Kan Zaman

Amazing ambience, service and food! I have had both lunch and dinner there. The Lamb Tajine is my favourite and I like to get a side of rice with it. The Chicken Kebab lunch special is also delicious. Get the Baba Ganoush and Hummus from the Mezza Platter. Look forward to going back and trying more things.

One of my favorite places to go out to eat on the island. Been here a few times. My favorite meal is the lamb kebab. Their hummus is amazingly light and fluffy. I usually get water when we eat out, but I always get some Morrocan mint tea, it is sweet and refreshing. And if you’re up for dessert, the mocha chocolate cheesecake is delicious.
We have gone in large groups most of the time and the staff is always willing to accomadate. I think I like sitting in the outdoor back more than inside front.

This is a great place to have lunch downtown. I haven’t been for dinner but every time I have been for lunch I have not been disappointed at all. I love the food, so delicious, also healthy, and full of flavor! And at a very reasonable price too. One time I picked this place for lunch for a bunch of our coworkers, and it’s always pressure choosing the lunch place for a bunch of people just because you feel responsible if they all hate it. I think people were a little skeptical about whether it would be any good just because of the name and how exotic/​foreign it sounds, buuuut everyone LOVED it and wanted to go back again… success!
I want to try their dinner menu next!

I’ve driven by this place multiple times but finally decided to come off a whim. I was a little apprehensive about trying new food but I’m glad I did. It was absolutely amazing. The food came out quick and the service was fantastic. They came and checked on us every couple of minutes and never pressured us to order more. Definitely a place to try while in Hawaii. Unique and delicious.

Kan Zaman is located in Downtown Honolulu. The entrance to the restaurant is on Nuuanu Avenue.
I was still kind of full from my heavy lunch from a new restaurant at Ala Moana Shopping Center. I agreed to meet up with my lady friend, J2, in downtown and join her for dinner on Thursday night on January 21, 2016.
We entered the restaurant and was greeted right away. We were asked if we wanted to eat inside or outside. My friend said outside. The hostess led us towards the back of the restaurant. We passed the kitchen area and stepped foot outside.
There was a small eating area with tables and chairs. Two seaters, four seaters, and six seaters were available for the customers. J2 and I chose to sit at one of the two seater tables. The chairs were against the wooden beams. We placed our bags on top of the small couch with no arm rests.
Once we got settled onto our seats the male waiter gave us the menus. I immediately asked if they had anything light to eat. The female employee suggested the chicken with mushroom soup. J2 looked over the menu and ordered the lamb kebab. I went with the suggested soup dish.
My soup came out first. J2 mentioned that the soup smells really good. J2’s dish came out afterwards. I tasted my soup and it was very delicious. The broth was very flavorful… I really enjoyed it. J2 offered me a piece of her lamb kebab… to me it was a bit on the tough side (I wouldn’t know since I rarely eat lamb). J2 mentioned to me that the taste of the lamb kebab reminded her of eating liver… sorry but I’m not much of a liver eater.
Our waiter checked up on us periodically. I managed to finish up my entire chicken and mushroom soup. I wonder what is the actual name of the soup… just in case I do step foot into Kan Zaman again.
Before leaving the premises… J2 and I visited the shared restroom facilities. The restroom was very clean and it is shared with two other tenants of the building.
Overall I enjoyed my experience at Kan Zaman. I just need to remember to show up on a semi empty stomach to order something from the menu.
⁴⁹⁄₂₀₀

Really friendly staff, excellent service, excellent food. Great first impression and great experience. Excellent lunch for around $ 13, had the beef shawarma and the lamb kebab. Each lunch entrée came with fresh salad with a great dressing. The beef shawarma is my favorite, it is full of flavor. The dinner menu looks very interesting and I will definitely be coming back.

Sat outside and really enjoyed this meal after several days of being in Hawaii (island hopping) and not having access to ANY mediterannean food.
FYI– only a couple options on their menu are certified zabiha halal. We opted for the Lamb Tajine, Chicken Kebab, and Beef Kebab. Beef wasn’t too tender so wasn’t crazy about that dish– but both lamb and chicken were FANTASTIC. Robust flavors. Super filling. Come paired with tabouli and hummus both of which were super flavorful. Get a side of harissa and aioli (really takes your food to the next level).
Ask to be seated outside (they have kind of a backyard garden area), and I personally prefer it over their indoor dining space.

