North Shore Restaurant / Food Tips...

Alyssa · 09-14-2008, 11:32 PM

If you are staying up in the Hanalei Bay / Princeville / Haena / North Shore area here are some food tips...even thought the place we stayed at had a full kitchen, we didn't want to be bothered with cooking meals so we ate out for every meal - here are the places we went too...

REALLY GOOD:
Niedes Salsa Y Samba - OMG you HAVE to go here - it is behind BarAcuda - get #16 - it is so good, my DH got one to go to have for breakfast the next day lol. also, try the fish tacos of the day - i had Ono and they were AMAZING! good margaritas and outdoor seating and pretty casual.

BarAcuda - very chic - feels like NYC or Miami with food to match - great ambiance, music and mood. we celebrated our 1 week married here - it was yummy and a little $$$ but honestly everything in Kauai is like that lol.

Postcard's Cafe - the quintessential (sp?) Hanalei restaurant - always busy so call ahead - fresh, really good food, mostly fish and local ingredients. interesting menu and quaint place. definitely go here.

SKIP:
Red Hot Mama's - we can not believe this place is famous -it is not that great and really expensive for tacos and burritos. if you do go, ask them to put their creamy, spicy sauce on the side only - it really overpowers everything. and also plan for at least a half hour of waiting - they are so slow it is insane.

Tropical Taco's - another super expensive taco place - just not that great and like $10 for 1 big taco WTF?

FOOD STORES:
Papaya's - the only organic/natural food store around - great selection and reasonable prices considering the other options. we bought a bunch of snacks here and some half & half to have at the cottage.

Big Save - these are all over the Island and the quality of the store strictly depends on the neighborhood. this Hanalei one is one of the nicer ones we went into but still a dumpy, dirty kind of place and IMO pretty expensive. I would rather spend $0.50 more for each item across the street at Papaya's and get higher quality stuff.

ROADSIDE FRUIT TRUCKS/SMOOTHIES:
Banana Joe's Fruit Stand - good if you are in Princeville but not that many smoothie options for fruit (2 or 3 choices tops). you can buy fresh fruit, cookies and some other products here that are very good.

Fruit Stand in Front of Big Save (Hanalei) - we prefered this fruit truck for variety of drinks (8 or 10 choices), speed and convenience. you can also buy fresh fruit from them cheaper than either Papaya's or Big Save.

I hope this info is helpful to you future Kauai brides / honeymooners - just let me know if you have anymore questions! :)

Alyssa

Mandy · 09-15-2008, 07:42 PM

We just got back from Kauai too (we went for a wedding on Hanalei Bay). We also enjoyed Java Kai, a coffee house near BarAcuda. Amazing coffee and fantastic breakfast.

ebbica · Yesterday, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mandy

We just got back from Kauai too (we went for a wedding on Hanalei Bay). We also enjoyed Java Kai, a coffee house near BarAcuda. Amazing coffee and fantastic breakfast.

Gotta agree w/ you, Java Kai has the yummiest waffle ever! It inspired me to have an early ceremony w. a brunch reception including a waffle station! yum!
I also love that they use kauai grown and roasted coffee, and make cigars w/ kauai-grown tobacco.

Also our favorite Veg place is the blossoming lotus in Kapa'a. great brunch!

Alyssa · Yesterday, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ebbica

Gotta agree w/ you, Java Kai has the yummiest waffle ever! It inspired me to have an early ceremony w. a brunch reception including a waffle station! yum!
I also love that they use kauai grown and roasted coffee, and make cigars w/ kauai-grown tobacco.

Also our favorite Veg place is the blossoming lotus in Kapa'a. great brunch!

OMG Blossoming Lotus was SO good - we loved it!! i really like Kapa'a a lot - neat little town :)