One of the last times I saw chef Keaka Lee was at a bittersweet, fantastic farewell dinner he had cooked up at Pig & the Lady in October 2018, just before he set off to create a place of his own. After a long search, he signed a lease last November for a space in Kahala, and this month opened the doors to Kapa Hale.
The pandemic may be the least of his worries as a new restaurateur. The neighborhood has not been particularly friendly toward former occupants of this space on Kilauea Avenue. It’s been a revolving door of restaurants dating back more than 30 years, following the departure of Kahala Moon and up to the closure of Central Bakery.
Perhaps Lee knows the neighborhood better than the previous occupants, having grown up in the area and graduated from Kalani High School. I’m hoping his culinary sincerity — there’s no other word for it — will win the day with diners. Lee doesn’t traffic in pretense, gimmicks or trends, but good food intended to feed the soul, what we all want when we’re brave enough to risk dining out.
Dinner here reminded me of how much I had missed during Lee’s absence. In addition to making the rounds of local kitchens such as 3660 on the Rise and Alan Wong’s, and earning degrees from the Culinary Institute of the Pacific at Kapiolani Community College, he expanded his repertoire by working in the kitchens of Benu in San Francisco and several in New York City. He found a home with the Danny Meyer group of restaurants and moved to New York, where he worked at Meyer’s Gramercy Tavern and helped to open Untitled at the Whitney.
He has much to show from his experiences. Among the first lessons learned was that outside of Hawaii, few Americans eat rice, so he has embraced other forms of carbs, among other pantry items enhancing his take on Hawaii Regional Cuisine.
His experiences take him far beyond the same-old, same-old soy and mayo flavor profiles in circulation here year after year.
There are hints of India and the sunny Mediterranean in dishes from Naan Ya Business — a starter of garlic naan with vibrant Indian- spiced tikka masala curry ($7) so fresh and flavorful some might consider licking the bowl — to an evening entree of Kauai shrimp and chorizo pasta ($25) with a tart, creamy Ho Farms tomato sauce.
Even with outside inspirations, he maintains a firm understanding of what locals like to eat and devotes equal time to dishes true to his roots. These include ginger chicken toast ($14) on the lunch menu — a nod to the Chinese staple of cold ginger chicken, but now served flatbread style for the non-rice fan. His quiche luau ($14), served during weekend brunches, substitutes smoked pork for the more customary bacon, and luau leaves for spinach. Together, they lend a smoky depth to the milder-mannered brunch standard.
Hawaii menus can suffer a dearth of veggies, but here, they are most welcome and central to each menu, under the heading “V Is for Vegetable.”
Among these dishes, on both lunch and dinner menus, are brown-butter Brussels sprouts with the bright flavor of pickled cranberries ($12), broccolini with lemon confit and black garlic ($12), Ho Farms long beans with garlic anchovy and Parmesan crumble ($10), a Kapakahi Salad of Mari’s Garden greens with roasted beets and cider vinaigrette ($10), and chilled butternut squash soup ($8).
Otherwise, I suggest studying the menus ahead of time, because there aren’t many overlapping dishes from meal to meal.
In addition to the shrimp and chorizo pasta mentioned earlier, another of my favorite entrees on the small dinner menu is koji-aged rib-eye steak ($36) served with roasted sunchokes and peppercorn sauce.
Lunch options include a Hawaiian Cubano sandwich ($15) with kalua pork, Swiss cheese, laulau, a sunny side-up egg and house pickles; butter-poached lobster in a bun shaped into a cute palm-size bread loaf ($17); and crowd-pleasing pipikaula short ribs over creamy polenta ($17).
The lobster bun, pipikaula short ribs and veggie items reappear on the brunch menu, which opens with a sweet tooth-satisfying starter of lemon poppy seed bread with guava whipped butter ($5) and simple starter of house yogurt ($7) with granola, agave, seasonal fruits and pistachios. I look forward to returning for more, including the lemon-blueberry ricotta pancakes ($15) and kimchi fried rice ($12).
Menus will tentatively change every two months, with tasting menus to come in January.
Kapa Hale
4614 Kilauaea Ave.
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Food: ****
Service: ****
Ambiance: ****
Value: ****
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Call: 888-2060
Hours: Lunch 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Fridays, dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays and 5 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and brunch 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Prices: About $40 to $50 for two for lunch; about $75 to $90 for two for dinner without alcohol
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Ratings compare similar restaurants:
**** – excellent
*** – very good
** – average
* – below average
Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.
