sullim4

After some memorable meals there 5-10 years ago, the last couple meals at Beach House were just okay. I feel like their food quality took a dive once Peter Merriman's group bought them out. I was hoping that acquisition might be a good thing because their Kapalua and Waimea (big island) locations are outstanding. The Poipu Merrimans at Kukui'ula has almost always disappointed us food-wise and unfortunately it seems like that's carried over to The Beach House as well. Six months later, the thing that sticks with me was that menu was much smaller than years past and that the experience felt very assembly line: they wanted tables turned quickly.

To be clear - it's not a bad restaurant at all. It now just feels like one of those places where the big draw is the view as opposed to the food. I would definitely put the food at Tidepools, Red Salt, and Hualani's above Beach House.

Re: Red Salt - you won't be disappointed. It's not cheap, but the cocktails are some of the best I've had and the ahi in particular is terrific.

toadman

We have reservations in November for Tide Pools at the Hyatt. It looks like nice ambiance, and the reviews on TripAdvisor seemed mostly positive. I was looking at the Beach House too but based on comments about Red Salt will look into that too.

Splitting time between Poipu and Hanalei, so hope to explore the culinary delights of both sides of the island!

ILuvParis

I also agree about Merrimans. We had a very generous Merrimans gift card from a guest at our condo. We went for a special occasion and ordered a bottle of Veuve Clicquot. As most know, it's an open air retaurant in a warm climate. They brought the bottle of Champagne and set it on the table, sweating and getting warm. We had to ask for an ice bucket.

One of us ordered a steak and it was gristly, We mentioned it to the server. The manager came over and said she heard we weren't happy. Told her the issues and about the steak, she said, "We get that a lot." Um, why are you continuing to serve it if you "get that a lot?"

Jailer

I have reservations at Tide Pools as well…may need to be doing some long walks and swims after all the face-stuffing.

And, as noted upstream, I wouldn’t want to drive back from Hanalei after a few drinks either….Even with the top speed being around 20 MPH, damage can still be done.

TWA884

yeah, but those Mai Tais are to die for (pun intended).

Section 107

Was it smoked salmon or real belly lox? Belly lox is not smoked and is much saltier than the smoked salmon most people are used to: either Gaspe Nova smoked salmon (frequently labeled Nova lox which is salt-brined and cold smoked) or Grav lox (which is sugar/salt brined and hot smoked). I would think real belly lox is not very common in Hawaii....

FlyinHawaiian

Heads up that Hamura Saimin in Lihue will be closed between September 11 and September 25, 2022.

ILuvParis

For cleaning?

FlyinHawaiian

Dinner at Tidepools was lovely and pretty much a no-brainer if you are staying at the Grand Hyatt. We had a waterside table and the service was very good. We also had a very good meal at JO2; it remains our favorite place on the island, especially with the early bird $35 prix fixe special menu, which is a bargain. Annoyingly, they were only seating reservations one at a time with about a five minute pause between guests (perhaps to space out the kitchen orders?) so we weren't seated until 5:15 for our 5 pm reservation and had to wait outside in the parking lot.

Casual meals were had at the Koloa Fish Market, Japanese Grandma's Cafe in Hanapepe, and Kiibo Restaurant in Lihue; all were very good. The Japanese food at the later two were both quite good and well-prepared. Kiibo was a fun place full of locals having family meals or after work get-togethers. We had a quick lunch at Hamura's and while the saimin is good, we need to remember to skip the lilikoi pie which never lives up to our expectations. Good coffee was found at Ha Coffee and Aloha Roastery in Lihue (Ha has an outpost in Anahola as well).



Poke bowl from Koloa Fish Market

Hamura Saimin

JO2 Dinner

ExpatExp

Enjoyed Hualani's about two weeks ago. Really pleasant. Thanks for the recommendation.

Ha Coffee is great. Didn't realise they had another location. Do they still have a pie vending machine?

Looking forward to trying the mai tais at Red Salt and Tahiti Nui

FlyinHawaiian

Ha in Lihue is now operating out of a large mobile truck parked on Kress Street, about a block from Hamura's. We didn't stop at the Anahola location.

bruinfan90

In three separate trips over the past 6 years, we've had incredible and affordable meals at Oasis on the Beach in Kapa'a. The no-walls indoor/outdoor setting next to the ocean is lovely and the chef's farm-to-table menu items (changes regularly) have always been spectacular. Prices here are $10-$20 cheaper per entre than most other fine dining establishments on the island.

toadman

Currently at the Sheraton in Poipu. Had dinner our first night at Merriman's after the long flight from Oregon - RDM-SFO-HNL-LIH. We had the catch of the day, which was the Mahi Mahi with the simply grilled and encrusted mac nut. I opted for the surf and turf with a 4oz Filet Mignon. Was outstanding, melt in your mouth good. So was the Merriman's Mai Tai. Service was excellent and friendly. We left very happy. Next night was Tidepools. Great vibe and ambiance. Also great service. I had the Shutome, which was fantastic. I love swordfish, and this was excellent. The wife opted for the vegetarian dish, which was quite a large serving. She liked it but was not overly amazed. We had the Malasadas for desert and they were light and airy. Then last night we went to Red Salt. The Hokaido scallops appetizer might be the best scallops I have ever had. Perfectly cooked, with a sweet corn cream sauce with Portuguese sausage that reminded me more of pancetta. Since I had had fish for several evenings, I opted for the 7 oz filet. It was good, but I have had much better filet many times at steak houses, which is too be expected. My wife had the monchong and she liked it but had monchong at other HA restaurants, in particular at Mama's Fish House on Maui that was much better. Over all, It was probably a tie between Merriman's and Tidepool, though Tidepool wins for scenery and romance. Red Salt was very loud, so much so that there were some complaints from several tables about the noise. I could barely hear my wife talking. It was also the most expensive meal of the 3. I don't think I would return to Red Salt, simply due to how loud it is. Edit to add the service at Red Salt was good and our waiter was friendly but not better than the service we experienced at Merriman's or Tidepool. Meals at Red Salt took the longest to arrive.

lbbzman

Hello, all.

I recently noticed that the Gillin Beach House on Kauai (link) is no longer accepting reservations. This had been on my to-do list for some time, but unfortunately it looks like I missed this opportunity.

Does anyone know what is happening with this unique property?

gaobest

We are staying in Koloa. We have 4-5 reservations including merrimans, beach house, keoki , Beene Mrs beach boiled, sams ocean view.
We have 2 open nights. Any suggestions for casual or reservation spots are appreciated :-)