Umeke Market Natural Foods & Deli

So sad Kahala location is closed. I’m sure with Whole Foods across the street they just couldn’t compete anymore. The last time I went The store was open but had been shut down to one side (they used to have a café & grocery side & another side/​entrance to the beauty/​personal care/​supplements.) It was all stuffed together. They rented out the other side to try to make more money and stick around I believe but I guess that didn’t work either. They were a cute shop with nice products, mostly too pricey though. You can find a few deals here & there. From their Café I really enjoyed their Kale salad & tofu&lettuce wraps. I’m glad their downtown location is still around at least. Unfortunately I don’t often make it over that way.

The Kahala Umeke Market is CLOSED. I tried to stop by for a kale smoothie and turkey hoisin meatloaf but they were all locked up with paper covering the windows and a sign asking folks to stop by their downtown store. I guess the Whole Foods took too much of their target audience. It’s a shame for me cause I’m not dealing with downtown traffic/​parking but good for those who are downtown.

The store itself is overpriced, and parking is a pain unless you’re Ewa bound. It’s actually pretty easy to miss since it’s located smack dab between two strip malls – one with Lanikai juice, and the other with Great Harvest.
Nevertheless, I came here with an expired groupon (they honor the actual amount you paid) and had the best fish tacos I’ve had on island so far! I believe they used blackened salmon (it’s fish of the day) and it was perfectly cooked with a GENEROUS portion of spicy, tasty fish. I took it to go and it was still amazing when I got home, with 4 corn tortillas, brown rice, salsa, mixed green salad, cheese, and homemade refried beans. The salsa and beans were even neatly packed up in small cups to keep everything tidy! A little pricey at $ 11, but they are so good! I actually think the price is worth it.
It’s clean, fresh, and you can taste all the different components. They have an intriguing brunch menu on the weekends, as well as burgers, sandwiches, salads, and plate lunches, with as many local ingredients as they can use. But their fish tacos are highly recommended – I’m definitely going back for more! They made a believer out of me!
Definitely do your body good and check out their tacos. I also liked the fact that the cashier chatted it up with the customers, and actually knew them by name!
There’s a small eat in area as well.

It’s so hard to find health food places where the food tastes good. Well let me tell you the food here isn’t good, its awesome! Here’s the rundown of what I’ve had so far:
Kale Smoothie: OK you wouldn’t expect this to taste good but IT DOES! WOW I was amazed that they turned this super healthy kale into a tasty smoothie and you couldn’t taste the bitterness of the kale! Well done!
Tuna Melt Focaccia: This was really soft and tasty but I think there’s better things on the menu!
The Dirty Bird: This is what keeps my bf coming back. The first time I took him to Umeke Market was at the downtown location and this is what I ordered. So you have to understad the bf is like all about junk food (he loves taco bell… WHY??) and I’m all about healthy food so you can imagine how hard it is for me to drag him to someplace like this. But after he tried this burger, he kept craving it and we had to take a trip back to this location so he could satisfy his craving HA!
The Tofu Poke: It taste like poke! It’s good but I prefer fish poke.
I can’t wait to try more items. If you’re coming to eat, I like the ambiance of the downtown location better, although this one actually has parking. But if you want to shop and eat, come to this location and see the wonderful medley of merchandise they have!

I’m going to be totally honest in saying I’m not an «ubber» health nut. I mean I live healthy as far as working out and keeping myself fit but when it comes to food… I prefer taste over healthy food and unfortunately, there seems to be a direct correlation between healthy food not tasting as good as unhealthy food.
So at Umeke, I give them a lot of credit for trying to reverse that sentiment. I’m a big fan of their Kale and other smoothies. The food however still seems like something is missing. Maybe it’s the fatty oils absent from most of their food. I heard good things about their burgers and pizzas. I’ve tried the breakfast burrito which actually tastes pretty good considering it didn’t have that fatty goodness you get when you cook them yourself.
My friend had their Kale salad yesterday and it was really salty but the tuna fococcia sandwich she had was tasty but the tuna was a bit dry. All in all, at least if you need a nice peaceful place to munch on stuff, get some Coconut water, fresh granola, health products, then you can beat this place. Less hustle & bustle then the Down to Earths or the Whole Foods of this world.

