Kauai West Shore - Waimea

Island of Kauai

Where to Eat

Barefoot Burgers, 9643 Kaumuali`i Hwy, 808-338-2082. When I got my burger after a short wait, it didn’t look like much. I thought I’d been ripped off. Once I had a bite, though, I understood the big deal surrounding Barefoot Burgers. It was so ono (delicious) and the fries were done just right. Not too greasy. Perfect for a quick stop on your way to Polihale or Waimea Canyon. If you’re not in the nood for a burger, they also serve smoothies and chicken sandwiches. For lunch, you can also try a plate lunch I’d go with the teri chicken plate. Yum! Under $15.

Da Imu Hut Café, Hanapepe Rd, 808-335-0200, serves local-style foods. Their specialty is Teri Fried Chicken. Other menu items include burgers, saimin and fried chicken. The large portions will fill you up, so make sure you bring your appetite. Their food leaves visitors and locals alike saying it’s ono or “Broke Da Mouth” good. They’re open from 10 am to 2 pm, then 5 to 8:30 pm Monday through Friday; Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm.

Grinds Café & Espresso, www.grindscafe.net, Ele`ele, 808-335-6027. This pleasant surprise next to the Ele`ele Shopping Center has great service and sandwiches. It’s a quaint little café that serves a vast array of food.Breakfast is served all day and you can get breakfast sandwiches or omelets. The breads are fresh and baked on the premises. You can tell because they are out of this world. For lunch, they have delicious pizzas, organic salads and hot or cold sandwiches and burgers. The dinner menu includes pastas, Cajun fish and BBQ chicken. The prices are very reasonable and the service is excellent. The ambiance is that of a quaint café where surfers come to hang out. $15-$35.

Hanapepe Café, 3830 Hanapepe Road, Hanapepe, 808- 335-5011. This vegetarian establishment is a great way to get started in the morning, especially if you order the sourdough French toast with bananas and syrup. For lunch, the rosemary French fries are a real treat. The ambiance is classic plantation-style. This place is packed on Friday nights for Friday Night Art; make sure you call and get a reservation. Don’t forget to pick up a bottle of your favorite beverage, as it’s BYOB. $15-$35.

Jo-Jo’s Shave Ice, Highway 50, Waimea. The place to go on Kaua`i for the shave ice experience. Jo-Jo’s is a colorful shack in Waimea town. It doesn’t look like much, but the shave ice is awesome. There’s a wide variety of flavors to choose from. Under $15.

Koke`e Lodge, 808-335-6061, at the Koke`e State Park, next to the museum, is perfect after a hard morning hiking. The food comes in big portions and is pretty good, though not excellent. The service is prompt and polite. Stop by for lunch, especially if you started hiking in the morning. The cornbread was killer.

Obsessions Café, Kekaha Rd, Waimea, 808-338-1110. Breakfast is served from 6 am to 10 pm, lunch from 10-2. This is a decent place to stop for a quick bite to eat. The prices are reasonable. Sandwiches and wraps are served for lunch. A pretty basic menu. They serve tasty omelets and breakfast sandwiches in the morning. Smoothies and sundaes as well.

Pacific Pizza & Deli, 808-338-1020, Kaumuali`i Hwy. Next to Wrangler’s Steakhouse, this place is your typical pizza joint but with more exotic options, such as Mexican Pizza and Thai Pizza. Their service is OK, pretty much what you’d expect from a pizza joint. You can get sandwiches, ice cream and coffee drinks here as well. $15-$35.

Tois Thai Kitchen, 808-335-3111, Ele`ele Shopping Center. It’s a bit hard to find, and it makes you wonder how a place can survive when it’s so hidden away. That question was easily answered when I tasted their food. It was very good and you can tell that the ingredients are fresh. Specialties include various types of curries, shrimp satay and pad thai.

Waimea Brewing Co, 338-9733. On the property of Waimea Plantation Cottages, this is a great place to stop on your way back to town after a full day hiking around Waimea Canyon. If you’re like me and tend to favor a
dark beer, try the Porter. It’s very smooth with the perfect amount of bite from the hops. They do have live music nightly. The atmosphere is fun and the food is mediocre. It does the job, but the real reason to come here is for the beer. They blend local ingredients with the right amount of hops to create a very pleasant homebrew. It bills itself as the westernmost brewery in the US. $15-$35.

Wong’s Chinese Restaurant, Hanapepe, 808-335-5066. This is one of the more interesting places on this side of the island. It certainly isn’t known for its service or atmosphere, but it is known for its lilikoi chiffon pies, which make the trip here worthwhile. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the menu featuring Japanese and Chinese dishes as well as local plates. The portions are tremendous and the prices are reasonable.

Wrangler’s Steak House, 9852 Kaumuali`i Highway, Waimea, 808-338-1218. Wrangler’s pays homage to Kaua`i’s paniolo (cowboy) and plantation traditions. Beautiful cuts of steak are cooked just right, with pleasant service. Their specialty is what’s called a pulehu sauce, made with butter, garlic and oysters. I’d avoid that because the flavors are very light on the garlic and oyster flavors, so you wind up with a beautiful cut of meat drowned in butter. Your best bet is to leave the steak in its purest form – with nothing on it. The meal comes with a full salad bar. $35-$50.

Shrimp Station, 9652 Kaumuali`i Highway,Waimea, 808-338-1242. This place is all about shrimp. Remember that scene in Forrest Gump when Bubba’s talking about the different kinds of shrimp dishes? It’s kind of like that. Garlic shrimp, shrimp tacos, Cajun shrimp, coconut shrimp. They have all sorts of shrimp and this place does fall into the “must experience” category on the west side. Under $15.

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