We had a great dinner at BarAcuda in Hanalei Town offering small plates sourced from Island Fisherman + local organic farmers.
We ate Papas Ajo - fried marble potatoes tossed in fresh garlic with paprika aioli. These were basically the local version of my favorite tapas - Patatas Bravas! There were tender Banderillas - grilled flank steak skewers rubbed with ancho chili coffee spice and a chipotle honey sauce, and a beautiful piece of Hawaiian Ono with roasted corn puree, grilled summer squash, green coriander + True Leaf Farms sunflower sprouts.
And a Lilikoi Cheesecake with graham macadamia nut crust and lilikoi curd for dessert!
It was so nice to have the gorgeous St.Regis luxury resort a ten minute walk from our Airbnb condo complex Hale Mole. We fell in love with their Macadamian Old Fashioned. It was one of the best cocktails on this trip!
On our first night we were met with a super lively bar crowd. The whole place was dancing to a husband wife duo who played local instruments and fun cover songs. We grabbed a front row table and ordered dinner. The bar menu features Japanese plates; really good ceviche, maki rolls, miso soup, edamame and more. We were delighted with our first experience here and knew we'd be back.
A couple days later we dined at the glamorous Makana Terrace. The views over Hanalei Bay are incredible, but that was about all. The menu was lacking - they were out of a lot of items we wanted to order and we were not overly impressed with the food or service. We got the sense our waitress didn't like us - never a good feeling on your honeymoon or at an exceptionally luxe venue.
The bad experience at Makana didn't outweigh our love for the good vibes at the bar. We came back on our last night for a final round of Macadamian Old Fashioneds at sunset.
Tahiti Nui or the Nui is the local Hanalei dive. Live music plays late into the evening and the Mai Thais are flowing. The food was decent. We had coconut shrimp (can't go wrong), beef poke (not my favorite) and a local fish and rice dish (average).
Piazza was a real treat and somewhat of a surprise! Serving local Italian cuisine in the Princeville Plaza (next to Foodland) this polished establishment served us well on our last night in Kauai. We sat at the bar where the staff was fun and attentive. The masterful Ahi Tuna Carpaccio with a deconstructed tapenade, lemon confit and black lava salt was one of my favorite plates in all of Hawaii. The wine list and cocktails were on point - my Vespa with Aperol, lychee puree and prosecco was the perfect blend of Italia meets Hawaii! The Kauai Shrimp Scampi with handmade squid ink linguine, garlic butter, tomato, lemon preserves and chili flakes was a terrific entrée. As was the gorgeous Tagliatelle Bolognese!
Overall, we had some pretty great food on Kauai's North Shore, but not without a couple misses in the mix. If you've visited this part of Hawaii, where are your must eats?!
