New Hawaiian restaurant opens in Atascadero
Chris and Ayako Williams, owners of Kula Hawaiian Kitchen and Kula Vineyards & Winery.
Kula Hawaiian Kitchen offers taste of island life
– Kula Hawaiian Kitchen, located in Atascadero, opened for business on Aug. 16 with a menu full of classic Hawaiian fare. Owners Chris and Ayako Williams, who also own Kula Vineyards and Winery, draw on their experience living in Hawaii for the restaurant.
“After we were married, Ayako and I both lived in Hawaii, on Oahu, where we fell in love with the flavors of Hawaii. We spent so many evenings eating at the Diamond Head Grill, a casual takeout spot near our house…Fast forward many years, Ayako and I moved to the Central Coast in 2014 and opened our winery. After a day working in our Atascadero tasting room, the thing we missed the most was to sit back and relax with some teriyaki chicken and rice, or a poke bowl,” said Williams, adding that “I also spent time there in high school when my military father was stationed in Hawaii. I still remember eating the ever-present Hawaiian plate lunches of a protein, two scoops of rice, and macaroni salad.”
Spam musubi, a popular dish at Kula Hawaiian Kitchen.
The Williams started Kula Vineyards and Winery in 2014 and opened their Atascadero tasting room in 2019. They were inspired to bring Kula Hawaiian Kitchen to the community based on their passion for Hawaiian cuisine and pairing Kula wines with these meals.
“We thought that we could create the menu that we loved, and hoped to find enough people to share it with. At the same time, we thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to highlight our wines and how perfectly they pair with this cuisine, so we opened [Kula Hawaiian Kitchen], paired with our tasting room in the same space,” Williams said.
One of the most popular dishes is the spam musubi, a sweet Japanese style egg with spam, rice and seaweed. Entrees to try include the mochiko chicken, a Hawaiian style fried chicken that is marinated for 24 hours and served with rice and macaroni salad, and the traditional kalua pork, which can be ordered with rice and a side or in the form of three tacos.
The Kalua pork, a traditional Hawaiian dish.
Poke bowls are also available, with options for tuna or salmon; they come with a house-made poke sauce, rice, edamame and carrots.
“My favorite is the teriyaki chicken, which I loved from my high school days. It’s a simple recipe, but marinated for 24 hours in our own house-made teriyaki sauce and then grilled on our broiler. If we run out, we are sold out for the day because it takes 24 hours to make this dish. It’s chicken, rice, and sauteed vegetables,” said Williams, who noted there are vegetarian and gluten free options on the menu.
Kula Hawaiian Kitchen is located at 6200 El Camino Real in Atascadero. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, call (805) 296 – 7765 or visit their website here.
-By Sadie Mae Mace
