Kaua&#x27;i

Food & Drink

Where to eat

This is our own list — the places we actually go back to, and what we order when we get there. One piece of standing advice: book Merriman's, the Beach House and a lū'au before you fly. Everything else can wait until you land.

Lū'au — book these before you fly

Lū'au Kalamakū

Lū'au buffet with a staged show · $$$ · Dinner and show on select evenings

Staged on a former sugar plantation outside Līhu'e, this is the more theatrical of the two — the voyage from Polynesia told in the round, ending in fire. Come for the show as much as the buffet.

Reservations: Book online well ahead

3.9 Yelp · 6524.5 Google · 6,361

Dancers performing at the Grand Hyatt lū'au

The lū'au at the Grand Hyatt

Oceanfront lū'au buffet · $$$$ · Dinner and show on select evenings

The other one we'd send you to, and by far the easier logistics — it's ten minutes down Po'ipū Road on the Hyatt's ocean lawn, so there's no drive back from Līhu'e afterwards.

Reservations: Book through the resort

3.0 Yelp · 1313.9 Google · 169

Old Kōloa Town — ten minutes

Kenji Burger

Burgers with a Japanese accent · $$ · Lunch and dinner

A small counter on Kōloa Road griddling burgers with a Japanese accent. Patio seating out front.

What we order: Their signature burger is great.

Reservations: No — walk in

4.0 Yelp · 3794.3 Google · 605

Kaua'i Petite Sweets

Bakery and coffee · $ · Breakfast and morning pastries; opens at 7am on weekdays

A tiny bakery in Kōloa Village doing pastries, cookies, custom cakes and cold brew. Go early — things sell out.

What we order: Delicious banana bread.

Reservations: No

4.9 Yelp · 554.9 Google · 99

Aloha Always

Açaí bowls · $ · Breakfast and lunch

In the food truck lot in Kōloa town. This is the one we go back for — we didn't love anything else in that lot, so head straight here.

What we order: The açaí bowl.

Reservations: No

4.9 Yelp · 12

Sueoka Store

Local grocery with a snack counter · $ · Groceries all day; snack shop at lunch

The Kōloa grocery families here have used for generations — useful if you have a condo kitchen, and there's a snack counter round the side.

What we order: Malasadas, Friday afternoons only.

Reservations: No

4.3 Yelp · 4404.4 Google · 319

Porky's Kaua'i

Kālua pork and plate lunch · $ · Lunch

A roadside window built entirely around slow-cooked kālua pork, served on plates and in hot dogs.

What we order: The number 4 plate is great.

Reservations: No

4.7 Yelp · 2294.8 Google · 1,420

The Musubi Truck

Musubi · $ · Breakfast and lunch

Exactly what the name says — a truck on Po'ipū Road doing musubi a dozen different ways.

What we order: We liked the fried one and the beef one. Also the original.

Reservations: No

4.7 Yelp · 1584.6 Google · 325

Mura Izakaya

Japanese izakaya and sushi · $$ · Dinner

Our pick for a casual dinner without leaving Kōloa.

What we order: Our favourite dish was the miso butterfish.

Reservations: Worth calling — the room is small

4.4 Yelp · 524.6 Google · 94

Kōloa Fish Market

Poke counter · $ · Lunch, until it sells out

A counter with no tables and a line that looks worse than it is. Bring cash and go at lunch.

What we order: We loved the wasabi ahi poke.

Reservations: No — takeout only, and there is no seating

4.4 Yelp · 2,0814.6 Tripadvisor · 1,0584.6 Google · 1,536what people say →

Island-famous poke at counter prices - go at lunch, bring cash, and expect no seating and a cramped parking lot.

