Sara’s Cafe

If you don’t mind the casual nature of the place (Sara is the waitress, the cook, and owner, one woman show), it’s worth a visit. It’s like going to a friend’s home, the kind who knows how to cook legit Korean dishes. A true hidden gem with reasonable prices.
The sides were standard, note that Sara doesn’t do re-​fills, she is probably too busy doing everything else! The kim chee is a bit on the sour side.
The kim chee pancake ($ 7.99) is one of my wife’s favorites and this doesn’t disappoint, just the right amount of kim chee, green onions and fried perfectly without any residue of raw/​undercooked batter. It’s probably from the same kim chee for the sides but note that the batter and other ingredients just about negates the sour taste.
The soft tofu stew ($ 9.99) is more expensive than what we get from our regular place, Palama Snack Corner but you will have better ingredients. I counted about 6 clams in the soup! Spice level is more on the mild side and note that it could be a bit sweet for most people.
The fish jun ($ 10.99) is our favorite dish from the night. Very generous portion of perfectly fried pollack, the batter is not too heavy or light. There is no need to dip into the sauce, flavor is A-​OK on it’s own.
If dining in is too casual for you, I suggest take out. This place is like the Korean version of Ray’s Café.

Great quality food at a reasonable price. A great place if you want a nice meal without all the hustle and bustle of a corporate restaurant.

Sara’s Café is the type of restaurant that, as customers, we love to support in Hawaii. It’s a small «hole-​in-​the-​wall» type of restaurant run by Sara whom is the cook and the waitress. It’s like eating at your Family’s house.
The food is amazingly cooked and not rushed. Therefore you know it’s coming out fresh and delicious to you.
Give it a shot and try to be patient with her as she’s running the entire operation!
Psst… btw it’s BYOB

First eve customer… not too long of a wait. Ordered reg meat jun takeout… side veggies & 2 fried mandoo. Excl.

Sara’s Café is everything you’d expect it to be from all the rave reviews. We’ve gone a couple of times now and each time the food has been phenomenal and service impeccable. Sara is nothing like the brusque ajummas you find at most other legit Korean places. She’s funny and really friendly if you take time in between stuffing your face to talk to her. We’ve gone on both the weekend and in the middle of the week for dinner and each time there were only a few other parties either eating or coming to pick up phone orders. Food comes out quite quickly especially considering that Sara’s is run solely by the one and only Sara. Usually I’d go on to list the things we’d tried and thoughts about each dish but honestly that would probably just be redundant because literally everything we’ve had there was good. Favorites include: soondubu, ojingeo bokkeum (spicy squid), kimchi jjigae and basically any of the different varieties of pajeon.
One thing to keep in mind however is that this is not a fancy cute little date night place. The street outside is busy and it’s a very small space so if you’re looking for a dimly lit, quiet, romantic corner it won’t be here. Sara seems to be all about two things, homestyle cooking and karaōke.
Now it’s a very poorly kept secret that Sara is a classically trained opera singer. If you ask very nicely and it’s empty or everyone in the restaurant agrees you might get lucky and get her to crank up the karaōke machine. Sara is of course an incredible vocalist. I’m cutting this review short to minimize the risk of sounding fake and overly complimentary but seriously everything here is great. If you feel differently, fine, I respect your right to be wrong and that just means one less order between me and my soondubu.

Sara’s Café is a little hole in the wall Korean restaurant right off the corner of Punahou and Beretania St. Free parking is available in the garage or if you park after 6p, parking is free on the street.
Sara’s Café is run by one person… Sara! Go figures lol. She’s the hostess, waiter, cook and busboy. So knowing she runs the restaurant by herself, you can expect it to be a small place. We found this place through Unilocal and the BYOB is what really attracted us to come here. Because my friend wanted to celebrate his birthday here, he called to make reservations. She was kind enough to let our group of 10 come at 5:15pm on a Saturday evening and even made a pre-​set menu for us, averaging about $ 15−20/person. My boyfriend and I got to dinner a few minutes late, but by the time we got there, she already had all the food prepared! Awesome Sauce!!! In the set menu she prepared for us, she included a Seaweed Soup, side dishes of Korean vegetables, Oriental Chinese Salad, Tempura (potato, zucchini, shrimp and fried chicken), Chapchae, Ribs and Spicy Chicken. Everything was delicious. And omg, the ribs were so tender, the meat was falling off the bone! I ate everything but the spicy chicken. I can’t eat spicy, but boyfriend ate it and was raving on how good it was. I was super bummed I missed out on it :/​And Sara was super cute to put up a sign that said «Happy Birthday» for the birthday boy haha. She definitely made it feel super homey at her restaurant.
As we were enjoying ourselves with the delicious food and our BYOB, Sara then comes to our table and asks if anyone wanted to sing karaōke. And that’s when the REAL party started lol. Did I mention Sara is opera trained and is a hell of a singer? OMG, after she sang, no one wanted to follow her LOL. We had made other plans after dinner to head into Waikiki to continue the birthday celebration, but we were having so much fun at Sara’s, we ended up staying there longer and just singing and drinking the night away.
I can’t wait to come back to try more food off her menu and to hopefully hear her sing again :)

