The service was good, the ambience ok - but the food was very good. We had the sweet potato raviolis and the lobster wontons to start. I then had the curry lobster soup - thought it was very good/rich. We all had steaks for our mains - all excellent - more on the well side of things and good sauces. We had a chocolate lava cake and a coconut cheese cake for desert - both excellent. No too expensive for a good meal - all food items felt cooked to order and carefully made. Would go back and recommend. read more

Closer to a 4.5 for Kauai - may have been the best restaurant we visited. Pros: Service: Keoni was very attentive. Food: local flair done right. Suggestions: squash ravioli, poke nachos, the fish that is similar to the butterfish (ask the waiter, it is one of the 3 piece fish sampler, ask if you can just have that fish). Nothing special: lobster bisque, piña colada, Cesar salad. Ribs were above average if you are curious. I would dine here again. read more

Visited Kauai for the first time so we had to try all the best rated restaurants and this was by far the best meal. Ordered the calamari and it blew my mind how fresh and thick the pieces were. My husband and I shared a salad and the catch of the day which was incredible. We took the advice from our server and this did not disappoint. Drinks were also well made. This is a must try restaurant. read more

Fish and Caesar salad was very good, drinks were lovely and Hina our waitress was very friendly and made our 29th anniversary special with a sweet surprise. read more

Love this restaurant! Found it on a whim and have been back every year we are in Kauai. It's decently priced and the ambiance is always nice. Slight view of the ocean, but the food more than makes up for that. We generally stay in Lihue, but this restaurant is easily worth the drive. Great wine list, too. read more

Oh Hukilau, despite my high expectations you never disappoint. This was my 3rd visit over many years and each time my meal is fresh and perfectly prepared. The waitstaff is professional yet warm and the ambiance is beautiful. My husband loves their prime rib and I usually get the fish special. The most recent was a Mahi in curry, of course on point. Will return with each Kauai visit. read more

Excellent service, food, drinks, and atmosphere. We ordered off the specials menu and were incredibly happy. The cold fudge sundae dessert cocktail was ice cream in a martini glass. read more

Went here for dinner while staying in Kapaa. I rarely leave yelp reviews but this place was fantastic. The food was delicious (especially the filet mignon), the wine list great, the service prompt and attentive. Would highly recommend it and will go back. read more

My boyfriend made a reservation at 5:15pm for us at this place. It was recommend by my boyfriends friends. We wanted to do something special for our anniversary. So why not eat here. As we got there, we were greeted by the host. Very friendly! We were seated outside on the patio. Nice and kind of chilly! Amazing view of course. Our waiter was very nice and attentive. So on to the menu, we ordered the ahi nachos as our appetizer. For our drinks, my boyfriend ordered the wailua bay breeze and I ordered pina colada on the rocks. My main entree, i ordered the hukilau mixed grill. Unfortunately it doesn't come with shrimp anymore. It comes with pineapple slaw. Also main entree it comes with salad or soup. As we get our appetizer, the Ahi Nacho's -- it's was given in like 10 mins and along with focaccia bread and oil with balsamic. Let me tell you! The Ahi Nachos was out of my mind! It was sooo good. The focaccia bread was great. Nice and soft to bite on. After we devoured that, 15 mins later, our salads come in. Mm! Again, the salad was mixed so good and tasted fantastic! So flavorful. I can't believe my boyfriend ate all of his salad.. because he's really into salad. After eating the salad, I was kind of getting full but I still had a little room left for my main course. Then a short min later, our food has arrived. Omg! Our food looked fantastic and tasted so goood! My array of fish was cooked to perfection and the sauce for it was amazing. A little spicy but not to much were it's over bearing. Everything was on point! Seriously, the service and food was great. I had such a great time there. My boyfriend had such a great time. He told me, he would give this place 5 stars! What! That's how much he loved it. We would totally come back. We was not disappointed at all. I would recommend this place to all of you! Causal d read more

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I was a little disappointed with the ahi nachos. They were probably too hyped up for me. They were good nonetheless. The garlic sauce that came with the calamari was divine. The focaccia bread very fresh, soft, and cheesy. The lobster bisque was rich, though if you're not a fan of lemongrass you should probably skip it. I liked it. The wally's salad was made with fresh ingredients and the papaya seed dressing was nice and sweet. I got the mahi mahi as my entree and it is sitting in my fridge in a box because I was ridiculously full by the time it came out lol. Janice was our waitress and service was second to none. Overall the food was pretty good and the service amazing. This averages to 5 stars in my book. Also the meal was a lot cheaper than I expected. read more

