We recently dropped in to Zia's Caffe for lunch. Their history goes back when I worked at the Kaiser Permanente Kailua Clinic as they were right across the parking lot and we often would cater during clinic staff appreciation luncheons. The Dymond family then expanded to Kaneohe and converted an old Pizza Hut building just off of the main intersection at Likelike Highway and Kamehameha Highway. Then just before the pandemic started, 2nd generation owner Lindsey Dymond sold Zia's Caffe to the Sudermans so the Dymond family could concentrate on running the Kalapawai business. And Micah Suderman recruited Chef Keith Endo from Vino Italian Wine Bar and Tapas and Chef Endo brought a lot of the Vino menu to Zia's Caffe... which worked for us as Vino was our second home (and closed last summer) and is just a 10 minute drive...
We started with a round of cocktails, Ms S selected the Hibiscus Calamansi Spritz ($11) with Kohana agricole rum (rum made from sugarcane juice versus molasses that used in traditional rum), hibiscus calamansi syrup and ginger beer...
While I sampled the The Botanical ($11) with Empress gin (the blue gin with infused butterfly peaflower that turns purple with acidic solutions), litchi liqueur, guava puree and sparkling rose. Both libations were very refreshing!
We then progressed to the Crispy Calamari ($14), crispy as it's coated in cornmeal for extra crunch and served with both a marinara sauce and a basil aioli which is perfect for us as Ms S favors tomato based dips (ie, ketchup) while I favor mayonnaise based dips...
Ms S then order the Chicken Marsala ($20) with a rich Marsala sauce... though her first choice would have been the Fresh Fish on Risotto but alas, they were out of risotto and our server recommended only ordering the fish if it were on risotto - I've had the dish and agree that the lemon asparagus risotto served as a better starch than pasta...
(this is a photo of the Fresh Fish on Risotto from a previous visit)
While I selected the Skyscraper Pizza ($17) with black olive pesto topped with roast beef, bacon and salami then covered with arugula and tomatoes dressed with a red wine vinaigrette. The crusts for all of their pizza are thinner crusts like flatbreads and the leftovers (if any) are still very tasty. I'm still waiting for them to add "Ryan's Negroni" to their cocktail menu... more white vermouth than red and "shaken, not stirred"...
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