Ka ‘Ikena

OH MY GOODNESS! I would not have found out about this place if not for our friend’s daughter in the KCC culinary arts program. So elated when I find vegetarian options at any restaurant, especially fine dining establishments! Ka ‘Ikena hooking me up with some yummylicious!
My friends and I enjoyed the Asian Pacific dinner selections Fall 2015. We started out with ciabatta; I could’ve eaten more and more slices, but I needed to save some room for the rest of dinner. For the appetizer, I chose the healthy and green salad, which was deconstructed and reconstructed and nicely-​presented. The vegetarian entrée was beautifully arranged and tastefully put together; the seared tofu was the best, and the portabella mushroom was so flavorful. I was so excited to see all the goodies on the dessert cart. Unfortunately I could pick only one dessert; I went with the certainly unforgettable torte. Great and attentive service! Very reasonable price for 3-​course dinner!
Tips: BYOB. There is some nearby parking designated for restaurant patrons; otherwise after a certain time of day, can park anywhere without a permit. Allegedly no tips but donations taken. Can make reservations online or call for reservations. Website seems accurate/​updated about the service days.
I’m so ready for Spring 2016! Will bring my husband with me next time — he missed out the dining experience.

Eight of us loved the evening. fairly casual, byob, reasonably priced, good food. Lots of large groups, yet food arrived in a reasonable amount of time. Servers were very attentive & helpful about making dining suggestions. The salmon tartare dip with pickled ginger was ono, although the flatbread was a bit soft, so I ate the dip with the French bread they offered us. I had the Ahi 3 Ways appetizer, which was nice, but I wished I had the duck appetizer everyone raved about. The sauteed Togarashi salmon entrée was done perfectly, i.e. not overdone, & very yummy. Lots of desserts to choose from at the dessert station; servers didn’t offer coffee or tea, but they are available. Come before sunset so you can enjoy the awesome view.

I enjoyed my experience and am glad to have supported the KCC culinary program. The «restaurant» was a little hard to find. They don’t have good signage leading the way. The view is beautiful. The food was ok. The bread was excellent. My appetizer (ahi) and entrée (beef tenderloin — TINY) were meh. My favorite part of the meal was the dessert. I got the banana split, which was tempura’d banana cut in half, with a biscuit on in, macaroon cookies halves on that, and 4 tiny scoops of homemade ice cream. It was delicious. Everyone seemed to be having a nice time in this restaurant. I would return.

Start to finish was perfection. First off, let me share where to find this place. Park in the lot where the old white church is, which is just east of the entrance to Diamond Head. Walk up the ramp toward the cafeteria, turn right after the rock fountain and it’s through the doors.
I loved that I could make a reservation online. We were greeted by a two students at the hostess stand. We were seated promptly.
Two of us had our toddlers with us. It was no problem, but I would not advise for dinner.
There was no rushing. Everything was wonderfully paced. The menu that day actually had two different sheets to choose from, whereas most of the time it’s one (that you can actually view before hand online).
I had the Gnocci for my starter (sans pancetta). Delicious. I would have liked to have had a few other starters rather than Gnocci, but because I’m a picky eater, there were too many where I knew substitutions would be difficult, especially given the nature of the pre fixe menu.
My beef tenderloin was out of this world. I usually order my steaks ‘medium well’ which often results in a little more tough chew; something I’m used to. This was so smooth and soft in my mouth. I don’t know what they put on top, but it was outstanding.
Dessert was a vanilla crème brûlée. My gosh, so good. There was an almond cookie with a strawberry jam drop in the middle, along with a sliced strawberry for garnish.
No tax, no tip = awesome for splitting the check. There is a donation drop box at the hostess stand, which I was happy to generously contribute.
Be sure to reserve a table next to the window to enjoy a beautiful view!
If anyone from the school is reading, I would love a touch more bread! It was good.
We will be back for the next module.

The Ka Ikena Restaurant at KCC is one the rare Foodie Secrets that always delights you by its fine dining experience presented by the Culinary Arts students. We dined on 09/​24/​2015 during the Continental Menu Service under the excellent leadership of instructor Mr. Aaron Chau. Everything was perfect. We look forward to returning to Ka Ikena at KCC. The view from KCC of Waialae Kahala and Koko Head is truly unique and adds to the pleasant ambiance of the room.