Yelp 4.4 · 2,081

Fresh poke by the pound is the whole draw
Line gets long but moves quickly
Tiny parking lot; takeout only, no seating

Tripadvisor 4.6 · 1,058

Best poke on the island, great value
No seating at all - strictly takeout
Very limited parking; lunch only, so go early

Google 4.6 · 1,536

Poke dominates: wasabi ahi, avocado, spicy
Cash only noted in dozens of reviews
Cucumber salad and Hawaiian plate sides praised

The Shops at Kukui'ula — walking distance

Macadamia nut crusted fish at Merriman's

Merriman's Kaua'i

Hawai'i regional, farm-to-table · $$$$ · Dinner upstairs; all-day casual on the lānai downstairs

A nice place for dinner, and walkable from the house — about six or seven minutes, down a dirt road that's easy enough to follow on Google Maps.

What we order: The macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi and the kālua pork quesadilla. Mai Tais or a No Ka Oi to drink.

Reservations: Book weeks out for dinner. The downstairs lānai takes walk-ins.

4.0 Yelp · 1,4684.1 Tripadvisor · 2,4094.4 Google · 1,280what people say →

Special-occasion splurge with sunset views and famous mai tais; the food is very good, but plenty of diners feel the price outruns it.

Yelp 4.0 · 1,468

Sunset and ocean views from nearly every seat
Happy hour is the best-value way in
Some find the food uneven for the price

Tripadvisor 4.1 · 2,409

Open-air plantation setting and mai tais win visitors over
Servers called out by name again and again
Recurring gripe: A-list prices, B-list food

Google 4.4 · 1,280

Mai tais and sunset views are the top mentions
Goes big for birthdays and anniversaries
Happy hour and crab cakes come up often

Eating House 1849

Hawaiian and Pacific Rim, by Roy Yamaguchi · $$$ · Dinner

Part of the Roy's chain, and good Hawaiian and Pacific Rim food. Same shopping centre as Merriman's, so it's the same walk from the house.

Reservations: Recommended

4.2 Yelp · 1,7304.3 Tripadvisor · 1,2684.5 Google · 1,289what people say →

The most consistently loved of the Kukui'ula splurges - butterfish and short ribs win people over, though it is pricey and can get loud.

Yelp 4.2 · 1,730

Potstickers and butterfish are the go-to orders
Book ahead; window tables catch the sunset
Small portions for the price, occasional slow service

Tripadvisor 4.3 · 1,268

Consistently excellent food and attentive service
Butterfish and the desserts get singled out
A little pricey; books up and can feel hectic

Google 4.5 · 1,289

Butterfish and short ribs most mentioned
Second-floor sunset views a recurring draw
Some call it expensive and too noisy for romance

Around Po'ipū — five minutes

The Beach House

Hawaiian, oceanfront · $$$$ · Dinner; sunset seatings go first

A beautiful view and Hawaiian food, by the same people as Merriman's. We thought the food was better at Merriman's — but if you're after a view and a vibe, this place is great.

Reservations: Book well ahead

3.7 Yelp · 3,0874.2 Tripadvisor · 6,5184.4 Google · 4,120what people say →

Go for the sunset and book far ahead - the view is genuinely unmatched, though Yelp regulars say the food and price don't always keep up.

Yelp 3.7 · 3,087

View is unbeatable; food doesn't always live up
You're paying a premium for the sunset location
Loud and crowded at peak sunset seating

Tripadvisor 4.2 · 6,518

Oceanfront sunset setting is the reason to go
Macadamia-crusted mahi mahi repeatedly praised
Food and service can be inconsistent for the price

Google 4.4 · 4,120

Stunning oceanfront views, especially at sunset
Macadamia-crusted fish, ahi and lobster pasta stand out
Attentive service; some reviewers call it overpriced

Near Līhu'e and the airport

Sushi Blue Wave

Sushi · $$$ · Lunch and dinner

Great sushi, with inventive rolls and dishes. About twenty minutes from Po'ipū, and worth the drive for dinner.

What we order: We loved the eggplant yuzu, the yellowtail pesto roll and the baked crab hand roll.

Reservations: First come, first served — there's a waiting list outside

4.8 Yelp · 1105.0 Google · 188

Lawai'a Fish Co.

Fish market, poke and plate lunch · $ · Lunch and takeout

Great poke and seafood, tucked into an industrial block near the airport. As much a fish counter as a lunch spot.

