Tip Top Motel Cafe & Bakery

This joint came highly recommended by some off-​island locals, so we dropped in for lunch. The «bento» looked to be a good choice and I wasn’t disappointed. Chicken, teri beef, Goteburg sausage, corned beef hash, takuan, mac salad and rice — good stuff. They’ve been cranking it out for a hundred years, which I guess makes them a Kauai institution; may they continue for another hundred.

Our favorite stop in Kauai!
Every time we are here we stop by as often as we can — daily at least. Love the oxtail soup (my regular staple) — very savory with tender meat and a nice amount of vegetables, noodles and rice! So far the best oxtail soup I’ve enjoyed.
All other dishes are tasty, too. Tip top’s gravy on the loco moco is better than other places. Some lunch options are also available during breakfast… chick, chick, chicken! :-) Fried rice runs out quickly so come earlier than 10 am if you have cravings — a disappointment for us 3 days in a row since we missed the boat.
This place is always crowded no matter what time you come, with lines that go out the door, especially near lunch time. Parking can be limited but nevertheless a definite place to enjoy good eats!

They had ox tail soup on the menu for breakfast and lunch so we knew we had to try it! During our week vacation on Kauai we visited Tip Top 3 x’s! Had the ox tail twice. Also had their loco moco, which is always great. What’s not great about rice, burger patty, fried egg and gravy all over?

These guys are celebrating 100 year right now.
Stopped there for breakfast yesterday.
I had «Grandpa’s recipe» I can’t tell you how good they are

Prolly one of the best breakfast places to eat at, very old fashion but food taste so good.

We missed breakfast by 30 min, so I opted for the grilled ono. Some of the best I’ve ever had. The entire plate was under $ 10. I ate all of the fish, but couldn’t finish the sides. My husband ordered the loco mono and licked the plate. I would love to try their breakfasts another time.

Ate here again for a late (10:30am) breakfast because I was craving some oxtail soup on my last week at home for winter break. LUCKILY we found parking (tried eating here for lunch last week and there was none). It was still pretty busy despite the fact that it was a weekday morning and the K-​12 schools here are already back in session.
This place is super casual: seat yourself, pay at the register when you’re done. So when you walk in, if you see an open table just grab it. We got there just as a few tables were leaving. The servers are pretty quick about clearing the tables so if you see people finishing up their meals, it shouldn’t take too long to get a seat.
Pancakes sounded pretty good this morning (this place also has bomb pancakes, add mac nuts or bananas) but once again, I ordered the oxtail soup instead. I don’t know why I always insist on ordering a full order because in my 21 years of eating at this place I have never managed to finish a full order by myself. IT’S STILL JUST AS DELICIOUS AS EVER THOUGH. ORDER THE OXTAIL SOUP! If you’re like me and all you’re really after is the oxtail itself, be reasonable and just order a half order and add extra meat.
If you want a no-​frills eating experience and some good local comfort food (loco moco, beef stew, oxtail soup, etc), this is the place to go. The sushi here is also surprisingly SUPER good. Don’t let its looks deter you from eating at Tip Top!

This is for 12/​31/​2015.
Let’s be honest about the building: it looks lackluster. In fact, you’re wondering if you were told about the correct place or if this was a cruel joke. This wasn’t a joke. Come in and hear how busy it is and see the line that is almost at the door. We came around 10am thinking it’d be a quick «get in, get out» situation. Who was I kidding??? We had to stalk someone for their parking spot and then came inside and had to wait in line. The wait was about 15 – 20 minutes but I was told it would be worth it (FYI, it was).
I love how they use the service carts. One lady does all the cleanup and each row’s server has her own service cart with utensils, napkins, water, cups, mugs, coffee etc on it. And considering how much food they have to bring out, it also doubles as a serving cart. Smart!
My girlfriend got the banana macadamia nut pancakes. I recommend getting 2 because they aren’t big like at Denny’s etc. I tried some and it was really tasty!
As my last day on the island, I knew I needed a last loco moco. But I was torn because I wanted an oxtail soup. Compromise… compromise…ok fine I’ll get both: D
The loco moco was perfectly done. The meat patty was delicious and their gravy was perfect and not too salty. Honestly I miss having onions on it. I don’t know if it was a normal thing I had at another place but those onions with the beef and gravy on rice just hit the spot. Delicious but I wanted onions.
The oxtail soup was delicious. I don’t know what I was expecting but it was really good. Put that entire tray of cilantro and ginger in there. DO IT. I have no idea what the peanuts add to it but they must do it for a reason, no? I also hate Chinese mustard greens and there they were floating in my oxtail soup. I wish they didn’t include it because it was fine with the napa cabbage. Anyway the meat was tender, the soup was flavorful and the noodles were yummy. If you’re not going to be a pig like me and order a loco moco on the side, then order extra noodles because the amount that comes with the order wouldn’t be enough. I didn’t even think it was enough… and I still had a loco moco to shove in my face.
I love this hole in the wall. It was packed with locals and a sprinkling of tourists (such as myself). Loved how low key and laid back it was. No pretentiousness, just good food at a reasonable price.