‘Umeke Market is one of the many health food stores on Oahu. What sets this place apart from the rest, IMO (in my opinion), is the food. I love the cold case and the hot, prepared foods. And sometimes there’s samples available at the food counter. Everything is delicious, but if you are uncertain of what to get, the staff will steer you in the right direction.
THE PORTABELLA
A huge and juicy portabella mushroom with pesto, roasted red peppers, and Provolone cheese… Plus a side of kettle chips.
Very flavorful and fulfilling, I didn’t even miss the meat. And it was just as messy as any other good burger – with the juices running down my hands. The kettle chips were so crispy and crunchy! I loved every bite.
SESAME TOFU SOBA
Fresh and simple. Lettuce, sliced cucumbers, grated carrots, sweet potato, soba, and a sesame-​soy sauce.
The sauce was a bit strong, so you only need a little. I recommend dipping the goods in the sauce rather than drenching the whole dish in sauce, which you may regret. Overall, it was a delicious and healthy twist on a Local-​Japanese favorite.
MEDITERRANEAN PASTA SALAD
Penne pasta, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, feta, onions, bell peppers, pine nuts, lemon juice, olive oil, and garlic. Delicious, light, and healthy. I’d order this out of the cold case again.
TOFU POKE
I can see why this dish is so popular. It is absolutely delish! It’s made with Atsu-​age, Bragg liquid aminos, onion, sesame oil, furikake, green onion, and garlic chili sauce. Excellent!
EGGPLANT FETA COUSCOUS
If you love pasta salad or couscous, you’ll love this. Aside from the obvious eggplant, feta, and couscous, this dish has a bunch of goodies like sun-​dried tomatoes, garbanzo beans, black olives, cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Sounds like a winner and tastes like one, too! It’s light and delicious. Can’t go wrong with that! Plus, it’s «healthy» like all the other stuff at ‘Umeke.
VEGGIE BURRITO
The Veggie Burrito is Wednesday’s Deal for $ 6.95. (Here’s a picture of the Daily Deals menu:
) It’s packed with grilled zucchini and eggplant, mushrooms, onions, roasted red peppers, ‘Umeke’s homemade hummus (see below) and pesto, all wrapped up in a whole wheat flour tortilla. And of course it comes with homemade ‘Umeke salsa! This burrito is fantastic!
HUMMUS
’Umeke Market makes their own hummus and it is scrumptious. And it tastes fresh. None of that bland, buy-​in-​bulk taste. I’d eat this with bread or pita chips all day long. And bc it’s Umeke-​made, you KNOW there’s good and healthy stuff in it.
KALE SMOOTHIE $ 3.95
The kale smoothie is made with fresh kale, bananas, honey, and your choice of vanilla soy milk, apple juice, or grape juice. For my kale smoothie, I went with grape juice. It sounded interesting and ended up tasting great! It tastes healthy, but the grape juice and honey help to make this smoothie wayyy more enjoyable.
While waiting for your food order, you should most def take a spin around the store. ‘Umeke Market has a DOPE potato chip and popcorn selection: salt and balsamic vinegar flavored chips, buffalo bleu chips, sweet potato chips, popchips, Pirate’s Booty, movie popcorn, wasabi popcorn, spirulina popcorn, and more!
The prices may seem /​be high, but you get what you pay for. If you’re looking for something healthy and delicious, ‘Umeke Market is where it’s at!
**Don’t forget to register online to become an e-​member, or tell one of the nice ‘Umeke associates that you’d like to become an ‘Umeke member — You get 5% off in-​store! (You get 10% off the day you sign up in-​store, and 5% thereafter.)
Unilocal 365 — #261/​365

I’ve always been skeptical of deli food at health food stores. The taste is just never there. Is that the price we have to pay for eating «healthy»?
The grass-​fed burger that I bought was a little bland. It didn’t give me that «ooohhh, ahhhh» feeling when I was eating it. If I’m gonna splurge on a burger, I want it to be worth the hundreds of calories that I’m ingesting (since I’ll be running 5 miles to burn it off afterwards).
The island fish tacos were not made with island fish, unless salmon can now be found in Hawaiian waters.
The grilled veggie focaccia sandwich was pretty good. It’s hard not to mess up a veggie sandwich… :)
The mixed berry smoothie was ok, but I was a little disappointed at the amount they give for almost $ 4.

