Eating Local: Hawaiian-French Fusion at Bistro Punahele Tonnelier in Oakley, CA

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“Eating local” at Bistro Punahele Tonnelier in Oakley, California has a double meaning for me. Firstly, I’m eating local to where I currently live in the Bay Area. Secondly, I’m eating “local-style” food from where I grew up – Maui, Hawaii!

Not only is this restaurant Hawaiian-inspired, but it’s Hawaiian-French fusion. Quite a combo, eh? But it works. If you want to try beautifully-crafted French food like stuffed crepes, burgers with béarnaise sauce, Croque Madame or Chicken Cordon Bleu, while your dining mates throw down some hearty crispy spam and fried rice plates, this is where you want to be.

Location of the Bistro

Where the heck is Oakley, California anyway? Well, it’s in the East San Francisco Bay Area – pretty far east, so you can imagine how much of a pleasure it is to have such a unique restaurant out here in the burbs! It’s definitely worth the trek though, especially for all my fellow foodies.

Address: 3530 Main St, Oakley, CA 94561

Bistro Decor

Exposed brick. Wood paneled walls. Retro posters from Hawaii and France. I absolutely love everything about this little stand-alone building and its decor! Everything about this place will make you feel cozy.

Do note that it can get a little loud when dining indoors at peak hours as it’s a small building that can get pretty packed. If you’re looking for peace and quiet, they also have tables for outdoor seating, which I recommend on days with nice weather.

Bistro Food

Alright – let’s get to the best part! It was hard for me to restrain myself the first time we visited because I just wanted to try everything on the menu! Now that we’ve visited the restaurant several times, I’ve got enough in my pocket to write a detailed review.

Guava Chiffon Pancakes

I’m not a big pancake eater, but when I saw guava chiffon pancakes on the menu, I had to try them – and this wasn’t even my main meal! I kindly shared them of course. I thought the pancakes were light and fluffy, and the guava chiffon syrup on top was perfectly delicious.

If I get them again, I would probably ask for a small extra cup of sauce to make things a little more moist since you don’t have traditional syrup to soak through the pancakes. Plus, it was just really good!

Aloha Tower

The Aloha Tower is really the big star of the show, made with a hamburger patty, gravy, spam, eggs of choice (plus bacon for extra $), on top coconut fried rice (I almost want to say the coconut fried rice is my favorite part of this dish!). I like to call this dish Loco Moco on steroids.

The bistro really knows how to cook a hamburger patty well so that it’s flavorful and nice and juicy, and the addition of the spam and bacon for you all you pork lovers will make all your salty meat dreams come true. Top that off with a runny egg to make everything a bit saucy, and you’ve got one heck of a dish here. Commence food coma in 3…2…1.

Corned Beef Hash

If you want something a little less meaty, I would recommend trying the corned beef hash dish, which is a patty made of corned beef and potato on top of rice (it comes with steamed white rice but I recommend switching it out for some coconut fried rice), gravy and eggs of your choice.

I really liked the flavors here (it seemed to have some ginger in the patty – I could be wrong, but if that’s what it was, I appreciated the bite), and found that it was easier to eat than the heaping pile of meat you get on the Aloha Tower (this is coming from me, who is not a big meat eater though!). No offense Aloha Tower – you still kick ass.

Kahuku Garlic Shrimp

I was super excited to try this Kahuku-style garlic shrimp dish! We had just been to O’ahu prior to our first visit here and had the most delicious spicy garlic shrimp on the North Shore (you can read about that in this post). Kahuku is an area on the North Shore of O’ahu that is known for having a plethora of shrimp trucks (we actually ate at one in Haleiwa, but that’s close enough).

Oakley Bistro’s version was pretty tasty! Lots of butter and garlic, and the necessary green onions for extra flavor. I also liked the puffed cheesy bread that came on the side! My only gripe…I wanted more shrimp on my plate.

Salmon & Spinach Omelette-Stuffed Crepe

This stuffed crepe was actually my first main dish I tried at the Bistro. At the time, I wasn’t eating much meat, so I was looking for the best pescatarian option. The idea that I could get my omelette stuffed in a delicious crepe sounded new and exciting, so I went with it! It came with a side of piping hot crispy potatoes (which I must say, were excellent).

If I’m being honest here, I thought the crepe itself was delicious, but the omelette inside left me wanting a bit more (there was not much smoked salmon in the omelette, and there was no cheese either, so it was a little on the dry side). I’d definitely be willing to try it again but will ask to add cheese next time.

Le French Burger

Just look at that bearnaise sauce cascading from the burger! The Le French Burger was a decadent treat for my husband – a hamburger patty with caramelized onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, and blue cheese with béarnaise sauce. The patty was cooked perfectly and seasoned just right, and all accompaniments came together for an incredible flavor explosion. Wow…that is all. You’ve got to try it for yourself!

P.O.G. Mimosas & Sangrias

If you love brunch drinks, the P.O.G. mimosas are delicious (P.O.G. stands for passion orange guava, and it’s a Hawaii favorite). You can get a carafe and share them with the table. Or, if you don’t like alcohol for breakfast, you can also get a side of juice (I recommend the guava).

They also serve Sangria – I got myself an individual one with my garlic shrimp above and it came in a giant glass! It was nice and refreshing. Money well spent.

Haupia

Lastly, we have come to the sweets. Haupia is a very Hawaiian dessert, which I can only describe as a mix between jello and custard. I’ve seen it prepared a few different ways, but the bistro’s version was more of a custard/pudding. If you like coconut, this should be the dessert that you get! It came with toasted coconut shavings and fresh strawberries on top which balanced it out well.

Vegetarian-Friendly?

I will say, the Bistro is not the most vegetarian-friendly of places, but they do have a few things you could order, such as a spinach & mushroom or ratatouille omelettes (also could be in the stuffed crepe), beignets, pancakes, and French toast.

Things I’m eyeing for next visit…

Since we can’t eat everything off the menu at once, here are a few things I plan to try on future visits:

• Lomi Lomi Salmon Salad (lomi lomi salmon is one of my absolute favorite Hawaiian dishes so I’d like to see how the Bistro’s compares!)
• Apple Beignets (beignets are delicious fried dough pastries typically coated with powdered sugar – and these come with apple and salted caramel)
• Crispy Spam Plate (Spam and coconut fried rice)

Pertinent Info

Reservations

I highly recommend making reservations at the bistro, especially if you’re going for weekend brunch! If you get there early enough, you might get lucky. Once you pass the 10:00 a.m. mark, be prepared for a wait (and I’m talking like up to an hour). It’s a small place, though they have added some outdoor tables for more seats.

They don’t take same-day reservations either (I tried, lol). So be sure to plan ahead!

Book your resy here: http://www.oakleybistro.com/reservations2.html

Hours

Bistro Punahele Tonnelier only servers breakfast/brunch and lunch (no dinner at this time).

• Weekdays: 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (but closed on Tuesdays & Wednesdays
• Weekends: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Plan your visit! Check out their online menu: http://www.oakleybistro.com/menu.html

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Ultimately, Bistro Punahele Tonnelier will leave you full and satisfied (and probably wanting to take a nice long nap after all you’ve consumed). If you visit the restaurant, let me know what you order below!

Happy eating!

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