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Tue-Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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This is a place we consistently return to. The food is delish, the service is friendly, and the funky backyard atmosphere and random live tree-hugger music is one of a kind. Who knew that plastic furniture, a pop up tent and a crunchy gravel floor could make for such a relaxing and romantic atmosphere?
Food-wise, this is as close to NorCal fresh as you'll find in Hawaii. Favorites include the tofu potstickers with mango chutney sauce (be warned that these are very tiny and have minimal stuffing), the pumpkin Thai curry soup, and the noodle salad with peanut dressing. Salads and veggie combo plates run in the $12-15 range. Their fresh fish is also consistently good. Fish dishes are in the $20 range. Desserts are good -- we've tried the mocha chocolate cake and the tiny chai cheesecake ($6-8).
Although the food is healthy, fresh and delicious, it is definitely pricey. And your eyes DO play a trick on you -- the plates come out looking full, but they're usually topped with lots of fluffy lettuce or cabbage, and once you dive in, you realize there's not much there to fill your belly. Dinner for two will run around $50, and you'll likely be hungry for dessert... after which, you'll probably be thinking about tomorrow's breakfast.
Another warning: bring change for the musical group/duo of the night. The intimate backyard atmosphere means you'll probably feel obligated to throw something in their tip jar on your way out (they are not shy about asking).
Despite the flaws, I still give it 4 stars as an occasional splurge type of place. The extra dough is worth the funky fresh dining experience!
Our dinner here with our 2 toddlers was a wonderful experience. The food was creative, interesting, and very tasty, and the location was really charming and comfortable.
I had to try the Charmoula platter, and I'm glad I did. The Moroccan spices really made this ahi special; they were warm, exciting, and really different from the flavor profiles usually reserved for ahi. As others have noted, the samosas are more of an interpretation and definitely not authentic, but we were told that when we ordered. I found the pastry to be almost more of a dessert pastry, though the filling was savory. The overall effect was a bit unusual, but it was very good.
Hubby went for the more traditional Black Sesame Ahi platter which was very good, but nothing new or unusual. He found the wasabi cream to be slightly overpowering, but I really enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed the hibiscus green tea cooler, and I'm not even a fan of green tea.
The restaurant is set far back from the road and is easy to miss if not for the sign. Being so far back, the outdoor patio with its eclectic collection of patio furniture, small stage for live entertainment, and Christmas lights, is the perfect place to enjoy this laid-back dining experience. It was great for our 2 high energy boys as no one minded if they explored or were a bit louder than they should've been. I agree with others that this is like having a friend cook for you in his backyard -- if your friend happens to be a very inventive and creative cook!
We'll definitely go back if we're lucky enough to be able to go to Kauai again.
Agreed with Eliza, this place is like having a friend cook you good food in the backyard, that is the perfect description, especially if your friends are chill hippies who jam out on guitars in their backyard decorated with christmas lights.
Eating my dinner (tofu potstickers and tofu with a sort of asian salad) made me feel like a better person. I felt so good I even put some money in the 'karma jar' for the band 'The Magic Dragons' (I kid you not), who was "sharing the gift of music we've been blessed with"....
yeah!!! right on brother!
3 1/2 stars, rounding up.
Pros:
Sweet backyard laid-back ambience
Unique flavors
Live music
Prompt service
Cons:
No alcohol served
Cheap furniture
A bit pricey
Order at counter
Staff could be friendlier
I had the gorgonzola penne with pork. It was tasty and unique, but a bit steep at $20. Wife had the Charmoula platter. She was surprised that the ahi was fully cooked vs. seared (not bad, just not expected). She enjoyed the samosa despite its non-traditional nature.
Music was pleasant Eaglesesque folk.
If you're looking for a unique laid-back dining experience, this is the place for you.
DON'T use Google Maps/Yelp to try to find this place, or you'll end up on the wrong side of Kapaa. It's south of the Coconut Marketplace. See the map on the restaurant website or use Yahoo! Maps.
My wife had the Charmoula Ahi, (Moroccan-spiced, served with raiita and samosa); I had the Black Sesame Ahi with wasabi cream sauce. Portions were generous. Wonderful dinner by any standard, and reasonably priced particularly for Kauai. Very relaxed atmosphere, simple tables in an outdoor courtyard. The service seemed a bit slow, but were friendly, we enjoyed the live music and the meal was well-worth the wait. Best meal we've had in Kauai thus far.
