Hanapepe Cafe

Friday night is Art Night in Hanapepe. You can browse the galleries from 6 pm to 9 pm. Meet some of the local artists and gallery owners. Some of them offer little treats, such as cookies, crackers, cheese, and wine.

During this time at Hanapepe Cafe, a special (limited) menu is served and it changes every Friday night. The other entrees that we did not order were Southwestern Vegetable Pie ($22) and Paella ($28).

To start off dinner, the waitress offered us some of their homemade Focaccia Bread and Olive Oil. While the bread is soft, there is no real taste. It is very bland. Not as plain as white bread, but it’s almost like it’s white bread with a little corn meal.

We ordered a Head of Garlic ($4) to go with the bread. I didn’t try it though.

Seared Ahi Tuna ($28) - Accompanied by a savory onion bread stuffing and herb sauce. I tried a little bit of the tuna and it reminded me of steak.

Shrimp Scampi ($27) - Spaghetti in a garlic Chardonnay sauce with homemade garlic bread. The plump shrimp were delicious! They tasted like they were perfectly grilled. I added a lot of salt and pepper. I didn’t care for the garlic bread. I took one bite and that was enough. I could only taste the garlic. Very overpowering. I also didn’t care for the pool of “fat” that had collected at the bottom of my plate. I think it was olive oil, but I’m not completely positive.

They do not have a liquor license, but you can bring your own. There is also a live musician for your dining entertainment. Be sure to make reservations. While their sign says that the seating capacity is 8000, the restaurant is fairly small and you may have to sit at the counter if you don’t have a reservation.

I had looked at their regular menu and didn’t know that there would be a special (and more expensive) menu on Friday nights. I thought it was going to be a casual dinner. If I had known ahead of time, I would have dressed up a little bit for “a night on the town.” Especially at these prices…