Overall Impression:
This place is absolutely superb in all aspects of business/​food establishments! I loved it and would definitely give this place my business!
Average price: $ 14 – 20 (unless you have an Entertainment Book :))
Positives:
–exemplary customer service
–Food was amazing
–good value
–Ambience is really cool and not typical for Hawaii
–Large portions
–BYOB
–apparently they have a free belly-​dancing show, although we must’ve missed it
Negatives:
–parking is tough
I had been wanting to come here for some time, having an Entertainment Book coupon, plus seeing it had so many great reviews on Unilocal.I finally made it here on Christmas Eve (weird time, huh) and it was actually very busy. Difficult to get a seat, so I recommend getting a reservation beforehand.
Ambience:
You will not find this kind of place in very many places in Hawaii. It’s Turkish (i think) so let’s just say, in general, the Middle Eastern vibe was present and definitely a contrast from most places in Hawaii. The artwork was really cool, the table décor was interesting, I even liked the tables. There is a private seating area in the back that I saw on the way to the bathrooms. Looks like an awesome place to have a little party or gathering. Overall, very well-​put together.
Service:
Incredible. We had this amazing waiter/​server who explained every dish to us that we asked about, was very enthusiastic, had great recommendations based on our tastes, and was just fun to be around. He accepted our coupon w/​no problems at all. He even gave us a little orange blossom water for «freshening up» (they offer this to everyone).
Food:
Huge portions. Could not finish my meal. Had to bring it home and it made another whole meal. It was absolutely delicious. I had the lamb kebob and my wife had the chicken kebob. They were both great. Comes with all kinds of stuff that you just have to try yourself to understand fully how amazing it is.
At the moment, this is probably one of my top places in Hawaii to have a meal. I will definitely be back!

Awesome restaurant. Great atmosphere, great service and amazing food. We sat on the patio during lunch and it is beautiful. Started out with the falafels which are good and had the lamb kebab sandwich, chicken shwarma sandwich, beef shwarma sandwich and the chicken kebab. All of the meat is delicious and the flavors are great. Our favorite was the lamb. I also had the Moroccan tea, very refreshing. Will definitely be back. It would be a great date night.
We came on a Thurs afternoon and it wasn’t too busy and we got lucky with parking.

Super relaxed and awesome place.
Sometimes gets a little busy so I would recommend a reservation on a weekend.
This place is a quaint little indoor/​outdoor restaurant with friendly wait staff and delicious food. I got the lamb kebab meal for dinner and was uncomfortably full and ready to sleep in my chair. It was so good I couldn’t stop eating it. The dinner meals normally come with a salad, rice, hummus, happiness and your meat or falafel. Also get the mint ice tea (unsweetened you animal) sit back a relax and enjoy a nice filling meal.

A couple of weeks ago, I finally got to try this place out. I got to sit outside in the open air. The food was good too.
I try to give all kinds of food a chance but sometimes, I am hesitant. I wasn’t sure what Mediterranean dishes were and I wasn’t sure how I would like it. I’m surprised that I enjoyed it. Of course, I went the safe route and ordered chicken kabob sandwich. The flavors were different but I liked it. I tasted a lot of different spices. Maybe I will get more adventurous next visit and try something outside of my comfort zone.

Summary: a stimulating sensory experience for the ears, eyes, nose, and palate. Flavorful and delicious food with ethnic music and a dancing show. Reasonable prices.
My friend recommended this place, and we went for dinner.
Service was prompt and friendly and knowledgeable. Food was delicious and flavorful, without being over spiced or salty.
Half naked women belly dancing was an unexpected treat.
Ill go back for sure, and I recommend you try it. Stuffed eggplant was delicious, as was the appetizer sampler.
4 stars, based on my first visit.

5 stars for Kan Zaman!
This place was AMAZING! I can’t wait to go back.
Service = I made a reservation and I’m glad I did! It was packed on a Wednesday night. The guy on the phone was very nice! When we came in, it was the same great service.
Drink = it’s BYOB and no charge. But we didn’t feel like drinking alcohol tonight so we got the Moroccan mint iced tea. Very delicious and FREE refills!
Food = started off with the appetizer sampler plate. They give you warm pita bread and a platter with 4 different things. This includes 2 types of hummus, grape leaf wrapped something (idk it was good lol), and some kind of tomato pepper salad. SO good. Sorry my descriptions suck. But it’s all vegetarian friendly!
Main course = my BF got some kind of lamb with mashed potatoes and I got the catch of the day with mahi mahi and shrimp with mashed potatoes. I don’t even know how to describe how perfectly amazing this dish was. I loved the plating also.
Show = yes, they have belly dancers! They were very sweet. It was cute watching a little boy on the next table light up and get excited. Lol. But also in the middle of all the tables there was a perverted looking man watching the dancers with Googly eyes lol. The dancer was kind enough to come talk to me and asked me if I wanted to take her belly dance classes.
Mahalo Kan Zaman for a great first experience! Everything was wonderful!

