Restaurants on Oahu: Kahuku Farms Cafe

Basic Information

• Name: Kahuku Farms
• Where: Kahuku, Hawaii
• Menu: Smoothies, Lemonade, salads, & fresh foods
• More Information: Kahuku Farms website

Narrative

There are a number of healthy food restaurants on Oahu, but my favorite is one located on one of the remotest parts of the island.  The village of Kahuku is located in the extreme northeastern section of Oahu and is about the furthest distance someone can drive from Honolulu.  Kahuku is well known for the various farms that surround the town.  One of those farms, Kahuku Farms has a great cafe that I recommend checking out.  The Kahuku Farms Cafe is housed in a small trailer like building with a kitchen inside of it.

Kahuku Farms has a history that spans three generations of two farming families.  Here is brief history of the farm from its website:

Kahuku Farms is a result of two farming families spanning back three generations in Hawaii. Descendants of the Matsuda/Fukuyama families migrated to Hawaii from Japan to work in the sugar plantations back in the 1900’s. Shinichi and Torie Matsuda started farming bell peppers, papayas, watermelon and bananas in Kahuku back in the 1940’s and were later joined by their son Melvin in the the 1960’s. During a similar time Masatsugu and Nora Fukuyama, also of Kahuku, were farming watermelon, eggplant, papaya and cucumbers and were later joined by their son Clyde in 1965. Clyde and Melvin became long time friends and did several farming ventures together, one of which took them to Australia where they both worked for a year growing watermelons. With similar philosophies and goals, they both decided to merge the Matsuda and Fukuyama Farms in 1986 creating Kahuku Brand. Kahuku Brand is a company dealing primarily with growing and distributing Hawaii wholesale fruits and vegetables.  [Kahuku Farms website]

You can read more at the link.

Over time the farm has now expanded to where it has its own cafe serving incredibly fresh smoothies and meals.  Besides selling food the cafe also serves as a farmer’s market where on its lanai it sells various fresh fruits such as dragonfruit and limes:

Depending on the season they will have other produce on sale as well such as guavas, lilikoi, star fruits, papayas, etc.:

Kahuku Farms also sells other items as well such as honey, salad dressing, and jams:

I will usually buy some produce here when I stop by, but the biggest reason I stop here is for their smoothies and farm fresh foods.  The menu is small, but everything tastes extremely good.  The full menu can be viewed at this link.  My favorite dish here is their farm pizza which has no meat and is yet one of the best pizzas I have ever eaten:

I will always order a smoothie with my meal with the “Tropi-kale” being my favorite one:

The Tropi-kale has kale, apple, banana, pineapple, and haupia in it.  The smoothies here in my opinion taste much fresher than other smoothie restaurants on Oahu.  Another dish they serve at the Kahuku Farms Cafe is the grilled panini:

Both these dishes comes with a side salad with ingredients that I was easily able to tell were fresh compared to store bought salad.  On the kids menu my kids love ordering the grill PBJ and Banana sandwich that comes with a freshly squeezed lemonade:

Seating is outside on tables that each have umbrellas over them to provide protection from the elements.  The views from the outdoor tables is of the various produce grown on the farm:

The farm also grows flowers as well:

My son loves looking at all the different plants and flowers whenever we visit:

Conclusion

Overall the Kahuku Farms Cafe is my favorite fresh food cafe on the island.  The smoothies taste better than anything you can get at a competitor like Jamba Juice and the food is fresher than eating at Whole Foods.   I have also always received good service here and enjoy sitting outside looking out over the farm.  The only down side is the limited menu, but I have tried everything they do make here and it all tastes great.  I recommend making a stop here for lunch or a snack for anyone making the round-the-island drive across the North Shore.