Just like Kale’s Natural Foods in Hawaii Kai or Down to Earth in multiple locations on Oahu and a couple in Maui. This Umeke location is very much located nearby to my home, so I tend to gravitate towards it, for anything natural and über healthy. I am trying to ride the wave of good health, but sometimes, natural can be just crazy for the wallet. This place is quite overpriced, but I guess they ARE in Kahala and the rents for space is quite high anyways. Apart from that, the selection is limited, but they have a good selection that’s comparable to Kale’s and Down to Earth. The store size is what is limiting them, but they are worth checking out at least once.
The parking situation is kind of tough, since you have to drive up Kilauea Avenue, and drive through a small road in between Nails La Ve and the YMCA to get through to the small strip mall of stores that makes up Umeke Market and Great Harvest Bread Company, among them. The staff is quite helpful and knowledgable, so you can pick their brain if you need to. I do love their ready-​to-​eat food options at their deli, which can be a godsend, if you are tired of the Kahala Mall fast food and want to try something different — whenever you are in the area. Overall, this place is well worth every penny you invest. You are what you eat, and if you are anything like me, you are here, to invest in your health — and that’s important.
Good service, although you just got to ask around, if you need to. That’s the only spot that I could not shake. Perhaps they are understaffed when I was browsing, but stop by and see what they have — if you have been with Down to Earth for a while. Nice change of pace.
B+

Recently I went here for brunch and got the loco moco with the veggie patty… and I must say… it was SUPER yummy! I’d eat that thing every week! I dream about that loco moco. And for you non-​vegetarians, they have the meat option too. Of course their kale salad is good too!
I thought they were going downhill, but I think they’re slowly making a come back! Yay for Umeke!
Unilocal 365 Challenge #168/​365

Umeke Market, where have you been all my life?
LOVE THIS PLACE!!!
The market itself has great natural, organic, good for your LIFE products! The employees seem to genuinely love working there! I am always greeted with a kind smile and welcome! I love how it’s clean, organized and have quality items. I am so thankful for this little market and I really hope it never changes!!!
THE DELI IS DELICIOUS & for a cute small market, they have lots of seating!
I’m not into healthy smoothies, but their GREEN KALE SMOOTHIE is da bomb! YUM!
I totally recommend their butternut squash soup, portobello mushroom sandwhich, kale salad, salmon salad, chicken curry salad, potato salad, tofu salad, and… basically, everything on their menu!
AND if you are a member, you get 5% off every time! How AWESOME IS THAT!!!
Highly recommended!

I’ve got to agree with everyone — the kale salad rocks my world. I tried to dupe their recipe at home and failed miserably — how do they get their kale so green and vibrant without cooking it? How is it that the sauce is so light yet sweet? Nom nom nom… this is the only way to eat kale, my friends.
But let me back up a second.
I used to shop here years ago before the age of Whole Foods, and I’m glad to see they’re still in business. I patronized their deli the other day, and ordered their mexican burger (which was just ok), while my dining companion ordered the buffalo burger — OMG, that was the juiciest burger I’ve ever had. I wanted to snatch that sucker out of my companion’s hands and gobble the whole thing down… like a buffalo. Seriously, I’d go back JUST for this and the kale salad.
I took off a star, however, for the spotty service — the deli was dead, yet it still took awhile to get some service, and the employees didn’t seem too knowledgeable about the menu.
Overall, this place gets a giant YUM from me. Did I mention the kale salad?
Unilocal 365 Challenge #20/​365

Grabbed some take out form the deli … kale salad, broccoli salad, tofu poke, and curry couscous… the kale salad is still my favorite with the broccoli mix coming in at a close second — YUM !!
The place was very busy at about 1ish — I saw about 7 kale & soymilk smoothies being ordered — will try that and the detox soup next visit.

