Kaua'i Restaurants

Duane's Ono Char-Burger

I had read so many raves about this tiny burger stand that I half expected lunch here to be a life-altering experience. Alas, no. Not that it was bad - it wasn't - but I've had better. Specifically, I've had better burgers and shakes at Burger Master in Seattle. It's hard to top the Burger Master.

Nevertheless, Duane's is fairly cheap in Kaua'i terms (our lunch cost about $21) and does make a very decent burger, with a nice charred flavor and some yummy toppings to choose from. I had the blue cheese burger, which had very tasty blue cheese dressing on it. Mike had the Nui-Nui (double burger) with cheddar, which he said was good, though he didn't give me a bite. (Hmmpf.)

The onion rings were very good, though Mike's French fries were cold. (Which is ridiculous, and if you read on, you'll understand why.) As far as shakes, Duane's offers three flavors. Vanilla and chocolate are predictable, but wouldn't you think the third flavor would be something exotic and tropical? Nope. It's marionberry. I found this puzzling but ordered it anyway. The marionberry shake was okay, but I don't think any real berries had been within a mile of it. I couldn't help comparing it with Burger Master's marionberry shake, which has actual chunks of berries in it - but then, marionberries are actually grown in the Seattle area, while they are not grown on the Hawaiian islands, as far as I know.

By the way, "ono" is the Hawaiian name of a certain type of fish, but literally it means "good" or "tasty." The name of Duane's Ono Char-Burger does not refer to the fish. Although a major guidebook claims this place makes "broiled fish" sandwiches, I only saw fried cod sandwiches on the menu.

If you arrive at Duane's around lunchtime on a Saturday, be prepared to wait. And wait. And wait. We waited in the order line for about ten minutes, but that turned out to be only the start of it. Over FORTY MINUTES later, our food was ready! Meanwhile no one ahead of us in line was getting served, either, but phone orders were apparently getting filled, because car after car arrived and carted off big cardboard boxes full of burgers. I don't know if this is the usual situation at Duane's, but we certainly weren't prepared for it. Fortunately the weather was pleasant, we weren't in a hurry and it was nice enough sitting there watching the chickens and cats wandering around the cement picnic tables.

It's difficult to find Duane's if you're coming down the highway from the north, because it is concealed by trees. It will be on your left, next to the Anahola Post Office. Coming from the south, it's easier to spot - look for a red sign. "Ono Char-Burger" is in larger letters - the "Duane's" part of the sign is hard to see.

Fish Market on Koloa Road in Koloa

One of our goals during the visit to Kaua'i was to try out a Hawaiian standard: the "plate lunch." Plate lunches are inexpensive combination meals enjoyed by locals, usually sold on a take-out basis in a divided styrofoam container. The typical plate lunch costs around $7 or $8 and comes with a main dish plus "two scoops rice" and "one scoop macaroni salad." Yep, we're talking carbohydrate paradise here.

The snack shop window outside of Sueoka's market in Koloa is known for its plate lunches, so we planned to pick some up there, on our way from our hotel in Poipu when we headed to Waimea Canyon. Unfortunately, in what seems to be fairly typical on Kaua'i, the snack shop was closed for no apparent reason on a Thursday at lunchtime. Drat.

We drove east down the block and spotted another place, just before the local supermarket, that was advertising plate lunches. I neglected to get the name, but the sign said Fish Market out front. Inside, a few regular plate lunches and a couple of specials were listed on menu boards. A crowd of locals were calling out their orders at the narrow deli counter and paying at the register. The place seemed popular, so we decided to give it a try.

Mike had one of the regular menu items, the kalua pork (very tender roasted and shredded pork), which came with rice noodles, two scoops of rice, a little dab of what seemed to be some sort of mushy tomato salad and a little container of the Hawaiian delicacy called poke (raw ahi with sesame oil and seaweed). He found the pork a little bland and greasy but liked the poke.

I had one of the specials, Korean Chicken, which I ordered without having the slightest idea what I would be getting. It turned out to be about six small to medium sized pieces of fried chicken, drenched in a sweet/spicy, translucent red sauce. Mine came with the typical sides (rice, macaroni salad) plus a little green salad under the macaroni. The chicken was quite tasty and the sauce was nice with the rice. We easily could have shared this between us - I ended up throwing about half of it away.

Considering our two meals plus two large bottled sodas cost under $19, this was probably the biggest bargain we found on Kaua'i, and if we had shared it, we'd have made out like bandits on the cost.

Hanalei Dolphin Restaurant & Fish Market (5144 Kuhio Hwy in Hanalei)

In terms of food quality and overall value for money, Hanalei Dolphin was our favorite find on Kaua'i. The fish served in the restaurant is impeccably fresh, as you would expect from a place that operates a fish market next door.

