# Da Kitchen Cafe

> Da Kitchen is a beloved Maui institution serving big-portion, fair-priced Hawaiian plate-lunch cooking - loco moco, kalua pork, chicken katsu and its famous deep-fried Spam musubi. Founded in 1998, it grew into a cult favorite with appearances on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Man v. Food and Bizarre Foods before reinventing itself as Da Kitchen Cafe.

- **Founded:** 1998
- **Headquarters:** Kahului, Maui, Hawaii, United States
- **Founders:** Les Tomita (Co-Founder)
- **Team size:** Small restaurant team (Apollo lists 820 employees, likely inaccurate for an independent cafe)
- **Products:** Hawaiian Plate, Deep-Fried Spam Musubi, Loco Moco, Chicken Katsu Plate, Kalua Pork
- **Notable:** Featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri, Featured on Travel Channel's Man v. Food and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Grew from one Kihei location (1998) to outlets in Kahului and Moiliili, Oahu

## Products & services

- **Hawaiian Plate** — A sampler of island classics - kalua pork, lomi salmon, poi and more - served plate-lunch style.
- **Deep-Fried Spam Musubi** — Da Kitchen's signature: Spam musubi breaded, deep-fried and drizzled with kabayaki sauce. The dish that put them on national TV.
- **Loco Moco** — Rice, hamburger patty, fried egg and gravy - the canonical Hawaiian comfort plate, in Da Kitchen's oversized format.
- **Chicken Katsu Plate** — Crispy panko-breaded chicken cutlet with rice and mac salad, a plate-lunch staple.
- **Kalua Pork** — Slow-cooked, smoky shredded pork in the traditional Hawaiian style.

## Achievements

- Featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Fieri
- Featured on Travel Channel's Man v. Food and Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
- Grew from one Kihei location (1998) to outlets in Kahului and Moiliili, Oahu
- Built a cult following for its deep-fried Spam musubi
- Reopened as Da Kitchen Cafe in May 2021 after pandemic closures

## Latest updates

- **2020-07** — Announced closure of its Kahului location after 20 years amid pandemic economic fallout.
- **2021-05** — A reimagined Da Kitchen Cafe reopened in a ~1,000 sq ft space at Kihei Center.

## Links

- Website: https://da-kitchen.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/da-kitchen-cafe
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/dakitchenmaui
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RalAKcMEZBA
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dakitchenkihei
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/dakitchen
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/da-kitchen-maui-guy-fieri

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/da-kitchen-cafe
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-02