! The nice girl who brought it to me apologized and brought me back another Thai Latte… Which was also just coffee. Thai tea has a distinct color. It’s this beautiful orange color. I understand it’s a latte but it didn’t even have a hint of a Thai tea flavor.
On to the food. I ordered the ultimate omelette on a croissant. While my sweetie was left waiting for his blt sandwich. It took a very long time to come. Then they let him know that the bread he had requested was not available. They offered him a selection of bagel options. After going for the everything bagel… Another 25 minutes later his blt arrived on a plain bagel.
It wasn’t a perfect experience but since my food tasted pretty good I will give them another try if I am ever in the area.

It was a very disappointing day. Fresh was always my choice for a nice soup/​sandwich or salad lunch. It was my worst experience at my usually favorite sandwich weekend sanctuary. Their stove and oven was broke and only offered 3 type sandwiches, no soup or salad and when we finally got or lunches the fruit, which doubles as garnish was rotten and seeping into the bread. Ew. It was an unfresh day for Fresh…

Haupia Latte: Excellent! Pleasantly surprised with the taste of this drink. They partially redeemed themselves for not having any soup for the day (Sunday).
The cashier shouldn’t have given us a reason because it seemed like this location and this day just weren’t important: he said no one prepped the night before. This triggered his memory and he proceeded to say they were out of ciabatta bread, turkey and avocado.
Chicken Salad Sandwich on Croissant: Delicious! Just the right mix of ingredients. Would order this again.
Warm Spinach Salad with Garlic and Bacon: Salty! Drenched in dressing and very salty. Maybe we’ll try this again with the dressing on the side?
Overall: Besides the non-​existent menu items, it took really long to get our food. A table next to us came in later but ordered egg salad sandwiches… maybe that’s quicker to prepare? Call ahead to see what they don’t have so you won’t be disappointed!

Fresh Café is my go-​to spot when I either want something quick, relatively healthy & fresh to-​go or I just wanna hang out to study or catch up with a friend over lunch! Plus, it’s conveniently located in Kaka’ako — close to everything.
Parking is a bit limited but they do have their own (narrow) lot so you just gotta get lucky with a spot. The café itself is really hip and spacious.
During my most recent visit, I ordered the PESTO PASTA (w/​chicken) to-​go and it was a very large serving! It was good, but unfortunately not too much flavor.
I also checked-​in to Fresh Café on the Unilocal app and redeemed their offer of a FREE PIKAKE ICED TEA. I didn’t taste the pikake or really any flavor, but I was still really stoked to get a free drink on such a hot summer day.
I would still return here in the future to try the rest of their menu items and hang out/​do work in this hipster joint.

I’ve been waiting forever to try this place out and I finally had the chance to come here.
I think I was just so hyped and excited to come here that I didn’t care how hot it was. No AC which was kind of a bummer.
Ordered the half salad & sandwich combo. Turkey Cranberry on Croissant and Pesto Pasta Salad with Chicken. Good deal since me and my boyfriend always share meals came out to around $ 6 per person.
The sandwich was amazing. Loves the fact that the turkey tasted like a thanksgiving turkey rather than that deli stuff. And the use of mustard over mayo. Great stuff. But unfortunately my pesto pasta salad wasn’t the best. The pesto was dry and didn’t give me enough taste and the chicken tasted over cooked and dry as well. I probably wouldn’t order it again.
Besides the couple downfalls I enjoyed it. Can’t wait to try more!

I would give this place a 4 but the wait was too long for a simple chicken salad sandwich. I placed my order at 12:40 pm and I didn’t get my sandwich until 1:10pm (it wasn’t busy either) and this was after I went to the cashier and checked the status of my order. I’m usually laid back and patient but today I was so hungry. Maybe it’s the growing baby inside of me but I was so famish and I didn’t expect the wait to be this long. I was craving a chicken salad sandwich so bad that I drove out of my way because of the good reviews.
I must say my sandwich was delicious. I will come back but next time I will order a scone or some other snack while I wait.
Oh I almost forgot the special offer for a free tea is for buy one get one free.

Good friendly service. Worst Iced Americano EVER !! See photo above with the name «Worst Iced Americano EVER !!» The color was muddy brown like they used leftover ground coffee. The taste was equally as weak. Barely enough ice to last through the first sip.

I’ve been to both locations both to here and Kako’ ako locations. I definitely like this one more due to its large opened air spaces and offering of outside or inside seating.
I love the food ! I’m never disappointed there’s always an interesting and delicious combination of flavors.
My favorite of theirs is the BLAT sandwich with their pesto pasta salad. The BLAT is bacon lettuce avocado and tomato and I get it on the croissant.

