Ke Nui Kitchen Reviews
Reviews
4.9 out of 5 rating
4.9 out of 5 rating
19 Reviews
98% recommend it
Awards
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![Sarah]()
Sarah Sent on 08/05/2023KNK Saved my Rehearsal Dinner!
Ke Nui Kitchen catered my rehearsal dinner at Dillingham Ranch in December 2022. The communication was not the greatest at first, but I believe they had a staff change going on. In any event, they more than made up for it on the day of the rehearsal dinner. The power was going off and on at the Ranch from the storms that had been going on for the past few days, but they rolled with the punches. When the folding banquet tables that we had rented from another company never showed, KNK had someone bring some to us. While the two men ( I wish I could remember their names) were cooking, me and my two best friends were in the kitchen cutting up a ton limes for the signature cocktail that would be served at the wedding the next day. Not only were they kind enough to lend us a couple of decent knives, but they brought us each a bao bun to try while we worked (I still dream about that bao bun to this day--most delicious one I have ever had!). I am sure they could tell I was stressed out about all of the mishaps and they went above and beyond to smooth out wrinkles that they were not even responsible for. It meant the world to me. And the food was absolutely incredible. The flavor was off the charts and it was all beautifully presented. I cannot thank KNK enough for such a wonderful experience! -
![Chris]()
Chris F. Sent on 03/05/2020Delicious and memorable.
We had the great fortune of having KNK cater both a wedding party dinner of 45 and wedding ceremony of 70 on the following evening over two different venues.
We had different themed meals and our guests were taken care of every step of the way. -
![Pip]()
Pip Sent on 10/17/2019Non stop compliments from our guests!
We hired Ke Nui Kitchen for our wedding at Molii Gardens in October. The food was the highlight of the day/night (Apart from the ceremony obviously!). Every guest commented on how amazing the food was. During the booking and planning stage Ke Nui were extremely helpful and responsive. They even managed to source a specialty cake stand that I was unable to find myself. Could not recommend more! -
![Stephanie]()
Stephanie M. Sent on 11/24/2019You will want 2nds and 3rds and 4ths...
The food with Ke Nui Kitchen is creative, innovative, local, and so ono (good) for your event. Having our wedding at Waimea Valley, we were happy to use Ke Nui Kitchen for our catering and bar service. The menu choices are endless, but with Nicole's help we were able to create a pupu (appetizer) and dinner menu within our budget, but without compromising on quality.
The food was a hit with our guests. Everyone couldn't stop raving about the amazing options we had decided on. The cake was also made in-house by Caroline and we were able to have 3 tiers with 3 different flavors. Perfect to satisfy each of our unique guests.
Working with Ke Nui Kitchen was so easy and we promise you won't be disappointed. -
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![Kayumi]()
Kayumi Sent on 08/22/2019Delicious food
Our whole menu turned out to be some of the most delicious food our guests said they have ever had especially at a wedding. Everything tasted great and the presentation was wonderful. We even ordered our cake with them and Caroline did an amazing job; it not only tasted great but it looked great too. Nicole was so easy to work with and always made to sure to keep in quick contact with us throughout the entire process. -
![Kimberley]()
Kimberley Sent on 02/06/2019Still talking about the food!
Unbelievable service leading up to and during our wedding on 1/21/19. We had 25 guests and setting up a menu plan and designing a wedding cake was an absolute breeze emailing back and forth with Nicole as we are up in Vancouver. The food on the day was incredible- major shout out to the sweet potato watercress salad, Kalua pork and our favourite the squid luau- which I will be dreaming about for months to come. The cake was STUNNING as well- so many options for flavours to choose from, we were so happy with the outcome! We are so thankful we chose KNK to work with. Whenever we told others on the island we were using them they had nothing but praise as well. Thank you so much for making our big day SO special! -
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Melissa Sent on 09/11/2018Absolutely LOVED Ke Nui Kitchen! When my wedding planner and I started talking about our priorities for my wedding at Kualoa Ranch, Food was definitely top 3, and I was not disappointed with Ke Nui. Everyone at my wedding could not stop talking about how amazing the food was. Ke nui Kitchen was also very flexible with figuring out our specific wedding menu, as I was a little difficult with what we could or couldn't have at the wedding. They were always very easy to reach and accommodating with my food menu. They did all our appetizers, bread service, salad, entree(I had 3 options), and dessert bar. Everything was so amazing, could not have asked for better!
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User4286819 Sent on 08/19/2015Since we got married at Waimea Valley, we had no choice but to go with KNK as our catering vendor. That was great because it was one less decision for us to make, plus I read so many good reviews! KNK was a pleasure to work with! The 2 catering managers that I worked with (first Carina, who is no longer there, and then Francesca) were a pleasure and so easy to work with! They were both super responsive, which makes it so nice when you’re trying to manage multiple vendors.