Always great food and service. Best meatloaf (believe that?) in the world. Fish dishes are excellent. Mai tais are great. Andrew is the best person working there. read more

The Hukilau Lanai was the best meal at the best price that we had in Kauai. The setting was gorgeous, while not right on the beach it looks out over the grounds of the Kauai Coast resort with the ocean in the background. Many birds and roosters roam the grounds. From the complimentary focaccia bread, to the goat cheese and lobster wontons app to the chorizo pasta to the mixed grill fish dish, it was all delicious. The service was attentive but didn't rush us through. We did have to wait 15 minutes for our reserved table. Compared to other Kauai restaurants, we thought the prices were very reasonable for the quality of food. read more

Food is amazing. Love the candied Ahi. Exceptional service! Great drinks and extensive wine list.

This is an upscale restaurant with great food, service, and views. Don't be fooled that it is part of a resort and not a stand-alone restaurant. We have dinner here every time we visit Kauai and will continue to do so based on this last visit. read more

Their food and drinks are one the best in Kauai. I am a repeat visitor to this place and never disappointed. The staff is like family. read more

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We tried several of the more upscale restaurants on Kauai and this was the only one with food worth the price. Perfect cooks of the fishes and wonderful flavors. read more

Food was good but the server's attitude left us wanting more. I'm on vacation and it made me feel bad about being there as he was obviously just going through the motions. read more

Our new favorite spot on island. Insane views, impeccable service and the food is incredible. Always looking for another reason to come! Their $8 taco Wednesday's are pretty much the best thing ever. read more

Easily the best food on the Island of Kauai. Plus the atmosphere and service take it over the top. Prices are appropriate for the exquisite quality. This place is a must if you want to enjoy the best local fare and environment. read more

Not only was The Hukilau Lanai the best dining experience we had on Kauai, but one of the best we had on any of the islands. There were five of us that dined that night and each one of us had something different and delicious. For starters, we had the lobster and goat cheese wontons and the charcuterie tray. We could have ate 20 of those wontons. I had the Hukilau mixed grill. It was one of the best fish entrees I've ever had. The only difficulty I had that night was deciding which fish trio to order. We sat on the Lanai and enjoyed the rain and the view of the gardens. Strongly recommend making a reservation well in advance and our choice would be to sit on the lanai. If you are in Kauai, you have to eat here. read more

My husband and I dined here while on vacation in Kauai. We were so excited to try this place after reading such great reviews. We arrived at the old, rundown resort to check in at the restaurant for our reservation. We had to wait 25 minutes for our table and no one even apologized. We were led through a restaurant with outdated decor and musty carpet to our table outside. The scenery was pretty there. Tiki torches and tropical plants lined the walkway. I ordered the poke nachos and the lobster bisque for my meal. Both were ok, but nothing to write home about. My husband ordered the pork skins appetizer which was awful. They came out greasy and the hot sauce was way too spicy to eat, and my husband can eat spicy! He orders extra chiles super spicy sauce every time we go out. He ordered fish for dinner and it was overcooked and quite fishy. Do yourself a favor and save your time and money for a better experience elsewhere. It was by far the worst meal of our 6 day trip. read more

This place is low key and great value. I was a bit skeptical from the high reviews on yelp and tripadvisor, but I would come back and dine again. 1. Non-snobby really nice host and wait staff. 2. A wine list that includes 20 wines under $20. Where else can you get that? 3. Tasting menu served from 5-5:45pm that includes a 5-course meal for $32 or food and wine for $50. Opted for the food + wine pairing and was not disappointed. Small portions with decent wine pairings that did not leaving me feeling overstuffed or bulimic. Best part is that not everyone has to order the tasting menu, so your dinner companion(s) can try something else. Not a super fancy restaurant and attracts a bit of an older crowd. Solid food for the price! read more

We have been coming to Hukilau Lanai for many years. The view is lovely, but food & drinks are just average. The menu has not changed at all in at least 5 years. Service is always friendly. read more

Our server was Hina. From the start, she was warm and welcoming. That same great attitude and service lasted throughout the whole dinner service. Checked on us frequently and I felt like she went our of our way to make our night special. The restruants tables were spread 6 feet apart and all the workers wore their masks properly. Big props to the 2 people cleaning every chair, table and even the candle between each new set of customers! Made us feel safe and showed us they cared about the health and safety of their customers! The food was excellent, steak cooked properly. would definely come back again! read more