Still a fan, but I have to comment on the serious inconsistencies of deli service. Depending on the day, the portion sizes vary a lot, and I’m always left wondering just how much food I’ll end up with.
Also, I must advise everyone against paying $ 2 extra for kale salad in place of regular or Caesar on their plate lunch orders. I tried this for the first time and was appalled that I got the tiniest little pile of kale for the extra fee. If I’d ordered the kale a la carte, it surely wouldn’t have cost $ 2! I could count the number of leaves and every single carrot and cabbage slice on my two little hands! Next time, I’ll take the Caesar that’s included and then buy $ 2 worth of kale on the side. Same price, but much more healthy goodness for my belly.
I still love Umeke, but faithful customers like me really want consistent and reliable service. Otherwise, it always seems like a bit of a gamble, and that’s a shame when you’re really trying to love a place.

This is one of my favorite places to go when in the Kahala area for my sons baseball games. Whenever we go to a game at Wilson we always stop into Umeke Market for yummy, healthy choices. We tried lots of different things and have enjoyed them all. Pasta, tuna melt, bentos, brown rice musubis, salads and even the Kobe burger. So far I haven’t been disappointed yet.
I also really like buying my vitamins from here. Whenever I have questions and need help with finding vitamins that will help with certain problems I head here because the lady in the vitamin section is very knowledgeable and always willing to help.
Its such a refreshing change after walking into Whole Foods across at the mall. The personal service and «feel» to Umeke market just can’t be beat.
Unilocal 365 Challenge: ¹⁹⁄₃₆₅

I am a regular here, with the Umeke tote to boot. I love how close it is to my home, and the arrival of Whole Foods across the street has not hindered my consistency at this place. I love it!
I usually come here before school or work (if time permits) to get my lunch or snack. I especially love their selection of drinks. It isn’t too overwhelming as other stores, so it makes the selection process easier.
My favorite items at Umeke Market has to be the many varieties of granola they have available. Truth be told, I usually do a little taste testing to make sure I fancy what I am about to buy in bulk. Sometimes I buy two scoops full of granola, but, there are also times that I make a purchase of a complete full bag. The granola can be easily used for so many things, such as: a snack while you’re driving, adding it to your cereal, or using it in place of your cereal, with your yogurt, adding it into your to-​go milk carton, etc.
Looking for a great night in with friends and are in need of snacks? Head on over to Umeke Market and pick up a few organic chips, popcorn, sandwiches, and even their blueberry or acai or tea drinks to-​go! You’ll be good for the night! ;)

Another favorite place of mine for healthy more natural medicinal alternives. They have a great frequent shopper program that gives you discounts every day! Also the café inside is amazing I can’t get enough of the infamous Detox Soup :)

The food here at ‘Umeke market is awesome! I love their selection and I’m hoping they’re really using natural, organic (when possible), ingredients.
Just to mention, their selection of groceries is not very good compared to other natural/​health food stores, and I found HUGE B-​52 cockroaches just roaming around their store going in and out of the bulk food bins, so just be wary of that!
The food bar on the other hand is very tasty! I hope it’s clean back there! I would like to think there are no cockroaches in the kitchen!
Ok let’s talk about the food! The portobello pesto «burger» was SO good! It’s a cold burger, which might be surprising to some people, but the actual pesto sauce on this burger is AMAZING! so fresh and so tasty! Those red bell peppers are a definite plus!
And the bison burger is very good! I had the works on it, the avocado was amazing and a lot, and it was a very super delicious burger! I’ve had a LOT of their burgers, and they’re all good! I love the sprouts and everything on them!
Slather everything on and make your own burger! Love it!

WOW! I guess I’m in a ⁵⁄₅ UnilocalER kinda day because I just made Unilocal ELITE, one of my lifelong dreams… No, but for real, this place makes me wanna jump up and Unilocal about it. and then I wanna eat more. I decided to try a salad sampler today. I got to choose 3 vegetarian salads from the deli today. I went with the edamame cranberry feta salad, quinoa with roasted veggies, and the organic pesto pasta salad with risotto.
It was light and super ono. interesting combinations.
The quinoa was #1, it had eggplant, zuchinni, squash, and a hint of mint, parsley, orange zest and some other flavors they had listed.
The risotto was #2, it just went down nice and easy, and the basil (?) tasted sooo fresh and anything pesto I pretty much love.
Now the edamame salad, I give em credit for trying something new, but I don’t know about the feta cheese with edamame.
I was so impressed that I feel inspired to try make these dishes on my own, which is saying a lot, because I usually cook out of necessity rather than for the pure joy of it. The freshly made food at this place is better than Whole Foods. Yup, I said it. They got all kinds of things, like freshly baked quinoa stuff, spirulina musubi, and breads, and I’ve got to get back there. Its got a local feel. small, quaint, comfortable. They have some kinda breakfast brunch thing that they are just starting again that I’d like to check out. There is 20% off Happy hours for the deli on Mondays thru Fridays, I gotta get to that too… And there’s an Umeke e-​members club you can join too to get discounts.
And that guy behind the counter could not stop dancing to the music, he was so completely uninhibited, I had to just laugh out loud.

