The Best Food and Dessert on Kauai

When planning a trip, food is just as important to me as the daily activities. I believe that trying local spots is a great way to get to know the area you’re visiting. Here’s a list of what I think are the best food and desserts on Kauai.

Beach House

Our lunch at Beach House, located in Poipu/near Koloa, was one of our best meals on Kauai. The restaurant has a beautiful oceanfront location, including a lawn area that is open for happy hour. We didn’t stay for happy hour but we hear it’s great! It is the perfect place to snorkel or watch the local surfers. If you want to see more photos and hear about the beach next to it (Lawa’i Beach), check out my post here.*** (coming soon!)

Beach House’s dinner menu is expensive, like most restaurants in Hawaii, but their lunch was reasonably priced for the portion size. We highly recommend visiting for lunch, and asking for a table with an ocean view!

I got the wok-style stir fried vegetable bowl and it was outstanding! I tried recreating it at home, with no luck. I also ordered their “award winning mai tai” with foam on top which was good, but I’m starting to think every restaurant calls them that! My husband got the fish and chips and enjoyed them too.

For more information, take a look at their Yelp page!

RipTides Shave Ice

Across from Beach House and Lawa’i Beach, is RipTides Shave Ice! This location is perfect if you’re looking for something sweet after your meal at Beach House, or if you worked up at appetite snorkeling!

RipTides is the ultimate snack shack. Not only do they have shave ice with a variety of flavors (both regular and organic), but they also have smoothies, coffee, ice cream, hot dogs, and more. I recommend adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream to your shave ice – yes, it is a “thing” here in Hawaii, and it’s delicious!

Lava Lava Beach Club

Lava Lave Beach Club has a good breakfast, but happy hour is where it’s at. Located in Kapaa, Lava Lava has one of the best happy hour menus I’ve seen!  They have great happy hour prices; it takes place from 3-5pm for food (most items being $3) and 3-6pm for drinks (mai tai’s are $5!).  Our table’s favorites were:

• Tater Tots and waffle fries (can’t go wrong with fried potatoes)
• Edamame (very flavorful)
• Mai Tais (wow, they’re strong!)
• Gilligan’s Girl (ginger drink)
• Kalua Pork pizza (pizza, but make it Hawaiian)
• Spinugula salad (yes, that’s spinach and arugula!)

* If you don’t have time to go to Duke’s in Lihue for a hula pie, Lava Lava has a similar one! If you have never tried a hula pie (essentially an ice cream cake, but better), Google it. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried one.

TIP: You can make reservations and request a table on the beach; most of their seating is actually in the sand!  You can also play corn hole or ladder ball while you wait.

Tropical Dreams – Hawaiian Gourmet Ice Cream

Tropical Dreams Hawaiian Gourmet Ice Cream is some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had! This premium, small-batch ice cream has been made on Hawaii for over 25 years. Only companies that manufacture or grow products using local ingredients have been given the endorsement of Hawaii’s Seal of Quality from the Hawaii State Department of Agriculture, and they are the only ice cream company in Hawaii to have it.

We visited the location in Kapaa, which is located in the Kauai Village shopping center, next to Safeway. For more information on the Tropical Dreams location in Kapaa, check out the Kapaa Tropical Dreams website. Their address is located on the front page, as well as other information. To see the latest reviews on their ice cream, take a look at the Kapaa Tropical Dreams Yelp page. They have a large selection of unique flavors that will leave you wanting to try them all. Don’t get too hooked on a flavor because they change daily! We know because we visited several times during our trip!

To check out their other locations where Tropical Dreams ice cream is sold, or to have some shipped to your home (yes, they ship in from Hawaii in an insulated box!), check out their main Tropical Dreams website.

Sunrise Coffee

If you’re in or passing through Lihue, Sunrise Coffee is a great place to grab a coffee and a pastry! This adorable coffee truck is off Kuhio Highway. We passed it while we were heading to our tubing adventure at Kauai Backcountry Adventures (read more about that **here**! coming soon!). We came back afterward to get some coffee!

Sunrise Coffee sells coffee (of course), homemade pastries, paninis and acai bowls. They have some interesting latte options, including macadamia vanilla and almond joy!

For more information, photos, and the address for Sunrise Coffee, check out their Yelp page.

Chicken in a Barrel

Chicken in a Barrel is great if you’re looking for good barbecue on Kauai! It was established in 2010 and is family-owned and run. Chicken in a Barrel originated in California, but there are only 2 locations in California and 4 on Kauai! No matter what side of the island you’re on, you’re probably close to one of their Kauai locations!

On our trip we visited the Hanalei location, in the Ching Young Village Shopping Center. This location has a small amount of indoor seating, as well as an outdoor, covered deck with seating. Note: If you are visiting Hanalei Beach (one of my favorite beaches on the island) this shopping center is close by and has a lot of shops to browse and eateries to choose from. If you want to hear more about Hanalei Beach, read my post here.* coming soon!)

We ordered the Kalua pork plate with brown rice and sweet potato fries. So good!

The other locations are in Waimea, and two in Kapaa (one in the Coconut Marketplace). To learn more about Chicken in a Barrel, check out their website!

Wishing Well Shave Ice

If you’re looking for Instagram-worthy food, look no further! Wishing Well Shave Ice, located in Hanalei, is an adorable shave ice and acai bowl spot that has been serving locals and visitors for over 30 years. Wishing Well Shave Ice is also located near Hanalei Beach!

Wishing Well has a lot of syrup options, including organic flavors. I recommend adding a banana to your shave ice! I also love that they use compostable bowls and reusable spoons in order to be more environmentally-friendly.

Wishing Well Shave Ice also has a shop, with many of the shirts and hats either including the name of the town its located in (Hanalei), or their motto “Slow Yourself Down”. Their mission is to create quality and sustainable products with this simple mantra, which reminds us all to be present in everything we do. To learn more about them, check out the Wishing Well Shave Ice website, and their Yelp page.

Farmers Markets

Visiting an outdoor farmers market on the island of Kauai is a great way to taste fresh, local produce and support local farmers! There are farmers markets located around the island of Kauai everyday of the week, most of which are listed in my other post, 15 Fresh, Local Kauai Farmers Markets.

Jojo’s Shave Ice

When you’re in Hawaii, there’s no such thing as too much shave ice! Jojo’s is one of the popular shave ice places on Kauai, with one in Waimea, another in Kapaa (in the Coconut Marketplace), and another in Hanalei (also in the Ching Young Shopping Center, next to Chicken in a Barrel). The Waimea location was Jojo’s first store, which opened in 1992.

Jojo’s Shave Ice is special because they make their own syrup flavors, and use cane sugar instead of corn syrup. Their cream toppings are a must to try because they’re homemade as well! Jojo’s is a great business to support because, per their website, they give all of their profits to fund free camps for Hawaiian youth who would otherwise not have the oppotunity to experience such a camp.

There you have it! These are my favorite food and dessert on Kauai! Did one of your favorite places to eat on Kauai not make the list? Let me know in the comments!