Don't let mosquitos deter you from amazing food! Spray-on mosquito repellant is provided if you need it, or just come at lunchtime when they are not as prevalent. Stated simply, Caffe Coco delivers comfort food in a unique way that is a blend of French culinary and island-style exotic, with Asian influences (more to follow on the drinks, samosas, BBQ pork sandwich, seafood gumbo, pork & potstickers, and chai cheesecake).
The building is a converted house, with ample indoor and outdoor seating. Gekkos appear to keep the indoor mosquito population low, while an occasional cat probably keeps the gekkos from taking over. We visited twice for lunch & sat indoors both times; I was only bitten a couple times, despite being a mosquito magnet.
After sampling the hibiscus tea, I was hooked; my friend initially said she didn't like it but then drank every last drop. The homemade ginger lemonade was also great.
I've only had samosas once before, but I believe Coco's samosas are their own interpretation, like their potstickers, rather than attempting to be authentic. Both were fabulously successful. The potstickers were crunchy, with a sweet guava sauce (with bits of mango maybe?) over the top that nicely balanced the meaty taste of the tofu inside. They were not filled full like typical potstickers (they were actually a bit flat in shape), so even if you're not crazy about tofu you should give these a try. (I've posted a photo from a half-eaten plate.) The samosas, which they describe as a turnover, are exactly that. You get two small, flaky turnovers with a creamy (sweet purple potato-based?) veggie filling, with a sweet, fruity chutney. Both the samosas and potstickers come with salad greens and silver noodles when ordered as pupus.
My friend let me sample her BBQ pork sandwich, which was served on homemade ciabatta bread; the sauce was a tad more spicy & tangy than sweet (perfect for my friend, who hates sweet BBQ) and the pork was le an and tender. The green salad was very fresh; the homemade vinaigrette dressing was tangy but not too strong, with hints of spice to add body to the flavor. We also tried their Thai-style peanut & sesame seed dressing, which was also good, but I preferred the vinaigrette. My friend liked the BBQ sandwich so much that she ordered it again on our second visit.
The seafood gumbo was full of veggies but a tad sparse on seafood, yet savory and flavorful; it tasted undoubtedly of seafood, without being fishy. There are not many vegetables I like, but I loved the gumbo. A warm scoop of light, fluffy Thai-style rice was added in the center of the bowl just before serving, so the rice was not overcooked or mushy. My bowl of gumbo came with a finger of garlic bread made from the homemade ciabatta.
The pork & potstickers featured kahlua-style pork that was tender, flavorful & juicy (sure beat the salty stuff I had at the luau at Gaylord's), along with the potstickers (described above) and a fresh green salad.
You've already seen the reviews of the chai cheesecake. The crust contains a layer of pecans, and the chai sauce over the top is not too sweet. I don't usually care for cheesecake, but I devoured it.
All in all, the best meals I've had on the island; I would order any of those dishes again.
We went here for dinner last night. The place was not what I expected but oh how I was impressed. The cafe is mostly outdoors and open. We were in the element with all the "things" about us. Geckos were fun to spot on the tent top or umbrella stands. We started with the Samosas and potstickers filled with tofu and chutney. My father and I had the pasta while my mother and husband had fish. It was all good. The flavors were fun to savor. Service was relaxed but she did attend to us. I would eat here again.
How can there be so many mosquitoes in one place??? I was completely eaten alive at Caffe Coco, and we were even sitting inside trying to duck from all the families of mosquitoes. Man, I left with about 10 mosquito bites all over.
1 star off: mosquito bites #1-5
1 star off: mosquito bites #6-10
1 star extra: really good food though
This place has the best food we tasted on the island! The dishes are very nouveau/fusion style, with a lot of Indian and eastern influences. Lots of vegetarian options. The samosa dish was especially good.
As another reviewer noted, though, be careful of mosquito bites around this area. Bring your bug spray.
Finding this place was a little difficult as it was kind of hidden on the left as you head into Kapaa from airport side but it's a cute quaint shack of a cafe. i'd say this place is close to perfect if not for the mosquitos that were a bit overwhelming - just be sure to spray yourself before the sun starts to set or you're going to be lunchmeat. The food tho - was wholesome face food with fresh fish, vegetarian dishes, and yummy desserts. Seems pricey but worth it....we had their cafe salad and the seafood gumbo and ono. Yummy!! Then finished off with bread pudding (order in advance since it takes 15 min) and the chai cheesecake. Everything tasted like someone's mom made it - with love...not overly fancy or intricate in flavors - just a good overall place to dine.
