Ka'uiki Dining Room
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
3 reviews for Ka'uiki Dining Room
3 reviews in English
-
Review from Tracy D.
San Francisco, CA
5/29/2007
Ka'uiki brings the meaning of fine dining to another level. Food and service are both on par with the best the bay area has to offer-- and this place is hidden at what feels like the ends of the earth, with an incomparable view.
Their menu is seasonal and changes daily-- I'd recommend going with one of the tasting menus (3,4 or 6 course) with or without wine pairings. Almost everything they serve is either local or made directly on the premises or both. Greens are from the farm down the road, the wasabi gracing my ahi was incredibly fresh, they make their own butter and flavor it with red sea salt, and their beef... tastes like Kobe except much fresher since it comes from down the road. Also, since we had 2 people doing tasting menus, our dessert course was an elegantly prepared tasting platter.
Our server, Laura, was incredibly friendly and she and the other staff provided us with such seamless service I started to think they had cameras over the tables.
Note: on Friday nights, their menu is a buffet (good, but good for a buffet, probably 3 stars for the food) and there's a multi-generational hula show. The show is definitely worth it (4-5 stars). Our service that night was spotty-- sure, it's a buffet, but I had to ask twice for my water glass to be filled. And then, when we got up to go to dessert, the waiter had the nerve to tell us we had to sign our bill before leaving! Yes, we look young, but we're also dressed up and deserve the same courtesy as the older couples we were surrounded by. Then, he had the nerve to give us the wrong check! Thankfully, Laura, our server from the previous night, helped us out (she was more attentive through the night than our assigned server). Even with that atrocious misstep, I'm still ranking them a 5 overall based on the previous night's experience and their show.
You have to eat at Kauiki at least once if you're in Hana, just watch out if your waiter's named Joe. -
Review from Jeff R.
Kula, HI
9/28/2008
I was served a block of barely marinated and warmed tofu on top of a few mushrooms and a scoop of rice. "Crispy Tofu" sounded good on the menu but was a huge disappointment, and not even remotely crispy.
Neither my wife nor our friend were happy with their lunch either. We also had mojitos, which were refreshing but weak, and unreasonably expensive considering.
I don't mind paying a lot of money for a good lunch. But this lunch was far from good. -
Review from Mr meow S.
Honolulu, HI
4/8/2010 1 Check-in Here
My wife and I got into a discussion when we dined here last week on whether one should review an establishment based on the market in which it competes or whether you should review it based on a standard defined from years of dining experience. That conversation basically boiled down to this: Should we give Ka'uiki Dining Room a pass because they are located in Hana and there's not really anything out there? The verdict: No. No free pass for Ka'uiki.
If you've read my review of BluWater Grill you know my assessment of an uninspired restaurant that is trying to run with the big boys and just cannot keep up. Ka'uiki falls into that category.
The menu looked appealing and the ambiance is wonderful. It's located right in the heart of Hana with an incomparable view. The service was great and everyone was friendly. They were relaxed on the dress code (thankfully---who seriously would bring more than slippa's to Hana?!?!) All ingredients are local AND organic. Rock on!
The food preparation, however, was terrible. My wife ordered fettuccine with Bay shrimp and I ordered a beef fillet with scalloped potatoes, red-wine reduction, and grilled asparagus. Her pasta was cooked correctly----her shrimp were served under-cooked. Under-cooked like raw. Ewwww. I can understand screwing up some food but shrimp!? They have a built in "done-button" ---They turn pink!!! My plate was equally disappointing. My fillet mignon turned into an end cut (guess they needed to dump that piece. It was, after all, getting late) and my request for rare was actually served well-done. Not a little well-done---nope---fully tough, dry, and dead. So well-done the juices ran clear all over my plate (they didn't let it rest). My scalloped potatoes were actually just boiled potatoes sliced thin. The asparagus was good. The red-wine reduction was pulled too soon and broke on my plate. That, mixed with my clear beef-juice was far less than appealing and tasted bland and boring.
We pretended to be full, skipped dessert, and quickly ran back to the condo to cook some food of our own. Sigh. What a waste of a hundred bucks.
My advice for dinner in Hana: eat a late lunch at the Thai food places in town and pick up some simple eats from the general store to cook in your condo. If you are staying someplace without a kitchen---sorry, you're screwed. Have fun overpaying for bad food at Ka'uiki.
