A Fitting Meal to Kick off an Epic Trip: The Beach House in Kauai

A whole lot of planning went into my recent Hawaiian vacation, and there may or may not have been a multi-page itinerary. Sure, there were lots of notes about hotels and rental cars and tours, but — this won’t surprise you at all — there were also many lines dedicated solely to restaurants, some of which we’d made reservations for weeks in advance, while others were simply marked down so we’d remember to hit them up.
In fact, on our very first full day in Hawaii, we had reservations for the Beach House in Kauai based on a recommendation from Jennifer over at Fit Bottomed Mamas. She said it was a “can’t miss” restaurant, and after perusing the menu for about five seconds, I was fully on board and making a reservation.
It didn’t hurt that the oceanfront location boasts a perfect spot to watch the sunset, hence the need for reservations pretty well in advance.

Now, here’s the part where I want to set your expectations a bit. Jenn might’ve thought she was the worst food blogger ever, but nope. That would definitely be me. Partly to blame was that stunning sunset that created some crazy lighting, after which the lighting was very dim and romantic, so that was an issue, but also? I totally forgot to even snap a picture of our main course. I am seriously the worst. I’m sorry.
But what I do have are memories, and I’m more than happy to share.
As we generally do, Jared and I opted to share a few dishes, so we started off with the Seafood Corn Chowder with rock crab, fresh island fish, chives and sherry, as well as and an Omao Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad with Macadamia nut truffles, mangoes, vine ripe tomatoes, caramelized Macadamia nuts and vanilla bean brown butter vinaigrette.

Hilariously, Jared wasn’t all that sure about the salad. “It’s okay,” he said. “I don’t need that much, and I can just pick around things.” I don’t think there was any “picking around” going on with this salad — the combination of slightly spicy arugula, tangy goat cheese and sweet toppings was something no sane person would’ve messed with.
And the soup! It was all we could do not to lick the bowl. In fact, we held onto it for several minutes after mostly finishing it so we could sop up the last little bits with the bread that was on its way. I didn’t smack a waiter’s hand when he tried to take it, but I might’ve scared him a bit with the intensity of my request to, “Ach! No! Please leave it!”
The main course was a really difficult decision. Often, when we’re sharing a main dish, there will be two, perhaps three options that we’re both 100 percent into. In this case, I believe there were at least six. Ultimately, we went with the Wasabi Crusted Fresh Island Catch served with lilikoi lemongrass beurre blanc. Our waiter strongly recommended that day’s catch, and said he was obsessed with the lilikoi lemongrass beurre blanc, and so our decision was made.
Oh, was it ever a good one. Somehow they managed to take much of the heat out of the wasabi without diminishing the flavor at all, so you only got the really pleasant part of the burn — wasabi lovers, you know what I mean. The fish was flaky and moist and the portion was enormous, so not only was the dish perfect, but also was the choice to share it. Also? The waiter wasn’t kidding about that sauce. I started looking around the table to see if there was anything other than my fork I could scoop the remnants up with.
Although the seafood is clearly the main draw here (other than the sunset, that is), there is a vegan menu available as well as a gluten-free one, so I think anyone could find what they want here. And it’s locavore-friendly, too! Information about the fishermen they use is on the menu, and when possible, they use locally-sourced fruits and veggies in their dishes.
I can tell you this was an amazing meal until I’m blue in the face, but perhaps the best way to help you understand how much I loved it is this: We’re considering going back to Kauai one of these days and staying in Poipu (rather than Lihue, where we stayed this time) strictly because of this restaurant. No joke.
Have you ever happened upon a restaurant that left you thinking about it for weeks to come? Have you ever planned a return trip because you loved it so, so much? —Kristen