Family-style comfort food done the right way

Bao Bun Benedict ($13)

Guieb Café’s story is one of triumph over adversity. The Guiebs are a local family with a passion for food who started a company called Guieb’s Catering in 2009. They planned to open Guieb Café prior to COVID-19 and, against all odds, they opened the restaurant in June 2020 despite the challenges of the pandemic. And, they’ve been serving delicious comfort foods ever since.

One of the most popular dishes on the menu is the Prime Rib Loco Moco ($17), a 10-ounce slice of prime rib that sits on your choice of starch, including white rice, mashed potatoes, brown rice ($1 extra) or fried rice ($3 more). It’s all topped with gravy and eggs any style you’d like, and garnished with shaved green onions.

Prime Rib Loco Moco ($17)

Try the Ube Mascarpone ($12), with three fluffy stacks of purple pancakes made out of purple yam, topped with a thick ube mascarpone sauce. This menu item is garnished with fresh berries and powdered sugar. Another option is the Bao Bun Benedict ($13) with housemade char siu pork belly sitting on a bao bun. This Benedict also includes fresh cucumber, cilantro and hoisin sauce, and is topped with hollandaise sauce, accompanied with your choice of side.

The restaurant also hosts food distributions once or twice a year to places like Waianae Boat Harbor, Kakaako Waterfront and other areas in Kalihi.

Ube Mascarpone ($12)

“We know and understand what it’s like to not have a hot meal or anything, which is why we are always giving back to the community as long as we are able. We have been giving back as a family and as our following grew, we utilized that to expose our distributions to attract more people that would benefit from this,” says founder Maria Guieb.

“On behalf of the Guieb Café, we would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to the community that supports local businesses during these times. By doing so, they’re helping local families put food on the table for themselves and ohana. We are grateful for awesome loyal customers that continue to dine in with us and stick it out with us during our ever-growing journey. We humbly take any and all feedback from supportive guests and utilize their information to move forward and succeed as a family-owned and -operated restaurant establishment,” she adds.