If you want to know where the top local spots are you have to look for the locals. This is a top local spot. It’s usually packed and you may have to stand in line and wait (they don’t do a seating chart so you might just have to be standing for a while). The food is straight ONO (delicious) and they have a large variety of things to eat.
We got lucky and came in on the 30 min grace period before they closed off the breakfast menu. Their pancakes are homemade made from scratch and I asked for a side of coconut syrup to put on top of it which was unreal! You have to ask for that if you want it because typically they will bring you just regular syrup. Portion sizes are large and they have waiters/​waitresses coming around taking orders and bringing food out on a cart.
The only reason I didn’t give it a 5 star was simply the place didn’t really look that great. It wasn’t in terrible condition, but when you walk in you might think you are at a small and tacky «quick stop» store. They have shirts and toys for sale, none of these things have any purpose or really add value to the store, and it’s kind of a waste of space. They could use that space for more chairs and tables, or a Lounge area or something but it just becomes things that take up space. There really isn’t any décor it’s just white walls and booths. I would love to see something that gives the place personality but it’s pretty boring in that sense.
Go for the food! It’s not a touristy spot. It’s a local spot, and they are very busy… But doesn’t mean they can’t have it looking a bit better overall! Oh and the parking situation can be a bit cumbersome because it really is a popular place kind of hidden among rows of homes and an industrial complex and a hotel/​motel.

American/​Chinese/​Japanese. Good for full breakfast and bakery things. We both got the oxtail soup, and it didn’t disappoint! They definitely didn’t skip on the oxtail, and comes with a side of rice too. Worth stopping buy just for the soup!
TLDR: 2 words — oxtail soup!

Eat where the locals eat.
After eating at a few high-​end restaurants on Kauai, we had a hankering for some honest, real food.
We went to this place at the recommendation of our waiter at Duke’s restaurant at the Kauai Marriott.
I asked him where I could get the best loco moco — a heaping Hawaiian breakfast of a hamburger patty on top of 2 – 3 scoops of rice, topped with fried eggs and then drowned in a dark rich beef-​based gravy.
He was right! It was the best loco moco I’ve ever tasted, with plenty of gravy so you can use the rice to soak up all the goodness.
You can also get traditional breakfasts here for the less adventurous. Don’t snack before coming here because the food is so filling.
Tip Top is off the beaten track and it looks like a hole-​in-​the-​wall but don’t let that deter you and don’t get frightened if you’re the only tourist in the place. Like I said, it a favorite for locals and the hearty food is a fourth of the price of those restaurants that cater to tourists.
The rest of the menu looked intriguing, especially the ox-​tail soup served for breakfast. I wanted to come back to try the macadamia-​nut pancakes which other Unilocalers praised but, unfortunately, ran out of time. You won’t get all the fancy dishes here; just down-​home comfort food served in a no-​nonsense environment by friendly — but not overly exuberant — staff.
A hint for non-​Asians: the mostly Filipino/​American staff pointed out a table by pointing her chin or pointing with her pursed lips. If yore not familiar with this nuanced communication, don’t feel you’re being ignored. The cultural exchanges that occur in everyday life is what makes a visit to Hawaii so enjoyable.

Ehhhhh there’s better on this island for sure.
I spent $ 17 on this breakfast and I was given what you see, yep 3 pieces of Portuguese sausage, bland eggs but GREAT pancakes. The pancakes are the reason it got a 3 star and not 1

Oxtail soup and locomoco are BOMB. Wayyyyyyyyyy better than Smileys (more flavor and better quality).
Definitely on the Top 5 Eats for Kauai !