For me I’m a kick back kind of guy and like to do things «local style». Rubba slippas, tank top, HIC jams that’s me… real «local style».
I went to Umeke Market and Deli on the recommendation of a Unilocal friend to try their tabbouleh. But before I did, I read some reviews on Unilocal and went online to find out a little about this health food place so that I could be more prepared.
Umeke Market’s got this really neat website
and I recommend you visiting the site and becoming one of their «emembers» (which I did) before you visit the store. You receive a 5% off everything discount always; and 15% off on supplement discount ($ 100 in purchase required) when shopping at Umeke.
On their web page there is a heading on the right called «Healthnotes» that is really cool. It has information and links on subjects like Personal Health Tools, Health Conditions, Vitamin Guide, Herbal Remedies, Homepathy, etc. that are really helpful if you need information on things related to your personal health.
But what I really like about Umeke Market is there motto, «Healthy Living, Local Style».
In their deli you can buy Green Spirulina Super with Organic Ingredients Musubi and Organic Kale Salad and Miso Garlic Chopped with Veggies and Hummus Plate which all sounds very healthy to me.
But then on the «dinner or anytime menu» you can order mouth watering Kalua Pork Plate and Kulana Beef Short Ribs and Ginger Beef Stew and Garlic Hoisin Meatloaf with organic brown rice and organic kale salad which is really «healthy living, local style» to me. Somehow ordering anyone of these here, at a health food store vs. ordering these at say Young’s Fishmarket sounds healthy and good for you here. Kalua Pork Plate is «Healthy Living, Local Style»! Yeah! I think I have found my favorite place to eat.
Well today I decided to live healthy and ordered a quarter pound of tabbouleh (which the clerk behind the counter didn’t know was tabbouleh) and the Green Spirulina Super with Organic Ingredients Musubi; and a half pound of Organic Kale Salad; and a quarter pound of Miso Garlic Chopped with Veggies.
My thoughts: The Spirulina musubi was filling and tasted interesting; but what I thought was missing was a «local style» piece of spam. The Kale salad was good but at $ 11.++/pound is really expensive for something «local style»; that doesn’t have fish, beef or pork. And the Miso Garlic Chopped with Veggies needed some of that island raised pork sprinkled with Hawaiian salt just to make it «local style».
I think Umeke Market is an oxymoron when then say «Healthy Living, Local Style». It is funny how you look at things differently when you are in an upper class neighborhood and thinking «local style.»
And by the way it is worth going online and becoming an emember. When I got to the cash register, I mentioned to the cashier that I was an Umeke member; told him my name and 5% was taken off my bill at the register. Mahalo brah… Shaka…local style.
P. S. Just a word on parking. If you miss the Kalanianaole Highway parking entrance or want to come in from Kilauea Avenue; the back entrance is a long narrow alleyway just before the Kaimuki Waialae YMCA parking lot. The alleyway is one way; you have the right of way and will take you directly to the Umeke parking lot.

Just a quick update, but they recently had a 20% off sale on the entire store, so of course I had to pay Umeke Market another visit. :0) I took the opportunity to purchase my coveted Blueberry juice – why, why… why? does the price of blueberry juice fluctuate so… sometimes I’ll get it as low as $ 7(if you shop around), other times it’s around $ 12 – if anyone can answer this riddle for me, I’m dying for an answer.
My most recent visit included a stop by the deli counter and again, I opted for the non-​vegetarian salad sampler. I chose the Lemongrass orzo, kale salad, and chicken curried salad. It was such a perfect (and healthy!) combo.
They also serve a very tasty chili as well, which I think I will have to order next time. :0)