Hukilau Lanai

We’d heard great things, but finally went for it and oh my goodness I can’t believe we waited so long! The food is absolutely amazing. Flavors are all excellent, beautiful presentation, lovely atmosphere, and friendly and professional service. Personal favorites were the papaya seed dressing salad and the sweet potato ravioli, but also at our table was the vegetarian lasagna and the fresh fish. Everything was excellent! We finished off with the lava cake; it was absolutely decadent and delicious. Not a ton of vegan options, but we did well with vegetarians at the table. A little pricey so not your every night dinner spot, but we’ll worth it so a special treat. Highly recommended!

Don't let the unassuming exterior of Hukilau Lanai fool you- this place dishes out some of the best entrees in the state. For drinks, I had the Hot and Dirty martini and my wife had the Pineapple martini- both excellent. We started with the lobster and curry bisque and the daily soup (a gazpacho) - both were fantastic. The bisque was perfectly balanced with a creamy curry taste that is so good you want to lick bowl clean. For entrees, my wife had the pasta Bolognese, which was the special that night. She absolutely loved it. I had the striped marlin special, which was probably the best fish dish that I have had in many years. Perfectly cooked and seasoned with a beautiful presentation. Definitely the best meal of our vacation and a perfect way to celebrate our anniversary.

Very nice restaurant with great atmosphere. Service was excellent. The tasting menu is a good deal and was a great way to try a variety of different dishes. All the food we tried was very good, but we didn’t find that it really stood out as being amazing. We still enjoyed our meal and found it was a nice place to come for dinner.

Dinner at Hukilau Lanai was one of our favorite meals of the trip. The restaurant is conveniently located in a hotel right next to the Coconut Marketplace in Kapa'a, which also happened to be right next to our hotel so we easily walked right over. The view from the restaurant is quite stunning, with gorgeous gardens on the grounds of the hotel overlooking the ocean. Service was attentive, warm, and professional. The food was fantastic. We both enjoyed bowls of creamy lobster curry bisque to start. The Hukilau mixed grill featured mahi mahi, cajun-rubbed nairagi (striped marlin), and shoyu-marinated walu (escolar/butterfish) served with orzo, Thai chili coconut sauce, and pineapple relish. What an exquisite way to sample several local fish! Hukilau Lanai is consistently one of the fine dining spots on Kauai that I often see recommended by others, and it's easy to see why. It lives up to the reputation and is an excellent choice for a special meal. 10/10 for sure!

This is a great spot if you are wanting to kick it up a notch or 3. Strongly recommend reservations in advance. Food was all delicious and presented beautifully. Our server was attentive and knowledgeable. We were seated next to an open window of the garden area and my wife loved it. Do not fill up before dessert. Typically you wouldn’t at a more upscale place but this place gives a pretty fair portion so watch yourself. I was surprised to see meatloaf on the menu and normally at this type of place I would order steak expecting it to be done correctly but growing up in the Midwest I was curious about their take on the mushroom meatloaf. This has a strong beef flavor to it with a rich beef sauce. Not the tomato type sauce more common in other areas. Perfect with the red mashed potatoes. We also had the chicken and mushroom which was very tender and flavorful. I don’t want to leave out the calamari starter. Perfectly done with that crunchy planko style breading. My wife typically not a calamari fan actually enjoyed the taste and texture quite a bit. Which was too bad for me since she took half😕😂. She upgraded her soup option to the lobster bisque curry. I am not a fan of curry but I tried a bite and the soup had such a rich and creamy flavor that if I was going to eat a curry soup I would prefer this over any others I have tried. I had the Caesar salad and it was fresh and crisp with classic flavor of what you would expect. Finally the dessert. Crème brûlée was done perfectly. Creamy custard flavor with that wonderful caramelized sugar on top. The Hawaiian chocolate factory hot cake is just as advertised and the cocoa % is up there based on the taste so it pairs nicely with the cool vanilla ice cream and whipped cream it comes with. Lastly and I know this may not be your thing but the homemade lemonade is one of the best I have ever had.