We visited the Koloa Rum tasting room. Free tastings you can walk in to (unless there are already groups ahead of you). They are genuine, small tastes so you’re not going to get hammered but they actually say there’s nothing to stop you from coming back repeatedly.
Having said that, I only liked the Kauai Gold version which you can get much cheaper at Costco (which we did).
Hamura Saimin is the real deal. No booze. Cash only. Just good saimin and great pie.
Just an update since I recently returned from Kauai - had a wonderful trip overall, of course, and my general impression was that when you stick to the Hawaiian specialties, food is great. Really enjoyed the poke, saimin, plate lunches, coffee, shave ice, and tropical fruit.
Other, more mainland-style stuff is hit or miss, to say the least. Dinner is tough because so much closes early, and drinks were particularly challenging. Will happily go into more specifics about spots we visited if there are questions or interest!
And thanks again to all above for recommendations and advice! Much appreciated.
Do share more details!
Totally spaced on this, sorry!!!
Memory is fading fast, but our far-and-away favorite poke (and the best we’ve ever had) was at Konohiki fish market in Lihue.
Favorite shave ice was tough - it was all amazing - but probably came down to Wailua Shave Ice in Kapaa vs Wishing Well in Hanalei.
Coffee was pretty good all over the island but I think the winners were Kai Bar and Trilogy.
The Hanalei farmers market was great, and we had a really nice locally-made sausage sandwich and tons of cool exotic fruit.
Had nice meals (but not outstanding relative to LA or anything) at Bar Acuda in Hanalei and Palate Wine Bar in Kilauea.
Both breweries - Kauai Island Brewery and Kauai Beer Co - were pretty disappointing, as was all of the rest of the beer on the island (nothing particularly fresh), though I admit I am a bit of a snob.
Hamura Saimin was awesome and as-advertised.
Had good plate lunches at Hanalei Taro Co and also at Konohiki Fish Market.
Oddly enough, we also had pretty nice and surprisingly legit Santa Maria style BBQ at Paniolo Santa Maria Style BBQ in Kapaa. It was the only place open after like 8:30 PM, and it smelled pretty good, so we went for a late-dish dinner one night that turned out to be pretty great. Buttery toast, beans, pico de Gallo, the whole deal. Fun stuff.
Sorry again for the delay on this! It was a pretty good eating trip, which wasn’t the central focus but was a very nice surprise. If anyone has any questions or anything, happy to discuss more!!
Just back from a long weekend in Kauai. My addition to the above: The Local in Kapaa (basically across the street from the Santa Maria BBQ spot). We went for lunch and had the fish sandwich, grilled fish, salad, and fries with housemade ketchup, along with the soursop limeade and mai tai. The drinks were perhaps my favorite on the island, and the food really hit the spot. Casual, perhaps a little hipstery. Pricewise, it fits in the midrange between the cheapish plate lunch spots and the Merriman’s types. I’d certainly seek it out.
Other random thoughts: Merriman’s was head and shoulders above Red Salt, which had temperature issues (cold soup, overcooked fish, though in both instances the flavors themselves were good). I’d take Hamura Saimin over…maybe all of the ramen places in LA right now? Nice to have a great broth that doesn’t make me feel like I have an anvil in my stomach fifteen minutes later. I found the pie actually a little disappointing; I wanted it to be a lilikoi flavor bomb and it wasn’t. I second @Barolo that the poke at Koloa Fish was just ok, though it’s possible I ordered incorrectly. Cappuccino at Hanalei Bread Co. was great, the food itself was fine but I wish it was better (breakfast burrito>sweet roll>avocado toast).
Has anyone been recently, who could give updated recs or anti-recs? I’m going in March. I’ll happily eat anything good.
Kauai doesn’t change that often, but one thing I forgot to mention is that the best poke and plate lunches on the island are at The Fish Express in Lihue. Better than Ishihara, which has been on a bit of a decline in recent years, in my opinion.
Just got back from a week long trip to Kauai. Have been going pretty regularly since 1969 (yeah, I’m old), mostly Poipu, as we like the sunshine and vibe on that side of the island. Really struck by the explosive development in Koloa. A big apartment complex (albeit plantation style) is pretty far along, and old town Koloa is about to get a fancy mall apparently themed to match the surroundings. No doubt new eating places will be part of the mall.
We stay in a condo, so we don’t have to eat out every meal, but here are some spots we hit this time around.
Eating House 1849. Roy Yamaguchi place.
