GREAT EATS HAWAII: LE CACAO BISTRO

NEW ENTRANCE ON WAIALAE AVENUE

LE CACAO BISTRO
HONOLULU, HAWAII

You can search this blog and see that we are huge fans of JJ's Bistro. When the restaurant opened a second eatery right next to JJ's called J2, we dined there and gave a good but guarded review. J2 is now history and in its place is the Le Cacao Bistro. This time I must call it as I eat it. Eating at Le Cacao was like sitting through an episode of Gordan Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares. During our over two hour dinner, we witnessed patrons rolling their eyes, yelling at the waiters and just about everything else you see on Kitchen Nightmares. The staff here is part of the problem. They are young and there does not seem to be a manager or leader in the front of the house. You can bring your own bottle of wine to Le Cacao so I had the waiter open the bottle after sitting for 15 minutes. When he opened the bottle, he left all of the foil rough cut on the top. A total mess. The wine would have went all over the table if I left it hanging like that. The menu includes Pasta, Seafood and Meat entrees. You can get a three course meal with beverage for around $15 to $20. The four course meal with a meat entree is $28. This includes soup, choice of appetizer, entree and dessert. After ordering, it took 45 minutes to get our soup and salads. I liked the Onion Soup. The House Salad was fresh and simple. The Caesar Salad really lacked flavor and was served with no Parmesan cheese or Anchovies. The anchovies were the reason we ordered the Caesar. Forget asking for the anchovy on the side, the waiter never returned. Service is a problem here big time. This is the exact opposite at JJ's. JJ's staff is seasoned, professional and very attentive. We waited almost an hour and a half for our entrees to arrive. Very nice presentations. The Fettuccine with Clams was beautiful but really lacked flavor. The pasta was bland, the clams were bland and the sauce was bland. The Rack of Lamb should have been called the "Lack of Lamb". Two very small pieces that were a bit dry. I ordered the Pork Rack with Mustard Sauce. Looked good on the plate but disappointed on flavor. The sauce was bland, the pork was bland and overcooked. Very dry and tasteless. We all liked the potatoes topped with fried onion, but there was no seasoning on the potato. During the course of our dinner we noticed several tables leaving and they were not happy. One guy went off on the waiter verbally. After two hours, we enjoyed some great desserts that were fantastic. Le Caco Bistro needs some serious attention to pull the wait staff and kitchen together. If they continue on this path, the restaurant will have the same ending as J2's. This is sad because we love and respect the family that owns the restaurant and JJ's Bistro. Would I return to Le Cacao Bistro. Sadly no.