I was really disappointed with this place… let me caveat it with saying I came here for Mother’s Day Brunch. I did not realize that it was a buffet, that’s my bad… but I was really looking forward to a three-​course prix fixed meal that Unilocalers raved about. Buffet at $ 40/​adult and $ 25/​kid… I feel as if there should have been better quality and just more — quantity-​wise (don’t run out).
They sat us at our table and did not tell us anything. Had hubby go back to hostess and ask — apparently we go and help ourselves to the buffet in a separate room and the complimentary drinks are in the room with the tables.
The buffet was below average:
Breakfast offerings — bacon, scrambled eggs, omelet station, tater tots, sausages;
Salad line — typical greens, poke was just sad, the best part was the fruit — wish I took a picture of the fruit platter — nothing extrordinary, but there was a lot and it was eye-​appealing;
Hot offerings — only tried three items: chicken roulade was ok, prime rib was ok, but the Opakapaka prepared chinese — style was delicious! Firm white fish bathed in a shoyu/​sesame oil sauce, topped with chinese parsley, slivers of ginger, and onions and shitake mushrooms… oh my umami heaven! But I keep thinking «would I pay $ 40 for Opakapaka???» And I keep coming up with a «no.»
Dessert — I’m so mad at myself for not taking pictures of the dessert buffet line. The spread was colorful and beautiful. My favorites were the tiny lemon meringues and key lime pies. What upset me was that they ran out. My brother asked if there would be anymore coming out (there was no more on the line), the student said no. Keep in mind, we had only been there for 35 minutes. Why would you run out… and then 20 minutes later, I checked back, and there were some brought out… what is going on?
For Mother’s Day, they provided complimentary drink tickets for the «moms» at the table. They just dropped it off — no explanation. I flagged down 5 different workers (students?) to ask what types of drinks these tickets were for, well… here’s how it went (with all 5 students):
Me: (showing ticket to student) «What type of drinks are there»
Student: (blank face) «the ticket is good for one complimentary drink»
Me: «yes, I read that. What types of drinks are there?»
Student: «I don’t know. Go and check at the table in the corner.»
Me: (blank face)
The drinks offered were an assortment of mimosas and belinis. I understand that majority of the people here are students in the culinary program, and that this is a learning tool. But, front of house is just as important as back of house.
My biggest tip — just make sure you ask if this is a prix fixed meal or a buffet when making reservations. Opakapaka quality 4 stars; overall experience 2 stars.

This is a must stop if you’re in the area

I Have a confession! We Actually went to Kaikena for both lunch one day and dinner the next day! Couldn’t believe we were actually able to score the hard to get reservations. And of course We like Any excuse to indulge in a great meal value! Though actually went with 2 different groups. The culinary kids are so endearing. Their earnestness, enthusiasm, and developing food skills are a delight. Poached Salmon with salmon mousse and ikura for lunch might have been the best of all the different meals though. Extraordinarily prepared! Better than the sold out beef wellingtons at lunch! (Our group got 2 of the 3 ordered). Dinner Appetizers included a killer kampachi crostini, a special cauliflower goat cheese panna cotta which was spectacular, duck 3 ways, entrees included a tender grilled beef tenderloin, stuffed salmon, wok fried seafood medley, etc. It’s the complete package from amuse bouche, appetizer, entrée, desert cart, and coffee or tea. Vegetarian options are available too. The breads, the breads — Ahhh, lunch had the freshly baked and very delicious rolls, oat bread, focaccia, and crostini. Dinner was the fresh crostini! The chocolate birthday cake treat with a dark chocolate wafer and singing waiters! How good is that! But the best part was we got to take home a whole loaf of the crostini bread for $ 4 — a foot and a half loaf! But you’ll have to time your reservations with Kapiolani Community College’s semester offerings.