The prices and options were very reasonable. We were blown away at our tasting! We were so impressed with the quality and taste of the food and loved how everything was locally sourced. We ended up with the Kailua pig torchon and poke 2 ways for our passed appetizers. We also decided on the fresh local catch and the santa maria tri tip steak. KNK also offered a variety of options in addition to the 2 choices, such a mix/match with a surf and turf option as well as a vegetarian option. They were also very accommodating to some of our guests food allergies.
The catering staff were all very professional and so nice! We even got complements from our guests on not only how good the food was but also how wonderful the catering staff was. Thank you so much, KNK! I highly recommend going with them as your caterer of choice! -
User4286817 Sent on 04/20/2015Ke Nui Kitchen did an amazing job! Thomas, owner and chef, is an awesome chef who devises creative tailor made menus to suit each wedding couple. He came up with an awesome menu for us. When we realized it was a little over our budget, Thomas and his team adjusted the menu so that it was equally outstanding and yet easily within our budget. Nicole, the administrative assistant, is super sweet, professional, and very helpful. She is excellent at keeping the communication lines open and is always quick to respond to emails. Thanks Nicole!
The food was delectable!!!! To start off we had ahi poke and ahi tartar prepared two different ways, and Kalua pig torchon, which was soooooo good! Our salad was a caprese salad with pesto sauce drizzled on top. The pesto sauce honestly is the best pesto sauce I have ever tasted, and I eat a lot of pasta! We had 3 different entrees; Braised Big Island Short Ribs with Okinawan Sweet Potato Garlic Mash (a must have!), Pan Crusted Monchong in a Butter Piccata Sauce with Cauliflower Pure (the fish was so soft and buttery good), and a Linguini Primavera in a light roasted garlic pesto sauce, which was to die for! We did the entrees buffet style. Even though it was buffet style, the presentation was still beautiful.
Not only was the food great but also service was outstanding. I have been in the restaurant industry for over a decade as a waiter and a manager so good service with a positive upbeat attitude is very important to me. The entire Ke Nui Kitchen staff was professional, friendly and efficient. Service was impeccable. The staff was nice and friendly without being intrusive and the bartenders rocked!
I love food! Good food & service was my #1 most important thing for the wedding and Ke Nui Kitchen nailed it! -
![Maria]()
Maria Sent on 03/21/2015Thomas and his staff were amazing!!! All our guests could talk about was the food! One of our friends even stated it was the best meal he's had in 4 years of living in Oahu! We wanted to do a Latin Hawaiian fusion and they delivered. We had people with some food restrictions but his menu was so simple that the minor adjustments could be made without issue. I only regret that we lost the food that they packed up for us to eat later! -
![Caprice]()
Caprice P. Sent on 05/10/2021Delicious and Stunning catering!
Although we didn't "choose" Ke Nui Kitchen (they are an exclusive caterer for the venue we selected), all of their food was outstanding, and pleased so many various guest pallets.
Communication was easy, and they were very professional to work with, not to mention incredibly helpful describing the options we had and suggesting pairing choices.
We opted for a tasting a few days before our wedding, and even though we couldn't make any big changes, they were able to accommodate our requested tweaks for a few things. We didn't do a beverage tasting, and I really wish we would have - the lilikoi mule was delicious but didn't have enough lilikoi flavor to make it memorable. Our other cocktail was a spicy mezcal margarita which ended up stealing the drink show!
Beer selection was a bit of a struggle for us - we are incredibly picky with our beer and have some defined beer pallets having lived in San Diego for so long. >- -
![Emily Hirano]()
Emily H. Sent on 06/26/2023Great bartending, delicious food & cake
We used Ke Nui Kitchen for bartending, food, & cake at our 150 person wedding. Keani, their head bartender is an amazing mixologist who went above and beyond for us. Our specialty cocktails were such a hit and she homemade the best mixers for them (i.e., grilled pineapple reduction, rosemary syrup, etc.). The food was also delicious, especially the short ribs, the mochiko chicken bites, and the guava lilikoi cake! They were also really flexible with us on adjusting the menu and going back and forth. The one nit is that communication was quite slow with them over email. It all worked out in the end but we had to be persistent. Just know that they'll come through for you when it counts! -
User4286823 Sent on 07/06/2016Our venue was Waimea Valley so we were more or less forced to use Ke Nui Kitchen as our caterers but we were extremely pleased that we did! Our menu was definitely random and consisted of all of our favorite foods. Thomas was able to create the most divine plates for us including: ahi poke on sweet potato chips, swedish meatballs, beer bacon breaded mac n cheese, chimichurri steak, mashed potatoes, fresh local greens salad, and amazing local caught crisp white fish. This was literally the best food we had EVER had, I wish I could have it again. I would recommend them time and time again. My only negative experience was with the frequent change in staff so we were constantly chasing people down to stay on track. Other than that it was a perfect day.
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