Highlights of this little «hole in the wall» secret is the home cooked style Korean food.
With a authentic taste and dishes that you can tell have been given care in preparing this is one spot you would enjoy if you enjoy Korean food. Unlike your usual Korean spots they are not only about BBQ items like your Kalbi and BBQ chicken. Everything taste and probably is made from scratch with a special original recipe by the chef herself.
Great for parties. You can reserve for a group party or birthday and they give a special dedicated menu predetermined for you with off the menu dishes.
They even take care in to decorating the place with a simple yet thought full «happy birthday» sign. Adding a very at home feel. Keep in mind though, like any home they have limitations to how large of a party they can accommodate so inquire ahead.
Complete with a karaōke machine with selections of English, Korean and Japanese songs that are fairly more recent than most places that offer karaōke as a add on to a bar or restaurant. If you’re lucky you can enjoy a little opera singers talented performance.
All the more making this place like going over to a friend’s place than a uptight restaurant.
Service is friendly and great as many small Korean restaurants give a very abrupt and rude impression on service.
You feel welcome and at home.
Lastly maybe a great thing for many who would like to customize their dinning experience. They are BYOB! Maybe in the future they may acquire a liquor license and bring in alcohol but for now bring on down your favorite Miller Lite, Coors Light, or keep it green with a Heineken.
In short, it’s a small, little, tiny business that is just getting started off like any great business starts. With heart and care for the food and service and appreciation of the customers this is one establishment with potential… as long as the taste, quality, and service is never lost. Too many great restaurants that start off with great food and service end up loosing their flair in a year or two after being successful. The dedication is lost and the original flavor is lost when proper recipes are not passed on to help that is hired as the establishment grows.
Hopefully this is one that does not follow the tracks of so many unfortunate favorites that has disappointed as time went on.

Sara’s Café is located close to the corner of Punahou and Beretania St. There’s parking in the back of the restaurant. It’s a small hole in the wall location and when you walk in you feel like you’re stepping into someone’s house.
The Kalbi and Meat Jun combo was good, the Kalbi pieces are nice and fatty if that’s what you like. The Chive jun is nice a crispy on the outside while still being a little soft on the inside. I’ve only been here once but i’ll be going back to try some of the other dishes.

Heard great reviews about this place, was also recommended by my sister, so I decided to go here for dinner with the boyfriend. We got here around 9 pm since it’s supposedly closes at 11 pm Sign on the sidewalk flashed open and we tried to pull the door and it was locked. Checked the hours on the sign and it also said it’s opened untill 11 pm. Decided to call the number to figure out if they were open or not and no answer. Called once more and no answer. Kinda disappointed. If it’s closed, hours of this place should be changed. Will try to come again and hopefully I will have a better experience.

I told you I would be back! And this time I got to try the Kim Chee pancake. I don’t even know where to begin… it was everything that I expected, if not more. First of all, this dish is considered a side dish but I had it all for myself lol. I had to eat it all in two sittings and was worth every bite. Second, the pancake is cooked perfectly with some parts that are crispy and some parts that were slightly less cooked (yes I love it). There was not a lot of batter, which means that it is more one the flatter/​thin side. However, what I love the most is that this pancake is has no meat! Some places have small bits and pieces of meat that come as a surprise to me and I end up not liking the entire thing. But Sara makes hers with just the Kim Chee. I’m a fan.
Once you get to know Sara she can be such a sweetheart. I give her a lot of credit for running the restaurant by herself!

