Roy Poipu Bar & Grill on Kauai: How did it get popular?

Roy’s Poipu Bar & Grill at Poipu Shopping Village is one of several restaurants owned by the celebrity chef who created the Hawaiian cuisine that has become so sought after when dining on the islands. My husband and I weren’t overly impressed with any of our dining experiences in the four nights prior to our anniversary getaway. The closest we got to saying “yum” during a meal was “The Beach House” on our second night. Truth be told, the service rated an A, the view was spectacular (we had front row seats for the most beautiful sunset) and the food was beyond palatable, but for the prices we had been paying we actually rated a few restaurants Locals that were a fraction of the cost higher in flavor.

Looking forward to the splurge of our last night, we decided to take a short walk from our hotel to the venue to see if we needed reservations that Sunday night. The hostess said she was informed. So we did it and let him know that it was our anniversary and “would it be possible that we had a table where we could see what’s going on in the kitchen?” (My husband and I are food lovers at heart and Emeril took us on tour and let us take pictures!)

She was quite nonchalant and acted like we were a nuisance. Bad start.

We arrived a few minutes early with high hopes for the experience. The new hostess led us to a table that was not close to the kitchen window view that we had requested. There was hardly anyone sitting in that area, so we asked to be moved. He said he was sorry, but that he had already “organized” a big sit-in party in 15 minutes.

Our table seemed to be one of those that were perpetually “on the road.” I think I ducked and moved towards the wall about 4 times, my husband felt at least four blows. The waitress was efficient. She took our order (no suggestions, especially once she heard we didn’t drink), made sure we had enough water, brought our food in in record time, as well as the bill. We had the impression that since we were not ordering alcohol, the word must have been to get us out of there as quickly as possible.

The food was delicious, nothing really great. Although very expensive. We decided to order the $ 28.00 appetizer boat. Due to the description of its contents, I decided that it was better to order a small salad. Even my husband couldn’t believe what was on the plate, so he ordered a vegan starter. Then it was placed on the table.

$ 28.00 and this is what we got: 2 small ribs, 4 pieces of ahi-sashimi style 1 “x1 / 2” sliced ​​ahi-sashimi, 1 veggie egg roll (cut in two) and 2 wontons stuffed with puree of water chestnuts. Well, we know that all the restaurants on the islands (except the Costco snack bar) are much more expensive than the mainland, but this was absolutely ridiculous!

The waiters rushed us so much that our “special” dinner last night lasted half an hour. And we were still hungry.

Thank goodness during our day trips we stopped at a small restaurant that also had a small bakery. At the time, we just wanted a drink when we saw all the goodies! We loved the smell of the oatmeal, pineapple and coconut bars so we bought a couple and had them in our room. Our lodge had a coffee maker! We were in business. As soon as we walked in, I made some Kauai Company coffee. My husband installed the lanai.

At last, we finally had our best meal.