Kahumanu Farm and CSA

I stayed in the Star House for 5 nights. No one else was staying there so it was really quiet. Free breakfast in the morning. I enjoyed staying here because it was really quiet and still close to town.

This review is for both café and lodging! I went for a short getaway from my busy family home. Made the decision to NEVER drive up on a Friday afternoon again! The traffic was seriously at a crawl most of the time. So, I arrived a bit late, but happily while dinner was still being served.
AMAZING dinner. I had a hibiscus refresher, the mac nut pesto pasta, a small salad, and a cup of the kubocha soup (on the house because the manager thought my dinner was taking too long!). I can’t summon enough adjectives to relate how superior this dinner was, in every way. I couldn’t finish it all, and definitely did not have room for dessert! So I’ll have to try their famous lilikoi cheesecake next time.
The room: a single room is small, but totally adequate and comfortable for one person. I stayed in the Star House, and there was a group who had reserved the rest of it for the weekend. They were friendly but not intrusive, inviting me for dessert, which I declined (remember I was stuffed?). They told me to help myself to any of their food I found in the kitchen. Which I didn’t, but it was sweet of them to offer.
The shared bathroom was right next door. Linens were furnished, but I foolishly didn’t think to take my towel with me when I went, so I had to air dry my hands. Silly me! The bed was as comfortable as most hotel beds, nothing special but not awful. There is no A/​C — but thankfully, a ceiling fan plus the trades and open windows made it comfortable. One downside: there was no screen on the slider to the porch, because I would have left it open, too.
My ONLY disappointment was the included breakfast. I guess I expected a «real» breakfast, but how silly is that considering the cost for room and food was only around $ 50! There was a granola-​type cereal, milk, toast, cream cheese, real butter, and coffee. Well … I’m pretty carnivorous, to say the least — so I learned that I should bring some kind of protein with me next time.
In the morning, I spent about 90 minutes wandering around the farm, where there are lovely, peaceful spots around every turn. Lots of Buddhist influences here, but as Robert (the manager) told me, when the place was founded in the 70’s, there was no one belief system they espoused. They just wanted a place of peace and refuge for anyone/​everyone to come and find themselves. The Buddhist shrines and statues have been added over the years, but they like them just as much for their intrinsic beauty as for anything else.
Everyone else has already spoken about the great causes supported by this place. I just wanted to share what a visit was like, staying overnight. I’m going back tomorrow for another peaceful day and night!
Update: I forgot to mention, don’t expect WiFi or great cell reception. ANOTHER UPDATE, 11÷21÷15: There is WiFi in Raphael House! And it’s GOOD! :D

Love this place!!! Found this place several years back w a good friend of mines. Good healthy eats, awesome people, incredible ambience and just a cool spot to hang out.

Worth the drive. About 40min (with some slowdown traffic in Nanakuli) from Pearl Harbor.
Always fresh and full of flavor. Organic ingredients make the difference. Light where it needs to be and tasty. Balanced.
Attentive staff. Too bad they aren’t open on Sundays. They open only Tuesday to Saturday but they have special events from time to time. They have a huge area in the back where the farm is to hold events and movie showings.

Vegetable box:
Volume of products in box– At first, it seems like its not much but on the second box you start to realize that if you don’t get cookin, those nice veggies will go to waste!!!
In the end, I think its a practical amount!
Product:
array of assortment to which I’m not familiar– just the carrots squash and parsley (Not a bad thing just forces me to spend more time in cooking zone), First box, veggies freshly pulled from ground, literally, dirt and all covered veggies lol (I guess that’s the organic experience???) Second box, they were washed clean. Pick of the litter I guess but we all wash our veggies at home anyway. Each box has always delivered fresh crisp produce. Yay!
Veggies to date: Kale, mexican tomatoes, carrots, beets, squash, parsley, bok choy, lettuce, etc
The farm itself is AMAZING. Beautifully situated, large, ever so full of learning abundance and the workers and farm manager is VERY friendly and makes you feel like you’re family.
Interestingly, this farm has a large percentage of operations devoted to community need (transitional housing, homeless, etc).
Lastly, they also offer cozy cottages in a retreat setting for rent!!!
1^st visit: Alot to take in
2^nd visit: This place makes me feel peace and tranquility
3^rd visit: I can’t wait to try the food at the Café

I recently went with 3 friends for lunch on Saturday. I can’t say enough good things about this place. Some of the food may need a little spicing up, but all in all it is pretty dang good. Plus you are supporting a great cause; they provide work training for people trying to get back on track and they offer housing for low-​income/​homeless people in exchange for working on the farm. The people learn great skills and gain opportunities to succeed. Plus, did I mention that almost all, if not all, of the food is locally sourced and or grown on the farm. The dishes we had were:
Fresh Mahi-​mahi in a ginger garlic sauce. This came with local veggies in a thai curry sauce, plus rice and a side of either soup or salad. The soup was one of the dishes that I think could use some spice. It was basically broth with some veggies; granted they were fresh off the farm veggies, but still they could have used some spice. The fish, however, was AMAZING. It tasted like it was right off the boat.
Whole Wheat Pasta with Mac-​nut pesto. This also came with soup or salad, and was surrounded by sauteed greens, chard I think. Great pesto flavor, and the greens were delcious.
Hungarian Goulash (random right?) — It was so good though! Big Island beef in a rich hungarian goulash sauce. Again, served with soup or salad, and sides of potatoes, carrots, and greens. Flavor was pretty spot on for Goulash.
All of the above were only $ 10 – 12.
Lunch for four with tax and tip was $ 65, and we left a generous tip because it was going to a good cause.
Long drive from HNL, but well worth it. Go for lunch on a Saturday and head to beach afterwards!