Ka ‘Ikena is an extension of Kapiolani Community Colleges Culinary Arts Program. Students are responsible for running the restaurant, from Front of the House, to Dinner and Dessert. Ka ‘Ikena opens for lunch and dinner the second half of each semester to provide the students with hands on experience.
The menu changes with each class and is a fusion of Local, Asian, and French flavors with French preparation techniques. It’s s 3-​Course meal: choice of a Starter, Entrée, and Dessert with Coffee or Tea. Service and the handling of your food is going to vary depending on the students. Our server was noticeably nervous waiting on us, but was friendly and helpful. Everyone ordered either the Beet and Goat Cheese Salad or the Shrimp and Scallop starter. The «Goat Cheese» was mixed with cream and frozen, resulting in a not very appetizing ice cube on the plate. The Shrimp and Scallops on the other hand were perfect. For Entrees, everyone ordered either the Crab-​Stuffed Salmon or the Pork Loin. The Salmon was nicely cooked and had a hollandaise sauce. The Pork was inconsistent. They had sliced the pork medallion in half, one medallion of everyone’s pork was over-​cooked and dry, the other was juicy and tender – probably cooked too long on one side. Desserts were all delicious. If you like sweets, you’ll get a little giddy when the dessert display comes to your table.
A few more notes, it’s BYOB, the students welcome feedback as they want to learn and improve, and definitely make a reservation if you plan to go, they only do one seating.

The value of this place blows my mind! For about $ 35, you are graced with an appetizer, soup/​salad, entrée, dessert, and bread freshly baked by the pastry students at KCC. The servers and cooks here are all KCC students so don’t expect perfect five-​star service. However, the service is better than most places on the island. They work hard to ensure you have a good experience.
Reservations are hard to come by so make them as early as possible! My boyfriend and I ordered many different things so we could sample as many items as possible. I think my favorite course of the night was the ahi sampler appetizer. There was a papaya salad, ahi carpaccio, and spicy ahi rolls. However, the menu changes all the time, so you should check the website (
) for the menu.
It’s also BYOB, so that’s a huge plus! There’s no extra corkage fee, and they’ll provide an ice bucket (if necessary) and glasses. I’ve never seen the dessert cart, so I guess that means I have to go back!

What a great spot, the students do a fantastic job. Its cute to see how nervous they are. Make reservations online in advance and byob! Great to go with a group so you can try everyone else’s food.

Review #200! I have all these review drafts saved up in my profile, but I skipped them all to finish this one for no.200 because I had such a great time there for my birthday this year! It was my first time at the restaurant, I had a party of 12, and we all had a great time! When a group that large can all have a great time at a restaurant with no hang ups, then someone is doing something right!
RESERVATIONS:
A DEFINITE MUST! They get booked SO fast once their menu for the quarter is announced! Getting my res for 12 people required calling in the day they opened for reservations, and they don’t take parties larger than that apparently.
PARKING & VENUE:
I got a little lost trying to find the restaurant, honestly. It’s on the KCC campus, but finding the right building was a fun adventure. If you enter the parking lot where the KCC Farmers market normally is (Diamond Head side), then you head towards a road that goes around the right side of the large building ahead & follow it «up.» Essentially, you follow the signs to get to the Culinary program building and the Laua’e dining room. There are parking stalls on what looks like the backside of a building, and they’re marked with signs saying it’s for the restaurant.
There’s a lightly inclined walkway to the right of the parking area that heads up between two buildings, and the restaurant is in the one on the right. Good luck on your adventure!
Once you’re inside though, the east side of room is a wall of windows that look out over the Kahala area! It’s so pretty! The room is simple, clean, and seems like a great place for all the chefs in training to start out!
DRINKS:
They have all the tradish sort of drinks (water, coffee, tea, etc), but if you’re hoping for a few libations with your meal, you’re free to bring it yourself! BYOB FTW! I love my group of friends for the bajillion bottles of wine that ended up on our dinner table lol ^_​^
FOOD & COST:
This is seriously THE BEST PART! Yes, it’s a restaurant, so the food better be the best part, but me explain. The restaurant is essentially staffed by all the culinary students at KCC; it’s their practical training in their craft, so just like cheap massages or free hair cuts at training academies, this meal is excellent and gourmet-​ish without costing you an arm and a leg!
The menu changes every quarter, so you should never expect to go back and be able to eat the same meal; I think that’s a plus! When you look at the menu, the only place you’ll find prices are around the entrees, and that’s on purpose! The cost of your entire meal — appetizer, soup/​salad, dessert included — depends on the price of whatever entrée you choose! So essentially, you get to have a nice 4-​course meal for approximately $ 30/​person! Come on! That’s a great deal!
On top of that, they don’t take tips. Seriously. If you’d like to donate to their program, there’s a nice little donation box near the check-​in stand at the door, but, otherwise, they actually don’t want patrons to tip!
Also, because it was my birthday, my friends surprised me with an ice cream cake & the restaurant was kind enough to store it for us all throughout dinner until the time came to cut it at the end! Lemme just tell you, cutting an ice cream cake is NOT a piece of cake (pun intended), and they did a really great job at it, cleaning the knife off in between slices and all!
Must Return:
I really wanna go back! I’ll wait until I have more folks that want to go with me, but I had a great experience! They’re doing a fantastic job teaching their students there if their food is any indication!

