I'm going to Kauai in a few weeks, and was wondering if anyone knew if A Pacific Cafe had reopened. I had a couple of wonderful meals there during my last visit about 3 years ago. I was also a bing fan of Jean-Marie Josselin restaurant in San Diego, 808.
Thanks!
Good eating on Kauai
Started by
Luggage386
, Feb 13 2003 09:06 AM
68 replies to this topic
#61
FrogPrincesse
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#62
wabi
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Posted 26 November 2006 - 10:07 PM
Alas, he has not reopened much to the chagrin of a lot of his local fans.
It's just not the same here without him.
It's just not the same here without him.
#63
FrogPrincesse
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Posted 28 November 2006 - 10:19 AM
Hi wabi,
Thank you for the information. Yes, it's very disappointing that he has not reopened. I guess I will have to visit 808 next time I am in Las Vegas. That's probably where he spends most of his time now that most (all?) of his other restaurants seem to have closed.
Thank you for the information. Yes, it's very disappointing that he has not reopened. I guess I will have to visit 808 next time I am in Las Vegas. That's probably where he spends most of his time now that most (all?) of his other restaurants seem to have closed.
#64
Gary Tanigawa
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Posted 17 December 2006 - 10:32 PM
Here's a link to news about Josselin's opening in the rebuilt Coco Palms Resort. So keep your fingers crossed that both projects succeed.I'm going to Kauai in a few weeks, and was wondering if anyone knew if A Pacific Cafe had reopened.
#65
FrogPrincesse
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Posted 20 December 2006 - 02:06 PM
Here's a link to news about Josselin's opening in the rebuilt Coco Palms Resort. So keep your fingers crossed that both projects succeed.
Cool. I hope that this project will soon become a reality. I drove by the Coco Palms Resort many times during my stay in Kauai last week, and it did not look like construction had started. But I did see their sales office at the Coconut Marketplace.
We decided to have dinner at Roy's in Poipu and had a fantastic meal, except for the boring desserts.
#66
gmi3804
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Posted 06 January 2007 - 09:36 AM
We're leaving for Kauai in a couple of weeks. Are there any new exciting places (opened in the last year) that are worth checking out? Our favorites last time were Scotty's, Hukilau Lanai, and Beach House. Didn't care much for Pomodoro, not particularly noteworthy.
Any opinions on Bar Acuda? I've heard good things, and the menu and small-plates style sounds promising.
Any opinions on Bar Acuda? I've heard good things, and the menu and small-plates style sounds promising.
#67
Aileen
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Posted 12 November 2007 - 01:13 PM
I just returned from Kauai, and have a few opinions to share! I'll start with the bad to mediocre:
Hanalei Dolphin. The food was okay but EXTREMELY overpriced for the quality. The kid's meals were $12 for mediocre fish and chips, etc. I ordered the seafood chowder, which was seriously lacking in seafood but tasted ok ($20). The fish of the day was $31, no one at our table ordered it, but my parents had Ahi that was presented well-done (they weren't asked how they liked it cooked).
Bubba's. Maybe it's just a personal preference, but their burgers were very dry and I thought their "special sauce" (ketchup and relish) was terrible.
Grind's Cafe (Waimea or near there): Mixed. Some of the kids had pizza which was quite good, my older daughter had chicken ceasar salad, small portion, which was HUGE and tasty. I had chili and rice (trying to go with the local stuff), and the chili was extremely bland, very disappointing.
Restaurant directly behind CJ's in Princeville: Sorry, can't remember the name. My sister's crab legs were terrible. Everything else was bland and overpriced.
Now for the good:
JoJo's Shave Ice (Waimea): Yum! The macadamia nut ice cream made the shave ice fabulous, and I'm not really a huge fan of sweets.
Bar Acuda (Hanalei): Everything we ate was delicious. It was VERY expensive - $15 for one sea scallop presented on mashed potatoes - but some of the tastiest food I had on the island. Also, the menu was quite limited. NOT a kid place (we left ours with their grandparents.)
Tiny bakery/cafe in the Ching Young Village center, Hanelei: I can't remember the exact name, but the food was great local stuff. Huge and wonderful brownies, tasty breakfasts. I had the Loco Moco, it was fantastic.
Hamura's Saimin (Lihue): Very good and cheap - even if the place looks like it might fall down at any moment. The Special Saimin was even better with a healthy splash of the pepper vinegar provided on the tables.
Cafe Hanelei (Princeville Resort): My favorite meal, even though, once again, the kids' meals were overpriced and mediocre. My mom got the fish of the day ($25), grilled Ono with a parsley beurre blanc, which was absolutely beyond delicious - best single item I tasted on the island. My sister and I ordered the Ahi sandwich (rare, of course), crab cakes, and soup of the day. All were fantastic. The crab cakes were my favorite, though. Huge lumps of crab, nice avocado-based salsa on top. Can't beat the view there, either, and the service was better than most.
