While hospitals are typically associated with doctor visits and checkups, people often don’t think of medical centers as being eateries, too — and not just for their patients and staff! Hospitals focus on health and wellness — and this goes for food, too. The dining rooms and eateries in these well-known medical centers offer a variety of healthy options and local favorites to their staff, patients and community members looking for a bite to eat.
The Bistro
The Bistro (640 Ulukahiki St.) at Adventist Health Castle prioritizes creating dishes made from scratch to avoid processed or prepackaged food. It primarily offers vegetarian and vegan dishes, but recently added animal protein to its menu.
The Bistro adheres to the Seventh-day Adventist lifestyle, which ensures every meal is both delicious and meets the nutritional needs of a balanced diet for overall wellness.
The eatery features hot food selections such as a vegetarian entrée, roasted or sauteed vegetables, and a vegetarian soup. A vegetarian-only grill is open on weekdays and offers omelets, quesadillas, veggie burgers, Beyond Burgers and loco mocos made with Beyond Burger patties.
Menus are created weekly to keep offerings innovative and in tune with the latest food trends.
Visit adventisthealth.org/castle/patient-resources/the-bistro.
Sunrise Café
Delight in fresh, locally sourced dishes while overlooking Moanalua Valley at Sunrise Café (3288 Moanalua Road), located on the second floor of Kaiser Permanente’s Moanalua Medical Center. From hot menu items and vegetarian and plant-based entrées to local favorites, cold prepackaged to-go options and a daily salad bar, each of its offerings focuses on meeting a healthy lifestyle and/or dietary restrictions.
Satisfy meat cravings with popular dishes like Hawaiian laulau, chicken hekka and pork adobo. For a vegan or vegetarian option, try the Bangkok basil yellow curry or house-made vegetarian pizza. For new moms, select from a Celebration Menu with dishes like Belgian waffles with seasonal berries or avocado toast with microgreens and a fried egg. Breakfast items are offered all day.
On Mondays and Thursdays, there is also a farmers market at the entrance of the medical center. Visit kpinhawaii.org or call the hospital’s main line at 808-432-0000.
Straub Benioff Café
Straub Benioff Café (888 S. King St.) at Straub Benioff Medical Center offers dishes that range from local favorites to internationally inspired cuisine.
From its popular shoyu chicken or teri beef deluxe to vegetarian options like vegetable lo mein or portobello sandwich, each dish is crafted to be fun and flavorful. Partake in a poke bar, which features ahi, octopus, shrimp, crab and more, or get a bowl of yakisoba noodles with customized toppings (choose from Spam, char siu, egg, fish cake and others) from its ramen bar.
Guests can also enjoy Taco Tuesdays and try creative, themed dishes through Chef’s Corner on Fridays.
Visit hawaiipacifichealth.org/straub/patient-visitors/straub-cafe.
Hauoli Court Dining Room
Hauoli Court Dining Room (98-1079 Moanalua Road) in Pali Momi Medical Center provides affordable delicious meals in a comfortable atmosphere for patients, visitors and staff.
The café boasts freshly baked pastries, grab-and-go options, and local-style comfort food with locally sourced ingredients used whenever possible. Try savory soups like corn chowder — sauteed diced celery, onion and carrots with corn kernels in creamed corn, heavy cream and milk. For a hearty entrée, try the pulehu pork loin served with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables, or the baked spaghetti featuring multiple layers of cheese and spaghetti noodles in a seasoned meat sauce.
Stop by on Thursdays for Hauoli Court’s popular homemade banana bread.
Visit palimomi.org/hauolicourt.
Kobayashi & Kosasa Family Dining Room
Traditional plate lunch items, made-to-order grill options — like classic grilled cheese — soups, a salad bar, pizza and more are tucked away in the Kobayashi & Kosasa Family Dining Room (1319 Punahou St.) on the second floor of Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children’s Diamond Head Tower. There is also a 24/7 Starbucks.
Guests can relax in a modern, functional and kid-friendly space that also features a 1,800-square-foot outdoor lanai and interactive play area for children.
Try the Carolina barbecue pork shoulder or the pan-seared rosemary chicken marinated in garlic, rosemary and paprika, served with mashed potatoes and vegetable confetti. There are also non-meat options like a tofu and vegetable stir fry with garlic black bean sauce.
It also runs a food theme bar with popular items including hot dogs, chicken wings, poke and katsu.
Visit hawaiipacifichealth.org/kapiolani/patient-visitors/dining-room-menu.
Queen’s Medical Center – West Oahu
With a focus on vegan and vegetarian options, The Queen’s Medical Center — West Oahu (91-2141 Fort Weaver Road) offers guests a variety of local and American cuisine. On the fifth floor of the medical center, diners can eat their meals while looking out at views of Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head.
A popular breakfast option (which is exclusive to the West Oahu location) is its aromatic oatmeal, which is a savory oatmeal topped with kale and an over-easy egg. There is also a vegan loco moco, or for a meat option, try the croque monsieur — a French ham and cheese sandwich.
The eatery’s salad bar is stocked with a rotating menu of pre-made salads. Choose from a selection of tofu salads, including chile tofu salad, balsamic tofu salad and its most popular, Japanese tofu salad. There are also beet salad, cabbage and wakame salad, corn and thyme salad, and more. Vegan and vegetarian bowls are also offered every Thursday.
Follow the biz on Instagram (@diningatwest) or call 808-691-3555.
