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!