When Bread + Butter opened last summer, I was more than a little confused. There was a menu spanning Spanish-style tapas, Japanese, local, hapa and experimental dishes. Pretty much everything, except the expected great bread and butter, and there was no table service to help diners sort through the high concept. Which was, I was told, to be the mobile warrior’s neighborhood go-to spot to hang out, meet up, grab a quick bite and get some work done.
Long story short, let’s just say that sometimes a restaurant needs time to find its bearings, but this diner can’t always wait around for that moment. There’s always another restaurant opening somewhere in this foodie metropolis.
But recently, the launch of weekend brunch at the now ampersanded Bread & Butter gave me a reason to return. It’s one more way to enjoy a lazy morning or afternoon with mimosas, eggs, potatoes, bacon — the stuff of a good life. Coincidentally, it also provides one more option for a Mother’s Day outing.
The sister restaurant to Hide Sakurai’s Buho Cocina y Cantina in Waikiki and Shokudo Japanese Restaurant and Bar, Bread & Butter is conveniently sited next door to Shokudo at Kapiolani Boulevard and Kaheka Street near Ala Moana Center.
BREAD & BUTTER (BRUNCH) 1585 Kapiolani Blvd. Food *** Service **1/2 Ambience ***1/2 Value ***1/2 Call: 949-3430 Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays Cost: About $25 to $35 for two without alcohol Ratings compare similar restaurants: **** – excellent *** – very good ** – average * – below average
At the top of its menu is a short list of sparkling wines by the glass (Kenwood Brut, Segura Viudas Brut or Canella Prosecco at $7 to $10, respectively) or guava or orange mimosas by the glass for $8. If you’re in an extra celebratory mood, bottomless mimosas are $29.95.
Menu options range from light and healthy to hearty and decadent. On the light side are a papaya bowl with Greek yogurt, fresh fruit, granola and honey ($6.95), or an acai bowl with fresh berries, bananas, granola and honey ($9.95).
A Caesar salad ($12) should never be mistaken for a healthful dish, and here it’s even less so with a salad hater’s dream come true: the addition of slivers of thick-cut bacon. It’s not enough to ruin anyone’s diet, but the extra kick of salt and fat is most welcome. The dressing is offered on the side to give diners more control over flavor and/or fat intake.
The Caesar comes with a cup of clam chowder and slices of Parmesan-, garlic- and rosemary-crusted focaccia to make it a full meal. A stand-alone bowl of the satisfying chowder is $6.
You’ll also find pancakes topped with a blueberry compote and cream cheese ($8.95), but chances are you’re not checking out this place to get something common to any diner or pancake house. Veering from the traditional, French toast starts with thick-cut Japanese white bread that is topped with blueberries, raspberries and powdered sugar ($8.95). I liked the toothy, chewy texture of taro-flour pancakes topped with bananas, berries and a cloud of fresh whipped cream ($10.95).
Then we get to some fun stuff, like the chef’s Egg Slut ($8.95), a jar of smoked mashed potatoes topped with oozy egg and served with sliced baguette for dipping. No need to fear the carb-on-carb action; this is awesome stuff.
Prosciutto & Egg ($13.95) works with a similar idea. Prosciutto-wrapped baguette slices are presented with a soft-boiled egg as dipping sauce, but it’s served chilled and no one I know wants to eat chilled egg yolk. We want it warm and silky.
A mild kim chee fried rice-filled omelet ($9.95) is layered with slices of Portuguese sausage, all ingredients I love, though most people who order this dish are probably expecting a stronger kim chee flavor and a touch of heat nearly absent in this dish.
A lobster roll ($18) can’t compete with East Coast versions, but it’s there if you have the craving. In Bread & Butter’s version of avocado toast, a thick layer of chunky “smashed” avocado, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and chopped pistachios and walnuts tops two slices of toasted French baguette ($11.95), served with two slices of bacon.
Other dishes that top my list of must-tries are the pork belly eggs Benedict ($13) and a favorite from the restaurant’s original menu, the four-cheese (mozzarella, goat, Parmesan, blue cheese) and honey pizza ($13.95), for a winning combination of savory and sweet.
If you’re thinking about returning for dinner, the evening menu has been pared down in a way that makes sense, with the original roster of tapas, a meat-and-cheese bar, chef’s charcuterie and a handful of Mediterranean- style entrees, from porcini risotto ($18.95) to lamb chops with figs and sweet potato gnocchi ($29.95). And, mark your calendars for weekly Paella Tuesdays.