Zia’s Caffe Kaneohe

No Corkage! Gnocchi with Italian Sausage– so good

I’m normally not a complainer, but my past experience here was the worst I’ve ever had. I have came with family several times before and it’s been great, but maybe tonight was an off night? It must’ve been, because it took 30 minutes to just get water. Followed by waiting for our food for another hour, after we watched everyone around us get their orders. When my mom went up to ask about our food, our waiter replied, «it will come out when it’s done» and «it’s because there’s nobody bussing tonight». The food did come out slowly, after another 10 minutes. We never got refills on our water, we had to go up to the counter to get more. We never got any sort of apology at all.
So I’m sorry Zia’s, for your poor customer service. I’m sorry waiter, for being tempted to not give you a tip. It’s a real shame, but I hear that Zia’s is under new management so maybe this is how things are gonna be run from now on. But hopefully that changes soon.

When I first got married, my wife and I really enjoyed Makiki because everything was so close. Chinatown, Ala Moana, Waikiki, Kahala and you name it…1001 great places to eat. We were spoiled and miss living in town to this day.
Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Mexican and more. Old school local style places and new up and coming concepts. And good Italian food too.
Point is in evaluating a restaurant one should look at all the usual measures such as quality, taste, service, location, ambience and parking etc. But one must also compare to other similar restaurants.
Two Stars: Well, on all of these factors Zia’s is about 2 stars. Lots of people really love this place… but this is my take.
Location: Kaneohe across the street from Foodland. Positioned just feet away from the busiest intersection in Kaneohe. Am I the only one to notice this?
Ambience: Open-​air dining room overlooking Foodland and the very busy and loud Kam Hwy. In addition to the normal traffic noise, honking and gas and diesel fumes… sometimes it gets really really loud. The other day while dining about 6:00pm two ambulances went by with sirens at full power. Four Police cars went roaring by at about 90 mph with siren’s at maximum volume as if terriorists had attacked Kin Wah Chop Suey a few doors down. That was pretty exciting! But, we just wanted a quiet relaxed dinner.
Service: Restaurant had four tables of customers but the host/​manager could only muster «uh…sit any where». Our well tattooed waitress seemed to be in the midst of an existential crisis wondering why she was stuck in this hell hole of a town in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Neither seemed happy being there.
Food: Italian Food heavy with olive oil. Chintzy menu policy requiring you to request complimentary bread… otherwise it won’t be offered or given to you. So we ordered the $ 5.50 garlic bread and cheese appetizer. What a disappointment and a waste of a perfectly good $ 5.50. Spicy Arrabiata pasta with shrimp was OK but 2 stars in comparison to other Italian Restaurants such as Spaghetti Factory and others. We had to request parmesan cheese… straight out of a green can at foodland. My wife had gotten the same dish last time. She liked it then but was disappointed in it this time. I had the Gnocchi Primavera w/​zucchini, mushrooms, beets, bell pepper & sun-​dried tomato pesto & Pecorino. At first I was given the Gnocchi with cream sauce and sausage but didn’t realize it was the wrong one. Olive oily but OK until I accidently ate a piece of sausage. That’s not vegetarian!!? They happily prepared the proper vegetarian Gnocchi. That was the highlight of our customer service. 5 Stars on that call. But the gnocchi itself was pretty blah as it seemed like a sticky lump of dough. The strong flavor from the beets really distracted from my enjoying the dish.
Two Stars Comparison: This is where Zia’s slips a bit. There are so many really good Italian restaurants here. For example, try the humble Spaghetti Factory at Ward Center. The comparison will help this review make perfect sense.

I do not recommend this place. No flavor to their sauces or garlic bread. Service was horrible !!! Never again.

We had the pleasure of being served by Charlie, an older, charming waiter. He brought good energy to the table with his helpful suggestions and recommendations. He checked up on us regularly, went above and beyond to keep our bread baskets and our cups full, and deserves all five stars in my opinipn. The service he provided us with was exceptional, and the food was amazing too, to top it all off! The experience was a resounding success, and I do plan to come back the next time I’m in Kaneohe.