This was totally a Yelp find. I made sure to check with my Hawaiian Yelper cousins and found this before visiting Kauai. It kind of reminded me of the parties my feminist lit major friend had in her back yard when she went to UC Santa Cruz. Funky outdoor tropical style with tents and wooden tables,Lot's of very hip, cool women on the serving staff, Fresh Fruit Juices and teas, live new agey music and of course, BYOB.
Everything we ate was good, especially the ahi and potstickers. The chai cheesecake I had for dessert sounded very Santa Cruzy, but was really good with just a hint of spice.
This is not the place to go if you're looking for touristy surf and turf, or snappy service. This is a laid back, one of a kind place that runs on it's own internal Island Time-Clock.
Tied for our best meal in Kauai with Blossoming Lotus. everything we had was great.
i had the Silver Noodle Special that came with the silver noodle salad with peanut sauce, a samosa, and a cup of their curried pumpkin soup. the samosa was awesome. it was very flaky on the outside (baked puff pastry?) and was filled with a bright purple taro filling that was very good. it also came with banana chutney. it was a good thing that we all got our own samosa because we would have had trouble sharing and a fight could have broken out.
i tried some of my sister's tofu potstickers and they were very good too. the guava grilling sauce was awesome.
we also shared the chai cheesecake with pecan crust for dessert. it was very good and had big pieces of pecans for the crust.
reasonably priced (look at the website for prices) and you could have a meal for under $15 easily. the fish (about $18- $20 for a meal with salad) looked really good, but none of us tried it. something to look forward to next time!
Yum. Great find. Went at least twice. This and Mermaids are are the biggest winners in this area.
Although the outdoor atmosphere was great, as was the local live band that played some original tunes while we dined al fresca, I can only give it 2 stars for the following reasons:
- service was extremely slow (after 20 minutes we finally went up and asked if we could please have our soup ..... come on, 20 minutes for a bowl of soup)
- my fish was overcooked (I had ahi, which is typically served rare .... they served theirs, so well done that there was no moisture left in it at all)
- the potstickers/wontons that came with my dish were extremely greasy
- my girlfriend's dish was overly salty
- for this terrible service and food we paid a price comparable to the excellent Coconut's (see my review on them) and the very good Duke's.
I might stop by for the music, but I wouldn't dine at this place.
I thought my food was great. My boyfriend thought his was too mayo-y. We agreed that the live entertainment was... Well, what adjective best describes a large older white male with a ponytail playing synthesizer-laden covers of Beatles songs and crazy original songs with lyrics like "I'm a tear/that's lost its fear/of the ocean" while his wife rocks their crying baby in the back of the restaurant? Hilarious? Ridiculous? It was bad, but we had a good time.
What a find.
The restaurant is tucked back behind a parking lot where you would never notice it, but you should go out of your way.
The dining area is outdoors and charming. The staff is small (meaning there aren't many -- not that they're especially short) and friendly.
And the food? Outstanding. I had the cajun ahi, and the flavors were fantastic and spicy and rich. I wish I'd come here on my first night of vacation instead of my last so that I could have visited more than once and skipped the Beach House altogether.
This place we found out about in our guide book. It's kinda hard to find bc it's hidden off the street, but an easy way to find it is to look for kintaro's and its across the street from there. It's this quiet and casual vegetarian place that was kinda hippie but still modern. We sat outside and listened to the live band play. The food was great and inexpensive. the only downsides were that they had no beer but it looked like many locals frequented the place and knew to bring their own booze (i'm talkign case packs!) and the service was a bit slow. It was no way neglectful, i think that's just the hawaiian attitude to take things easy. We were in no rush and wanted to enjoy a quiet fun dinner to ourselves, so we didn't mind the wait bc the food was fantastic!(def try the tofu wontons and samosas with mango chutney!) =)
hands-down the best meal we had on kaua'i. this is less of a normal restaurant, and more of a "place where you can hang out in a tented backyard while some cool people cook you a healthy, fresh, delicious dinner" experience. this is ultra laid-back and i've read that you can end up waiting quite a while for your dinner, but trust me it will be well worth your time. i don't remember exactly what i had... some light fish with black sesame and wasabi.... it was retardedly good. all the drinks and desserts and super earthy and delicious. also there was a really cool cat that hung out with us while we ate. i shared a little bit of my fish with her and she agreed that it was scrumptious.
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