Kauai Restaurants and Dining

(Kauai, Hawaii - HI, USA)

The Hawaiian cuisine of Kauai has a very definite tropical flavour and the island's restaurants offer a variety of mouthwatering dishes. Dining venues around Kauai specialise in many themes, with locally caught fish appearing in most restaurants and including yellowfin tuna (ahi), scombroid fish (wahoo) and dolphin fish (mahimahi), often being served with a tasty, tropical sauce.

Fine dining is strongly influenced by the island's relative proximity to the shore of Asia and as such, you can expect restaurants to serve Chinese, Cantonese, Japanese, Szechwan and Thai dishes, all of which are extremely popular with the tourist market. A number of the island's eateries and shops also sell takeaway Hawaiian-style lunches, which are known locally on Kauai as 'bento boxes' and are perfect for taking straight down to the beach and picnicking on the sands.

Where to Eat

The easterly shore of Kappa is brimming with restaurants catering for visitors to the Garden Island and eateries tend to be especially concentrated along the famous 'Coconut Coast', where many enjoy coastal views and outdoor terrace areas, often right next to the sands.

In particular, a number of eateries are spread along the Kuhio Highway, within Waipouli town center and around the Coconut Marketplace.

On the south-eastern shore of Kauai, to town of Lihue is home to some of the best restaurants on the entire island, which are often part of hotels and regularly used to host wedding receptions.

The tropical restaurant within Lihue's Marriott Resort is especially noteworthy and named the 'Duke's Canoe Club', offering endless views and an extensive menu. Close by and on the southern coast of Kauai, Poipu is another good destination for those looking to eat out and along the Kiahuna Plantation Drive, Roy's Poipu Bar and Grill comes highly recommended.