Caesar Salad – indifferent. Fried Brussel Sprouts and Cauliflower, with raisins and pine nuts. Very tasty, could have used a touch of acid, but well done. Burger was very good, but very rich – beef and boar. Not terrible QPR --$22 considering the location. Seared Ahi Tuna, cold soba noodles, cucumber salad. Ahi was okay –served basically sashimi style, lightly seared, then chilled again until served. Not terrible, but also not sashimi grade Ahi in terms of flavor. QPR meh --$46. Good soba noodles and cucumber salad though. Drinks: Hometown cocktail, pineapple juice, Falernum, pineapple juice, lime and dark and spiced rum. Very good –not too sweet. Solid. Very pleasant staff, but kitchen often is overwhelmed, with long waits between dishes. This time of year in Kauai (February-March) the demo is older folks, young couples with kids not yet in school, and Honeymooners, and basically 90% of the folks here eat between 6 pm and 7:30. As a result the kitchen is slammed big time in a narrow window, (We arrived 15 minutes early for a 6:30 reservation –the walk from our place was shorter than expected – and even though I could see that there were empty tables, they had us wait until 6:30 which was no problem, as I think they were aware they needed to try and even out the workload on the kitchen.)
Merriman’s Gourmet Burgers & Pizza. Casual bar and grill downstairs from much fancier main spot. Solid all around. Basic grilled fish sandwich with local fish – Ono that day – was well prepared and tasty. Very good fish tacos – nice portion of very flavorful local fish. Kalua Pork and Grilled Pineapple pizza was tasty, with a really good crust. Excellent fries and very good Mai Tai’ – more traditional version, no pineapple juice, not too sweet and very balanced. Surprising standout was a Caesar salad made with locally grown Romaine and with a very pungent dressing. Good QPR considering the location and the quality of the basic, but delicious food. Would go back here for a casual meal before going back to Eating House 1849.
Plantation Gardens (Kiahuna Plantation)An old stalwart, rarely exceptional but generally solid, if pricey, but that is par for the course in the area. Nice atmosphere. An okay Caesar salad to start – more punch than the one at 1849 Eating House, but not as good as Merriman’s Gourmet Burger & Pizza. Fresh local fish available. My wife and I each chose Mahi-Mahi. She elected to have hers grilled with a Lillokai reduction, with Asian slaw on the side. I had it crusted with smoked quinoa, on a bed of creamed quinoa and asparagus. The portions were huge, and a bit overcooked. The standout was the creamed quinoa with asparagus --absolutely unique and delicious. The asparagus was sweet and tender bits mixed into the quinoa which had enough bite of lemon juice to keep the creaminess from overwhelming the nutty flavor of the quinoa. We both agreed we would come back for the quinoa alone. (Crusted fish please, hold the fish.) Typical Island Mai Tai --basically pineapple juice with some guava or passion fruit juice thrown in with light rum and a dark rum float. Pricey, even for the area. Okay, if rudimentary wine list – more that a lot of places offer – but again not much interesting, though that is the way of things here.
Holoholo Grill (Koloa Landing Hotel). Small, but well executed menu. Excellent wedge salad with local greens. Very good spicy chicken sandwich with the breast pounded flat to cook evenly and with a light tempura like batter that provides nice crunch, without a greasy aftertaste. Excellent bar, and very friendly staff. Tricky to find, as it is located towards the lower end of the property by the pool.
Brennecke’s Beach Broiler. Like Plantation Gardens, an old stalwart. Great location with a terrific beach view, solid seafood and burgers. Nothing fancy, the QPR is very good considering the location and the fish and chips really is a cut above the typical version, as they use very good quality fish. Drinks are your typical island sugar bombs, but reasonable, if not terrific.
We did not get to try one place that we heard nothing but good things about – Kiawe Roots. They had some problem in the kitchen and the place was closed for repairs the entire time we were there.
Local snacks: Jojo’s for shave ice (both the original in Waimea, and the Coconut Marketplace branch) is always delicious. Hit up a Big Save Market (or even the Safeway in Lihue) and stock up on Diamond Bakery products. Very unique cookies and crackers. Shortbread in different flavors, including Guava, Lilikoi, Coconut and Watermelon. Folks still hit up Shaka Burger and Puka Dog, the former for beach burgers, the latter for island style hot dogs with interesting sauces and toppings. Never quite got the Shaka Burger thing, but there are tasty, offbeat options at Puka Dog.
Kauai dining highlights/lowlights from a recent trip. I came in with a low bar, expecting restaurants to be worse than Maui and Oahu, but was still very disappointed. Absolutely loved the island and all it has to offer for recreation and relaxing (we did not want to leave), but damn are the restaurants phoning it in…
The mediocre/bad (there’s a bit of a theme)
Keoki’s - Beautiful space but average and overpriced food
Merriman’s - Great service, cocktails and wine, but average and overpriced food
Tidepools - Beautiful space but average and overpriced food
Red Salt - Ugly, cheap hotel lobby vibe with average and vastly overpriced food. The worst of our dinners
Porky’s - Goopy, lackluster roasted pork sandwiches
The good
Ishihara Market - Great selection of poke
Stevenson’s Library (Grand Hyatt) - Great cocktails and spirits selection, pretty good sushi, expensive, but it didn’t seem overly so for the setting.
Island Tacos - Great fish and shrimp tacos. Long wait but a really nice family-owned vibe from the folks working there