One lady runs this place so it’s first come first serve. Depending on what’s ordered and number of people ahead of you, there could be a long wait. Between my wife and I we wanted to try the popular dishes, so even we had to wait awhile (20 min) for our orders to be prepared and cooked. The night we went it was pouring outside but the small restaurant was still stuffy since the kitchen is on the other side of the seating area. There was no air circulation and the lone fan attached to the wall was not turned on. Our clothing ended up smelling like Korean BBQ after we left. There is plenty of parking on the 2^nd floor of the parking garage for Commercial customers.
The menu now offers two portion options for more of the entrée items. Regular or mini. The Regular is around $ 1 to $ 2 more than the mini. We wanted to order a lot to try and contemplated between reg and mini, but decided to go with reg and take leftovers home. Our order:
Meat Jun: Tender meat. Flavorful with or without the dipping sauce. First time I’ve tried this dish since I’ve never ordered it in the past so I have nothing to compare it with. Would order again if I were to come back. ⁹⁄₁₀
Kimchee fried rice: On the sticky and saucy side, seemed like some sort of spicy paste or sauce was added on top of just the kimchee. Liked it since it had a sweet taste and wasn’t too spicy. ⁸⁄₁₀
Kimchee pancake: Moist and was falling apart when being picked up by chopsticks. Could have been a little more crispier on the bottom. Heats up well and good for leftovers. Needs more flavoring as the kimchee was taste was kind of lacking so having the dipping sauce helps. ⁸⁄₁₀
Korean Hamburger steak: Interesting dish that was good but the hamburger meat was a tad on the dry side and needed the dipping sauce. Would order again. ⁹⁄₁₀
Spicy wings: I requested just a small amount of spiciness and even at that there was a good kick. I can’t imagine how spicy the regular version would be. If you like spicy, sweet, gooey, crispy, this is the dish to order. This is perfect KFC (Korean fried chicken) for me. Double fried for that crispiness and tossed in a sweet, gooey, and spicy sauce. The table next to us ordered a milder version and they still complained how spicy it was. Still had some crispiness the next day after heating it in the microwave. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
Free side dishes of four items: Our table that seats 4 barely had enough room for this additional plate. No free refills but then again we already had tons of food. The side dishes were tasty.
Would come back to try other items when in town.

I saw this place driving by all the time and finally had a reason to try it with good friends.
Atmosphere: A small place with limited seating. Parking available on the street and in the parking complex.
Service: reminds me of Ah lang restaurant. One woman show here kind of like nice korean lady instead of angry.
Food: Decent korean food but nothing to go crazy food. The spicy rice cakes were made from frozen rice cakes, sauce was too watery. The tofu soup was not very savory and under seasoned. The spicy fried chicken was very interesting the sauce was better yet a sugar glaze.
Overall: try it for yourself but there is better korean in town…

Sara’s passion and Korean Culture shine through the food that she makes for her customers. After looking at the Unilocal reviews and pictures, I decided to try it out myself.
The first thing that I love about this place is the B.Y.O.B concept. As for the food I could only order so much in 1 sitting. Here’s our order
— Meat Jun
— Spicy Pork
— Korean Pancake
— Korean Hamburger
— Spicy Chicken
— Kalbi beef
The dishes came out 1 at a time sizzling hot and very tasty. Since Sara is the owner and chef she did an awesome job getting the food to us in a timely manner.
Kudos to Sara’s Café. Let’s support Sara and spread the word of this home style cooking café.

If you are reading this and even remotely considering dining at Sara’s Café, you totally should! Like Ah-​Lang, this is also a one-​woman operation but the food here is delicious and Sara is the nicest Korean restaurant owner/​chef ever. When I called to make reservations, Sara wished me a good night after… I thought that was so sweet because usually people who take reservations can’t wait to get off the phone.
We went on a Thursday evening right as Sara’s opened and were the first group there. It’s nice to be the first group of the evening because if you are quick with your decision-​making and order, you get your food first! Since Sara does all the serving and cooking herself, it can take a while longer than at other places to get your food. Thus, if you are hungry, my recommendation is that you go early!
The portions here are fantastic for the price. We didn’t know exactly how big the portions would be so we got the chive pancake, fish jun, meat jun, hot stone pot rice, and spicy pork for the four of us. Holy moly… we totally over-​ordered. Sara is very generous and our table barely had enough space for all the dishes! Everything was very tasty and even our Korean friend in the group gave her seal of approval. My favorite dish of the evening was definitely the chive pancake. If you love chives and/​or Korean pancakes, you need to order this because it is perfection.
Next time I go visit Sara’s Café, I am totally getting the chive pancake again and trying her soondubu and spicy chicken wings!

