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Emily Jablon: Daraius and I went to Maui, Hawaii in March 2013. We loved Hawaii so much that we decided to return, but this time to Kauai. Kauai is more laid back and less built-up than Maui.
We went to Kauai over Valentine’s Day week, which made for a very romantic getaway. Using our miles and points made it even better!
Winter Getaway to Kauai – Trip Report Index:
- Part 1 – Using Miles and Points to Get to Kauai
- Part 2 – Only $10 for 2 One-Way United Flights From Austin to Kauai
- Part 3 – Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa
- Part 4 – Grand Hyatt Garden Suite for 87% Off
- Part 5 – 3 Free Nights & a Partial Ocean View Upgrade at the Grand Hyatt Kauai
- Part 6 – Activities in Kauai
- Part 7 – Adopting a Little Girl
- Part 8 – The Many Pools of the Grand Hyatt Kauai and more…
- Part 9 – Southside Eats
- Part 10 – More South Kauai Eats!
- Part 11 – Shave Ice Bigger Than Your Face and More Yummy Meals!
- Part 12 – Flight From Kauai to Austin
- Part 13 – Conclusion and Blog Giveaway
Eating In and Around the Grand Hyatt, Kauai
We listed the restaurants by location:
South Kauai Restaurants (Near the Grand Hyatt, Kauai)
- Grand Club Breakfast Lounge
- Ilima Terrace, the casual dining restaurant at the Grand Hyatt Kauai
- Puka Dogs
- Kalapaki Beach Hut
- Josselin’s Tapas
- Savage Shrimp
- Living Foods Market
- Brick Oven Pizza
- Craving Thai
- Sueoka’s Snack Shop
- Koloa Mill
- Papalani Gelato
East Kauai Restaurants
West Kauai Restaurants
North Kauai Restaurants
West Kauai Restaurants
Paco’s Tacos
For lunch on our way to Waimea Canyon, we stopped at Paco’s Tacos.
Here’s their menu.
It was a small place with tables and benches outside of the restaurant. There was no indoor seating, which was fine with us. We wanted to enjoy the fresh air.
Daraius ordered the ceviche, and I got a cheese enchilada with chips and guacamole.
I really liked my cheese enchilada, but the guacamole could have been better. Daraius really liked his ceviche, and it was his 2nd best meal in Kauai (Puka Dog was our favorite!).
Jo-Jo’s Shave Ice
We were in mood for shave ice, so we stopped at Jo-Jo’s. There was another (fake) Jo-Jo’s nearby, so don’t get confused!
They had a large menu…
…but I did not see any natural flavors. The natural syrup really makes a difference!
The employee prepared the shave ice.
And the result was shave ice big enough for a family of four!
We went for a walk around the neighborhood while we enjoyed our treat. We found a boardwalk so decided to check it out.
It was a pretty spot.
There was no one on the beach.
We walked to the end of the boardwalk.
We were so happy to be here!
North Kauai Restaurants
We only made it up to the North side once because of the rainy days.
The Tavern
Daraius made reservations at The Tavern for Valentine’s Day. He heard the sunsets here were spectacular because you could see the sun setting across a perfectly manicured golf course.
The restaurant is located on the North side in Princeville, which is a 1.5 hour drive from the Hyatt. We didn’t mind driving because the drive was mostly along the ocean. So we enjoyed the views and seeing how the locals lived.
Unfortunately, it rained pretty heavily on Valentine’s Day, so there was no sunset to be seen. However, it was still a pretty view.
We ordered macaroni and cheese for our starter.
Daraius had the Tavern burger which came with fries…
…and I had the fried chicken.
And we each had a hand crafted soda. I chose strawberry and Daraius had lychee and guava. We both agreed that my strawberry was the best, but I thought his lychee was a close second!
The fried chicken was okay, and the burger was pretty good. The restaurant didn’t break into our top 3, but it may be worth it to see the sunset.
East Kauai Restaurants
Korean BBQ
During our adventure with Trixie, we stopped for Korean BBQ.
Here’s the menu:
There were lots of places to sit, but we had the dog so we ordered our meal to go.
Daraius got the combo platter.
Trixie liked it, too.
Mermaids Cafe
I went to Mermaids Cafe for lunch.
They specialize in fish, but due to my allergy, I got a chicken satay wrap.
The wrap was good and it was a welcome change from the heavy meats and fried foods I’ve been eating.
I was amused by the sign hanging outside.
I guess somebody just lost $10!
Hamura’s Saimin
Daraius heard that Hamura’s Saimin had the best authentic noodle soup on the island, so we decided to try it out!
The restaurant had diner style seating.
It was a very busy restaurant, and we almost couldn’t find a place to sit!
They had a small menu that specialized in saimin, a noodle soup.
Daraius ordered the Specialty Saimin.
I decided to skip eating my dinner here because of my fish allergy.
The soup came with vegetables, won ton, boiled egg, roast pork, fishcake (see why I skipped it?), green onions, and chopped ham.
In addition, he ordered a Teriyaki chicken skewer.
I ordered the lilikoi chiffon pie, made with passion fruit juice.
Hee-Fat General Store
We stopped at the Hee-Fat General Store for shave ice.
Here’s the menu:
The shave ice counter was in the back of the general store.
I got a regular with 2 flavors: fresh mango and strawberry. We also ordered it with a free scoop of macadamia nut ice cream. We found the coupon in the free coupon ad books that are given away, so keep a look out! A scoop costs $1.50.
The shave ice was amazing! I LOVED the fresh fruit syrup on the ice, and the ice was so soft and smooth. I liked it with the ice cream because it got creamy towards the end, but I think it would be good either way.
Bottom Line
We loved Hawaiian Shave Ice so much, we had to try it twice. But Trixie highly recommends the Korean BBQ!
Paco’s Tacos was our 2nd favorite meal on this trip.
We had fun trying the wide variety of foods at the local Kauai restaurants. And we were sad when we had to leave the beautiful island of Kauai…
@ Tara- Thanks for the tip! I’m craving it now! 😛
@ Sarah- Thanks for the tips! We’ll try them when we return.
@Ken – I’d love to do that, but don’t know how!
When I click on the pictures they are not any larger, and it’s impossible to read the menu items and prices. Can you have it so when I click on the picture it goes to a larger version?
If you return to Kauai, I highly recommend our two favorite restaurants – Verde in Kapaa and La Spezia in Koloa. Both restaurants are very reasonably priced, both have great service and, most importantly, they both have wonderful food. In fact, the Al Pastor Pork Tacos at Verde are the best tacos we’ve ever had! For shave ice, we like Ono Ono Shave Ice in Kapaa (we’ll try Hee-Fat next time though, no idea how I’ve managed to miss that one), but unfortunately nothing on Kauai really compares to Ululani’s on Maui. Oh, and I’d definitely choose POG and it has to be with ice cream! 🙂 We miss shave ice so much!
I saw Puka Dog on Anthony Bourdain’s show and knew it was the kind of place we would love! The one in HNL has been renamed Hula Dog but still the same yummy pineapple relish!