What we order: We picked up a whole snapper here, and bought raw ono to cook at home — excellent.

Reservations: No — takeout, with a couple of tables outside

4.8 Yelp · 1684.8 Google · 410

Konohiki Seafoods

Poke and seafood counter · $ · Weekdays and Saturday, 6.30am–5pm; closed Sunday

Great poke, and versions of it you won't see elsewhere on the island. Popular enough that the best ones sell out early.

What we order: The spicy poke and the fire poke were great. We loved any of the ahi-based pokes.

Reservations: No — no indoor seating, so plan to take it away

4.6 Yelp · 8204.7 Google · 1,185

Keoki's

Plate lunch and local breakfast · $ · Weekday breakfast and lunch only

A counter in the Līhu'e industrial park that has been going since 1978. No frills whatsoever; that's the point.

What we order: The teri steak plate.

Reservations: No — and it's cash only

4.5 Yelp · 1564.6 Google · 177

Smiley's Local Grinds

Plate lunch · $ · Lunch and takeout

Local plate lunch near the airport — a good grab-and-go stop.

What we order: Smiley's chicken.

Reservations: No

4.4 Yelp · 8964.6 Google · 1,051

Harley's Tropical Barbecue

Barbecue and seafood · $$ · Lunch and takeout

Tropical barbecue in the Puhi industrial park, mostly takeout.

What we order: We loved the ribs.

Reservations: No

4.3 Yelp · 2804.6 Google · 312

On the way to Waimea Canyon

The Shrimp Station

Garlic and Cajun shrimp · $$ · Lunch and early dinner

A great place to stop on your way to or from Waimea Canyon. Order at the window, eat at a picnic table, expect to use your hands.

What we order: Cajun or garlic.

Reservations: No — picnic tables out front

3.8 Yelp · 9254.3 Google · 1,240

JoJo's Shave Ice

Shave ice · $ · Afternoons

The Waimea original, and the obvious pairing with a canyon drive. They have since opened a Kōloa location too, so you may not have to drive west for it. Scores below are for the Waimea shop.

Reservations: No

4.2 Yelp · 8774.7 Google · 1,864

Beyond the Beach

Things to do

Manawaiopuna Falls — the 'Jurassic Park falls' — dropping into a green valley, seen from a helicopter

An hour in the air; the whole island at once

Helicopter tour

30 min away

Most of Kaua'i has no road to it, and an hour in a helicopter is how you see the rest: Manawaiopuna Falls from Jurassic Park deep in Hanapēpē Valley, the full length of Waimea Canyon, the Nā Pali cliffs from the sea side, and — on a clear morning — the impossibly green crater walls of Mt. Wai'ale'ale itself.

Blue Hawaiian and Jack Harter are the two operators we'd recommend; both fly from Līhu'e. Book before you travel and take a morning flight, before the clouds build over the interior. Jack Harter's doors-off flights are the vivid version.

The fluted green cliffs of the Nā Pali Coast dropping into the ocean

Half a day; the single best thing on Kaua'i

Nā Pali Coast boat tour

25 min away

The catamarans and rafts leave from Port Allen, about twenty-five minutes west, and run up the roadless northwest coast beneath 3,000-foot fluted cliffs. Spinner dolphins are close to guaranteed. Morning departures get the calmest water.

Book before you leave home — summer sails out weeks in advance. Take motion-sickness medication beforehand, not after.

Guests in inner tubes, helmets and headlamps on, floating a plantation irrigation canal toward a tunnel

Becca & Jake's favorite

Half a day; ages 5 and up

Mountain tubing the plantation canals

30 min away

Kaua'i Backcountry Adventures floats you in an inner tube down the hand-dug irrigation canals of the old Līhu'e Plantation — gentle open ditches, flumes, and a series of dark tunnels bored through the mountain in about 1870, with headlamps on your helmet for the tunnels. It's lazy-river slow, very funny, and runs through private backcountry you can't see any other way. This is Becca & Jake's favorite thing on the whole island.

Book well ahead — tours run a few times a day from their Hanamā'ulu base and sell out in summer. About three hours door to door; ages 5+ and roughly 43 inches and up.

