JO2 Tapas Bar
Description
An exciting new tapas bar providing a chic dining atmosphere in the middle of sleepy Kapaa town, JO2 is the second restaurant offering from Chef Jean-Marie Josselin one of the originators of "Hawaii Regional Cuisine". Chef Josselin has over 25 years experience exploring the culinary arts. His famed tapas creations infuse flavors from around the world into tasty food combinations that delight the palette. Focusing in locally sourced ingredients, JO2's menu has many surprising and exciting twists on traditional foods with artful presentations.
At a Glance:
Cuisine: Natural Cuisine/experimental/French-Asian fusion
Price: $$$/$$$$
Location: Kapaa, Kauai
Hours: daily 5 pm to 9:30 pm
Environment/Dcor: a refined nouveau caf environment with sleek art-deco dcor and booth and table seating, the dining room is small, but leads to very attentive customer service. Not very kid friendly, due to the compact atmosphere.
*Reservations recommended!
With a gift for the fusion of tastes based on local ingredients and wonderful experimentation Chef Jean-Marie Josselin opened up "Josselin's Tapa Bar" in Poipu in 2011, "JO2" (pronounced Jay-oh-two) followed in 2014 and quickly gained a reputation for one of the best restaurants on Kauai's eastside. Tapas-style cuisine is the focus here, with your order going in from all portions of the menu at once, and the food coming in layers as each portion is completed. The fresh food arrives at your table ready for sharing, because with tapas it is all about the sharing. Fresh bread and tomato bisque comes to your table as you await your prepared foods.
Great wine pairings are possible with a hearty collection from around the globe available by glass or bottle. Your server can easily guide you to through the combinations of both food and wine, as there is a lot to take in when dining at JO2.
Our staffs picks:
The oysters available on the pupus(starters) menu are amazingly smooth and tasty, but comes in portions of 3 so prepare to negotiate ;). The heart of palm salad was imaginative, using the tasty hearts of palms as linguini noodles as the center of the salad. The squash filled raviolis exploded with flavor in a way we never expected.
Contacts:
Phone: 808-212-1627
Website: http://www.jotwo.com
Take a peek: Online Menu link: http://www.jotwo.com/#!menu/c1riq
Address:
4-971 Kuhio Highway
Kapaa, Kauai, HI 96746
*Parking is easy as they have their own parking lot located in mid-Kapaa town.