Meh. Everything tasted good, but this is not my style of eats. I refer to this type of dining as "old people food" (no offense, senior citizens). Heavy, heavy, heavy. Lots of cream-based sauces and soups, and obnoxiously large portions. One of their claims to fame is waterfront view with a beautiful garden. But you're so stuffed after your meal that you have no interest in waddling through the garden, all you want to do is lay down and fall into a food coma. The service is another issue for me. We may have had the worst server on all of Kaua'i. A few members of our party showed up a bit late, and he was deliberating whether or not they could still order the tasting menu. Meanwhile, our seating hostess had said it would be no problem at all, since our reservation was clearly before the cutoff time. Another member of our party eats gluten-free, and was unsatisfied that the in-house menu does not note which items can be prepared gluten-free (online, there is an entire menu dedicated to this). Again, the waiter seemed incredibly put-out by her questioning which items would follow her dietary restrictions. For future gluten-free diners, they do serve a gluten-free bread that is the best I've tried, so make sure to ask for it. read more

We had the filet mignon, and it was good but their real show stoppers are the fish dinners. Me and my husband both agree that when in Kauai, you gotta go with seafood. Our lobster wontons were also amazzzzzing. Drinks from the bar were super delicious as well. read more

Cocktails - 9/10 Service - 10/10 (our server Andrew was amazing) Starters - 10/10 Main Dish - 10/10 Dessert - 9/10 Atmosphere - 10/10 There's a reason this is the most highly-rated place on Kauai. Here on Yelp the price is shown as 3 dollar signs out of a possible 4; the other sites rank it as 2 out of a possible 3 . . . Yelp is more accurate . . . it's not cheap, but there are definitely pricier places on the island. read more

Great food !! Great view best poke nacho on the island best soup and salad great drinks service is slow.

This was our first (and best) meal in Kauai! The restaurant was located in the Kauai Coast Resort and I recommend reservations because the wait was about 45 minutes without. When we arrived, there was a lounge near the hostess' station and lounge singers performing Hawaiian music. Once we were seated, the atmosphere was nice and fairly quiet. We had a view of the resort grounds and pool, looking out towards the ocean. We ordered the lobster and goat cheese wonton, prime rib, and surf and turf (which came with steak and some kind of Hawaiian butterfish). My husband got a beer and I got the Coconut Coast Cooler (by server's recommendation). Everything was delicious!!! The fish and the prime rib were AMAZING. The entrees also came with the soup of the day, which was quite good. Our server was super friendly and gave great recommendations based on the preferences we gave her. The bill came to about $100 without tip, and we passed on dessert. FOOD: Fantastic! Definitely order the prime rib or fish. LOCATION/AMBIANCE: Convenient location, peaceful/beautiful, nice view SERVICE: Perfect PRICE: Pricey, but worth every penny BOTTOM LINE: You MUST eat here while visiting Kauai! read more

I love that this restaurant is adjacent to the condo we always stay in on our yearly visits to Kauai. I have eaten at the Hukilau more than six times, trying almost every dish on the menu. Here's the deal. This place WINS FOR PUPUS: The Ahi Poke Nachos are from Heaven. Sashimi grade ahi poke on top of fresh and crisp wonton chips (nice chipy-dippy size, to boot) with a silky wasabi cream sauce. YUMMMAMI! Another winner are the ribs. They only give you three! Well, OK it is an app, but man, the hoisin sweet glaze and watermelon salad that it comes with is DEELISH. Must also give a shout out to the Lobster and Goat Cheese Wontons, which were crispy on the outside, creamy and lobstery on the inside (nicely balanced, not too cheesy to boot). The Hamakua Mushroom Tart and Calamari were also winners. I tried to bribe the waiter into giving me more of that flaky, buttery crust all by itself, but alas I was shut down. And for calamari, well crispy, warm and cooked to perfection... what more do you want in friend calamari? The only Pupu lacking was the Kalua Chicken with the ancho guava sauce. The chicken was overcooked, the sauce was weak, and the watercress that it was served on top of had too many stems and not enough yummy leaves. SALADS All times, my salads were over dressed. The Arugula Salad with fresh corn & Kauai Kunana Dairy Chevre Salad would have been nummers, IF they weren't swimming in their dressings. SOUPS The curry bisques are great, I had a lobster version one time, then a pumpkin version most recently. Both excelled in flavor, well balanced and silky -- more than made up for the over seasoned, too thick corn and bacon chowder I sampled three nights before. ENTREES: Definitely go for the fish here. This is where they shine. The mix grill plate is ONO. They do it differently --on a weekly basis, i think-- because the three different trips I have been here, the mix grill has been the same fish & preparation for the duration of the week. The Opah is also a winner, being pank & herb crusted and served over orzo in a lemon-caper-cream sauce, although the portion is HUGE. My hubby has ordered the pork tenderloin, the steak crown royale and lasagne. All had excellent flavor, and would get an ONO but definitely not a YUMAMI rating from me because of various textural/ accompaniment reasons on different occasions. Besides eating steak outside in 85 degree weather is just not my cup o' tea, yeah? DESSERT The creme brulee, sorbet trio and mac nut tart are right up there with the ahi poke nachos, with the sorbets having a narrow lead. The creme brulee gets props for not going all lilikoi on us like most CB's in Hawaii. Instead, they take advantage of the BEST vanilla bean in the world right here in Hawaii and use it advantageously. The mac nut tart is rich, toasty and the crust is sooo buttery good. I recommend sharing both of these as the portion is generous and they are very. rich. The sorbet trio is probably the best. The flavors always change, but are always amazing. They serve them on ceramic soup spoons; one little scoop per flavor, and are the perfect, refreshing end to an amazing meal! THE REST Service is chill, waiters are nice, real, not overly attentive but there when you need. Get a table in the lower part of the restaurant, up against the tiki torch parameter if possible. The view is beautiful at sunset and afterward the tikis and garden setting make for a romantic tropical ambiance. The upper level is okay, just isn't the same experience. The wine list is well thought out and well priced. Most bottles are $20 or less and they have a fresh modern approach to their selections. I especially enjoyed that most were available by the glass, so I could mix and match with each course. The cocktails are strong, sweet and cold, what more do you need? Another cool thing is that the chef maintains a small herb garden in front of the outdoor section of the restaurant. Hubby and I got sucked into a time share presentation one morning and we were lucky enough to see one of the kitchen assistants walking out and selecting herbs for the soup of the day. That was the BEST part of the whole sales presentation, as you can probably imagine ;op read more

