LONGHI'S ALA MOANA CENTER - HONOLULU, HAWAII

LONGHI'S

ALA MOANA

When my friend Brigete asked me to join her for a business breakfast I said no because I rarely eat breakfast. She persisted and recommended that we meet at Longhi's at Ala Moana Center. Longhi's for breakfast? Never heard of such a thing. Thought they just served lunch and dinner. I drove on over and took the elevator that takes you up to the restaurant. As soon as you get out of the elevator you enter a huge open space overlooking Ala Moana beach. It is really pretty and a great place to start your day. We were seated and given menu's. This does not feel like a breakfast place. There were probably only 8 other diners in the place. A private Oasis in the middle of a huge mall. Very relaxing. The breakfast menu surprised me. It was filled with great choices like steak and eggs, fresh fish and eggs, omelets, frittatas and a great list of eggs benedict. There is the standard benedict with 2 poached eggs on a toasted baguette with sliced ham and hollandaise sauce ($15), Eggs Florentine with spinach and hollandaise ($15), crab cake benedict with poached eggs, Maryland crab cakes and hollandaise ($17.50) and then the Lobster Benedict with poached eggs and Maine lobster ($21). Waffles here are $8.50 and Pancakes will run you around $11. Expensive yes, but was it worth it? I opted for the standard Eggs Benedict. The dish was awesome. One of the best Benedicts I have ever had. The salty ham with the creamy hollandaise and crunchy baguette were perfect. My friend opted for the crab benedict. Wow....two huge crab cakes were loaded on the baguette and then covered in the sauce. She loved every bite. Next time I have to try the lobster benedict. Longhi's for breakfast is a true hidden gem. It is very expensive but the food and view are worth it when you want to splurge.