Restaurants

There certainly is no shortage of excellent dining choices in Hawai`i. We didn't even scratch the surface, so the table below is very incomplete. There were many great places which we didn't get a chance to dine at.

The table below is sorted in order of our final ranking. Each place we ate at was ranked from 1-10 in the following areas; food quality, service, price and atmosphere. These four ratings are added together as follows; FQ+FQ+S+S+A+A+P to come up with the final rating. In other words, price is considered to be only half as important as the other three factors. This is just our personal preference. Yours may be different, and if they are, then our final rating won't equal yours even if you agree with us on the individual factors.

The column marked "B/L/D" shows which meal we ate at that particular restaurant, breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Below the table you will find notes on each restaurant.

General Notes:

First of all, doing this as a comparison between breakfast, lunch and dinner eateries is a very tough comparison to make. We're well aware that certain places which have great lunches don't fare quite as well when it comes to dinner and vice versa. We also understand that atmosphere is in the eye of the beholder. We like quiet, darker places, those which tended to isolate us rather than put us "in a group". This tended to favor Kimo's and the Oceanarium. The Oceanarium also had a unique feature; a huge aquarium with numerous fish swimming around.

The types of food which we gravitate to also impacts the ratings. I lean heavily towards poultry and pasta, with steak on occasion. Patty tends heavily towards surf and turf. Simply put, I am not a fish eater. In this context, I was even more impressed by Mama's Fish House when I tried her Ahi and Bacon sandwich and found it very tasty.

Overall, Kaua'i restaurants took a hit in the service catagory; it's not that we found them overtly unfriendly, but some of them simply didn't make us feel very welcome. While we understand that not all waiters and waitresses are created equal, there was a trend on Kaua`i which we couldn't ignore. Two very notable exceptions here were Cafe Portofino and Duke's Canoe Club. Maybe it was just the gloomy and rainy weather conditions which existed on Kaua`i. We really don't know for sure.

If you throw out the "price" consideration, then Kimo's and Mama's Fish House receive an equal perfect rating. However, tossing out the price factor didn't change our overall rankings much, other than to drop Duke's from third to fifth, and drop Denny's into last place behind Tropical Burgers. Now, before you walk away thinking that we can't stand Denny's, we really have no problem with Denny's. I would personally rank them in terms of food quality and service with most breakfast joints in Duluth such as Perkins and Country Kitchen. Denny's biggest draw for us (in Oahu) was that it was conveniently located right downstairs at the Park Shore hotel. It was quick and reasonably good. Moreso than dinner and lunch, breakfast is breakfast with obvious exceptions, of course.

Restaurant Notes:

Mama's Fish House: The location of this restaurant, on Maui's north shore near Paia, is wonderful. We can only imagine how the atmosphere would have been there for dinner; we had lunch there and were more than impressed. Patty had the ahi and bacon sandwich, and she love it. I had the pork medallions and was equally impressed. Huge costs detracted only slightly and what was made the difference between Mama's and Kimo's. Next time in Maui, we'll certainly be trying Mama's for dinner.

Duke's Canoe Club: Located at the Kauai Marriott on Kalapaki Bay, this restaurant is situated side-by-side with Cafe Portofino. The views were as good as any dining experience we had; the food (steak) and service were equally good. Patty had the "all you can eat" salad bar and was very impressed. I had the Terriyaki Sirloin Steak and was very happy with the choice.

Cafe Portofino: Same view as Duke's next door, but Cafe Portifino is more upscale, with slightly better service. The focus here is on pasta; Patty had the Spaghettini alla Marinara and I had the Penne Salsiccia (mine was more on the spicy side than hers, which I usually prefer). Both dishes were very well done and quite tasty. An excellent dining experience.

BJ's Chicago Pizzaria: Located on Front Street in Maui; their pizza here is tremendous but ask for it with extra sauce. Otherwise, you get stewed tomatoes in lieu of the sauce, which is good but not great. Their spaghetti takes a back seat to nobody (other than possibly Pizza Luce in Duluth and Minneapolis). Service is good. The atmosphere is okay; we've never eaten there at night so don't know if it's different after dark. If you get there in the late afternoon and sit at the window, you're at the mercy of the sun which can be hot.