My dad loves this place and I’ve gone with him when I see my Ohana on the island! Being away from my homeland I have to be creative when special days come up. For my dad’s birthday he wanted to go there and I worked with Derrick. So grateful he answered the phone and took care of me in order to pay for my dads dinner. My dad was so thrilled because Derrick took care of my ohana and made his day special! Of course, food was amazing and Ono grinds! Aloha much!

Their service was on point!
I came here for my aunty’s 60^th birthday. Party of 17 and one kid. I gave them 4 stars because their service as on point. Otherwise I would’ve gave them 3 for everything else.
It was a nice breezy day, but the way the restaurant is set up… made it a bit hot, humid and kinda stuffy inside. Maybe it was just the direction the wind was going, however, with the open windows parallel to Kamehameha Hwy and the kitchen on the adjacent sides… the breeze doesn’t necessarily «flow through».
Anyway, they are located right off Kamehameha Highway closer to Likelike Hwy. Parking in front and out back makes it easy to access this place.
Food… meh! Kinda bland, kinda interesting. I ordered their eggplant parmesan… the eggplant was a bit on the thick side but gave it good substance on top of their pasta. I wasn’t too ecstatic about their sauce but it taste pretty good. Everyone that ordered the sweet potato ravioli enjoyed it a lot… so I know if I come back, what to order.
BYOB!!! Yes, although they do serve wines and beers, they also allow you to bring your own.
Service: We had one male server… he was organized and quick. Got everyones order correct and for being a party of 17 with indecisive people, he did an excellent job!
If I feel the need for Italian food on this side of the island, I’ll be back. Otherwise, I wouldn’t take the drive just for this place. I was pleased, but not that impressed. Our server was EXCELLENT tho.

The food dishes are a hit and miss situation. Some food dishes are pretty good and other food dishes don’t come close to being Italian. I have experienced over cooked chicken and under cooked chicken. I’ve called it quits with this restaurant. The servers are friendly, that’s about it.