There were others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head...
Wish I had pictures, but I only thought to take a pic of the Saimin, and don't have it handy right now.
Editing to add Scotty's: I tend to forget because BBQ is just BBQ to me. It was good, though, and a lovely view!
Editing again to add that we looked everywherre for Hanalei Mixed Plate, it appears to have closed.
I also forgot to mention Smith's luau. I was very impressed with the quality of the food considering they were trying to feed about 300 people at once. VERY tasty! I loved the entire experience actually, it was one of my favorite activities.
Hanalei Dolphin. The food was okay but EXTREMELY overpriced for the quality. The kid's meals were $12 for mediocre fish and chips, etc. I ordered the seafood chowder, which was seriously lacking in seafood but tasted ok ($20). The fish of the day was $31, no one at our table ordered it, but my parents had Ahi that was presented well-done (they weren't asked how they liked it cooked).
Bubba's. Maybe it's just a personal preference, but their burgers were very dry and I thought their "special sauce" (ketchup and relish) was terrible.
Grind's Cafe (Waimea or near there): Mixed. Some of the kids had pizza which was quite good, my older daughter had chicken ceasar salad, small portion, which was HUGE and tasty. I had chili and rice (trying to go with the local stuff), and the chili was extremely bland, very disappointing.
Restaurant directly behind CJ's in Princeville: Sorry, can't remember the name. My sister's crab legs were terrible. Everything else was bland and overpriced.
Now for the good:
JoJo's Shave Ice (Waimea): Yum! The macadamia nut ice cream made the shave ice fabulous, and I'm not really a huge fan of sweets.
Bar Acuda (Hanalei): Everything we ate was delicious. It was VERY expensive - $15 for one sea scallop presented on mashed potatoes - but some of the tastiest food I had on the island. Also, the menu was quite limited. NOT a kid place (we left ours with their grandparents.)
Tiny bakery/cafe in the Ching Young Village center, Hanelei: I can't remember the exact name, but the food was great local stuff. Huge and wonderful brownies, tasty breakfasts. I had the Loco Moco, it was fantastic.
Hamura's Saimin (Lihue): Very good and cheap - even if the place looks like it might fall down at any moment. The Special Saimin was even better with a healthy splash of the pepper vinegar provided on the tables.
Cafe Hanelei (Princeville Resort): My favorite meal, even though, once again, the kids' meals were overpriced and mediocre. My mom got the fish of the day ($25), grilled Ono with a parsley beurre blanc, which was absolutely beyond delicious - best single item I tasted on the island. My sister and I ordered the Ahi sandwich (rare, of course), crab cakes, and soup of the day. All were fantastic. The crab cakes were my favorite, though. Huge lumps of crab, nice avocado-based salsa on top. Can't beat the view there, either, and the service was better than most.
There were others, but I can't think of them off the top of my head...
Wish I had pictures, but I only thought to take a pic of the Saimin, and don't have it handy right now.
Editing to add Scotty's: I tend to forget because BBQ is just BBQ to me. It was good, though, and a lovely view!
Editing again to add that we looked everywherre for Hanalei Mixed Plate, it appears to have closed.
I also forgot to mention Smith's luau. I was very impressed with the quality of the food considering they were trying to feed about 300 people at once. VERY tasty! I loved the entire experience actually, it was one of my favorite activities.
Edited by Aileen, 12 November 2007 - 01:25 PM.
#68
FrogPrincesse
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Posted 23 March 2010 - 12:43 PM
It looks like the Coco Palms Resort project fell through. But I just read that Jean-Marie Josselin is opening a Tapas Bar in Poipu in May! I am really excited since this was by far my favorite restaurant in Kauai. Time to plan my next trip.
Jean-Marie Josselin to open Kauai tapas bar
Jean-Marie Josselin to open Kauai tapas bar
Jean-Marie Josselin, one of the 12 original Hawaii Regional Cuisine chefs, will open his latest restaurant at Kukuiula Village on Kauai in early May. Construction on the 3,453-square-foot Josselin’s Tapas Bar & Grill, which Josselin is opening with business partner Andrew Ha, is already under way at Kukuiula in Poipu. A series of job fairs will take place March 10 to 12 to hire restaurant staff. Josselin’s last Honolulu restaurant was A Pacific Cafe in Ward Centre, which closed in November 2000, right before Josselin opened the restaurant 808 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.
#69
FrogPrincesse
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Posted 25 March 2010 - 09:56 AM
I did some more reading and it appears that Jean-Marie Josselin's restaurant 808 at Caesar Palace has closed! I did not find a formal announcement, but his restaurant is no longer listed on the Caesar Palace website and is listed as closed on the Gayot website. So it looks like he is permanently relocating to Hawaii.