Located at the Kapiolani Community College campus, in the Ohelo building, the Ka Ikena student restaurant is exquisite!
I was fortunate enough to dine here with some former students of the program who gave me the down low. Ka Ikena is an 8 week program through the culinary department. Each division of the restaurant service is run by students; from service to sauté, plating and prep– students master the art of Fine Dining during their quarter here. Reservation to the public are offered the last 6 weeks of the program, so November 5, 2014 starts the next round (Make reservations through Open Table!)
The menu is a bit different from your typical fine dining establishment. You are to choose appetizer, soup or salad and entrée at the same time, the price listed with your entrée is what you pay. At the end of your meal, your student servers will recite their dessert choices and also offer coffee or tea.
On this visit, I had the Soy-​Honey-​Vinegar Marinated Grilled Tofu and Asparagus with Kabocha Pumpkin Purée– firm tofu, grilled to perfection drizzled with a subtle sweet and savory sauce.
Coconut-​Ginger-​Sweet Potato-​Carrot Soup, Mango Chantilly, Toasted Coconut, Bloomed Raisins and Mint Cilantro– a creamy delight, with a just a hint of ginger. This dish was a bit weird, with raisins at the bottom.
My entrée was the Herb Marinated Sauteed King Salmon, Crispy Skin and Fried Bone Garlic Kale and Apple Wood Smoked Bacon, Spicy Corn Relish for $ 31. Presentation on this entrée was very nice. The salmon skin was a bit tough to actually eat, but overall a valuable meal
And finally, of the 3 dessert choices (including a Crème Brulee and a fruit Panna Cotta) I chose the Honey Parfait. Frozen honey cream with a crunchy shell– the surrounding sauce was a little sweet for my taste, but definitely a cool dessert.
Some Tips:
–Ka Ikena is BYOB, so bring your favorite vino to share
–Students arent allow to accept tips BUT donations are welcome! PLEASE please donate as you would tip at a restaurant
–warm (DELISH) bread is served complimentary, avialable for purchase before 7pm OR while supplies alst.
–lastly, keep in mind that these are students learning the Fine Dining industry– so dont expect PERFECT service!

This place is such a nice treat. The students are all so nice and helpful and happy to do their jobs while learning at the same time. It’s fine dining without the polished prevention of 5-​star restaurants.
It’s amazing how great the quality and presentation of their food is, esp. For the price. You choose 1 starter, an entrée and then pick a dessert off the cart. Everything offered at lunch was less than $ 20.
The menu changes with each session, so its worth checking back every few months.
Check out the pics– the salad had lots of unique flavors, including fern and tempura sea asparagus. My salmon had miso sauce and was cooked to perfection. A slight crisp on the edges and moist and juicy inside.
Instead of tips to the servers, you leave cash in a black box at the hostess stand. 100% goes towards the culinary program. These are your future Unilocal-​tastic chefs!

It was an unique and wonderful experience!
The food was outstanding and the desserts were feast to the eyes! The staff were very attentive. It was very special for the sous chefs to came out to say hi to everyone! We had fun birthday dinner there! Will be back if we can get reservation.

