Pavilion Café

After my Shangri La Tour I visited the Pavilion Café for lunch. I wasn’t disappointed! I was looking for something light, healthy and refreshing so I ordered the Grilled Shrimp Salad. It’s a nice summer salad with shrimp (obvis!), mixed ‘nalo greens, strawberries, oranges, avocados, onions, and thinly sliced carrot straws tossed in a light ginger-​shallot vinaigrette. This salad is absolutely delicious. I also ordered a pot of hot Jasmine tea which poured about two cups worth of tea for me. Side note: the tea pot was really cute and modern.
The service was standard. My waitress asked if I wanted anything else after my salad, I asked her for the menu to see if I wanted to get a dessert or possibly some soup, then another server asked if I was done with my salad (which I wasn’t since I still had a couple shrimps left and some greens). I ordered the soup of the day which was Chicken Noodle. I only got one piece of chicken in my soup, but I didn’t demand for more chicken.
Overall, the wait time for food during lunch hours wasn’t too bad on my visit. I got in and out rather quickly, and seeing that the café does ask that you make reservations I was pleasantly surprised that I was seated immediately. The host staff were great and very personable! I enjoyed my lunch.

A hidden gem within the Honolulu Museum of Art. I have been here several times for lunch and it has always been excellent. The service is good and the atmosphere and food are fantastic. A great open air café with a lovely view of the museum courtyard. The setting is casual but elegant.
The cuisine is familiar but upscale. Soups, sandwiches, and pastas that are hearty, fresh, and refined. It can be a bit pricey but the food quality and quantity are worth it.
I would highly recommend the filet mignon sandwich and salmon salad, both of which were cooked perfectly. Nothing makes me sadder than dried out meat, so when you find a place that cooks it moist and tender it’s memorable. The horseradish sauce on the filet mignon sandwich was delightful and the bread was good. As for the salad I highly enjoyed the vinaigrette, it was light and tasty. The mango salsa complemented the fish well. Usually I’m wary of fruit and fish combinations because the balance can be easily thrown off, but the café is great at harmonizing ingredients and flavors within their dishes. They utilized bold flavors but nothing overpowered the well cooked proteins.
The Pavilion Café has become one of my favorite places to eat lunch, I will definitely return again and again to eat scrumptious food and view beautiful art.

Fresh!!! That’s what you’re getting. If you are looking for a place to have a refreshing and local grown meal… This is the place for you.
Centered in the middle of the Honolulu Museum of Art, it’s a great place to spend the day. You can view the galleries and plan your lunch. Be sure to make reservations, as the restaurant can become very busy with museum visitors and downtown workers.
The food was delicious and worth the price. Be sure to try more than one thing on the menu, but don’t be fooled the portions are very generous. The soup was delicious and the salad was nice and crisp. They have a dessert menu but unfortunately I was so full from the soup and salad that I did not have the opportunity to order a dessert. I will definitely have to go back for another round so that way I can try their wonderful dessert menu.
This is a great place for couples to spend the day or friends to enjoy art and share a great meal. This is not something that you can do in a couple of hours. To make it worth it, you should arrive early to make a reservation and view the galleries while you wait for your reservation. After eating at the pavilion, you can continue your journey through the galleries at the museum. All in all this is a great place to spend the whole day.

Perfect place for a business lunch or maybe a nice breezy, relaxing lunch with a friend? You can’t go wrong with this place! This is my third time going here and I have to admit– it really is nice! I love love love their ginger lemonade! I also tried their mahi mahi cold noodle salad which was a refreshing hit! Today I tried the piadina which was quite a surprise! Who would have thought??? A taco sandwich? Nooooo. But it sure looked like it– filled with scrumptious veggies, pesto, mozzarella, prosciutto — sigh. Need I say more? That surely was not a sandwich, but whatever it was? It was onolicius! I was too full for dessert, but my friends tried the whole dessert menu — so it seems. What a great time! We will be back!

