Tutu’s Soup Hale is not just in the business of offering comfort food, they are offering comfort — period. Luxurious, dark purple velvet-covered chairs and a cozy, plantation era sofa furnishes the “living room” of the restaurant, complete with a
Tutu’s Soup Hale is not just in the business of offering comfort food, they are offering comfort — period.
Luxurious, dark purple velvet-covered chairs and a cozy, plantation era sofa furnishes the “living room” of the restaurant, complete with a lending library book shelf and dominos. Savory aromas sneak out of the kitchen, wafting into the small smattering of tables in the airy dining room. Outside, under the sheltering Banyan tree hangs a dart board. It’s official: I want to move in.
“That’s why we put ‘hale’ into the name, we wanted it to feel like you are in our home,” Sage McCluskey said, co-owner with Bert McCluskey. “It’s like an open-air ‘Cheers’ atmosphere where everyone knows your name — if you don’t know someone when you come in you will by the time you leave.”
The clientele, besides faithful regulars, are often international travelers, Bert McCluskey said, as well as the health conscious.
“Vegetarians find us, and vegans seek us out because of their limited options,” he added. Tutu’s is not totally vegetarian or vegan (they serve albacore tuna and dairy is in much of the menu) but even carnivores won’t miss the meat with this food.
They offer three signature soups daily, with free samples to taste before you commit with your order: The Baked Potato, the Upcountry Mushroom, and the Lentil and Brown Rice. A fourth soup is offered throughout the week, such as Cream of Breadfruit or Spicy Tomato Cilantro. All soups are served with a honey corn bread muffin.
“You can mix the soups half and half, some people mix three or four, or some just top their soup,” Bert McCluskey said. The mixing adds delicious dimensions to the soups, for example topping off the thick, creamy Baked Potato with the spicy, tangy Tomato Cilantro.
When asked how they developed the concept and the food menu for Tutu’s Soup Hale, the McCluskeys said it took six years of “trial and error.” And for the past year in business-Tutu’s Soup Hale celebrates its one year anniversary this month — they are now operating smoothly and comfortably.
“We were in overload,” Sage McCluskey said of the beginning days of Tutu’s last year, with both of them in the kitchen and in front. “Now we’re in a flow.”
“Our food is made to order,” Bert McCluskey said. “You’re not going to have tomatoes that were sliced three days ago; you’re going to have tomatoes that are fresh, right off the vine.”
Tutu’s purchases much of its produce from Dante’s Family Farms, and other products locally, and often trades for soup.
Also offered at Tutu’s are originals like the Taro Burger, Cashew and Basil Pate served with foccacia bread, and breakfast specials, which is the meal the McCluskeys are focusing on most these days. Bert’s Breakie is a morning staple at Tutu’s, with scrambled eggs and veggie sausage on a croissant. The Hawaiian Sweetbread French Toast impressed a visitor from Michigan so much he sent a box of maple syrup to the McCluskey’s after returning home.
The breakfast menu also includes fresh pressed coffee, chai, and Kaua‘i’s own Da Cha teas. Regular customers even have their personalized mugs they drink out of when there.
“It’s a coffeehouse feel, with everyone talking across the room,” Sage McCuskey said. However don’t mistake Tutu’s for one of those bustling, tech-happy modern places. They want to keep it Kaua’i style.
“We have people ask if we are going to get Wi-Fi,” Bert McCluskey said, adding the answer is no. “We want people to be in the present moment.”
During the past year, the McCluskeys have opened its doors to many community events, including a poetry slam, art openings, Hawaiian music, and have more coming up in the future, including tea tastings, animal communication classes, and a kava happy hour.
“We serve it up in coconut cups,” said Sage McCluskey of the kava. “It’s a nice alternative to people who don’t drink (alcohol).” Currently, they also have ongoing events of belly dancing with the Garden Island Belly Dancing Troupe once a month, intuitive readings and chair massages.
Tutu’s Soup Hale is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are located in the Kinipopo Shopping Village behind Kaua‘i Water Ski and Surf Company in Kapa‘a. For more information, call 639-6312.