We had lunch here one day and ate outside under an umbrella'd picnic table where we could enjoy the river view, as well as the amazing multi-colored bird life that surrounded us in all the trees and bushes. The food was not super-cheap (about $10.50 for a fish sandwich and salad), but very reasonable considering its excellence and the overall high prices on the island.

On another day we had dinner inside the restaurant, which features a very appealing casual atmosphere but very high-end food. I had delicious fresh ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime juice with red onion and tomato). Our broiled fish dinners came with a big family-style tossed salad, bread and a choice of side dishes such as grilled veggie kebabs, rice, etc. Our dinner for two came to right around $100 and we were very happy with the value.

Kalypso (on Kuhio Hwy in Hanalei)

While Kalypso is primarily a sports bar, it also serves very decent food, if our meal here was any indication. We had considered having Sunday Brunch at the Princeville Hotel, but it just didn't seem worth $59 per person plus tax and tip. So we got in the car and headed to Kalypso, where we enjoyed a delightful breakfast served by a charming waitress.

I had yummy banana pancakes and Mike had macadamia nut French toast. We also each had a side of the local favorite, Portuguese sausage, which we thought was all right, but not a lot better than regular supermarket smoked sausage. With coffee and a mimosa apiece, we were still way ahead - our total bill was about $35.

JoJo's Shave Ice (mile marker 23, Kaumaualii Hwy (Hwy. 50) in Waimea) and Lappert's Ice Cream (multiple locations)

Shave (or shaved) ice is another uniquely Hawaiian delicacy that everyone told us we should try, and JoJo's Shave Ice has the reputation of offering the best product on the island, so we made a special point to stop and try it out. I had heard that the best combo is to get Lappert's macadamia nut ice cream on the bottom and tropical flavored shave ice on top.

JoJo's offers something like 50 flavors for its shave ice, so it was pretty hard to choose. I selected a "small" cup (which was huge) with mac ice cream on the bottom and coconut, papaya and mango shave ice on top. Cost: $3. The result was tasty, although extremely sweet. I think I would have enjoyed it more on a really hot day. Maybe next time I'll try a less sweet flavor, like lemon.

However, the Lappert's ice cream on the bottom was fantastic - as was the Lappert's ice cream we bought right in a Lappert's shop in Princeville. I would call Lappert's a do-not-miss in Hawaii. They have multiple locations on multiple islands, though they started in Hanapepe on Kaua'i.

Banana Joe's Fruitstand (Kuhio Hwy, on the inland side of the road, around Kolo Road turnoff near Kilauea)

Banana Joe's came highly recommended for its "frosty," a completely guilt-free concoction that consists entirely of frozen fruit passed through an industrial juicer. The result is sort of like soft-serve ice cream. They typically only have one flavor per day, which you buy from a window inside the fruit stand. The day we stopped there, the flavor was pure pineapple. It was very tasty, a tiny bit fibrous and slightly sour. Certainly it had to be the most healthy "soft serve" I've ever eaten, and it reminded me of the Dole Whip desserts sold at Disney theme parks (except that unlike a Dole Whip, the frosty was not made with several unpronounceable chemicals).

Banana Joe's is bright yellow and hard to miss if you are driving south, but easy to miss if you're going north. The fruit stand had decent looking fruits, including a few exotic items like rambutans. We didn't buy any fruit because we'd already purchased a bunch at a farmer's market. The window where you can buy a frosty keeps shorter hours than the rest of the stand - I think it closes at 5:00.

Living Room at the Princeville

While very expensive, the Living Room lounge at the Princeville Hotel, with its breathtaking views of the ocean and the mountains, is worth a visit, particularly at sunset. Drinks run about $7.50 for a beer and $11 or more for a cocktail, but the view is priceless, and you get a complimentary bowl of tasty snack mix with your drinks. The Living Room also offers outstanding, very fresh sushi ($25 for a mixed platter, including 5 pieces of nigiri and 4 pieces of California roll). On a few evenings we called the sushi our dinner, so it wasn't too bank-breaking.

Tidepools at the Grand Hyatt Kaua'i

Tidepools is expensive, but very romantic. The restaurant looks like a group of thatched Polynesian huts set in the middle of a lagoon at the back of the Grand Hyatt, with tiki torches lighting up koi ponds between the huts. In terms of atmosphere, it's probably the best place on Kaua'i to celebrate an anniversary or honeymoon.

The food is quite nice as well, particularly if you enjoy fresh fish. Preparations are sort of a French/Asian fusion that is very pleasant, if not super memorable. We really enjoyed our meal here, despite the high cost. The service was pleasant if a bit rushed. I think that would be my only real complaint - it would have been nice to linger longer over dinner.