GREAT EATS HAWAII: PAINA CAFE

PAINA CAFE

WARD WAREHOUSE

HONOLULU, HAWAII

Ever eat at a place and say to yourself; "I don't know how this place stays in business". Well this is what we said while dining at the Paina Cafe. How this place obtained and affords such a great location is beyond me. We walked in and found tables and chairs all over the place. There is a small counter with a menu above and another dozen or so special menus on top of the counter. People line up and try to figure everything out. With just one guy on the counter this can take some time. The guy at the counter did not even say hi. Just looked up. I ordered the Italiano Sandwich ($7.95). Turkey, Salami, Cheese, Sweet Peppers, Tomato, Pepperoni, Lettuce, Mayo and Red Wine Vinaigrette. Sounded delicious. What I got was a mini roll basted with enough mayonnaise to cover the Arizona Memorial. I unwrapped the sandwich to find mayonnaise oozing out of every corner and onto my hands. Mayo was everywhere. Made me sick. I removed the lettuce and tried to wipe off some of the mayo. No luck. It was engulfed in mayo. Had to take it out of the sandwich all together. I tried to get most of the mayo off the bread but again there was just too much and it hung around everywhere. I took around three bites of this mess and through in the towel. Offered it to my daughter who took on bite and then wrapped it back in the paper and tossed it. The large Poke Bowl ($7.95) was filled with fresh Ahi smothered in sauce. Served on top of your choice of brown or white rice with shredded Nori or Furikake. Turns out you choose your sauce (hot or mild) and also add different toppings. The menu's posted above do not tell you this nor did the counter guy. You need to pick up a printed menu that is back by the front door next to two miss matched trash cans. We did not see these menus until we left. The ordering process here is a bit confusing and there is nothing to indicate all the options available. The Paina Cafe also serves a wide variety of salads but get the printed menu because again there are a lot of options and toppings available for the salads. You can also order fruit, Acai Bowls and smoothies here. There are around a dozen different sandwiches on the menu. Recommend you say "light on the mayo" when you order one. I did not care for the decor, food or personality of the counter guy here. Overall it was a pretty bad experience.