If there were such a thing as food university on Oahu, I think it would be safe to say that KCC would be the place. With its weekly farmers’ markets and notorious culinary program, KCC is where the magic seems to happen. Tonight was no exception.
Tonight was the first night for the Asian Pacific Dinner Menu (spring 2 mod) running through May 9^th. Reservations may be made via OpenTable which is both a blessing (efficient) and kind of a pain (I tried to call with a question and no one ever called me back). Be sure to book in advance as these offerings are quite popular and book up quickly.
A perk to dining during dinner is you can park anywhere whereas lunch guests are restricted to specific stalls. I was the first to arrive in my party and the staff graciously sat me first at the table. This was fine by me as it gave me an opportunity to soak up the cozy room, beautiful window view, and most importantly the menu!
Our waiter for the night was Reed, who was great at fielding our many questions. He was visibly a little nervous, but honestly one of the most caring servers I have come across while dining out :)
The etymology of Ka’Ikena («many minds striving towards the vision») is explained beautifully on the menu. This was exemplified all throughout the night-​from the front of the house team, working diligently together to help each other serve/​bus tables to the kitchen teams who produced the impressive dishes which we were so lucky to try.
The fresh ciabatta bread is good. I wasn’t planning to eat bread and I ended up happily munching on two pieces.
My favorite item of the night was actually an off-​menu item. The amuse bouche for the night was a curry andagi. Hmmm… I can taste it all over again: D
The true star of the grilled smoked scallops appetizer dish was the green grape-​tomato relish :) In my opinion, the scallops were a bit undercooked? My bf had the duck appetizer and the spring roll had a wonderful crunch texture. I also wish I could order a whole bowl of just the duck porridge.
I opted for the roasted curried butternut squash soup with mango chantilly and roasted coconut. Ah, comfort at its best. The chicken skewer that came with it was executed well.
For my main entrée, I chose the seafood medley with the rice noodles. I loved the way the shrimps were cooked. Perfection. I would have liked a little more sauce with the noodles, but overall-​it was a decent dish.
Dessert came in the form of a cart of temptations (cream puffs, crème brûlée, lemon chiffon cheesecake, tuxedo cake, truffles, etc.). I think they mastered the looks of the dessert, but the actual taste left me wanting. It was edible though. Much better than what I would have whipped up in the kitchen!
Coffee was decent.
I thought it was pretty neat that at the end of the night (this was sort of a soft launch so there was only 1 service for the night) a trio of student chefs came around to each table to get feedback/​answer questions.
Our bill was on the lower side of what we would have paid for 1 person at a fine dining establishment. The meal did take a little longer and there were a few minor mishaps along the way-​but we knew what we had signed up for and I think it is safe to say that everyone at our table would gladly sign up for it again!
In lieu of tips, patrons are free to (1) drop a donation (that goes towards the program) in the box at the host stand and (2) complete a written survey of the experience. Awesome concept!
I look forward to coming back. Good luck Reed, we’re rooting for you: D

Update: we were able to go for Valentine’s day dinner. We have been there many times over the years and the dinner tonight was superb! Best dining experience we have ever had there.
The ribeye was cooked just above med. rare as requested and it came out great. The tastes for the dishes were more subdued than we have experienced in the past and matched perfectly the subtle flavors they were trying to convey. The kampachi fish fillet with skin was crisped just enough to keep the fillet from being overcooked. Mmmm.
They offered an assortment of desserts which were offered buffet style, a sugar overload in the making. All the ones we tried (no room for all of them) pleasing to the eye with a great taste.
A very enjoyable evening. From these hardworking culinary students at KCC. The bar has been set high for future classes. A solid 5.