Ummmmm…
I have to be brutally honest… I think I floated up to the cloud — you know? The cloud referred to as cloud 9?
My co-​worker rants and raves about this little 700 sq ft box of glory. I finally had some time to stop by and grab some food. Let’s just say — I had the blta and it was legit. I agree, it is hard to mess up anythg that has avocado on it… AND bacon? Well you are right. The bread was delicious too! Shoots the lettuce was fabulous. I also had the gingery salad. Ummmm… yes, yes, yes! Happiness I was emoting.
The crowd was cute. I giggled as I work with the homeless population… being arnd so many that do not have anythg to a room with pretty, put together hipster-​uppies prancing arnd in LV loafers took me a few seconds to come back to reality.
I understand d why these peeps come to this grand place. It’s fantastic. There was not ONE thing that needed to be improved. Well… maybe smaller portions so I wld not have been too fl to try the home/​hand made ice cream sando’s!
Lastly, the staff is epic. Great work team, the number delivery system is rough and yall rock it well.

Fresh Café is an oasis on Queen Street, it’s hipster, healthy, and fresh. Sit in their sunlit, open dining area, sip a Cold Brewed Ice Coffee, and do you. Work, have a casual meeting, or catch up with a friend.
Their salads are good, but be prepared they can be salty, salty chicken, salty shoyu-​based dressing, but they also have lots of crunchy greens with nice toppings. Try the Ginger Wasabi, which isn’t spicy and has a ginger-​green onion sauce; the Chicken Tofu Sesame if you love tofu and bean sprouts; and the Balsamic Vinaigrette which has soft greens, avocado and raspberries. Avoid the Pasta Salad which is dry and light on the pesto flavor. Be warned about the Warm Bacon Spinach Salad which was swimming in dressing, a tasty dressing, but it was swimming. The fried garlic and crispy bacon were good though.
Their sandwiches are hearty, but still stick to the healthy and fresh flavors. The egg in the BLT I had, was over-​cooked and had gone rubbery, but it was less noticible with the dense, chew of the whole wheat bagel. I also like the Turkey Pesto Melt which is richer with warm pesto and cheese.
When it’s quiet, like mid-​morning on a weekday, Fresh Café can be your place to run away.

Fresh Café is very fresh indeed — in all senses of the word.
FRESH (recently made or obtained) food and drinks! Their smoothies, teas, and food have all been wonderful in my experience. I last tried the chicken salad sandwich, and it was amazing. You really can taste a difference. While it can seem a little pricey for what you’re getting, basically the entire menu is still under $ 10 and pretty awesome. Plus they have specials on different days, so check that out!
FRESH (cool, hip) events! They do Slam Poetry every first Thursday, which is always a crowded, but really cool night. I’ve been to a few different artsy events in the past as well. I’m not sure how many events they do nowadays besides Slam Poetry, but nonetheless, it’s something to look out for.
FRESH (as in «don’t get fresh with me») attitudes! Honestly I’ve only noticed this the past two times I came back here — in the past, the staff have always been very friendly. But recently I’ve gotten a lot of snark from the counter workers. Not straight up rude, but definitely not warm or even friendly. On my last visit, I was with some friends and we were sitting, eating, and chatting when the worker announced at 8pm sharp that they were closed. Not «if you don’t mind finishing up, we’re closing down!» or «hey just a heads up,» simply «we’re closed» and waited for us to leave. I also found this a bit strange considering their hours say they are open until 9pm…
I’d say Fresh Café is a hit or miss — maybe stopping in to grab a smoothie and continuing on your way is the best way to go. Try it for yourself though.

My favorite thing about Fresh Café would definitely have to be their monthly slam poetry events that are hosted in their back warehouse. Fresh café is undoubtedly a hip and trendy place in Kakaako and while filled with potholes, they do offer a small parking lot which is a plus. Be cautious though, as during special events sometimes this parking lot is coned off!
So why the three stars? Sadly I encountered a negative experience the most recent time I came here. I can usually overlook the items on the menu being overpriced at the expense of being hip for the day, but even hip people need to be nice and personable for me to want to come back to a business. We got here a little past 7:00pm on a tuesday night and my boyfriend and I got to the counter to look at a menu and order. While looking through their menu for what was probably all of 15 seconds, the cashier told us «the kitchen is closing so if you’re ordering food you’ll have to hurry up…» It wasn’t what she told us that bothered me, as I completely understand the burden of having to wait for the last order in order to close up the kitchen, but it was the way it was said that bothered me. It wasn’t friendly, and it wasn’t making me want to order a $ 9 or $ 10 sandwich.
After getting the sandwich and sat down with our friends, I thought that we could continue to enjoy our night. But promptly at 8:00pm, the music stopped and the same girl used the same voice to immediately tell us from across the room «okay we’re closed now!» Now I understand that my party may not have been the most awesome customers, being that we came in an hour before closing time and whatnot. But I would have still liked some friendliness in our service. I hope that it was just an off night for that employee, as I really do want to like this place. We’ll see how it goes next time!