Sara’s Café is a small little restaurant with Sara answering the phone, taking the food orders, and cooking all of the food… needless to say she’s quite busy! The food will take a while to prepare so just expect that dinner will take a little longer than normal, however, the food is well worth the wait.
Between four people we had ordered the chive pancake pizza, meat jun, fish jun, bi bim bop, and spicy pork. The portions were quite big and this was way more food than we should have gotten and ended up with a lot of leftovers. The meat jun had a crispy outside yet the meat was really soft. The spicy pork had just enough spices and some really flavorful cuts of pork. For me, I usually like trying the kim chee pancake pizza but I was overruled on what pancake to order, fortunately, I was very happy with the chive pizza. It was very crispy and had lots of flavor and it was surprisingly my favorite dish of the night. The restaurant is also BYOB so that’s always a plus!
The restaurant is located on Beretania St right after the intersection at Beretania and Punahou. The parking structure on the left, so it’s important to be in the far left lane. In the structure, there is plenty of free parking. With the restaurant being on the street level and accessible from the parking lot, I suggest parking in one of the non-​reserved stalls on the bottom.
I really liked Sara’s Café and I’m excited to go back to try different items like the Soondubo and hamburger steak. Very simple dishes with lots of flavor, good size portions, and excellent service.

Homestyle Korean Food!
Ordered the hamburger-​jun which was very tasty. Made of pork, tofu, onions. There were about 6 large burgers. My wife got the hot stoned pot which was very good too. Lots of variety in vegetables and good tasting beef. The rice was very crispy at the bottom just the way she likes it. We also ordered the chives Korean pancake which was the best. So light and crispy. Overall great experience. Will come back again.
Restaurant located right after Punahou St. Along South Beretania. Parking structure entrance is before restaurant.

This is why I love Unilocal so much… when my bf and I want to try a new place to eat, Sara’s Café popped up in my search. 15 stellar reviews, pics of mouthwatering dishes…“Let’s give it a try!” we both said.
I’m so happy we came here. It’s a tiny restaurant that can seat about 5 tables. I’m pretty sure the owner’s name is Sara-​I should’ve asked! She whips up some seriously delicious Korean home cooking. Sara was talking story with the party behind us, and then she came over to chat with my bf and I. We ordered soondubu, kimchi pancake, steamed egg, and spicy fried chicken. My faves were her kimchi and soondubu, and my bf’s was the steamed egg. I can’t wait to come back to try more of the menu and off-​menu (secret menu) items.
There’s a small parking lot in the back and a bunch of street parking in the front.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SORT OF Unilocal FOODIE ADVENTURE? How about a hidden gem that few others know about? Unspoiled by success and not easy to find. I love finding something new and special. I learned about this place when Jenny A’s update appeared on my Unilocal feed.
Hole in the Wall: Small. 18 seats. Hard to find location. Inaccurate sign outside the restaurant. No website. Closed on Sunday. Authentic Home Style Korean cooking. Yep, it is a true hidden hole in the wall. This is your chance to «discover» Sara’s Café before it becomes popular.
Venue: Very small and cozy. Cloth table cloths. Nice. Homey comfortable atmosphere hidden behind the closed door and drawn curtains. Open kitchen where Sara cooks and you can watch her in action. Free parking in the building or on Young Street. It is a one way street so you may drive past it on first pass. BYOB. Korean Karaōke available.
Service: One woman operation. You almost expect to see some written «rules». Ha Ha! You get water when she takes your order. You get your food when she is finished cooking it. She clears the tables. She isn’t even angry about it! Lol
Food: Limited menu. But a very nice variety available. From spicy pork, soondubu, bibimbap, meat jun and some speciality items like hamburger steak and stone bowl rice. Look at the Unilocal photos. Wow! I want to go back and try more items.
What we tried: I had the stone bowl rice without meat and no fried egg. So all veggies and lots of rice in a sizzling hot stone bowl. It is so hot some of the rice is cooked to a crispy texture. It comes with banchan and dipping chili sauce. This was an excellent 5 Star meatless dish. Sara told me this was better than the bibimbap. She was right. I loved it!
My wife had the soondubu. It comes seafood style only. Mostly squid. It is also in a hot stone bowl like most soondubu. She didn’t care for the squid being the only option. But I thought it was pretty good when I tasted it. I think if you loved squid this would be a favorite. While I thought it was good I had to agree with my wife that it was just all right. But there are so many other great items to try. See the photos.
Would I return: Absolutely Yes! I’m going back!