We dined at this restaurant 3 times while visiting the island.
Food: pancakes are really good here. The oxtail soup noodle is also good. Coffee not that great.
Beef stew is just ok.
Service: slow! First 2 times were ok. On our 3^rd visit, I noticed the waitress over charged me on the beef stew, it said $ 8.95 on the menu but she charged me $ 9.50. Juice on the menu said $ 2 but she charged me $ 2.50. It is not a lot but why would I pay for more instead of the stated price. I confronted her and she corrected only the beef stew and would not change the juice. The funny part is that nothing on the menu was $ 9.50.
I just paid my tab and left. I was nice enough to leave her a tip too since I don’t want get cursed at while I was on vacation.
My advice: I would eat here again but I would definitely check the bill before paying.
Parking: hard to find parking.

I was inspired to come to Tip Top Motel Café & Bakery as I was reading this months Hawaiian Airlines magazine, where it featured an article about 5 local family businesses that are still going strong within the Hawaiian islands.
The businesses they talked about were —
1. Tip Top Motel Café & Bakery in Lihue (Kauai)
2. Hasegawa General Store in Hana (Maui)
3. Kamaka Ukulele Factory in Honolulu (Oahu)
4. S. Tokunaga Store in Hilo (Big Island)
5. EK Fernandez Carnivals
Tip Top Motel Café & Bakery opened back in 1916 by a gentleman named Denjiro Ota. Since then, the business has been passed on through the various generations, and now it is being run by Denjiro’s great-​grandson — Jonathan Ota (4^th generation).
Tip Top originally started off as a restaurant, but in 1965 Mitchell Ota (Denjiro’s son) expanded the restaurant, and added a 34 room Motel to the business, that’s why it called a «Motel Café & Bakery».
Tip Top is known for their Macadamia pancakes, Oxtail soup, & Saimin. Unfortunately for me… I wasn’t feeling any of their specialties, and decided to go outside of the box and do a Beef Stew.
For you folks who know me… I am still on a quest to look for the perfect Beef Stew, ever since my favorite beef stew place (H.K. Restaurant) closed down a few years ago. Since then, I haven’t been able to find a beef stew that will satisfy me… sigh.
Upon walking into the restaurant, I felt like I was transported back to the 1960’s, or maybe the 1970’s!
The décor of the restaurant is definitely «old skool»…“back in da day” kinda feel!
The restaurant was quite spacious, and it is quite apparent that this restaurant has a very «STONG LOCAL FOLLOWING», as the place was packed for lunch today.
Upon seating myself down (as the sign says «please sit yourself») I scanned the menu, and decided to try their «Beef Stew». The beef stew comes with white rice (brown rice is not available), and I also got a cup of coffee.
What can I say about the grub? Well, the beef stew was just okay for me… it wasn’t bad, but on the other hand, it did not stand out for me either. I wished they offered brown rice, as I try to limit my white rice intake.
Service was very efficient… as there were a bunch of Filipino ladies wearing what appears to be some kind of «hospital scrubs», and they push a cart around to serve you coffee/​water/​drinks. Kinda cool… you know… just something different to see.
The food came out fast, and my beef stew was piping hot too!
Maybe the next time I come here, I’ll wise up and try some of their signature stuff (Macadamia Pancakes, Oxtail Soup, or Saimin),…but until then… I gotta tell you folks… this place must be doing something right, to stay in business for so long!
Check ‘em out gang! No can go wrong!

Such an assuming place. Sort of off the beaten path. Old, worn décor, and it looks kind of cafeteria-​like… But that doesn’t matter at all…
… because the Oxtail Soup is amazing! I wish I knew if a place back in LA that made this. It’s similar to Phở but has glass noodles, ginger, and big, tender chunks of oxtail. On the side is more fresh ginger, cilantro, and rice. Ask for sriracha! They only have Tabasco on the tables but they brought us a bottle of sriracha once we asked. I could eat this every week. I sure wish it was nearby my home!
The loco moco was nothing to write home about but the Banana Macadamia-​nut pancakes were delicious! Perfect texture, fluffy on the inside, crisp on the outside, and just the right amount of toppings. The banana did not get mushy and the macadamias were chopped very small and gave it the perfect crunch. Highly suggest this place for a brunch time meal!

Close to the airport. They no longer have sushi bc their sushi chef left for Japan! Get the pancakes with guava jam and oxtail soup