Our wedding reception was held in the private banquet room at the Hukilau Lanai, and it was fantastic. First, the food. It's epic. As the other reviewers have said, you must try the ahi poke nachos. My other favorites were the lobster & goat cheese wontons, and the opah (moonfish). The Hukilau Lanai also made our wedding cake. In my experience, taste is often secondary to appearance when it comes to wedding cakes. Not here. Our cake was beautiful *and* delicious. The lemon cake was made with real lemon juice (as opposed to extract) and the sweetness of the raspberry filling was a perfect complement to the lemon. Next, the staff. I was blown away by the level of service - not only was the staff very attentive, they all seemed genuinely happy to be of assistance. I guess that's what happens when you live in paradise. In the lounge outside of the main dining room, local artists entertain bar patrons and people waiting for a table. If you are lucky enough to hear Ben Ahn play ukelele, tell him I said "Hi!". The restaurant is very clean, and the floor plan is designed to give the majority of diners a view of the ocean. It seems to be a local favorite, though, so make sure you have reservations. We will be returning to the Hukilau Lanai for years to come. read more

One of my favorite spots for a nice dinner. Love all the food bu my favorite ones are the sweet potato ravioli, wally's salad, meatloaf with mashed potatoes:) read more

Fourteen nights in paradise. Two islands. Three coasts. Nine nights of fine-dining (read "expensive" dining) and Hukilau was by FAR the worst fish preparations we tried at any of them. My sweetie had the "special" sesame crusted swordfish and it was thin and dry with no flavor and an overpowering sauce that couldn't hide how mediocre the fish was. I had the mixed grill that included 2 fish - a delicious walu that later gave me gastric distress and one that was terribly dry from overcooking and 3 shrimps on a sugarcane skewer that had no flavor at all. The Wally Salad was delicious. The lobster bisque was unremarkable. The prepared food was awful. The waiter was excellent. The hostess was a nightmare. She needs to be fired. We - like most Hukilau guests - were from out of town and were on a vacation schedule and had no idea how far our snorkeling beach was from the restaurant or how hungry we might be that night, so we made a later reservation. We showed up 2 hours prior to the reservation as they were opening and the place was empty. When she heard that we were early she very bossily told us we'd have to sit in second tier. I had no idea what that was and I said so and she gave me such a scathing look for my ignorance! When she asked if I wanted to go look at the seating I assure her that second tier would be fine. It was. But the "first tier" remained empty during our entire visit. The first tier has a slightly better view, but whatever. It was her attitude that we had so desperately put her out personally by showing up early that she had to punish us by seating us behind empty tables with a view. My boyfriend said something to her on the way out and she got super snotty AGAIN about how first tier is held for reservations. Weird. AVOID this place and go eat in Koloa! read more

