We tried to spend a lot of time along the north shore of Maui during our recent trip back to that tropical paradise, primarily in the small surfer town of Paia and in the Upcountry of the island. We got up early one morning to head over to Paia to find a place to get something to eat for breakfast. We turned onto Baldwin Ave. and didn't go far to find a brightly painted building with open doors and windows welcoming people in for breakfast. We parked the car and went into Cafe Mambo.
Jamie Betham was a native of the United Kingdom who was a commercial airline pilot for a number of years. His wife, Olga, was of Spanish descent and the two fell in love with Maui on a number of visits there over the years. Getting burned out on his pilot career, Betham wanted to follow his heart and passion for food. In 2003, the Betham's bought the former Picnics restaurant in Paia, a former health food restaurant that served food like spinach nut veggie burgers in the 1980's. They brought a little bit of Mediterranean and Spanish cuisine to Hawaii - foods that Olga's family made while she was growing up.
In June of 2011, the Betham's opened up a second Cafe Mambo location, this one over 5000 miles away in Westhampton Beach, NY on the far east end of Long Island in the Hamptons. The seasonal restaurant serves up breakfast, lunch and dinner like its sister restaurant on Maui. And in 2013, on the success of the Westhampton Beach Cafe Mambo location, the Betham's opened Mambo Kitchen in the same area serving breakfast until 12 noon each day, along with burgers made from locally-raised beef, unique sandwiches and fresh squeezed juices.
We pulled into Paia around 9:30 that particular morning and found a parking space just down Baldwin Ave. from Cafe Mambo's location. (see map) We were seated along a wall with tables and wood banquette seating. Our server Aimee came over to greet us and dropped off a couple of breakfast menus for us. (While we were there, we also looked through the lunch menu and the dinner menu. While there were some interesting things on the menus such as a kalua duck burrito or a Moroccan-spiced lamb stew, we just didn't have enough time to make it back for another meal on this trip.)
Cafe Mambo is not all that big. They have a blackboard with specials on the wall behind the counter that separates the kitchen from the dining area. Art work and ceramics from local artists adorn the walls and shelves around the restaurant - all of which are for sale at Cafe Mambo. We were on vacation, of course, so I ordered up a Bloody Mary while Cindy got a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice. I wasn't impressed with the taste of the Bloody Mary and I thought it was a little expensive for what it was. I got a double espresso with a glass of orange juice after I finished my drink.
The breakfast menu was unique with a number of healthy and vegetarian options such as two eggs over a bed of quinoa or the Mambo fruit bowl. They did have the Hawaiian breakfast staple - the Loco Moco - on the menu, as well as a number of omelets, cinnamon-raisin French toast, pancakes, something called the "Hippie Quesadilla", a large flour tortilla that was filled with scrambled eggs, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and cheddar cheese.
Cindy went with the Healthy Start - egg whites scrambled with spinach, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes and it came with herb and paprika-seasoned home-fried potatoes. All the veggies were fresh and she liked what she had tremendously.
I went with the Mambo omelet. It was filled with sausage, bacon and cheese. I had a choice between the seasoned potatoes or some toasted focaccia bread and I went with the focaccia. The omelet was loaded with ground sausage and chopped bacon with a sufficient amount of cheese mixed in. I made short work of the omelet, but didn't have any more than a couple bites of the crunchy, yet fluffy bread. It wasn't that I didn't care for the focaccia toast - it was very good. I was just full after finishing off the omelet.
Breakfast is a big deal in Hawaii and there's a lot of very good breakfast places that we've found on our travels to the islands. Cafe Mambo was a unique experience with a laid-back and friendly "aloha" atmosphere, an above average breakfast with good service. I wasn't impressed with the Bloody Mary they served, but that was the only negative thing that I could come up with during our visit to Cafe Mambo. It was too bad we didn't make it back for either lunch or dinner as our time was limited on Maui, but this would be a place I'd love to try again in the afternoon or evening if we make it back out to Hawaii at some point.
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