Kauai, Hawii- Top Ten Restaurants

“A little gem of a book that each and every traveler should have in hand.”
— Vancouver Courier

Restaurants

Best Dining Bargains
Where do local people go for the best meals at the best prices? On the eastern shore, Barbecue Inn in Lihue is a local favorite for large, tasty meals at small prices. Enjoy great Thai food at Mema’s or King & I in Wailua. For wonderful Mexican food, try Pony Island Cantina, and for excellent family style dinners, don’t miss Palm Tree Terrace in Wailua.

For saimin, visit Hamura’s or Okazu Hale. On the south shore, Tacqueria Nortenos is your best bet for Mexican food at reasonable prices. On the north shore, Neidie’s Salsa & Samba cooks up tasty Mexican food with a Brazilian accent, and is one the best deals on Kauai!

Family Friendly Dining
‘Family friendly,’ describes Kauai itself! On this special island, local people really love children, and many restaurants welcome families with a smile, and go the extra mile to make kids feel at home.

We’ve been visiting some of these restaurants for more than twenty years, and here are our all time family favorites! At the top of our list are Hanama‘ulu Tea House and Brick Oven Pizza. Children will also find a special welcome at Barbecue Inn, Ono Family Restaurant, Bull Shed, Brennecke’s, Tip Top, and Kintaro.

Steak and seafood at unbeatable prices
Kauai has some great dining values — if you know where to look! If you didn’t know where to look for it on the side street of this small town on the south shore, you might never discover Kalaheo Steak House! Here you’ll enjoy steaks worth writing a postcard home about, as well as fabulous prime rib and fresh island fish!

Bull Shed on the easten shore is another stand out for great steaks and fresh fish, with prices at both eateries among the best values on the island! You can’t make a reservation at either place, and you might have to wait on line to get a table in either dining room, but the wait will be well worth it!

We also like Winds of Beamreach on the north shore, and on the eastern shore, it’s Duke’s Canoe Club in the Kauai Marriiott. Duke’s also has the best salad bar on the island and a beachfront location.

Romantic Dining
Looking for a dining experience to paint a vivid memory for those cold winter evenings back home? You may find the Kauai of your dreams, as you watch the sun set over Hanalei Bay from Bali Hai Restaurant, or from Café Hanalei and La Cascata in the beautiful Princeville Resort.

You have to order carefully, however! The dinner is not always equal to the setting—though perhaps that’s because of the setting! Despite occasional shortcomings in the performance of the kitchen, though, these dining spots have the unsurpassed view that makes dining memorable.

On the south shore, Beach House Restaurant, set right on the waves in Spouting Horn, wins the south shore award for dinner with romance. Two restaurants with romantic garden settings are Piatti in Poipu, and Gaylord’s at the Kilohana Plantation near Lihue.

Fine dining, featuring the best fresh island fish
You can dine in style and enjoy memorable meals on Kauai! On the east side, A Pacific Café specializes in the Pacific Rim cuisine of chef owner Jean Marie Josselin. On the south side, you have several great choices: Piatti, Roy's Poipu Bar & Grill and Beach House Restaurant which has a spectacula ocean view.

On the north shore, enjoy Café Hanalei’s spectacular view of the sun setting into the ocean, while you enjoy first rate Pacific Rim cuisine. Nearby Postcards Café creates an imaginative natural cuisine using no meat ingredients or additives.

Some restaurants work magic with Kauai’s wonderful fresh local fish. Fresh ahi, fresh ono, fresh snappers of all hues—red, pink, grey—are a special vacation treat, with that indescribably just-caught taste! Rather than simply charbroiled and sprinkled with paprika, these filets will be cooked to perfection with their natural flavors enhanced, rather than overwhelmed with strong sauces. For wonderful fresh fish, don’t miss Brennecke’s Beach Broiler on the south shore.

Specialty Restaurants
You’ll be amazed at the wide variety of dining choices on this tiny island, only 30 miles in diameter! Pasta lovers will enjoy Pomodoro in Kalaheo, a small, informal family-owned restaurants with great food at amazingly reasonable prices. Pizza lovers will adore Brick Oven across the street.

For great Thai food, try Mema’s, and for Japanese food, Kintaro, which also makes the island’s best sushi. For Mexican food, a tiny eatery in Wailua, Pony Island Cantina, cooks up south of the border specialties with the freshest local ingredients and an emphasis on the healthful. Prices are very reasonable considering all the fresh produce that accompanies the dishes. On the north shore, it’s Roadrunner Café and Bakery, or further west, in Hanalei, Neidie’s Salsa & Samba.