Dining According to Karen: Review: Grand Cafe & Bakery

I visited family-owned Grand Cafe & Bakery for the first time since they reopened at their new location on the ground floor of the Hawaii State Art Museum. Making a lunch reservation was no problem even though I only called this morning. I arrived early since the restaurant is only two blocks from my office in downtown Honolulu. That gave me time to browse through the museum's small gift shop, which sells locally made clothing, soaps, jewelry, greeting cards, and other items of art.

Grand Cafe & Bakery is small and popular so reservations are recommended. The space is bright and cheerful and the service was very good, even though our waitress seemed to be a novice. I read reviews by others that complained about slow service but that problem seems to have been addressed.

My husband and I shared the restaurant's famous Missionary Chowder ($7.95) which the menu said included seafood, potatoes and fine herbs. It was delicious and thick but I could only identify clams and no other seafood. Still yummy! In addition to the chowder, I ordered the Caesar Salad ($10.95) with garlicky shrimp ($4.50). The romaine lettuce was tossed with a creamy garlicky dressing, a generous amount of Parmesan cheese, and a few crunchy croutons. The five pieces of shrimp were lightly grilled and very fresh. My husband ordered the Tipsy Cranberry Salad ($10.95) which included dried cranberries, bleu cheese, candied walnuts and house dressing on mesclun greens. He also ordered a side of grilled chicken for an additional $3.50. Both salads were gargantuan and delicious.

The restaurant is known for their desserts so we ordered their prize-winning Old Fashioned Lemon Cake. The double layered cake was moist with a touch of real lemony tang. However, I would have preferred a frosting that wasn't so sweet. Also, the presentation wasn't very special as you can see from the photo below.

I'm planning to bring my best friend from high school to celebrate her birthday here. I also want to try their Sunday Brunch which is supposed to be very good. However, I may have to twist my husband's arm to come back again. He thought that the lunch menu selection was very limited.

Grand Cafe & Bakery
No. 1 Capitol District Building
250 S. Hotel Street, 1st Floor
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Phone: (808) 531-0001
http://grandcafeandbakery.com

Hours:
Monday - Friday 7:30am - 2:00pm
Saturday - Closed
Sunday Brunch - 8:00 am - 1:00pm