We came here to celebrate my mother’s birthday, her request as she loves this place. I remember coming here a few times when I was younger and was never really impressed with it. But maybe things have changed… they have managed to stay open all this time.
My first impression of this place was that it was HOT and HUMID inside. Outside its nice and cool and breezy, but it was SO HOT inside! I noticed when I checked in on Unilocal that a few other fellow Unilocalers had the same thing to say. What made it worse was that I was seated right next to the kitchen area. Phew. Get some AC in that place, PLEASE!
I thought it was nice that they allowed us to bring some decorations for the table and balloons. They also allowed us to BYOB and provided us glasses for them. Also, know that if you are a party of 6 or more you can only have one check and only pay with 2 credit cards. Being a party of 18, we used index cards for everyone to keep track of their own bill to include tax and tip (then put it on my credit card as I get 5% back on restaurants this quarter with my Disco!).
We all ordered a bunch of appetizer and make sure that you ask them for the house bread because they don’t just bring it out to you. Rundown of appetizers: mushrooms with goat cheese was okay but I don’t think that I would order them again; eggplant parmesan thing was good, would get again; calamari was decent but I have had better (and worse), at least it was soft but I did not like sauce so I suggest ordered cocktail sauce with it if you get it; shrimp cocktail was good, nice sized shrimp but small serving so it was like a taste and that’s it so would save my money next time; garlic cheese bread was delicious, good cheese on it and soft bread, a must have. The house bread was really the best for me. It comes with fresh pesto on the side and the oil and balsamic vinegar is on the table. The bread was soft and had a good crust. It definitely was not fresh out of the oven or even warm for that matter but it was delicious with the pesto spread.
Most of the entrees that came to the table didn’t look special at all, in fact I thought the presentation sucked for all the plates except for the steak and my meal. My mom got the ribeye daily special ($ 29) and she seemed to enjoy it. Several others got the eggplant parmesan and said it was good. Not sure what everyone else got because it was all smothered in pasta sauce so it all looked the same. My husband got the cheese and spinach ravioli. It was okay but I didn’t think anything special of it. We ordered a keiki pizza for my son and asked for olives on it. They put like 3 or 4 olives on it and charged me an extra $ 1 for it. WTH.
I had the Molokai sweet potato ravioli ($ 15) and it was AMAZING! Theres only like 5 raviolis on the plate but it’s pretty bomb. The presentation was great… I’m assuming because it has a butter sauce instead of marinara, you could actually see the food. It comes with macadamia nuts that I think they cook in the oil and butter so it gives the whole plate this wonderfully warm nutty flavor. It also comes with fresh asparagus and grape (or something similar) tomatoes on it. SO YUM!
By the time dessert came around, most of us were full but my favorite dessert is tiramisu so I had to have some there. My mom got the mint chocolate chip gelato. It was good. Not too overpowering on the mint and the chocolate pieces were good chocolate, not that fake chalk tasting chocolate. My husband got the brownie that is supposed to be a mix of a blonde and fudge brownie or something. It was good too. Moist and very sweet. When my tiramisu came I was so excited! It looked so good but when I took my first bite I was surprised because it was so thick and stuck to my spoon and mouth. And where was the espresso soaked lady fingers?! It was just plain lady fingers in between this super thick cream cheese that I guess was supposed to be mascarpone cheese with cocoa dust and whipped cream on top. Many of my family members tried it and had the same reaction of disappointment and unpleasant surprise. I’ve had A LOT of tiramisu in my life, and never have I ever experienced one with such thick and hard mascarpone cheese, if that’s even what it was. Total disappointment.
Our server was good. My husband got the plantation tea, which was pretty good, and our server never let it go empty. Pretty good in my book! He stayed pretty calm trying to take care of our table and a few other tables there.
Bottom Line: There was a few things I didn’t like about this place, like the STUFFINESS and heat, the $ 1 charge for 3 black olives, the lame presentation of the food, and the disappointing tiramisu. But I really LOVED the house bread and my Molokai sweet potato ravioli. The plantation tea was good too. I would go back there to get those-​take-​out though, so I don’t have to sit in that heat.

Sadly this is the only «Italian» place in Kaneohe (and I use that term lightly). Good service, friendly atmosphere, but I’m not too jazzed about their selection or the quality of the food.

Great place for dinner, lunch or Sunday brunch. Each time we visit the food and service is good. Nothing fancy, no airconditioning, but it continues to be a gathering place for friends. And we all always leave happy and with leftovers! Todays visit was a healthy pear salad with room for dessert, peanut butter cheesecake! We will return!

This restaurant is great! We ordered the chicken picatta and the shrimp scampi and loved it! The garlic cheesy bread was also amazing! Topped it off with tiramisu and wow! What a great night!

The food is always good! The staff is friendly and knowledgable. It is our go to family dinner place. It is close and convenient for those here in Kaneohe. The parking lot is very small and usually very busy. I recommend getting there early, sometimes there can be a wait.
I love the sweet potato ravioli! It is delicious! You also can’t go wrong with bolognese!

I really enjoy Zia’s in Kaneohe. Yummy food, warm service, affordable prices. Also, for me, anyway, close enough to walk there and back, which I did today knowing I’d have a «beverage» or two.

I had The works pizza and Caesar salad. Pizza was cooked nice and thin with lots of toppings… so yummy. Classic Caesar is also yummers. Enjoy with a glass of Monkey Bay Sauvigon Blanc. The perfect Sunday afternoon lunch.