Twenty minutes, free, everyone

Spouting Horn

5 min away

Surf forces through a lava tube and fires a plume of seawater fifty feet into the air, with a groan behind it that Hawaiian tradition attributes to a mo'o — a giant lizard — trapped under the shelf. The overlook is a few steps from the parking lot.

Just show up. Best at higher tide and bigger swell; late afternoon light is the prettiest.

A view down through Allerton Garden toward Lāwa'i Bay on Kaua'i's south shore

Half a morning; gardeners and Jurassic Park fans

Allerton & McBryde Gardens

5 min away

The National Tropical Botanical Garden's two south-shore gardens sit in Lāwa'i Valley directly across from Spouting Horn. Allerton is a series of outdoor garden 'rooms' and contains the buttressed Moreton Bay figs from the opening of Jurassic Park; McBryde is wilder and self-guided.

Allerton is guided tram tours only and books out — reserve well ahead. McBryde is self-guided by shuttle.

An hour, an afternoon, or a rainy morning

Old Kōloa Town

8 min away

Hawai'i's first sugar plantation town, now a row of restored wooden storefronts with shops, shave ice and a small monument to the plantation era. You drive through it on the way to and from everywhere.

None needed.

An hour, free, coffee drinkers

Kaua'i Coffee Estate

20 min away

Four million coffee trees on the old McBryde sugar land above Kalāheo — the largest coffee farm in the United States. Free self-guided walking tour and a tasting bar with a dozen roasts open to anyone.

Walk in for the self-guided tour and tastings; the guided farm tour is bookable.

The red and green walls of Waimea Canyon on Kaua'i under scattered cloud

A full day

Waimea Canyon & Kōke'e

75 min away

Ten miles long, 3,600 feet deep, and red as Mars — Mark Twain's 'Grand Canyon of the Pacific.' Keep climbing past the main lookout to Kalalau Lookout, where the road ends above the Nā Pali cliffs.

No reservation. Go early: the summit clouds in by late morning, and the top viewpoints have small lots.

A traditional Hawaiian sailing canoe under sail off Kaua'i's south shore

Anyone staying at The Lodge

Golf, spa and the Huaka'i guides

at the club

The club has a Tom Weiskopf golf course, the Hi'ilani spa and fitness centre, a bike hale that will put you on an e-bike, and in-house guides running surf lessons, snorkel trips, kayaking and outrigger sailing. Guests of The Lodge have full access.

Through the Island Hosts desk at the Plantation House.

Salt Water

The beaches

Pō'ipū Beach Park

Good with kids

6 min from the club

The one everybody means. Two crescents of sand meeting at a sandbar, with a lawn, a playground and picnic pavilions behind them.

Swimming: Excellent. The east crescent is a shallow, reef-protected pool that stays calm even when the surf is up.
Snorkeling: Very good, straight off the sand — reef fish, and green sea turtles most days.
Facilities: Lifeguards daily, restrooms, outdoor showers, picnic shelters, playground
Parking: Free lot on Ho'owili Road, plus roadside overflow. Arrive before 10am on a weekend or plan to circle.

Hawaiian monk seals haul out on this beach to sleep. If one is on the sand it will be roped off — stay 50 feet back, and 10 feet from turtles. Both are federally protected.

Lāwa'i Beach

4 min from the club

A small pocket of sand on Lāwa'i Road, right below the Beach House restaurant. Tiny, and the closest beach to the club.

Swimming: Fine at low tide, but the sand gives way to rock quickly and the beach all but disappears at high tide.
Snorkeling: The best on the south shore. A big protected reef with excellent coral and heavy fish traffic.
Facilities: None to speak of — no lifeguard, no restrooms
Parking: Limited roadside spots along Lāwa'i Road. Small lot fills by mid-morning.

Confident swimmers only, and check the tide before you go. Sunset here, from the seawall or the Beach House lawn, is the south shore's best-known view.