I enjoy Mediterranean, Lebanese, and morrocan food. So I was pretty psyched on trying some of the food at Kan Zaman. It was also on my bookmark list to check out. Yea! Eating to Unilocal and just gained a pound;)
I walked in around lunch time, and it was relatively packed. It was a small restaurant holding about 8 – 10 tables. I wonder if it opens into a back area? The establishment also looked clean and inviting.
I had in mind to order the chicken kebab sandwich. It came with a salad and a side of vinaigrette. My body just thanked me for the healthy portion. Lol Once the order was brought to the kitchen, I took a seat and waited. Within a few minutes my takeout was ready.
Well, I must say the marinated chicken kebab was very dry. There was no yogurt dressing on top, which I have seen being posted by fellow
Unilocalers;(I wanted so badly to love this sandwich. The pita was nicely grilled, but the hummus was scarcely spread. I then tried to add on some of the greens, tomato, and onion to the chicken. It was still hard to revive. I had to take several gulps of water. I’m not sure if it was worth the twelve bucks.
I’ll still come back and try their other dishes. Maybe, I came on a off day…

Kan Zaman has been on my to-​try list since they opened a few years ago. I finally went for dinner. Largely positive experience, and I would return.
My date and I LOVE Persian food — so much so we often make it at home and try nearly any Persian restaurant we find when traveling. So it’s inexplicable that it took us so many years to get here! While not a true Persian restaurant, it is Moroccan/​Lebanese, which certainly share a heritage.
Reservations were easy-​peasy using Open Table. We requested a seat outside since everyone raved about the patio in reviews. I was a little underwhelmed, which wasn’t helped by the hot, sticky night — I was sweating by the time dessert came, and not in a good way. The inside seating looked perfectly acceptable.
We started with salad and hummus. The salad was a heaping pile of greens! Huge. Dressed in a light vinaigrette-​style dressing, very subtle. Tomatoes and cucumbers, too. Hummus and pita were good, but not my favorite on-​island. Our server rattled off the specials and immediately I knew my date would opt for the special of lamb on saffron mashed potatoes. I would have ordinarily ordered a kebab, but instead went with the merguez couscous. I couldn’t believe how my dish stayed piping hot through the last bite (probably contributed to the hot-​and-​sweaty as described above). Seriously, the specific heat of this couscous was off the charts. Anyhow, I enjoyed the lamb sausages and the vegetables were delish. The couscous was more risotto-​like than I was expecting, but I was okay with that.
I love love LOVE all things orange-​blossom. Seriously, I would bathe in orange blossom water if I could. Instead, I just keep some in my kitchen for cooking. So Orange Blossom Cheesecake on the menu? Um, YES PLEASE. It was good, but I couldn’t detect any orange-​blossom in it at all. Granted, I know you have to use the stuff sparingly or whatever you make tastes like soap. But I had higher hopes for the cheesecake, which just didn’t deliver flavor. What did deliver, though? The server came around with a sprinkle of orange blossom water at the end of the meal. DOUSE ME, GOOD SIR. I couldn’t stop smelling my hands.
BYOB, no corkage fee (sweet!). Friendly service.

My favorite of all foods, in the entire world (that I’ve tried), is Moroccan. Absolutely, with no question. When we moved to Oahu, my husband surprised me while we were staying on the Honolulu side with a dinner at Kan, and it was not at all what I was expecting.
We didn’t have a reservation, but they they took us anyway and seated us on the outdoor terrace which was lovely. We put in an order for the hot tea ($ 6) and the Sampler ($ 16.95), and relaxed with our menus. I was interested to see if they had my favorite food of my favorite foods, which is the Bastilla or B’Stilla, but sadly they did not. We ordered the Lentil Soup ($ 5.95) and the Chicken Tajine ($ 17.95), and set to our Sampler. The hummus here had to be some of the best I’ve ever had, but only because of their incredibly savory and rich olive oil, which I sopped up jealously with my pita bread. Everything else was ok, and I even ventured to try some of their bell peppers which is heresy for me because I hate them. They were actually not terrible, which is saying something in Leah-​Land.
Sadly this is where the evening took a turn. The falafel were overcooked and dry, the dolmas were on the boring side, and the pitas were chewy and dense instead of fluffy and soft. On top of that, someone somewhere was lighting up a joint and the smell was noxious and overpowering. By this time the seating had filled up and we couldn’t move anywhere, and it was making me uncomfortable because I don’t smoke. Then the soup arrived and it was watery, tepid and tasteless, and the chicken was under-​cooked and drowning in oil that was dripping off the fries piled on top.
Saving graces were the oilve oil which I’m still thinking about, the tea, which was a luscious blend of orange, rosewater and mint, and the hand washing at the end with orange blossom water. I would not likely return, knowing there’s another Moroccan place in Kailua to still try, but I’d kill to know what type of olive oil they use on their hummus! Sinful! :)