We popped into Zia’s café in Kaneohe for a late lunch on a lazy Friday afternoon. I was very pleased to find out that they have a special brunch menu that runs until 3 p.m. It was sliced avocado, two scrambled eggs, and Norwegian smoked salmon for only $ 12. It was pretty darn good. My guest had the salad and pasta combo. The usual salad that comes with the combo is either the house salad or the Caesar salad. She requested an upgrade to the pear and blue cheese salad. It was only a dollar fifty more.
This restaurant has both inside and outside seating. It is an open a restaurant but because they are close to Kamehameha Highway, if you are seated outside, there is a nice view of the mountains but also significant road noise. Personally I prefer to sit inside but my friend wanted to sit outside because she thought the inside might be too cold. All the doors facing the highway were open so I can’t imagine the inside being much cooler temperature wise. Anyway, all the food was delicious and service was prompt and friendly. Definitely recommended. I look forward to returning sometime soon.
#12 of 2016

I come here often with my family and although it is not totally amazing we come here mostly for the convenience. Its probably the only italian restaurant in Kaneohe so its great for when we need our pasta fix. Service can be a hit or miss but food is always good. Not the best but far from the worst. Its a nice little restaurant in a convenient location.

This is a review for breakfast!
After an intense Saturday morning workout, I was famished and ready for a good breakfast. After a quick Unilocal search, Zia’s came up and my friend wanted to check it out.
Breakfast is served only on the weekends and the menu is limited. We ordered the loco moco and eggs Benedict. Portions are very generous and it was more than enough for the two of us to share.
The loco moco… we all know what it is. My only gripe was that the patty was too salty. Tobasco definitely helped with cutting out the salt.
The eggs benedict was both our favorite. The hollandaise sauce was perfection over the poached eggs. We wanted more of it!
For the two items it came out to about $ 23, not bad for a nice sit down breakfast. Service was friendly so we were happy campers! Not sure if I’ll be back for breakfast but their regular lunch and dinner menu caught my eye!

My husband and I have been here at least a dozen of times so far and had great experience each time. The service was awesome. We were seated promptly, the beverages came in shortly and we got free fresh bread and olive pesto to snack on. Our server kept coming back to check on us and to refill our drinks. Must have the plantation ice tea! Appetizers: bruscheta and roasted wild mushrooms are to die for. Loved the chicken salad with beets and the rib eye was awesome. Cheesecakes are freshly made in-​house, definitely recommend. Best dining experience on the windward side for sure!

Ever since they took over the old Pizza Hut on Kam Hwy., Zia’s has been a Kaneohe staple. I’ve never been especially enamored with this restaurant and feel there are far better choices for Italian food all over Oahu, but my kids like it and there’s also the novelty of Zia’s being pretty much the only open air café of it’s kind on the Island, particularly in Kaneohe town where its absence reveals that Italian isn’t among the popular eating choices on this side of the Island for whatever reason.
Despite the loud and potentially disasterous nature of being right next to a busy highway in a generally rainy and humid city, it’s strange that people enjoy the outdoor seating, but I’m guessing that’s the real draw of this place as I find the food isn’t too great. I’ve tried the Tuscan Chicken, the Pomodoro, and the Picatta all with varying levels of disappointment. The Tuscan I received on one night was spongy and probably undercooked. The picatta wasn’t particularly tasty, and not memorable, and the most recent pomodoro was ok, but the chicken seemed salt-​crusted and in hindsight was really bad for my hypertension. Most entrees are around $ 13 – 16, with the highest end steak and fish dishes stopped around $ 22, so it’s not too pricey for a sit down meal. And they do have a very reasonable kids menu that includes a small drink and dessert for $ 6.50, so I can see the draw for families on a budget.
However, my most recent visit, they didn’t offer the kids the small drink, so I’m not sure if they deliberately left that out because we initially ordered water, or if it was just an honest mistake.
The service has been ok, nothing too weak or especially outstanding, so this whole place just ends up being a «meh» overall for me. Honestly, if my kids didn’t want to eat here, I’d personally eat somewhere else.

What can I say? How about ughhhhhh not for us! I ordered the three cheese and spinach ravioli in Alfredo sauce. This doesn’t come with any type of protein and when I asked if I could add on shrimp or chicken I was looked at like I was asking for a flight to Mars. Now on to the food… great flavor, horrible texture. My picture is when the plate was fist brought to the table. My Alfredo sauce was so thick that when scooped and forked turned over it didn’t fall off! Milkshakes are thinner! My ravioli would have been delicious had it been cooked even to al dente. It was not only hard but overly chewy… it stuck to my teeth a bit. My food arrived cold. I struggled through one of 5 pieces. Normally I would complain but since it took so long to be served, to order, and food to arrive I figured I’d fill up on my Caesar salad. Won’t be back!

