Kapiolani Coffee Shop

Came for the infamous oxtail soup.
It was ok, the oxtail meat was tougher than expected.
The broth was also just o-​k. Would go elsewhere…

Amazing pancakes. We saw everyone ordering the ox tail soup for breakfast. Will be back to try more

Such delicious oxtail soup and mac salad. Our favorite place to fill up on that part of the island!

One of the best breakfast joints on the island! Especially the ass kickin oxtail soup in the morning! Many times I ate here but I didn’t realize until today they had a xtra large size bowl! Had two soles sitting next to me ordering the xl so I asked and he said «that’s the way real men eat»… Next time real man I will be. About $ 16 but worth it!
One more thing I really like about ordering the oxtail soup here is the unlimited amount of graded ginger they have at all the tables. Last week at Zippys, had oxtail soup and they gave me enough to eat one price of the oxtail.

Since my son and I are sick, I decided to get some oxtail soup and I can say this is definitely the best I’ve had. Better than Aiea bowl. I thought it was a little overpriced ($ 14.75) for the regular bowl but it was worth the money. It would’ve been 5 stars if the lady at the cashier is nicer/​friendlier. She did not look too happy. Also, I felt like the food came out too fast when I asked her how long the wait is. She responded with «It’s fast» like it’s already pre-​made. It’s OK cuz it’s still very good. I would definitely go back!

This place has the best Oxtail Soup on the island. The ginger is way better than anywhere else, and the meat can be sometimes a little chewy but most of the time it just falls off the bone.

On a Sunday morning after making a drop-​off at the airport and on a whim, I told my husband that we should try out Kapiolani Coffee Shop in Waimalu (not on Kapiolani Avenue in town like the name suggests) since we’ve never eaten there before and it’s on the way home. We scored parking easily, but not seats. At 9 AM in the morning there is, to our surprise, a line outside the door to the small restaurant. I peeked in between the blinds in the window and it was packed with more people waiting inside. An elderly regular teased us by telling us, «You’re next,» when he entered the restaurant and then again as he left. We waited around probably 15 minutes before we got a table. Oxtail soup for breakfast? Why not, everyone else did and posted about it on Unilocal.I got the small order and right off the bat I had to remark how clear the soup was, like consommé. Eating their oxtail soup made me realize the mistakes I made when I tried to make my own oxtail soup. Their soup had practically zero oiliness or fatty globules; just very clear, and clean tasting broth. The oxtail meat was tender and not overly fatty. I did ask for brown rice instead of white rice, but I got white rice instead. Did that bother me? No, because clearly «uncle» as my husband liked to call our server seemed to know that I really wanted white rice and asking what kind of rice I wanted was just a trick question. My husband had the lup cheong omelet with a side of wheat toast and a side order of bacon. My husband said they made crispy bacon right. I would definitely come back here for some breakfast oxtail soup and my husband would definitely will be back for everything else on their menu. Cash only.

Cash only because it’s a hole in the wall. The oxtail soup and beef stew taste just like grandma made it. Seating is pretty limited, but we can generally find an open booth.

We come here for their oxtail soup with their kim chee fried rice. I gotta have it together. The workers are friendly.

This place should have no stars!!! I found a cocroch in my sandwich. worst thing ever!!!
That is unacceptable… will never eat there again.

Been coming to this place awhile. Best fried rice in town. Small intimate place. Its been here quite awhile so it has an old Hawaii vibe to it. Out of all the branches of asahi grills, this place has the better tasting food. Service is fast and friendly.

Amazing oxtail soup. The meat is super tender and delicious that went well with some good broth. A little pricy, but definitely worth it.
I also got the kalbi fried rice and it was a good portion, enough to feed two or one really hungry. It was pretty tasty and the eggs on top is always a plus. Don’t, however waste your time with the small side of kimchee that comes with it, tastes like pepper more than anything and no spice at all.
Overall, I would come back again and a definite plus is how quickly they get the food out to you so I don’t have to starve waiting for my order. Also, be aware it is cash only. Would recommend for a homey Asian comfort food place!

Oxtail soup is what they’re known for. It seems they are related to Asahi Grill. The place is pretty old. The workers were meh. Upon going in, I felt a little bit uncomfortable. We’re here so we sat down. My friends and I looked at the menu. There was a lot of things on the menu, breakfast to dinner type of food.
Obviously, I got the oxtail saimin. My friends got fried rice, cheeseburger, oxtail soup. The oxtail ramen came out like a big bowl $ 10. There were 3 pieces of oxtail. The taste of the soup was not too bad. It was definitely filling. If you order oxtail soup it comes with 2 scoops of rice. Oxtail saimin, it’s literally oxtail and saimin only.
Service was ok. It felt like we were being stared at the whole time. It was a one time thing. Will not be back.

Hands down my favorite oxtail soup. Even though the oxtail has a bit of fat, the soup is never oily. You gotta ask for extra greens though, that gives you plenty of green onion and cilantro for every bite! The container of minced ginger on the table? Yup, mix that with shoyu and dip with every spoonful of soup, rice and oxtail! Love their fried rice! I dunno any other place that minces lip cheong, their secret meat ingredient! Bads… Limited seating and parking at peak hours, and cash only. Plus the price for their oxtail soup has surpassed ridiculousness! I remember when they opened this location, it was $ 5! But hey, who doesn’t feel better with a big smile after eating their oxtail?

Went here today and I usually feel like ordering the fried rice, but I wanted the saimen. I clearly said I wanted the REGULAR SAIMEN and also pointed it out on the menu. But my friends heard her say «ox tail?»
I went back up to her and said «did you put down a regular SAIMEN?» And she said yes.
Sat back down and got an ox tail soup
Saimen has noodles in it, how many times did I have to tell you REGULAR SAIMEN. So I had to pay $ 15 for food I did not want.
And I didn’t even finish the ox tail soup because I didn’t want it in the first place and I’m not a fan of it.
Every time I come back I’ll always think of this incident.