I’ve been attending and a member of the Honolulu Museum of Art for a while now and did not have a chance to try the Pavilion Café until lately. I noticed the restaurant the first time I toured the museum; it’s all open-​air with a high glass skylight ceiling. You feel like you’re outside but never have to worry about rain or overbearing sunshine.
I tried the café following the Shangri-​la tour, which was the perfect idea. The day I went it was pouring in a refreshing way; I loved having a few of the courtyard and fountain with a steady stream of rain. The wood tables and chairs were nice and distinct. We tried both the specials of the day: a dill salmon and salad with steak. Both were quite delicious, healthy, and atypical fares for Hawaii. They were expensive for the portion size, but were plated beautifully. The salmon desperately required seasoning and salt, but was excellent after. The plantation iced tea was as pretty as it was refreshing.
They have very limited hours– breakfast/​brunch/​lunch, so plan accordingly. Having reservations is also recommended. The hostess and waiter were also both formal and professional. I would go back and recommend eating here as part of your visit to the museum.

I came here last September and I was lucky I got a reservation within an hour of arriving at the museum. The patio is really a pleasant place to have lunch. I ordered the mushroom sandwich that came with a small salad. Food was very good, courtyard patio with fountain is stunning, if you have time hit up the gift store too. I had a really nice day at this museum.

PAVILLION CAFÉ @HONOLULU MUSEUM OF ART:
I used to come here for lunch occasionally when I was a member at the Museum. Recently I had revisited the café for lunch after a long time. Compared to what I remember, the portion of the food seemed so much more than before. I loved my Turkey Sandwich and ginger lemonade.

Took a tip from previous reviews and made reservations! Boyfriend and I were pleasantly surprised at the portions, but everything tasted great! The anaheim pepper starter and piadina could be improved, so that it’s less messy though!
Service was a little slow, but it was very crowded and at least it gave us more time to enjoy the view!
PS — pot de crème is on point

Made it back from the Shangrila tour just in time for them to open. What a treat! NIce open atmosphere and tasty food. Started out with the ginger lemonade which was a zingy, cool treat. Despite t not being paleo, I had to go ahead and order the Feta, Tapenade & Hauula Tomato Sandwich on house-​baked focaccia, with a green salad. So yum! I could eat that every time.
Service was fast and nice, prices not so bad either. Would go again.

I’d say this café is on par with all the other muesem, art place cafes I’ve been. You have your soup, a lot of different salads and small selection of main dishes.
I started with the portugese bean soup. It was your average tasting zippy’s style portugese bean soup. For my main dish, I had the steak sandwich. Again, very normal… nothing outstanding. Ended with a fruit tart ala mode. It was good but nothing outstanding.
The atmosphere is nice with outdoor seating and waterfall and greenery surrounding the area.

This is an absolutely lovely place for lunch, the courtyard overlooks a fountain and some sculptures and both the space and the food are light, airy, and simple. The wine list is small but *very* interesting, and my food — a white bean salad with wilted escarole and shiitake mushrooms, side of grilled focaccia — was super yummy. Friendly service, definitely worth getting away from Waikiki for this!

Got to the café a little before noon, then had to wait for about an hour to get seat… so if you’re hoping to grab a fast lunch, you’re best ordering take out.
Ordered the Piadina which was a flat bread with arugula, tomatoes, mozzarella, cucumbers, and pancetta. It tasted pretty good and was big! It looked like a huge taco to be honest.
Service was pretty good. The waiters checked up on my friend and I… but it just got me upset when they chucked my $ 15 Piadina into a brown bag and foil.
Though the food and service were good, Pvillion café wouldn’t be the first place I’d head to for that type of atmosphere and food.

When your inner art critic gets hungry from perusing the many exhibits and taking in the many forms of expression, Pavilion Café is the place to refuel and relax.
Located in a lovely outdoor courtyard inside the Honolulu Museum of Art, this is a great place to get lunch while at the museum. It is also a great place to grab lunch if you just want lunch and aren’t that into art. If you do decide to eat here, I would recommend making a reservation, as the place gets fairly crowded with lunch goers. With a reservation, they will seat you very quickly. The dining area is open air and is located inside a modern courtyard between the exhibits.
The menu is very simple, yet tasteful. It is mostly composed fresh, local veggies and meats in various forms. My only complaint is their reliance on the veggies in the sandwich I had. I love veggies, but my sandwich was a little like a salad with no dressing. The prices are reasonable (all items are under $ 25), and there aren’t many items to pick from which makes the choice much easier. I prefer less items of quality to more, not so great choices.
One of the downsides was the waiter. He did his job or getting the food and it came out very fast. He just wasn’t very friendly and he didn’t really seem interested in being there. He kept losing his train of thought and looking around the room for other things to stimulate him.
If you want to park in the are, I would recommend paying the $ 5 at the Art Academy parking lot. It is located diagonal to the museum off of Young Street. It was easy and cheap and lasts for 5 hours at that price.
I would recommend Pavilion Café to anyone looking for a fresh lunch option surrounded by some cultural relevance!