This is my husband’s and my neighborhood restaurant, so obviously we find the food and atmosphere pleasant and the prices reasonable, especially during Happy Hour. However, the service is sometimes spotty. When Sheela is there, the service is top notch. When she is not there, we get adequate or bad service. Still, it’s not so terrible that we don’t go back.
Oh! Since my original review, they stopped offering spumoni ice cream. When they told me, I felt like conducting a memorial service. :(

I waited about 5 minutes before someone acknowledge me, it wasn’t busy at all. I ordered pasta primavera which was delicious and I ordered shrimp cocktail. The shrimp cocktail cost $ 9 and I received 4 pieces of shrimp, total rip off. The total I spent was $ 26.

one of my favorite places to dine. Great food and service. Prices, except wine, are reasonable. couldn’t ask for anything better. Wish they didn’t close the Kailua location because this is a little bit of a drive for me but well worth the effort to go and get great food and commensurate service!

Great service, delicious food for breakfast lunch and dinner! They even have beer and wine! My favorite lunch items are their Chicken salad with arugula, Mac nuts, grape tomatoes and beets. Their pizzas are also the best. Thin crusted margarita or the veggie pesto are made of fresh ingredients and very healthy.
Charlie is so friendly and courteous!

Food is pretty good. this is coming from a native New Yorker. The reason for 4stars is because they r slow here. 1^st, there was 6 empty tables, all set. but we still waited about 15 minutes to get seated. 2^nd, from the time we were seated and ordered, it took almost 45minutes to get our food. one item was soup, another was caprese salad which both shouldve taken just a few mins to prep and plate. we got both those items with our food when they were ordered as appetisers.
we loved the Gnochi, chicken parm, sausage and peppers, and lasagna. much better italian food than brick oven.

Came here for breakfast w some girlfriends and it was nothing short of awesome! Had the loco moco and mm mmmm it was so tasty! My girls had the salmon and eggs and eggs Benedict, we all shared bites and everything was so tasty! Will def come back! Oh and the breakfast drinks were yummmm! We had mimosas, bourbon teas, bloody Mary’s, and Irish coffees! Best way to start our girl day!

It’s my friend’s birthday and I ask her where she wants to eat… right away, she answered, «Zia’s» because she has to stay in Kaneohe (where we both work and live) and she had to pick her daughter up from school right after lunch. My friend and her family dine here often and like it a lot, so Okay!
Zia’s is at the beginning of Kaneohe if you’re driving from Honolulu. It’s right next to the VCA Animal Hospital and Burger King. Free parking is behind the restaurant. The front parking lot seems to be for the hospital.
This is an open-​air restaurant. Our table faced Kamehameha Highway towards Windward City Shopping Center. We watched the traffic passing by as the thunder roared, the lightning flashed, and the rain poured down in torrents.
The service here is really pleasant. They checked on us often, filled our water without our asking; and boxed up our food because we ordered too much. We never felt rushed, even though they mentioned that they wanted to close our tab.
We started with yummy complementary bread with REAL butter and their Black Olive Pesto which my friend’s daughter loves. I had my bread with both the butter and the pesto for added flavor! Then came the 2 appetizers: Roasted mushrooms with Goat Cheese spread and toasted pita bread; and Eggplant stuffed with spinach and served with Garlic Toast. Both were delicious! My Shrimp Scampi was okay. I liked the six peeled shrimps (with tails on) because I could taste the garlic and could bite into the firmness. I left most of the noodles which had a slight citrus flavored sauce, but I enjoyed the sweet tomatoes!
The birthday girl had the Bread Salad which she said looked different and tasted different from how it’s usually served. The flavor of the dressing wasn’t as intense as usual and the bread had a thicker texture? Maybe there was a different chef that day? She also had a choice of any dessert on the menu. Since we were full, we took the complimentary Tiramisu to go, but we ended up eating most of it since we stayed for 4 hours! It was moist and creamy!
Overall, it was a great experience during a Flash Flood with the alerts on our phones going off. I’m sure we’ll be back again some day to catch up again!

