Such a fun experience! The view was incredible, the dinner had a great flow, we didn't feel overwhelmed even though we ordered apps, entrees and dessert. Our server, Jay, was also fantastic!! He was personable, funny, and made great food recs. 10/10 recommend
Shawn O'Neill
Went here for lunch. Amazing!Great views. Unobstructed views of the ocean.Great food. Amazing fresh fish!Great service. Checked up on us, made the meal stemless.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was incredible. My steak wasn't cooked quite to my liking, but our server was extremely apologetic, and she was able to make it perfect quickly. Overall, very good. Would definitely come back. We even saw a couple of whales in the ocean
BlakeP
Simply delicious. One of our best meals on Kauai. Blackened scallops, rosemary garlic ciabatta, and the freshest arugula/honeycomb/blue cheese salad to start. I had the whole fried Hawaiian fish (that can filleted) - unbelievably fresh, moist, and crispy. My wife had the basil mahi mahi - also superb. My son went for the 45 day dry aged ribeye with black garlic. It was probably one of the best bites of steak I've ever enjoyed. Great wine list too. This place is not inexpensive but oh was it worth the splurge!
HanS
Wonderful food but terrible service. We loved the ribs and lemongrass pork. But our waiter never checked on us and it took 30 minutes to get butter for the bread we paid for. Not sure good food is worth eating cold at this price.
Cherie Humphrey
Please read the low reviews before going here. This food is insanely overpriced and unimpressive. I rate that 2 stars at best. For example, we ordered the seared tuna pupus. What came to our table was a plate with two slabs of tuna, cooked all the way through (not seared), no sauce, no garnish, just two slabs of bland tuna. I couldn’t believe it. Another example is the vegetable with the meal was baby bok choy…do you know how hard it is to cut and eat that? Of all the vegetables they supposedly grow, this is the best they came up with to accompany my fish?Second, the servers were nice, but need to be better trained on how to do their job properly. But the most glaring aspect of this review is they are supposed to be farm to table…there is nothing overly creative or impressive about what they serve or what they do to present the food and it’s ridiculously overpriced for how they prepare and present it. Don’t let the fancy menu descriptions fool you. Very sorry we blew $300 for a family of four here!!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
JudiW
We have been to this restaurant before but we're disappointed this time. We were a party of 4 and 2 got the filet. Both were just ok. One got the sea bass and that was very good. One got the lamb bolonais which was definitely misrepresented on the menu. What was served was a lamb meatball on pasta. Needless to say we won't be returning this trip.
KevinH
When I order Sea Bass I expect it to at least taste like fish. The preparation made it so sweet that it didn't taste like fish. My wife ordered a glass of Flowers Chardonnay that was recommended by the bartender @$23 a glass and it was terrible. We sent it back and ordered a bottle of another Chardonnay we were familiar with. They didn't credit the return. I think our money would have been better spent elsewhere.
SarahD
We had a wonderful meal! The scenery was spectacular! Very windy at the bar area so a warm layer is recommended. We really enjoyed the Omaha (red snapper) and the sticky ribs. The seared ahi starter was very good. The meal was pricey but made our last night special.
Brandon Moak
Hualani's gets 4.5 stars. This was a surprising find, actually, and we will certainly be back. Don't be scared off by the long winding drive around the airport to find it- this is the restaurant in a resort located on the bluff behind the airport. It was going to be a Ritz Carlton (now a private development according to our waiter) but the grandeur was still visible. Very elegant dining room up on a cliff viewing the pool, the sea, and a lighthouse. Gorgeous!! The food was good- some items were exceptional, others just ok. The seafood dishes were better than the steak; the lilikoi cheesecake was one of the best desserts I've had.Parking: Easy valet.Kid-friendliness: Not kid friendly, for variety of reasons. First, the restaurant is open air, opening onto the bar and pool area, which is itself an infinity pool onto the cliff. Nightmare for small kids. Also, this has a glamorous adult vibe, not the best place to take kids, plus the menu is not suited (in price or options) to a child's palette.Wheelchair accessibility: Easily accessible via elevator
Great experience... excellence service, atmosphere, and food. A hidden gem that we're so glad we took another guests recommendation to try. Made our Kauai vacation experience all the better.
CheriT
This is a stellar restaurant with great service from the valet to the wait staff. The wine flight was a delicious experience I highly recommend. I'm a fan of ciabatta and garlic so that went well with the goat cheese salad while we were trying our wines. There was a little confusion about whether the curry was green or red, but it was delicious nonetheless. My partner loved her sea bass despite the appearance of being blackened. Once the nearby table with a family and children left the ambience was better and less noisy. All in all a great experience.
Zade
Excellent food and atmosphere. Also great views and service. The XOXO Dumplings were
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Duroc Pork Potsticker
I am a frequent local diner. Hualani's is my favorite restaurant and although I live in the north shore I don't mind driving 1 hour to enjoy everything in the place I still appreciate the great work and the deliciousness of the place. Thanks, Mahalo, gracias ??
RhondaA
The food was amazing! One of the best meals we've had in Kauai. The scallops were tender and the sauce tasty. The coconut shrimp were perfectly done and a generous serving. The ribeye was tender and juicy. We highly recommend eating here!