Oceanarium: The primary atmospheric attraction here is a huge 280,000 gallon aquarium featuring fish from more than 70 species. While you're watching the action in the aquarium, you can tend to forget two things...first, the service is very good, and second, the food is equally as good, although a bit overpriced in our opinion. You won't regret dining here, in any event.

Brick Oven Pizza: Located on Kaua`i in the town of Kalaheo. We'd heard and read much about this pizza place before we'd arrived and had to try this out. We weren't disappointed; in fact, we had two meals there. Service is good; the atmosphere is only average with no real views. But the pizza is what we went there for, and it was excellent. We tried the large pepperoni and Portugese sausage. Toppings were generous and the price was good (for a Hawai`ian pizza joint).

Jameson's By The Sea: We stopped here for lunch on the day we did our circle-island drive of Oahu, and would be interested in how a sunset dinner would be. My guess is that it would be a special event. The atmosphere is nice, especially if you get an outside table with a view of the Pacific. Overall, it was a good to very good dining experience for us both.

Chili's: What can you say about chain restaurants? Some are great (Olive Garden), some are so-so (TGI Friday's). Chili's falls in-between. I'd had their Monterey Chicken a few times in the past and had always liked it a lot. For some reason, I decided to take a chance on a new dish, the Steak and Portobello Fajitas. Mistake. The low-quality, gristly steak (oh, you like chewing your food 1,000 times?) was a big disappointment. (Note: the rating for food takes into account the Monterey Chicken; otherwise, the food quality rating would be "2"). Service was very good and the prices are decent, which saved the rating a bit.

Bubba's Burgers: Simply put, as good a burger as I've ever had, on a par with the old Nick's Burger King (before they started shoveling out the standard Burger King crap) in downtown Duluth. No atmosphere here, but you get your burgers quickly and they're fantastic! Located in Kapa`a on Kaua`i.

Coconuts: Patty and I see this place differently. She was less than impressed but I happened to think that, despite average service and no view, the inside atmosphere, price and food quality were quite good. I had the Penne Pasta With Roasted Chicken; I recommend this highly.

Ruby Tuesday: Another chain restaurant, and an acceptable choice for lunch when we drove to the Dole Plantation north of Wahiawa, Oahu. Patty tried their Salad Bar Extravaganza and really liked it; I had the Old English Bacon Cheeseburger and was less impressed. Little atmosphere, but good service and decent prices.

Al & Don's: This place being right on the beach at the Kauai Sands Hotel is the only thing going for it. Service is mediocre and on the brusque side and the food is average at best. Who recommended this place to us? A boot to the head to whomever did.

Eggberts: Give this place the same vantage point which Al & Don's enjoys and its rating would jump up several points. As it is, the omelettes here are huge so bring your appetite. Not a bad choice for breakfast. Has that "family restaurant" feel to it, if you're into that type of thing.

Denny's: Very good prices for breakfast-type fare here. The Breakfast Dagwood has become almost a vacation tradition for me. The Waikiki location at the Park Shore Hotel has a nice feel to it, being right across Kalakaua Avenue from the ocean. Get used to birds walking about the floor. Easy meal for them is how they likely see it. We've been to other Denny's and this one is easily our favorite.

Cheeseburger in Paradise: Two years ago, we visited their Maui restaurant and endured a loooong wait. If you wait until 5:00 or later, be prepared for this. We went to their Waikiki place this time; same food, of course. Overpriced burgers. Average service. Little atmosphere. Crowded and noisy. Stop there for a t-shirt and forget the meal, unless you want a second opinion.

Tropical Burgers: Mediocre in all aspects, from the quality of their burgers to the service to the atmosphere. Come to think of it, poor atmosphere was a common theme with any place we ate in the Coconut Marketplace in Kapa`a. View? Nope. Go back there in the future? Once again, nope.

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last updated may 18, 2004