My sister and I came here for lunch and we loved it! The ambiance was nice, food excellent, good service, and reasonable prices.
House bread is upon request, it’s pretty good I just wish the bread was warm.
We shared the mushroom risotto and the chicken saltimbocca, both perfect!
We saw the happy hour menu and would like to come back to try a few things.
Only thing was that when the waiter asked if we wanted more bread, he didn’t bring any and it wasn’t busy. But we were so full that we didn’t remind him.

The service was excellent and so was the food. We live in Kaneohe and it is a real treat to have this quaint Italian spot right here.
I had the chicken saltimboca and my wife had the shrimp scampi. Even the bread was super tasty and fresh.
Also nice as it is kid friendly by nit the deep fried disaster like most ‘kid frindly’ spots. Genuinely friendly staff that know their Italian. And yes I have toured through Italy.
Add to that ample parking in back and clean restrooms. Still can’t figure why this place does have 4.5−5 stars across the board.

This is the first place i ate at Hawaii & it was so good! They have one of the best risotto’s I’ve ever had with the best fish! We sat outside & it was so pretty with all the lights! The waitress was super friendly! Highly recommend it!

Maybe our expectations were too high after reading the favorable Unilocal reviews or we ordered the wrong things, but our dinner on a recent Sunday night was mediocre.
The service was friendly and somewhat prompt, but the food was disappointing — with the exception of the calamari appetizer, which was decent. It came covered in a light pesto-​like sauce and watery marinara sauce on the side.
I ordered the chicken saltimbocca — a breaded chicken cutlet with spinach, mushrooms and prosciutto. The chicken was moist, but the flavors were weird and bland and my pasta was cold. My bf ordered the NY steak with marsala mushrooms. He asked to have it cooked medium, but it came out well-​done.
Our bill, with an app and 2 entrees and a beer, came to $ 50 before tip. Not worth it for the quality in my opinion.

Came here for Valentine’s Dinner! We didn’t have to wait long (~30 minutes) but they were extremely busy. I noticed that the staff worked really well together and they turned over tables like pros!
Appetizer
— goat cheese bruschetta ($ 8): best I’ve had yet! A must!
— house bread (complimentary, must ask for): soft white bread with olive based pesto. Yummy!
Salad
— Pearl and bleu cheese salad (half order $ 8, full $ 14): we spilt the half order and it was plenty! The salad had small pieces of blue cheese and pear which we loved so you got a little flavor with each bite. The greens were local romaine.
Main course
— gnocchi primavera (vegetarian, $ 16.50): it was amazing! It had gnocchi, Krispy kale, peppers, squash, beets, etc. Great presentation
— sautéed gnocchi with Italian sausage ($ 16.50): heavy sun dried tomato cream sauce, yummy sausage, flavorful gnocchi.
Wine
— Bottle of Pennywise Pinot Noir ($ 32)
Service
— the staff was on top of it! They were helpful and at tentative. Turned over tables quickly and we frequently had other servers filling out glasses.
— can order cocktails, wine, beer etc. while you wait for your table! This helps kill sometime and get the party started!
Overall
— we were pleased with everything we had and I was extremely happy with the options for vegetarians. Their menu rotates based on the season and they try to have local ingredients in their meals. We will definitely be back!

If you’re in Kaneohe and in the mood for Italian food, you only have one option — but it’s a good one!
Location: Kamehameha Highway next to the VCA Animal Hospital.
Take out service is great. Check the menu online (
) then call ahead to place your order.
Everything we ordered was good — the garlic bread, pizza, Chicken Pomodoro (slightly spicy), Tuscan Chicken.
Can’t comment on their dine-​in service since we got take-​out.
Breakfast is available on the weekends from 9am-​3pm.