Kimobean Coffee & Bar

It did its job in the morning — coffee, smoothie, bagels. There’s a full bar, but they aren’t open past 7pm, which I found a little odd. I mean it’s great to have a cocktail option pre-​dinner, but might be better to choose coffee shop or bar. Either way, convenient for the hotel guests.
It’s pretty quiet in there so we always scored a seat. They also have a couple tvs if you’re interested in catching a game.

Awww I just realized that Jo stayed open for Rocco and me. I whole two hours over. The idea that the bartender would stay open because she had customers really gives you an idea of the atmosphere of this place. I got there about 6pm and wanted dinner and drinks. When I arrived there were two other customers and me. Asked Jo, the bartender for a recommendation so could not think of any so we were discussing cocktails, so I had an old fashioned. Soon the other two customers left. So it was me and the bartender.
This bar is the quintessential Unilocal business. If you are not looking for it, you are not going to stumble upon it. It is adjacent to the second floor lobby of the Ohana East Hotel, and even from the lobby, the entrance to the bar is not real conspicuous.
To eat, Jo mentioned that the are primarily a coffee shop and do most of their business in the morning. So she suggested a breakfast croissant sandwich or the turkey and pesto sandwich. I went with the turkey and pesto, and I didn’t really like it, somehow the bread seemed sweet and the turkey was dry, so I probably would not have food again if I return.
Jo was very conversant and really seemed to enjoy her job. We were talking about cocktails, life and Hawaii. Jo mentioned that the bar is not crowded in the evening and thinks of herself more as a barista than a bartender because most of her business is in the morning. As we were chatting one of the regulars, Rocco arrived and he joined the conversation. The whole tempo of the interaction was enjoyable.
I could tell that Rocco and Jo were friends outside of the bar, but even as they planned their out of work activities they still were able to included me in the conversation. We talked about politics more and somehow got talking about Winter cocktails, We are each from cold places and since the coffee shop had a lot of spices and things not common in a bar and Jo was willing to try new things. She looked up recipes for Hot toddy and Irish Cream and Rocco and I drank like it was the dead of winter. Jo was also streaming Christmas music so it was about a Christmassy as you could get considering that it was 75 degrees outside.
Finally, had enough and someone asked for the time, it was 9:04…It was like spending three hours catching up with old friends at Christmas. As I was leaving I noticed a sign on the gate giving the hours of 6am to 7pm. So I thought to myself, that is odd cause it is nine now. Although I’ll probably never know the reason for the discrepancy. Perhaps it was one of those social transactions where bending the rules to enable three people to share a little camaraderie two days before Christmas was worth the risk inherent with bending the rules, and having someone blab about it on the Internet :-) .
Kimobean is much like Uncle Miles Kitchen in Hilo (
). The food and atmosphere are below average, but having a personable staff member made the whole experience memorable and worthy of a recommendation, with the caveat that obviously, these one-​to-​one (or tirad as the case may be) interactions are highly dependent on personal factors so my experiences might not hold for other people, or even for me on a different night or under different conditions.

My husband and I randomly walked into your establishment at Kimbobean in the Ohana East at 150 Kauilan last Wednesday. We initially stopped there to have one drink, but thanks to your bartender Jacobi and his exceptional customer service we ended up staying for two hours. Two days later we stopped by again on our way to a dinner cruise. We requested a list of special drinks, and he made them all deliciously well.
Thank you again, Jacobi, for your sincere and engaging hospitality, which made our stay in Honolulu memorable. We also enjoyed the great recommendations on places to sightsee. The North Shore was our favorite!
All in all, Jacobi’s alluring, great sense of humor and decadent cocktails created a fun environment for us during our vacation. Thank you!

Koko mocha latte is the best! Mocha and coconut. Slight coconut flavor but not overpowering!

Great, great latte. Best in Waikiki area! Strong coffee but not bitter, expertly made, just the right temperature (I like them hot). The place is hard to find though… Please put more signs on the street so more people can enjoy your coffee goodness :)

I had a latte with Soy milk and it was pretty good. This place is cute. I would definitely hangout there and read or get some work done. Nice atmosphere and the server was very friendly. I noticed on the menu they had an acai bowl!!! I’m definitely going to have to come back to try it.

Oh man, this place is great – great coffee and competent cocktail mixologist means…
Coffee cocktails!
Kimobean is upstairs in the Ohana Waikiki East, up a stairwell from the street, and it’s the perfect place to camp out or warm up on a rainy day. The furniture is very cool – a wonderful mix of dark woods and comfortable patent leather chairs.
The barista/​bartender is entertaining and welcoming. One of my favorite spots to relax. If only it didn’t have TVs…

If you love delicious lattes, then you will love Kimobean. This Kimobean is located in the Ohana Waikiki East hotel, and is kind of hidden from people who aren’t staying in the hotel. This is one reason why I love this location. Since it’s so hidden, it was totally empty when I went with my bf this afternoon. Aside from the nice ambiance and the emptiness, the coffee was very delicious too!
Kahala Latte: For $ 4.75, you get 12 ounces of coffee that tastes like Jesus made it. It’s basically a vanilla latte, but it’s so creamy and made with their excellent coffee that it tops all the other vanilla lattes I’ve tasted. Even the foam is delicious!
Regular hot coffee: ($ 2.20÷12 oz) If you’re a coffee lover, you can tell that this is the real deal. Delicious bitter Hawaiian coffee.
Overall: You will not be able to go back to Starbucks for a while after you’ve tasted Kimobean’s Jesus coffee. I think what turns most people off is the price for a small coffee, but for the quality it’s pretty worth it. Comparing Kimobean’s coffee to instant coffee is like comparing Genki sushi to Sasabune. You get what you pay for.