Oxtail soup was very good and they keep the ginger right on the table so you don’t have to keep asking for more.
The fried rice was not so good. The breakfast was okay and the Loco moco was just Okay.
We’ll just keep coming back for the oxtail soup. 4 stars are just for the soup!

Home of their famous ox tail soup. I mean, that’s pretty much what I’ve been told about Kapiolani Coffee Shop, except for their occasional hype about their fried rice.
My friend had just come back from the mainland and wanted to grab a bite to eat. She chose Kapiolani Coffee Shop since she was craving some ox tail soup. For me, I don’t particularly like ox tail soup so finding a dish was a little more difficult especially since the reviews on Unilocal are slightly limited.
At first, I thought about ordering their fried rice, but it seemed as if a cockroach was a «secret» ingredient in their fried rice. But, I still considered ordering it until my dad had told me the last time he ordered it, their fried rice was mushy and seemed to have been cooked and reheated. My dad isn’t an extravagant eater (meaning he prefers plate lunches over sit-​down restaurant food) so if he didn’t care for the fried rice, I’d mostly not like it either.
Well, enough with the background story. We arrived on a Thursday at about 6:15pm and were seated immediately. There were only two other parties there, but by 6:30pm, the place was much more crowded. The atmosphere isn’t fancy or elegant, but simply a small, casual restaurant.
We ordered and I decided on their fried saimin. My friend’s ox tail soup came out in about 3 minutes (no joke) and my noodles took a bit longer (maybe about 10 minutes). A picture is worth a thousand words, but taking a picture while with friends can sometimes be rude so I’ll try to explain it the best I can (some other people posted photos anyway). Kamaboko, spam, cabbage, green onions, and udon-​type noodles.
Before I review my food, here’s a little blurb about what I noticed about the ox tail soup. My friend ordered the small portion and it came with 2 scoops of rice and a bowl of ox tail soup. Portion size isn’t bad. She was having difficulty though getting the meat off the bone and I could tell she didn’t wanna just suck it off to be polite. I probably wouldn’t have cared but I don’t think I would have started to use my hands if I had ordered that. In fact, she was having such a difficult time, she accidentally flew her chopsticks off the table while trying to pull the meat off! Hahaha. But I don’t have experience with ox tail soup so I can’t compare it very well. My mom though loves ox tail soup and she said she actually likes Asahi Grill’s a lot better.
So, let’s go with the bad news first: The noodles were really oily. There was a layer of oil coating everything and it was glistening oh so very brightly. Yes, I know fried noodles are usually oily, but I actually had a hard time finishing everything because my stomach was not very happy. So really, maybe the cooks will read this review and make the noodles a little less oilier. I think I would have felt better if I could have dabbed the oil off the noodles (but how rude is that?!).
Now, the good news: There was a good proportion of noodles to toppings. A lot of places put way less toppings on top and you’re really only eating noodles. Or they often just put noodles and cabbage. But Kapiolani Coffee Shop was very generous with their spam and kamaboko! :) Thanks!
Neither good nor bad: The taste of the noodles were average. Not too bland, not too salty. Wasn’t amazing, but it wasn’t horrible. It’s a little hard to explain. It definitely had less taste than the noodles at Chun Wah Kam but more than if you went to Zippy’s (which I thought literally just tasted like flour).
All of that for only $ 6.50 plus tax and tip. So, this place isn’t all that bad. But, if you aren’t going for their ox tail soup, I think you have a better chance of getting better food elsewhere.

Ok, so, I forgot to take pictures of my food this time because I’m sure there’s a lot on here. This tiny hole in the wall was here for a while, but I never ventured inside because I usually don’t care for oxtail soup (rather have oxtail stew) whereever I went to eat out at, plus, I can cook my own, but this place is the bomb:
OxTail Soup — 5 stars — For $ 14, I got a regular sized oxtail soup, and thinking that it’s like any other place that others have said was pretty good, but disappointed me, I was greatly amazed at the flavor of this soup and tenderness of the oxtail itself. I actually drank the whole soup with the oxtail, and will definitely return here for the soup!
Sweet Sour Spareribs — 3 stars — They make it a little oily. Very tasty, but the ribs were a little tough. My sons loved it.
Grilled fish — 3 stars — ok, but was a bit oily and fried instead of grilled.
The portions are your usual local plate lunch portions so we were able to order 3 dishes for 4 of us to fill us. There are only a few wooden booths, and a small restaurant, but we didn’t have to wait. I think a lot of people take out since there’s a take-​out section in the front. The food arrived surprisingly very quickly after ordering.
Lots of parking, and friendly service. However, CASH only.

The name is little confusing but this is actually a dining place. I came here with 7 other people for dinner. I had Oxtail Saimin which had really good soup and I’d definitely try again. The portion was pretty big and I couldn’t finish eating oxtail part because it was little too much for me. I also poked at Spare Rib and the sauce was really delicious.
Overall this isn’t any fancy place to eat but a good casual dining place with good portion of food.

My sister, grandmother and mother came here as a result of seeing Ninomiya Kazunari from Arashi visit this place. We figured it would be a nice lunch.
First thing, I must admit that I did not expect the clam chowder to be so big! For $ 3, it was such a large bowl! There was a hair in mine, but the waitress gave me no attitude and switched it.
I also ordered egg fried rice and shared an oxtail soup with my mother. The fried rice was pretty good and I enjoyed the broth for the oxtail soup. Overall? A satisfied full tummy. One star off for the hair and my water glass being empty too long at times.