Kan Zaman is a Mediterranean restaurant with savory and complex flavors that are sure to delight.
The portions are very filling, and the lunch specials are affordable while still being practically plated as sandwich variations incorporating lamb, seasoned beef, etc. Side salad (Spring Mix from Costco which is common around town now)…but seriously, try the Kofta Sandwich… just delicious… probably the best and fattest burger with delicious gooey cheese I’ve had in a long time.

We had so much fun tonight at Kan Zaman. We loved the middle eastern décor, the nice atmosphere, the friendly and fast services, the belly dancing, the music, and the Food!
Saw on Unilocal that Kan Zaman has Belly dancing tonight, we decided to ride bikes out there to have dinner. The restaurant has inside and outside seating. We sat inside because outside is full. Next time we will try to sit outside because it is even nicer in the back Garden.
The lamb Tajine was so moist and tasty, with large beans around it. The Maza had two hummus, a roasted tomato and pepper and two piece of grape leaf rolls, it is also very good. The iced Moroccan mint tea was delicious.
But don’t order the mozzarella appetizer, it is not good, expensive, and not authentic. Hubby lived in Lebanon and traveled to Morocco, he liked all the dishes at Kan Zaman, except the mozzarella appetizer. He said they don’t have raw mozzarella dishes over there. Plus, it is really not good.
The Belly dancing made up for mozzarella appetizer. She was really a good dancer, and moved her body in unbelievable ways to the fast beat of the music. Her costume was very bright and pretty.
Overall, we will enjoyed our night at Kan Zaman!

I bought a groupon $ 12 worth of $ 20 food here. It was definitely worth it. Of course, a good deal has it’s rules. We can only use it during weekdays Monday-​Thursday between 1:30pm-4:30PM. That did not stop me. I made a reservation (required, and stated on the groupon) 2 weeks beforehand, just in case it got busy. I cannot risk pushing the dining date later because of my busy work schedule, and finding someone to eat with is definitely a struggle. When I made the reservations, the guy didn’t sound like it was necessary. But I did, Monday at 1:30PM.
On Monday, it was really empty. We went in a little before 1:30PM and got seated right away. The décor was really Moroccan-​ish? It was a little dim. We had a choice of sitting inside or outside. I didn’t want to be sweaty out in the sun nor get mosquito bites (cuz they love my blood). So we sat inside cuz it was a little bit cooler. Though I wish I had chose outside. On my way to the bathroom I passed by the outside dining and the view and set-​up was really beautiful. Darn, wish I said outside. Much regret. *sigh*
To the food: I ordered Chicken Kebab sandwich $ 12~ and my bf ordered the lamb kebab sandwich kebab. Both plates come with salad on the side. The server told us the dishes were the most popular. Wow, what a surprise. The food came out pretty quickly. It was of course hot. It was a lot of filling to wrap and to hold with hands. The chicken was stir fry? The spices mixed with the chicken was ooooo so delicious. It wasn’t too salty, but just right. The lamb kebab was sooo yummy with the blue cheese. The meat was tender. The food was amazing and filling.
The guy server was really attentive and nice. After our meal he poured us drops of this flower scent aroma. I guess its to cover up the food smell when we were using our hands? I would love to come back for more.

So I go back to Kan Zaman after a year hiatus and while the food did not improve in any significant way (see previous review) I had another issue. Unfortunately I paid with my debit card and left a cash tip. For most customers, paying with debit is standard practice but after a couple of days I looked at my online statement and I was overcharged by $ 6.00.
I called my bank to dispute the charge but since it was on debit it makes things a bit more challenging. FYI. Use credit as it makes it easier to dispute charges should issues arise.
Well, lucky for me I had my receipt and I called the restaurant. To be honest, they were pretty proactive and refunded me the total charge and then gave me 20 percent off the original bill. This was a nice gesture on their behalf. I just hated the fact that I had to go through this.
Maybe I will give them another shot in the future.