Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Favorite Kauai Restaurants

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)

- United States (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/)

- - Favorite Kauai Restaurants (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/favorite-kauai-restaurants-302517/)

Favorite Kauai Restaurants

Just to let you know what our favorite foods were on Kauai. Favorite Fine Dining - The Beach House - At Sunset of course. This is where I celebrated my 50th birthday, so we missed Taco Tuesday's at Dukes. Favorites were the Asparagus Salad and Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi. Desserts were just ok - u gotta remember, we live in the south where true southerners have desserts with EVERY meal and often before the main meal!! Favorite lunch - Hamura's Saimin - A locals place on Kress Street. Only a few choices so you can't go wrong. I just asked what I should order. You would never go into this place unless someone directed you there! Don't pass up their lilikoi pie (they don't have it on Sunday)..yummy! Favorite Breakfast - Tip Top Cafe - Lihue This place was recommended to us by our Holoholo Charters shuttle driver. I couldn't decide what I wanted on my pancakes - I thought I had to choose, so the waitress said, you can have it all...macadamia nuts, pineapple and bananas..their pancakes are scrumptious, plus they also bring homemade guava jelly. Favorite Locals Restaurant - The Barbeque Inn - This is also on Kress Street just before Hamarua's and also recommended by the shuttle driver. They have daily specials that include soup, salad, entree, coffee or tea and dessert and I believe the most expensive was around $19.95. No ambiance, but great food, friendly personnel and the right price. The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook does not mention this place at all, but Kauai Underground does....plus, I have never heard any of you talk of this place..What gives, we loved it! Favorite treat - Jojo's shave ice with ice cream on the bottom Favorite Dessert - Duke's hula pie Best Salad Bar - Duke's, but be careful or you will fill up on salad and bread before your entree comes!! Best Mai Tai - The Bullshed - I could actually taste the liquor in these. Plus, we enjoyed the food here also. Ono was fresh and prime rib was perfect, and their mud pie was ok too. Favorite of all - LA PLAYITA AZUL - This place is just outstanding. You must go. Very small mexican restaurant in shopping center behind Safeway. Seafood burrito has fresh fish (it was ono while we were there), scallops and shrimp. Their fish flauta had ono. We went here twice. It only seats about 24 people. Great people - John, Jeff and Moi and the others, great food, great music. ABC store is just a few feet away so you can go get wine, beer or whatever if you desire. WE LOVED THIS RESTAURANT! Honorable mention - Kukui's in the Marriott - very good food - buffets are their specialties. Biggest disappointment - Lemongrass - I don't know if we ordered the wrong thing ( the waiter who was rather indifferent, said everything was good and would not make a recommendation), or if we were tired or just plain didn't like sitting outside right along the noisy highway. Whatever, we thought it was one of those places with bigger prices than portions. Kalapaki Beach Hut and Ono Family Diner were both pretty good breakfast places. Ono was our fish of choice. Just excellent everywhere we had it. Favorite snacks - Kauai Cookies

Alooohaaaa, Welcome to "The Five Oh Club", my traveling friend. Could not have said the restaurant recap mo bettah' better myself! Big bowl of Saimin w/ 3-4 chick-teri strips @ Hammy's rules! When we were over in Dec/Jan, Playita was either being opened or was closed the times we walked by. Hope it makes it 'cuz that location seems to be snake bit. Can't wait top get back over now. Nobody got the garlic or pepper tenderloin at The Shed? Shame on you guys! ;-) Glad you had a good meal. Seems to be hit and miss of late. We love the Las Vegas Roll at LemonGrass. We like sitting upstairs at Kalapaki Beach Hut for breakfast. Nice little view. Too bad you couldn't make it down to the Sand Bar at The Islander. Karen probably makes the best mai tai on the island...and she has a "heavy wrist"! Well, guess who is hungry now! Kal

I agree with your recap of Lemongrass. I was there in Feb, and I, too, was disapppointed. Service was extremely slow and indifferent. Food ok, but not to brag about. I do have to add my favorite, Brick Oven Pizza. I just love this place and never lose a chance to make mention of it. If they ever go out of business, I will actually cry......

Part 2...and doing part 3 now

Ditto on Lemongrass...just okay and not worth the money. Best all around for food, view, and service was Beach House -- try the Kaffir Lime Vanilla Martini...had to have two of those! A Pacific Cafe was also exceptional. Their chocolate volcano dessert was so good we had to go back a second night to have it again :) By the way, I would skip the Luau thing (at least for the food part). It's like paying 50 bucks a person to eat at Luby's cafeteria.

How is Roy's in Kauai? We thought the one in Maui was good, especially the souffle.

Roy's is always a good choice, usually can expect good food, creatively served, and tasty.Had dinner there when I was in Kauai in February and enjoyed it very much. The only negative about Roy's on Kauai is its location, in a shopping mall!! Location leaves alot to be desired, unfortunately.

We have eaten at the Roy's on Maui, The Big Island and on Maui. The one on the Big Island was by far the best one in our opinion. We did not care for the Kauai Roy's at all and will not go back this summer when we return to Kauai. We were just not impressed. This was in 1998 though, so possibly it was just a bad year.

Ditto-The Beach House and Haimura's Seimen.

Here's another I want to add to my trip reports

I'm curious if this 6 year old thread is still valid. Lots of restaurants come and go or go up or down. Are these still considered "the best" of Kauai?

The thread will always be valid regardless of time.

When I first saw my new profile, I was horrified. Just two lousy trip reports. That paints me and questions my personal validity regarding travel, which is what this forum is supposed to be about.. There are so many more lost trip reports that would help define my profile, which is more substantial than the list would suggest.

Is a six year old trip report still valid? They are listed in people's profiles for some reason. Why shouldn't this be?

But how many restaurants are the same today that they were 6 years ago? That was my only point. Every time someone posts a report on Hawaiian restaurants here that is even fairly up to date, someone comes along saying that at least one of them has closed or gone downhill.

I sure hesitate recommending any restaurant that I haven't been to for 6 years!

Gramercy Tavern, Union Cafe, Gotham, Babbo, Le Bernardein.........shall I continue with NYC restaurants that have been in business over 6 years>

The only one of those restaurants listed above that I know of that is out now is Lemongrass.

Geez, what a lot of turmoil over attepting to let readers know that this a 6 year old post and should be taken with a grain of salt when treating it as a "be all" of Kauai restaurants.
My original intent was to let people know that this was a very old thread and listing of restaurants. Nothing wrong with that, but it is worth readers realizing. With all the changes here, I have little doubt that most readers would have assumed this was a recent report.

gyppielou, what exactly is your point now? That the restaurants you are talking about on Kauai should be listed and compared with other world class restaurants like the 5 in New York you mention? What does the possible mention of those major destination restaurants have to do with the mostly everyday places in the 6 year old trip report? I'm sorry I somehow offended you by letting people know the thread is 6 years old, but no reason to off on some bizarre and wild overly defensive tangent here. Sorry. No doubt all the restaurants you mentioned 6 years ago are still exactly the same today as then, and none of them have changed their menus (oops, except Lemongrass, according to iamq). So I apologize for bringing it up as a service to other readers. Carry on.