Baby Beach (Ho'ona Road)

Good with kids

7 min from the club

A shallow lagoon behind a rock shelf in a quiet residential lane. Exactly what the name says.

Swimming: Ankle-to-waist deep and almost waveless. The best water on the island for a toddler.
Snorkeling: Not really — too shallow, though kids love poking around the rocks.
Facilities: None. No shade, no restrooms, no food — bring everything.
Parking: A handful of roadside spaces on Ho'ona Road. Please don't block driveways; people live here.

Brennecke's Beach

6 min from the club

The little bay just east of Pō'ipū Beach Park, and the south shore's bodyboarding spot.

Swimming: Deceptive. A hard shore break lands directly on sand and injures people every year.
Snorkeling: No — but turtles regularly rest on the sand here.
Facilities: Lifeguard; shares Pō'ipū Beach Park's restrooms and showers
Parking: Use the Pō'ipū Beach Park lot and walk two minutes east.

Bodyboards only — no hard boards inside the buoys. If you're not experienced in shore break, watch from the wall.

The broad golden sweep of Shipwreck Beach on Kaua'i's south shore with the Makawehi cliff rising at the far end

Shipwreck Beach (Keoneloa Bay)

10 min from the club

A wide, dramatic sweep of golden sand below the Grand Hyatt, closed at the east end by the Makawehi cliff.

Swimming: Rough. Summer swell and a strong shore break; better for walking than for getting in.
Snorkeling: No.
Facilities: Restrooms and showers at the public access; no lifeguard on the main stretch
Parking: Small public lot off Ainakō Street at the east end of Po'ipū Road.

The trailhead for the Māhā'ulepū Heritage Trail is here — 3.8 miles round trip along the cliff tops, best in the early morning. Locals jump from the Makawehi cliff; you should not.

Māhā'ulepū

20 min from the club

The wild end of the south shore. Three undeveloped beaches past the end of the pavement, backed by dunes, ironwood and open pasture.

Swimming: Gillin's Beach and Kawailoa Bay are swimmable in calm conditions, but there is no lifeguard anywhere out here.
Snorkeling: Occasionally excellent, entirely dependent on the day.
Facilities: None whatsoever
Parking: Dirt lot at the end of a private cane road. The gate is open roughly 7:30am to 6pm and closed on holidays.

The access road is unpaved, rutted and dusty — check your rental agreement, since some companies formally prohibit it. Walking in from Shipwreck Beach along the heritage trail avoids the whole question.

Salt Pond Beach Park

Good with kids

30 min from the club

West of the resorts near Hanapēpē, where island families actually go on a Saturday. A reef-protected pool and a big grassy park.

Swimming: Calm and well protected — one of the safest swimming beaches on Kaua'i.
Snorkeling: Decent inside the reef when it's flat.
Facilities: Lifeguard, restrooms, showers, picnic shelters, camping
Parking: Large free lot

Named for the salt pans alongside it, where families still harvest pa'akai by hand as they have for generations. The pans are not a photo op — please stay out of them.

Weather in July

Warm, breezy and reliably sunny — the south shore is the dry side of Kaua'i.

July highs sit around 85°F, lows around 72°F, and the trade winds run all day.
The sun sets about 7:20pm, so the celebration begins in daylight and ends under stars.
Rain here comes as a five-minute shower, not a day. The north shore gets the weather; Po'ipū rarely does.
The ocean is about 80°F. Nobody needs a wetsuit.
Hawai'i bans sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate — bring mineral sunscreen (zinc oxide or titanium dioxide), or buy it on the island.

What to Wear

Pickleball Palooza

Whatever you'd play in, plus a hat. Court shoes, not slippers.

Welcome BBQ

Aloha casual. Sundresses, aloha shirts, shorts. It's poolside — bring a suit if you want to get in, and a light layer for after dark.

The Big Celebration

Island chic — linen suits, cocktail dresses. No one needs a tie. It's all on grass, so block heels or flats will serve you far better than stilettos. It cools off pleasantly once the sun goes down.

Farewell Brunch

Casual and comfortable. You're on a farm; wear shoes you don't mind in red dirt.