I think Hukilau has gone downhill in the last two years. I live nearby. I used to come here for happy hours and pupus fairly often and it was pretty good. But in the last couple years Hukilau has gotten very popular with the tourists and you need to make reservations a couple of weeks advance, which we did, to take out a friend who was visiting Kauai. Unfortunately, this is my second below average experience here in last two months. I probably won't go back until I hear they change management. Tonight, the poke tortilla appetizer looked like a giant mountain of schlop. IIt could have been dinner for two. 'll admit it t was HUGE, so if that's your thing, the maybe you like it. I ordered two appetizers and a salad and it was enough below average food for an elephant and NJ Mayor Christie and Mayor Carvalho. Our dogs and chickens will be eating leftovers for a week. The calamari was not bad though. It was understaffed. The waiter forgot our bread, and when I asked for it the runner pedantically explained that the bread comes after the appetizers - instead of just saying "oh sorry". It was like 20 minutes between glasses of wine. Overall, tonight's dinner seemed more like a Costco spinoff for unsuspecting tourists. Our waiter was nice and he was hustling - it wasn't his fault. Its just the food was just not high-end and it looks like its turned to a profit-off-of-tourists machine. Please Hukilau, you used to be good. That is how you got a good reputation. Spend a little money on more sous chefs, servers and bartenders - and save costs by adjusting your portions to serve the less than morbidly obese. We skipped desert as we boxed takeout for the pets. As of 2-2014, on the East side of the island, I'd nix Hukilau, and go with Oasis, or old faithful Kintaro, or Bushido, or even the East Side has gotten up to maybe a "B ". I think Joscelyns on S. Shore is best on Kauai these days. read more

For our first dinner on Kauai, J and I decided to be early birds and try Hukilau Lanai's sampler menu (available 5-6pm daily). Annoying that we had to wait (in an empty restaurant) before being seated, despite having made reservations. AMBIANCE: Loungey in the front, super super casual, with an open air lanai facing the hotel pool/ocean. Very relaxed atmosphere... not sure if it gets more lively later on in the evening. SERVICE: Friendly but I found it to be meh. Maybe its because we were there right when they opened? The waitstaff seemed confused and a bit chicken-with-its-head-cut-off-ish, while the hostess was slightly scatterbrained. FOOD: A-OK. We tried the 5 course tasting menu ($28 w/o wine pairing) and a separate fish entree (I think $26-28?). I forget which fish entree we ordered, but it came with risotto and was SO oddly sweet and barbecue-y all at once. Not the best pairing IMO. My favorite dish of the night was the vanilla bean creme brulee dessert-- perfect portion size, nice and creamy with a crunchy sugar top. OVERALL: Nice to try, but I won't be hurrying back anytime soon and it wouldn't be the first restaurant I'd recommend to friends. read more

Our decision to eat dinner here was heavily influenced by the presence of poke nachos, which combines two things that are already awesome: poke, and nachos, and somehow manages to make a thing which is, in fact, even more awesome. It was Christmas Eve so they had a special menu. I don't remember exactly what I ate but I do remember the post-eating part, in which I was so full I almost couldn't breathe, but I was like, "No, I can eat more, I can do this," because the food was telling me I should keep eating it. Also, our server was really sweet, and he took our picture and spent a lot of time recommending drinks and explaining the ingredients in the special dishes, and then we ran into him at the supermarket a few days later (SMALL. ISLAND.) and he came over (with his adorable baby) to say hi and ask how our vacation was going! OMG love! Yay for great service and POKE NACHOS. read more

What a great place always delicious. Awesome service! Every time I am in Kauai I make it a point to go there and I am there at least once a month. I have tried just about everything on the menu and loved all. Desserts are amazing! read more

This place is just awesome. The staff, the service everything was perfect. We always stop here on the way to the airport at the end of our holidays and it never fails to lighten our hearts when our holiday is ending. On our last visit, I forgot my cell phone at the restaurant and boarded a plane home hours later. I thought that I had left the phone on the plane and could not find it anywhere. About a week later my wife was contacted on Facebook by Ron Miller the owner. He had found the phone at the table, checked the bill for our name mailed it back to me. Best service ever! read more

One of the best restaurants I've been to in a while. Perfect combination of stunning views, courteous staff, and amazing food. Love the fact that they follow Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch guidelines for the fish that they serve. If you're looking for a nice night out in Kauai - this is the place! Make sure to have reservations or get here early (we showed up at 6:30pm) - it fills up fast! read more

Hukilau Lanai - Seafood Near Me - Kapaa, Hawaii

Best meal of the Kauai trip by far. This place is a little pricy but definitely worth it. The seafood was fresh off the boat and very tasty. It came with soup or salad which was nice and the soup of the day was outstanding - some type of meatball soup. We were to full for dessert but they looked great. Nice wine list too! read more