Best Kauaʻi Restaurants - Editor's Picks

Kaua'i isn't known for its dining scene, but that doesn't mean there aren't great restaurants. Seeking out locally owned spots is usually the best way to go when looking for quality food and community connection. These are the spots that tend to use more local ingredients, have invested time and energy in the neighborhoods they're in and are constantly striving for excellence. I believe all of the restaurants on this list embody these values. Here are my current favorite restaurants on the Garden Isle.

AMA is not your typical ramen shop. This completely outdoor restaurant in the center of Hanalei's shopping and dining district is surrounded by lush tropical landscaping and features a grassy courtyard where you can sit around a bonfire sipping cocktails after warming your belly with a bowl of warm bone broth packed with 'ahi, pork belly, Jidori chicken or tofu, noodles, soft poached egg, pickled mushrooms, scallions, sweet peppers and fish cake. Although I enjoy the ramen, my favorite dish here is the hot beignets heavily dusted with powdered sugar, served with vanilla soft-serve ice cream and coconut caramel sauce for dipping — this dessert blew me away. The donuts were so fresh, fluffy and piping hot, and the caramel and ice cream were so creamy and not overly sweet that I stopped thinking about everything else as I indulged. I want to fly to Kaua'i right now just for that.

Chef Jim Moffat and business partner Jondy Malone, formerly of Bar Acuda, opened AMA in 2017. The bone broth for Moffat's ramen is made with Jidori chicken and pork bones and flavored with bonito, shiitake, kelp, dashi and shoyu tare.

Definitely reserve your table ahead of time. AMA also takes walk-ins, but that's never a guarantee.

Open Tuesday through Saturday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The first time I enjoyed Mediterranean and Spanish tapas at Bar Acuda was in 2007. Like me, the first owner, chef Jim Moffat, moved to Hawaiʻi from San Francisco. Moffat owned a restaurant in San Francisco called 42 Degrees, where he was selected as one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs in 1996. He opened Bar Acuda in Hanalei in 2005.

I was happy to see last month, when I was on Kaua'i, that Bar Acuda is still going strong. In 2014, Hanna and Kenny Uddifa purchased the restaurant, keeping its ethos intact by sourcing local ingredients to create dishes that reflect Old World cooking and the fields of Kaua'i. Order dishes such as the Kaua'i shrimp with Yukon Gold mash and chili lemon crisp and Kailani Farm greens with medjool dates and Kunana goat cheese to pair with Rhone-style wines.

Bar Acuda is the most coveted dinner reservation on Kaua'i, so plan ahead.

Reservations of up to six people are available 30 days in advance and go live every day at 3 p.m. HST. If there is no availability online you can try to walk-in and snag a spot at the bar. The line for walk-ins usually starts at 4:30 p.m., so arrive early.

Open Tuesday through Saturday 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Arguably the best sunset view in Po'ipu, The Beach House sits on the edge of Lawai Beach on Kaua'i's South Shore and is packed every night for dinner.

The Beach House was purchased by Handcrafted Restaurants in 2016. Now a sister restaurant to Monkeypod Kitchen, 'Ulu Kitchen and Moku Kitchen, The Beach House serves the cuisine of James Beard Award-nominated chef Peter Merriman, one of the founders of Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine. I love the house-made focaccia and the Maui Nui Venison served with saffron rice, golden raisins, green beans and roasted poblano adobo sauce. And if you've never had a Monkeypod Mai Tai, here's your opportunity to try one of the best versions of this popular Hawaiʻi cocktail in the state.

According to Sara Connery, CEO of Handcrafted Restaurants, the original opening date of The Beach House is unknown. "It has been destroyed in hurricanes twice," she said. "It was originally part of the Lawai Beach Resort. When the ownership company went bankrupt, they sold the parcels separately."

Explore Kauai states the restaurant opened before Hurricane Iwa "swept the entire restaurant out to sea, leaving only the concrete slab behind" in 1982. The restaurant was rebuilt and destroyed again by Hurricane Iniki 10 years later, only to be rebuilt again. You know the place is a gem when regardless of the location's track record, the owners keep bringing it back

You'll definitely need reservations, as The Beach House books up quickly.

Open daily 3:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Come here for solid brunch dishes, such as the Pigs in a Blanket (pictured above) — a three-egg omelet filled with Portuguese sausage, mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, bacon, cheddar and tomatoes. That hash brown beside it, which is the same size as the pancake behind it, is one of the crispiest, fluffiest slabs of shredded potatoes I've had. I didn't think I'd eat it all, but I absolutely did. Other dishes to highlight are the oozy sandwiches and succulent prime rib, usually served as a special.

Break + Feast opened Feb. 13, 2024, and has already garnered local attention as one of the best spots to eat on the South Side. The menu blends Portuguese, Japanese, Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, French and Filipino cuisine, serving large portions of dishes you'll crave well after you leave.

Open Tuesday through Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Sunday and Monday.

This spot takes me back to a time when I was a kid growing up in San Diego, going to The Fish Market with my dad. We'd sit outside overlooking the harbor eating chowder with saltines breathing in the salt air. Fish Bar Deli sits on a prominent corner in Old Kapaʻa Town inviting pedestrians in with its fresh local fish counter, artisan deli — which carries everything from vegan fish sauce to small-batch bitters — and craft cocktail bar serving some of the best seafood dishes on island. Order Brandonʻs Smoked Fish Spread with Ritz crackers and anything on the daily specials list — if you see Smoked Marlin Chowder with Buttered Toast, get it! Non-alcoholic cocktails are exceptional here too. I had a house-made soursop cream soda here that was creamy, tart and bursting with tropical fruit notes like pineapple and apple banana.

Stop in anytime, no reservations necessary.

Open Thursday through Monday noon to 9 p.m., closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

While eating downstairs at Fish Bar Deli, I overheard two guests talking about "heading upstairs" after dinner for a cocktail. I had noticed there was something on the second floor of the building, but without a sign I had no idea what it was. My instinct to follow their trail proved fruitful. They had been talking about The Flying Saucer — a retro tiki bar serving craft cocktails and small plates.

The bar's namesake is a county fair treat Kaua'i is known for — a savory pie/pocket usually stuffed with ground meat, spices and sometimes corn, called a flying saucer. It's cooked in a grill press called a Toas-Tite, a cast aluminum sandwich press you can set over an open flame. The ring it imprints onto your "hot pocket" is what gives it its name. The Flying Saucer bar makes its version with goat cheese and pepper jack, with a side of steamy carrot-ginger-tomato soup for dipping. That, with a green papaya salad and a coconut cream rum-based cocktail, and you are good to go. The bar manager doesn't skimp on non-alcoholic cocktails either — those are just as delicious.

No need to reserve ahead of time, walk right in.

Open Thursday through Sunday 5 to 11 p.m., closed Monday through Wednesday.