This summer I went to the beautiful island of Kauai in Hawaii with my family. In terms of food, Kauai is a great place for two of my favorite things - fresh seafood and exotic, tropical fruit! While we stayed in an Airbnb and cooked a good amount of our food at the house, we still managed to find some really great places to get healthy delicious food. Below are some of my favorite places to get food and drinks including some of the places that we bought food to cook back in our kitchen!
Quick note on location - we predominantly stayed on the North Shore of the island, so that is where all of these recommendations are located.
Restaurants:
Wake Up Delicious -
This is where we went to get breakfast our first morning in Kauai, and it was honestly one of my favorite meals of the trip! I ordered the Fisherman's Breakfast (bagel with a smoked Ono cream cheese spread, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and sprouts), and it was delicious! Their orange and mango juice was also a favorite from the trip, and they have a Macadamia Nut Cold Brew Coffee that we had to go back for a few times during the trip (this drink was pre-sweetened, so if you are like me and don't like very sweet drinks or are trying to cut back on added sugars, ask for more of the cold-brew and less of the Macadamia Nut mix).
Wake Up Delicious also has plenty healthy grab and go options that you can take with you as well as a lot of cute, funny cards and other small items to shop for. If you are planning on eating there, I recommend getting to the restaurant a little early because the seating area is pretty small, and it can get pretty busy.
Hanalei Bread Company -
We went to this place for breakfast on one of the last days of our trip, which is unfortunate because I would have gladly gone back every day to try different things on their menu. It just all sounded so good! I ended up getting the Fancy Toast (goat cheese, smoked salmon, arugula, cherry tomatoes, pickled shallots, parsley, garlic, and thyme oil). Just a heads up, it was rather large, so I recommend either splitting it with someone else or bringing home leftovers to make another smoked salmon toast on fresh bread with fresh arugula (this is what we did). We also bought one of their freshly baked banana bread loafs to snack on throughout the week.
Aloha Juice Bar -
You can never go wrong with a smoothie bowl on a hot beach day, and this place did not disappoint! I had both the Açaí Bowl (açaí, local bananas, strawberries, apple juice, nut free granola) and the Hanalei Green Bowl (mango, banana, coconut milk, kale, chia seeds, and nut free granola), and both were delicious. You can also add protein powder (highly recommend) as well as many other options for extra toppings!
The Hanalei Green Bowl is pictured on the left and the Acai Bowl is on the right.
Hanalei Poke -
You can't go very far in Kauai without seeing a poke bowl place, and this one was my favorite that we tried. It is so good that it was even featured on the Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives show! Both times I went, I ordered the Hanalei Special (locally sourced fish, chili pepper soy sauce, chili oil, mango, avocado, furikake, inamona, green onions, sweet onion, red onion, and fresh seaweed with brown rice).
Ama -
If you are wanting a nicer dinner and a break from the traditional Hawaiian dishes, this Asian-inspired restaurant is a must! We started out the meal by sharing the Green Papaya Salad (romaine lettuce, carrots, daikon radishes, mint, cilantro, Fresno chilies, peanuts, fried garlic, fried shallots, and crispy potatoes with a Nuoc Cham Vinaigrette), and I had the Green Curry Vegetable Ramen (shimeji mushrooms, caramelized fennel, bok choy, soft boiled egg, scallions, fried tofu, and gochujang corn) as my entree.
Wishing Well Coffee and Tea -
On the mornings that we cooked breakfast at the Airbnb, we would ride our bikes into town to get our coffees and matchas here. I always got the iced matcha latte, and was very happy because they were not pre-sweetened (pre-sweetened matcha powder is a pet peeve of mine)! I loved that their drinks came in cute glass jars that we ended up taking back home with us because they will make great storage containers for food or salad dressings! We never ended up trying their açaí bowls or smoothies because we ran out of time, but they all looked delicious too!
Places to Get Food to Make Yourself:
Hanalei Dolphin Fish Market and the Kilauea Fish Market-
If you are wanting to get fresh fish to cook at your Airbnb, these are both great options! You can choose from a wide variety of locally-caught fish and delicious side dishes. In addition to their fresh fish markets, both places also offer dine-in options.
Kilauea Bakery & Pizzeria -
This was one of our first stops when we arrived in Kauai to get freshly baked sourdough bread to make avocado toasts in the morning and sandwiches to bring to the beach for lunch. We also stayed for breakfast one morning, and the Veggie Breakfast Stromboli that I ordered was rather delicious!
Hanalei Market -
This super cute grocery store is the perfect place to stock up on all the essentials for cooking at your Airbnb. They have fresh produce, snacks, drinks, breads/pastas, tea, supplements, the list goes on and on. There is even a cute coffee bar in the back!
Kilauea Market and Cafe -
This is another great grocery store that is a bit bigger than the Hanalei Market. We probably got most of our food for the week here. I was obsessed with the Kokohead Foods Ltd Smoked Ahi Spread that we got here... it made the best sandwiches!!
Farmer's Markets and Roadside Fruit Stands -
There are two farmers markets that I know of on the north shore - one in Hanalei on Saturday 9 am to noon and two in Kilauea (the Namahana Farmers Market is Monday 4pm-dusk and Saturdays 9 am to 1pm, and the Kilauea Neighborhood Center Market Thursdays at 4:30). There are also plenty of fruit stands on the side of the road with a variety of tropical fruits that are absolutely delicious! Make sure to take advantage of these!
Comment below if you have any questions or any other places you recommend checking out the next time I am in Kauai! Mahalo!