Sara is the best! She’s super nice and cooks the best food! Even though she’s a one-​woman show, she’s still friendly, and the food comes out hot and fresh in a timely manner = winnahs! Try the hamburger steak, kim chee pancake, fish jun, and kim chee chige, all great dishes. Her sides are tasty too! She also offers interesting dishes like bacon wrapped enoki mushrooms, which are super ono. Actually, everything is good there, so just go and check it out!

Korean food cooked with love.
Sara is truly a sweetheart. She not only cooks delicious Korean comfort food, but she also sings beautifully! She’s classically trained in opera, whoa!
We were lucky enough to have her serenade us one night. We were blown away, she’s so awesome!
Yep, that’s right folks, they have karaōke.
It’s nothing fancy like Air Park Karaōke, but this humble small system works decently. Song selections are limited, mostly Korean songs with a small English section in the back of the book.
Prices are reasonable and portion sizes are quite generous.
AND IT’S BYOB!!! WOOT!
BANCHAN/​SIDE DISHES: Free!
Varies daily, but always tasty. You can always tell whether or not your meal with be good, based on the side dishes. If the kimchi is made with love and care, you know the same attention will be paid to your main dishes.
— The kimchi is consistently delicious. Just the right amount of spices and the ripeness is perfect every time.
— Even something as simple as broccoli was tasty and well-​seasoned.
— Sara’s eomuk bokkeum (stir-​fried fish cake strips) was one of tastier ones I’ve had. I like mines seasoned more savory w/​shoyu instead of the sweeter spicy gochujang ones that other places serve. The consistency was firmer and more toothsome too, which I love.
HAMBURGER STEAK ($ 10.95): These Korean pork fritters are called Wanja Jun/​Jeon or donggurang ddeng.
— Basically a traditional meat fritter consisting of tofu, ground pork and chopped veggies (carrots, garlic and onions).
— The flour-​dusted patties are lightly coated w/​an egg mixture prior to pan-​frying. Simple and delicious. We ordered this dish every time, you should too!
FRIED SQUID ($ 12.95):
I can never pass up my love for fried calamari. Ordering Ojingeo Twigim was a given here.
— Tempura-​battered and fried to a golden finish. While the batter was thin enough to allow one to savor the large tender strips of calamari, it stayed intact and didn’t fall apart when you bite into it.
SEAFOOD PANCAKE/​HAEMUL PAJEON ($ 15.95):
I hate scallions with a passion. So imagine my facial expressions when this platter was put before me… I looked defeated, lol.
But the large chunks of plump shrimps and octopus was calling me… so I took a chance and took a big bite out of it. Mindblown. It was uhh-​mazing!
The scallions tasted so sweet and not at all overpowering. I couldn’t stop eating it. Sara got some skills, she got me to eat my veggie-​terribles, lol.
MEAT JEON/​JUN ($ 9.95):
Tender cuts of quality ribeye is used for this plate meat jun. The egg batter was the perfect consistency, thin enough so that each bite is just pure beef goodness.
— The marinated beef is juicy and well-​seasoned. I didn’t even need to use the dipping sauce.
SPICY CHICKEN WINGS ($ 14.95):
Sweet, sour and spicy in one bite. The gochujang and corn syrup compliments each other well. Sara added chopped green and red chilies to ours because she knew how we love our spicy foods.
SPICY STIR-​FRIED PORK ($ 15.95):
It’s not the usual pork belly that I’m used to when ordering this dish, but rather pork loin that’s been tenderized to perfection. The meat was so soft and tender, I loved it!
— I like my spicy pork «extra spicy», and Sara delivered. In addition to the spicy-​sweet gochujang paste, additional fresh red and green chilies were chopped and mixed in there as well.
— The tender sweet carrots and onions completes this plate of porky goodness.
She’s still in the process of finalizing her new menu (and changing the Jun’s Café sign to Sara’s Café), but if there’s something you’d like, ask her. She’s so damn cool, she can probably whip it up for you in a jiffy.
FYI: There’s no credit card machine. She uses the Square-​Up credit card reader on her iphone, so bring cash if you’re not comfortable with that.
Ample free parking is avail within the Kulana Hale Building parking structure. Sara’s Café will be on your left as you exit the parking garage.