Best fish sandwich on Kauai?
 

The Hawaii withdrawal was too much to take, so we scraped together enough points & miles to make it affordable and we are heading to Kauai next month! It has been about 5 years since our last visit to Kauai so I'm looking for any current restaurant recommendations. Location doesn't matter as we will have a car and like to get out and explore. I'd love recommendations for a good fish sandwich, other cheap eats and even a place for a nice dinner with my husband. Thanks!

I saved this from another thread a couple of weeks ago:

"Very good restaurants in Poipu area, so they don't have to drive the hour and half back from the north shore after dining and drinking:
Beach House, Roy's, Tidepool's, Plantation Gardens, Merriman's, Dondero's, Red Salt, Stevenson's Library Jazz and sushi at Hyatt

Casual: Keoki's Paradise Poipu and Dukes, Lihue

Best Sunset Catamaran sail is Captain Andy's from Port Allen.
Best golf: Poipu Bay Golf Course at the Grand Hyatt
Best Helo: Jack Harter from Lihue
Best Shave Ice: Jo Jo's or Wishing Well"

Thanks sf7307! Merriman's looks interesting.

Not a sandwich but real good fish and chips at Kalapaki Beach Hut by the Marriott Hotel in Lihue. Hamburgers are pretty good also. Again, not a fish sandwich place, but Hamura Saimin on Kress Street in Lihue for an amazing bowl of steaming saimin, barbeque chicken or beef sticks and a slice of delicious lilikoi pie.

For that special dinner, I second suggestion above for Plantation Gardens. Very good value. Have seafood lau lau, which is delicious.

In researching our September trip, I've had a couple recommendations for Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant (& Fish Market), which does have fish sandwiches on its menu. If you happen to get there, please report back!

Now that we are on the subject of markets.. ;) how about Koloa Fish Market for seared ahi, sashimi, poke of every type and denomination (Korean being one of personal favorites here), and plate lunches. Get there early (by 11:00) for the best selection of plate lunches, which you can then take to the beach and enjoy!

Now you got me into Kauai withdrawal and I am not getting my fix until February 2012!

Had a tasty dinner at Josselin's in Poipu this past February if tapas interest you.

Thank you!! All of the suggestions sound wonderful. Hamura Saimin will be a huge hit with my teens. I stayed at Kiahuna Plantation on my last trip and never ate at Plantation Gardens so I'll have to give it a try for a least a cocktail and pupus while my kids are getting their Puka Dog fix across the street. I'll make sure I report back on any of the above suggestions. I'd really like to try them all.

We're thinking of going for 5 or 6 days in the fall. Can't wait to try all of these suggestions, although I avoid "fine dining" in Hawaii -- generally doesn't measure up to San Francisco so not worth it to me. But I love all the other more casual and inexpensive suggestions. A cocktail at Plantation Gardens sounds perfect!

Any suggestions for more casual but sit-down restaurants (any type of food) in the Poipu area. We like Keoki's casual side -- is there anything else like it? We had dinner at Pizzetta in Koloa Town a few years ago and it was awful -- bad service and mediocre food.

Hi sf7307,

How about breakfast or lunch at Kalaheo Coffee (they are not open for dinner) or maybe Tomkats? The latter gets mixed reviews but I have always had good luck there as long as I stick to simpler stuff like fish and chips, burgers, etc. Tomkats is in Koloa.

Thanks jamie. I'll add them to my list.

Is Merriman's as good as it looks? We don't tend to eat out 'nice' in Hawaii, but this looks good.

I am planning a trip to Kauai very soon myself. So please keep this list growing as I will print it out and take it with me. A shopowner near my home recommended Merriman's. I didn't see it in "...Revealed." She said it was very good. I have found out nothing about it.

Not sure if you are interested in the north shore, but we had a lovely dinner at Postcards in Hanalei. Atmosphere, food, desert, coffee, service all great.

Merriman's was excellent when we dined there in December 2009. We dined in the upstairs restaurant, not the cafe downstairs. Honestly, there is nothing else in Poipu in terms of casual dining where one would get one's vacation $$ worth, but this is my subjective opinion. I can only do Keoki's bar area on nights when there is live music, since I find the dining room dining overpriced and underwhelming. I really like having a drink and sonme sushi at Stevenson's Library (bar) at the Hyatt, but by the time drinks and sushi are accounted for, it is no longer casual dining.

anna_roz, we're staying at the Hyatt this time (freebies!). I agree with you about dining in Poipu, so where DO you eat?

Kalaheo Cafe and Coffeeeeeeee....<i>yummmmmmmmmmmm</i>

I'll be there!

