Hukilau Lanai
Description
Hukilau Lanai is becoming very popular for its consistently delicious food and a courteous service. There is an air of family about the place, which is surprising as they are located amidst a hotel lobby in Kapaa town. It is a very visitor friendly environment with Hawaiian slack key guitar music drifting along on the ocean breezes every evening in their lounge. The ocean is just 50 yards from the restaurant and can be seen from the upper lounge, and the lower dining areas.
At A Glance:
Cuisine: Fine Hawaiian/Pacific Rim
Price: $$/$$$
Location: Kapaa, Kauai
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday 5 to 9:30 pm
Environment/Dcor: Indoor/outdoor covered seating in keeping with the lanai theme, low light, fine dining setting inside, with live Hawaiian music and more causal seating in the lounge entrance area.
*Reservations highly recommended- 48 hours in advance (they are that popular)
Hukilau Lanai has food that a Hawaiian grandma turned chef could be proud of. The very homey feel of this restaurant echoes in the cuisine, composed of great mostly local ingredients. This restaurant warrants the introduction of the Hawaiian slang phrase "broke da mouth" which is what you would say to your grandma when trying her fresh prepared dinner. It means the food is so good that your mouth is broken, basically exceeding the expectation for tastes and sense of absolute food goodness.
If wishing to dine in the restaurant, reservations 48 hours in advance are advised. However, eating in the lounge and bar area close to the music requires no reservations and still gets you access to the great menu items. A great thing to note, entre items come with a choice of side salad or soup from the menu choices. Essentially boosting your meals value while giving you plenty of food.
Full bar service is part of the experience at the Hukilau Lanai featuring cocktails, and local beers, as well as fine wines. It is worth mentioning a tastings special meal with 5 courses with 5 wine pairings for $50, available 5 to 5:45 pm each evening they are open. Call for details.
Our Staff's Pics:
The shiitake mushroom meatloaf was rich with a delicious gravy and large portion.
BBQ ribs from the pupus menu tender, and very good. The swiss chard tart also was delicious. The items on the pupus menu are surprisingly filling for the pricing. A full meal could be built just from selections on this area of the menu.
Contacts:
Phone: 808.822.0600
Website: http://www.hukilaukauai.com/
Address:
520 Aleka Loop
Kapaa, Hawaii 96746
Directions/Parking tips:
The entrance to Hukilau Lanai is on the left side of the Kauai Coast Resort. You reach the resort by turning off of Kuhio Highway at the signs for the "Coconut Marketplace". Follow this road toward the coast and look for small traffic median that shows a sign for the resort and restaurant. Pull in to the left of the resort for Hukilau's own parking lot.