Cheesecake Factory (Honolulu, Hawaii)

We all know Cheesecake Factory is popular for their cheesecakes but does their savoury mains up to speed with what they are popular for? We will find out as we dined in at their Honolulu branch when we had our holiday there several months ago.

We all know Cheesecake Factory is popular for their cheesecakes but does their savoury mains up to speed with what they are popular for? We will find out as we dined in at their Honolulu branch when we had our holiday there several months ago.

Cheesecake Factory in Honolulu like in most popular cities in the United States always have long queues, were not used to this kind of situation because in New Zealand life is quite laid back and relaxed, we barely queue for food and menu is not complicated, in other words its stress free. It was a total opposite in Honolulu but once in a while it’s acceptable and since we were in a holiday why not try to queue and let’s see whether it’s all worth it.

As I gave my name we were given this electronic device which vibrates when you are called, good idea but the distance is quite limiting as its only for 50 metres if I can remember, it would be good if it can handle at least 500 metres so you can stroll around and do your normal shopping. Anyways we stayed and we were called after 45 minutes, take note this was around 1:30 PM, imagine if it were peak hours like lunch or dinner.

We were seated quickly and we ordered immediately (we had lots of time looking at the menu while waiting). We were asked for our drinks first and whether we like to have some bread rolls. I ordered iced tea and some soft drinks, we ordered our mains. The first service was quick, bread was laid on the table and drinks were served in less than 5 minutes but as I drank the ice tea I was quite surprised as it was not the sweet variant I knew American restaurants serve, instead it was just plain ice tea without lemon and sugar. I politely asked the waiter if I can replace it with soft drinks and I was lucky they can do it without extra charge.

Now the mains started to get served and we had the following, first was a Brioche Breakfast Sandwich which is basically Scrambled Eggs, Smoked Bacon, Ham, Grilled Tomato, Melted Cheddar Cheese and Mayonnaise served on Grilled Brioche Bread and Served with Potatoes. When this came my first reaction was I thought we ordered a brioche sandwich why does it look like a normal sliced bread? Well it is a sandwich but the texture was brioche like, this order was quite hefty and the sandwich definitely have some weight to it. It was good and definitely very filling, we also loved the crunchy cubed potatoes served on the side.

Another order was Renee’s Special which is One-Half of a Chicken Salad Sandwich, Soup and a Small Green Salad. The soup I guess changes on what’s available and per branch, what we got that day was some sort of Chicken Tortilla Soup. It was good as well but nothing really special, I guess everyone can do something similar or even better at home.

Then we also had the Macaroni and Cheeseburger and it was the first time I will be having something like this. It was a Charbroiled burgers Topped with Creamy Fried Macaroni and Cheese Balls and Cheddar Cheese Sauce served with Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, Onion and Mayo. It was also served with French Fries on the side. Honestly this burger was amazing but if it’s without the Macaroni and Cheese Balls, I think I had a different expectation. Don’t get me wrong, like I said the burger alone was good, the patty was moist, the buns used was also great, the texture is like in the middle of ciabatta and a normal burger bun but the deep dried Macaroni and Cheese Balls just don’t make it, looks more like a gimmick to me. The burgers was big as well so definitely it would fill you up when you are hungry.

Overall the food was great apart from that deep fried Macaroni and Cheese Balls, for me it’s too oily and it does not have that cheesy velvety creamy taste and texture I was imagining. So would I recommend it? Well it’s a mixed bag of emotions as we tried some of their cheesecakes before and without a doubt they were freaking amazing and I can queue even for an hour for it but queueing for food that did not meet my expectation well… Without the queue go ahead feel free to try their good savoury lunch menu but to wait for 45 minutes, I guess next time I will do it somewhere else.

The Cheesecake Factory
Address: Royal Hawaiian Center, 2301 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96815, United States
Phone: +1 808-924-5001
Website: http://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/