This is a nice spot to have a lunch date. A nice date — dress up a bit, take your time. The setting is classy and peaceful.
You don’t have to visit the art galleries at the museum to go to the café. It’s probably a good idea to make a reservation, though.
I ordered a roasted lamb salad, which was great — the lamb was a perfect medium rare, in a great dressing, just the right size for lunch. I’d get it again any day. It was a special, not on the menu, so I hope they bring it back and consider making it a regular. My wife ordered a mahimahi and soba salad. The fish was excellent — more tender than I expect for mahimahi. The dish had too much dressing overall. We also both ordered the ginger lemonade and enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed my lunch here, service was a little spotty but nothing to get my hula skirt in a bunch about. Prices are a little high but hey, I am not because I am clean.
Get whatever its all fairly healthy. What you are paying for is eating in the beautiful environs.

I love the concept of the Pavilion Café. I like that it is nestled in the heart of the Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Academy of Art) and that the menu offers a delicious variety of light, yet pleasing meals. The prices are a little high, but it is expected because youre surrounded by amazing works of art. The food is great. They have a variety of drinks like lemonade and teas as well as wines. The food consists of mainly salads and sandwiches. They also have pasta and soup. I loved the salad vinaigrette on the goat cheese salad. The filet mignon sandwich is also very good if you want something more filling. I would be whole-​heartedly in love with this place if the service lived up to the classy, swanky concept. I feel like the food and atmosphere are comparable to mariposa or the pineapple room, yet the service has much left to be desired.

I have heard many great things about Pavilion Café and have been wanting to try it for over a year. I finally went for a good-​bye lunch (for me) and was so excited to finally try it!
I ordered the lemonade with ginger and was surprised to taste a very sour lemonade minus any ginger flavor. I ordered the Piadina (italian grilled flatbread with arugula, chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, garlic, fresh mozzarella and prosciutto). Sounded yummy and the picture I took made it look amazaing, however, that is where the amazement ended. It tasted like a plain salad with no dressing that I had to chop up with a fork. I love prosciutto and had trouble locating mine! Even when I found a piece here and there, I found it to be lacking flavor. My co-​workers also had the same thing to say about thier other dishes. Whew! Glad I wasn’t the only one. We all agreed the food was way overpriced and we would never go back!

I love the food here and the water feature that is displaced right in front of the café. I came here on a lunch break and I enjoyed the atmosphere here. The place is very posh and being outside is a nice feeling especially working in the office all day.
The service is quick and very accommodating. The food portions are pretty big, so i usually take food home and everything is fresh! I love the food here and the teas they serve. Although the menu is limited, the food they have, is good so that makes up for it!

I love going to the Pavilion Café. This place just oozes class. I mean, I’m surprised they let me eat there! But they do, and I’m glad.
The setting is absolutly perfect. The food and the service live up to the setting. The price is set accordingly. In other words, eating here makes you feel like a million bucks, and paying the bill feels like paying a million bucks.
However, if you stretch lunch at the Pavilion Café into a leisurely visit with good friends and/​or your special someone, you’ll like feel like you got a deal when the check comes. That’s what I did today.
I’m already saving up for my next visit!

I LOVE this place. I just wish I could stop ordering those damn good anaheim peppers! Every time my friends and I come here for lunch, we swear we’re going to try something different — but, of course, always end up getting our usual orders (they both get the olive tapenade sandwich). Man. .. Anaheim peppers with lightly toasted triangles of bread, topped with chopped garlic and anchovies. Try it. You must.
If you are not allergic to ginger (or lemons, I guess), you must also try the ginger lemonade. I don’t typically like the taste of ginger, but it fits so well with the lemonade, which is not at all too sweet. And don’t forget to finish off your meal with their delicious iced coffee.
The ambiance? Three words: Al fresco dining. (Wait, is that technically two words? Whatever.) It’s gorgeous, even on a slightly rainy day.
My only complaints: 1. They’re closed Mondays. 2. You have to make your reservations on an answering machine. They only call you back if they cannot accommodate you at your preferred date/​time, which kinda bites because then you have no way of knowing whether they got your message at all.
Oh, yes: You get a 10% discount if anyone in your dining party is an Academy member. .. so if you’re not a member, take an artsy friend! ;o)