Horrible service. Period.
What happened to the staff and service and food quality?
I used to work closer to Fresh Café and would make a visit there at least 2x a month. Always experienced friendly staff and food was on point. But not today.
Its been a few months and I was craving a sandwich and soup– its Friday and we thought itd be a nice treat so we decided to drive. We phone ordered a little before 12p for one turkey pesto melt and one tuna melt (given the tuna melt was added upon arrival which was aprox 10 mins later than phone order) and 2 cups of soup. It took 50 mins to get one sandwich and 2 soups. The other sandwich was not in the bag and we opted for a refund.
I don’t appreciate that you tell me it will be done in «10 mins.» And then I ask again 15 mins later and you tell me another «5 mins». Give people an expectation and stick to it.
There were 2 or 3 other orders 1 before me and I think 2 after me. The others request refunds as well. The wait was rediculous and never communicated.
Food–
The corn chowder (first time) — super thick, not a soup more like a paste. Or thick dip.
The sandwhich — turkey was dry, only 1 slice of bread was toasted. (Is that a new thing you toast only one slice of bread? Serious question.)
Tomato bisque– was okay but amount in cup was sparse. I think they need smaller cup sizes to differentiate between cup and bowl.
Tuna melt– not applicable since they didnt make it.
2 stars because I still have faith in fresh café but im really disappointed.

I really love Fresh café as a study spot, meeting spot and brunch/​lunch restaurant! There is so much to say about it, but let’s start out by saying that I am so happy that this local business is expanding to their second location!
I feel like Fresh Café is one of those places that started making Kaka’ako «cool». They were first on the hipster scene, use local, sustainable practices and are a HUGE part of art and culture in Honolulu. One of my favorite events in Honolulu, POW WOW Hawaii, has close ties with Fresh Café. The warehouse in the back of the Fresh café restaurant is an awesome spots for events to take place, such as the opening ceremony for POW WOW! I have also been to a TED Talk there, plus they let community organizations, such as SEEQS charter school use the space for events.
The café side is great as well. My favorite are the deals! First off, you get 10% (I think it’s 10%!) off with your ID card during the week. next, they have a different deal every day of the week. Smoothie Sundays, Salad Madness Mondays, etc! If you know your deal days, you can get great prices on their food! The tables are big inside and there are picnic tables outside. They have plenty of outlets and their coffee is strong and water is free… three important aspects of a great coffee shop!
One drawback is parking– it’s pretty limited and if you get a space in the small lot, it’s super hard to get out of! But, there is plenty of street parking a few blocks down, so no reason to worry– just walk!
Oh and vegetarians, try all the awesome sandwiches and salads for you here! The options are endless!

HELLAAAA DISAPPOINTED in my first experience here… actually maybe second, but I only really made it to the parking lot the first time before getting denied a stall so I won’t count that… though, it factors to the overall experience.
I’ve always heard hype about this place, and I’m not gonna lie the food looked amazing on Unilocal and on their website (of course it should) and I really like café eats so when I got there one afternoon and luckily nabbed a parking stall I was stoked to finally try it out.
When I got in, the atmosphere was chill, good music and cool (temp wise), not too crowded either. I grabbed a menu… which is all on clipboards at the counter and decided I wanted a veggie sandwich ($ 8) (with turkey) ($ 2) —- $ 10 for a sandwich… pretty damn steep right?!
Soooo, when the cashier rung me up I thought I’d give them the benefit of the doubt being that they’re a «café» and they use «FRESH» and «LOCAL» ingredients. *riiiight* and I’m assumed this sandwich would be pretty full sized too right? WRONG!!!
I waited at the table and about 5 minutes later, a worker came dropped a doggie bag on my table and took my order number. No «THANK YOU» No «THIS IS YOUR ORDER» Just drop and go. Wow, um ok.
I’m in a rush so I bring my sandwich back to work, I opened it and was just APPALLED. It was generally the most BASIC sandwich with BARELY a slice of turkey… Oh, and it wasn’t even cut, shouldn’t all deli sandwiches be cut? Not the point, anyway… I couldn’t fathom the fact that I just paid $ 10.16 for two slices of wheat bread with veggies. I expected Paradise Café (in Ala Moana) sized sandwich… WHICH IS CHEAPER than this crap.
I wanted to make sure I didn’t get ripped off, and started to look for my receipt. Where was it? NOT even given one. I looked at the menu online and called the manager to make sure. He told me the prices listed there was more than it said online and they’ll eventually fix it… Idk as a manager myself, if I saw a discrepancy in menu pricing I’d apologize and offer some kind of compensation for a customer’s inconvenience… but no, of course I didn’t.
Fine, if I had to dig up one shred of good review to this place, I’ll say it tasted pretty good. But there was just WAYYYYYY too much saltiness from the whole experience.
Word of advise Fresh Café, maybe rethink the pricing for your sandwiches, This is NOT quality, NOT that fresh and NOT worth coming back to.