Thanks for topping this sf7307. I agree about Pizzetta. It was probably the worst and most expensive pizza I have ever eaten. I checked the menu at Kalaheo Cafe and the Sweet Bread French Toast sounds delicious! I'll probably need to head to Waimea Canyon for a hike after breakfast. Any suggestions for finding a good malasada?

wtm, sounds like a perfect day - french toast and a latte for breakfast, hike at Waimea Canyon, malasada for desert, a little beach time. What could be better? (Too bad you'll be there in June and not October -- we could do this day together!)

Where do we eat... We stay in a condo, so it makes things easier in terms of meals. In a span of a two week holiday, we normally dine once at Plantation Gardens and another fancy-shmency place, like Merriman's or Roy's. We "dine" at least every other day, lunch or dinner or in between, at Hamura Saimin since I am totally addicted to it. We will do Keoki's bar area once or twice. Stevenson's Library once or twice. Maybe breakfast at Joe's on the Green (behind Poipu Shopping Village) and lunch at Hanalei Gourmet when we head to the North Shore. That is the extent of it. I could tell you that we miss one of our favorite dives, Camp House Grill, miserably but it has been pau for years now so what good does whining do? Oh, we get lots of stuff at Koloa Fish Market - sushi, poke, sashimi, seared ahi and eat this stuff at home. Hard to do this kind of stuff when you stay at a hotel, but the Hyatt is stunning! I am ready to crawl into your suitcase.

There's a very casual place midway along the coast on the east side of the island. I forgot the name since we met up with another couple of old friends there. You eat out in the garden at night, and there's live music. Very nice and mellow place, and it was not expensive. They let you bring your own wine. And between the 4 of us, we polished off 3 bottles.

Anyone know what that place? Even our friend had forgotten what it's called. Maybe because of the wine. :)

All those places sound good to me. In all the times we've been to Kauai we've never tried Hamura Saimin. It sounds like the kind of place we'd like.

All those places sound good to me. In all the times we've been to Kauai we've never tried Hamura Saimin. It sounds like the kind of place we'd like.

I dunno about Hamura's...you run into a lot of shady characters there: http://www.worldisround.com/articles/323707/photo1.html

JC..Huki Lau? You sit on a patio overlooking the garden area of the hotel???

Hukilau Lanai. It is good. No offense here, but I hope you did not drive after polishing all this wine.

In several decades of visiting Kauai, I have never-ever seen a shady character at Hamura Saimin. There are lots of working folks, retirees, moms with kids out for lunch, teens, increasingly more and more tourists (who do not know the protocol of no lingering around when people are waiting), but no one shady.

Hamura is an institution on Kauai and local legend has it that Oahu businessmen fly over for lunch of a steaming bowl of Saimin to turn around and fly right back. You can say lots of things about other establishments, but do not mess with Hamura. The place is sacred.

Never mind the gripe.. Did not bother following the link. Took it all personally. How dare anyone talk about my favorite place!?! All good. ;)

Mrs. Kal shady? I don't think so :-)

sf...only when she carries an umbrella!

Anna_r...apologies. Should have done the "winkie" after my comment.
Love the place but haven't been the past few years since the damn Blue Bible has turned too many people on to it.

We stay next door to Huki Lau so it's a short stumble and crawl "home".

I'm back from Kauai and following up to my original post. I sampled four fish burgers during my trip.

Merriman's Grilled Island Fish Burger $11.95 was my favorite. The roll was light and tasty, the basil aioli added a nice flavor and most importantly the tomato was ripe. Everything tasted fresh and the fish was cooked well. I had marlin which was the catch of the day. This was the only place that did not include sprouts on the sandwich. No fries included in the price. I thought their mai tai was also very good.

Keoki's Paradise Fresh Fish Sandwich $14.95. The catch of the day was opah and included fries. I liked the wasabi caper aioli. Cracked wheat bun was a little heavy but no complaints overall.

Hanalei Gourmet Fresh Island Fish Sandwich $14.95. While my teens headed to Bubba's for burgers, my husband & I sat on the porch next door at Hanalei Gourmet to sample another fish sandwich. This time it was ono on a standard bun with a lemon dill mayo and included fries. Semi-ripe tomato.

Kalapaki Grill Fresh Fish Sandwich probably around $8 and did not include fries. Undercooked marlin, lettuce, unripe tomato and mayo. Sort of gross.

Now for a non-fish sandwich comment. My favorite restaurant stop on this trip was at the Kilauea Bakery and Pau Hana Pizza. I didn't sample their pastries which looked yummy, but ordered their pizza and salad. I'm still craving the salad. The greens, beets and tomatoes were all sweet, flavorful and locally grown. I loved the creamy gorgonzola garlic dressing and crunchy croutons. Four of us shared a pizza which I liked but it may not be to everyone's taste since the dough has more of a bakery texture and the cheese is broiled.

Oops that should be Kalapaki Beach Hut NOT Grill. Sorry!