We held our 35^th Wedding Anniversary Celebration dinner at Ka Ikena on Wednesday, Nov 27^th, 5:45 p.m.
My husband and I arrived early (4:30 p.m.) to arrange our table with favors and floral arrangements, etc. Sarah (assistant restaurant manager) and Robert and John Santamaria (Instructor and manager) were very kind and changed the napkins on the table from black to white at my request, along with several other staff. They were very helpful and kept asking if we needed help with anything and offering us cold water.
Everything was ready as our guests arrived, and all the candles that we had brought were twinkling brightly! The effect was amazing!
The food was outstanding! I had the crusted opakapaka with fingerling potato chips and corn salsa and spinach (?), while my husband had the ribeye steak which he enjoyed! We started our dinner with crab cakes, lotus chips, and a sauce that was amazing. To start, I had the curried squash soup with chicken skewer, while my husband had the salad with julienne chicken. We also tried the watermellon and beet salad, which was really delicious too! We all enjoyed a bonus of a full dessert buffet, which our guests enjoyed tremendously! Usually, desserts look pretty but lack in taste. Not so with this dessert buffet; EVERYTHING was amazingly excellent! The service was good and Kalie our server was very helpful.
We were presented with a beautiful, special dessert with «Happy Anniversary» written in chocolate and dusted in gold towards the end of our meal. That was a very thoughtful and kind gesture from the Ka Ikena staff. Both my husband and I were too stuffed to eat it, but we took it home and enjoyed it the next evening and it was AMAZING!
We will continue to support this wonderful school endeavor because it is AWESOME! The instructors and students are kind, professional, service-​oriented and excellent at what they do! Thank you to John, Sarah, Robert, Kalie and the entire staff of Ka Ikena Restaurant!

This is the perfect place to take your foodie friends for an adventure. In my case, I brought my parents and my other half here to enjoy some of the foods that the KCC culinary school students have been working on.
There are a few things to keep in mind when you are thinking about coming here to eat.
–It will be a few hours. There is no quick dinner here. Just bring some friends on a relaxed evening and enjoy the company and the great food.
–Reserve early and come early in the evening. You’d want to get your orders in so you can minimize any extra delays.
–Look at their online menu and think what you want ahead of time so you can BYOB your wine pairings.
–If you love their bread, consider getting another loaf. I believe it is $ 4 for the bread and it was great!
Service is top notch, which is expected as they are taught the proper way.
Menu changes each semester I believe but the following was what I tried:
Starters
Soft shell crab — Their absolute best dish. The soft shell crab was delicious!
Ahi starter — It was okay. I prefer the soft shell crab over the ahi. Nicely presented but lacking flavor.
Salads/​Soups
Corn and leek soup — Not my cup of tea, but you can definitely taste the flavors of fresh corn and leek. This is one of those soups where you can taste every ingredient.
Chicken salad — I didn’t like it at all and I hardly had more than one or two pieces of chicken.
Steak and tempura — Smaller steak but it was done perfectly as I wanted. The tempura was one of the best I’ve tried in a while.
Mahi mahi — Hard to find a place that serves it anymore besides expensive spots. Tastes exactly as I expected. Sauce was ono!
Seafood Medley — Lots of different types of seafood here. This is really good for seafood lovers.
And then of course, there is dessert.
Unfortunately, we weren’t given a choice of what desserts to have and everyone was given the same dessert which was the chocolate marquee. For people who love chocolate, this is heaven for them, but because my parents didn’t like chocolate, they didn’t really enjoy it. For me and my significant other, we like chocolate but it was way too much chocolate than we can handle.
There are a few shortcomings here with the food, but I expected that from students which is why they still deserve 5 stars as a restaurant. They don’t claim to be professionals yet and it is not a real full fledged restaurant, but they are already much better than some restaurants out there that charge the same price range.

Fine dining at a steal… this place is a must-​try!!! Had lunch with a couple girlfriends here the other day and we were all stunned! Ka’Ikena culinary students – you are my heroes!!!
The menu changes with each class so I am not going to talk about what my friends and I specifically had, but a few quick notes:
1. THE VIEW. Try to request window seats when making a reservation because the view is amazing!
2. THE FOOD. The food here is awesome and the presentation is lovely. I didn’t experience «OMG so delicious!!!» moments with everything I ordered but I would still say it was a pretty rockin’ meal overall.
3. THE SERVICE. The service here is super impressive. Our waitress had great knowledge about the entire menu (including most of the day’s specials) and patiently answered our plethora of questions. The food arrived relatively quickly and to the right person every time. When we mentioned that our plantation iced tea didn’t have quite enough «something,» we were immediately presented with a mini jug of pineapple juice to add into our plantation iced tea.
4. THE PRICE. For lunch, you get an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert all for the price of just the entrée!!! If that’s not ridiculously awesome, I don’t know what is!
Bottom line – give Ka’Ikena a try… it’s worth every penny!