Such a fun experience! The view was incredible, the dinner had a great flow, we didn't feel overwhelmed even though we ordered apps, entrees and dessert. Our server, Jay, was also fantastic!! He was personable, funny, and made great food recs. 10/10 recommend
Went here for lunch. Amazing!Great views. Unobstructed views of the ocean.Great food. Amazing fresh fish!Great service. Checked up on us, made the meal stemless.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was incredible. My steak wasn't cooked quite to my liking, but our server was extremely apologetic, and she was able to make it perfect quickly. Overall, very good. Would definitely come back. We even saw a couple of whales in the ocean
Simply delicious. One of our best meals on Kauai. Blackened scallops, rosemary garlic ciabatta, and the freshest arugula/honeycomb/blue cheese salad to start. I had the whole fried Hawaiian fish (that can filleted) - unbelievably fresh, moist, and crispy. My wife had the basil mahi mahi - also superb. My son went for the 45 day dry aged ribeye with black garlic. It was probably one of the best bites of steak I've ever enjoyed. Great wine list too. This place is not inexpensive but oh was it worth the splurge!
Wonderful food but terrible service. We loved the ribs and lemongrass pork. But our waiter never checked on us and it took 30 minutes to get butter for the bread we paid for. Not sure good food is worth eating cold at this price.
Please read the low reviews before going here. This food is insanely overpriced and unimpressive. I rate that 2 stars at best. For example, we ordered the seared tuna pupus. What came to our table was a plate with two slabs of tuna, cooked all the way through (not seared), no sauce, no garnish, just two slabs of bland tuna. I couldn’t believe it. Another example is the vegetable with the meal was baby bok choy…do you know how hard it is to cut and eat that? Of all the vegetables they supposedly grow, this is the best they came up with to accompany my fish?Second, the servers were nice, but need to be better trained on how to do their job properly. But the most glaring aspect of this review is they are supposed to be farm to table…there is nothing overly creative or impressive about what they serve or what they do to present the food and it’s ridiculously overpriced for how they prepare and present it. Don’t let the fancy menu descriptions fool you. Very sorry we blew $300 for a family of four here!!!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
We have been to this restaurant before but we're disappointed this time. We were a party of 4 and 2 got the filet. Both were just ok. One got the sea bass and that was very good. One got the lamb bolonais which was definitely misrepresented on the menu. What was served was a lamb meatball on pasta. Needless to say we won't be returning this trip.
When I order Sea Bass I expect it to at least taste like fish. The preparation made it so sweet that it didn't taste like fish. My wife ordered a glass of Flowers Chardonnay that was recommended by the bartender @$23 a glass and it was terrible. We sent it back and ordered a bottle of another Chardonnay we were familiar with. They didn't credit the return. I think our money would have been better spent elsewhere.
We had a wonderful meal! The scenery was spectacular! Very windy at the bar area so a warm layer is recommended. We really enjoyed the Omaha (red snapper) and the sticky ribs. The seared ahi starter was very good. The meal was pricey but made our last night special.
Hualani's gets 4.5 stars. This was a surprising find, actually, and we will certainly be back. Don't be scared off by the long winding drive around the airport to find it- this is the restaurant in a resort located on the bluff behind the airport. It was going to be a Ritz Carlton (now a private development according to our waiter) but the grandeur was still visible. Very elegant dining room up on a cliff viewing the pool, the sea, and a lighthouse. Gorgeous!! The food was good- some items were exceptional, others just ok. The seafood dishes were better than the steak; the lilikoi cheesecake was one of the best desserts I've had.Parking: Easy valet.Kid-friendliness: Not kid friendly, for variety of reasons. First, the restaurant is open air, opening onto the bar and pool area, which is itself an infinity pool onto the cliff. Nightmare for small kids. Also, this has a glamorous adult vibe, not the best place to take kids, plus the menu is not suited (in price or options) to a child's palette.Wheelchair accessibility: Easily accessible via elevator
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Sesame Crusted Ahi, Coconut Shrimp, Cheesecake, Macadamia Crusted Monchong
Restaurantji Recommends
Great experience... excellence service, atmosphere, and food. A hidden gem that we're so glad we took another guests recommendation to try. Made our Kauai vacation experience all the better.
This is a stellar restaurant with great service from the valet to the wait staff. The wine flight was a delicious experience I highly recommend. I'm a fan of ciabatta and garlic so that went well with the goat cheese salad while we were trying our wines. There was a little confusion about whether the curry was green or red, but it was delicious nonetheless. My partner loved her sea bass despite the appearance of being blackened. Once the nearby table with a family and children left the ambience was better and less noisy. All in all a great experience.
Excellent food and atmosphere. Also great views and service. The XOXO Dumplings were
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Duroc Pork Potsticker
I am a frequent local diner. Hualani's is my favorite restaurant and although I live in the north shore I don't mind driving 1 hour to enjoy everything in the place I still appreciate the great work and the deliciousness of the place. Thanks, Mahalo, gracias ??
The food was amazing! One of the best meals we've had in Kauai. The scallops were tender and the sauce tasty. The coconut shrimp were perfectly done and a generous serving. The ribeye was tender and juicy. We highly recommend eating here!