Roy’s Poipu Bar & Grill in 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 had not been overly impressed with any of our dining experiences over the previous four nights of our anniversary getaway. The closest we came to saying “yum” during a meal was “The Beach House” on our second night. To tell you the truth, the service was an A, the view was spectacular (we had front row seats to enjoy the most beautiful sunset), and the food was more than appetizing, but for the prices we had been paying, we really we rated a few local restaurants that were a fraction of the cost higher in taste.
Expecting our last night’s splurge, 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 he was advised. So we did and let her know that it was our anniversary and “would it be possible for us to have a table where we could watch the happenings in the kitchen?” (My husband and I are foodies at heart and Emeril took us on tour and let us take photos!)
He was quite indifferent and acted like we were a nuisance. Bad start.
We arrived a few minutes early with high expectations for the experience. The new hostess took us to a table that was not near the kitchen window view that we had requested. There was hardly anyone sitting in that area, so we asked to be moved. She said she was sorry, but a big sit-in party had already been “arranged” in 15 minutes.
Our table seemed to be one of those that was perpetually “in the way”. I think he reached down and moved towards the wall about 4 times, my husband felt at least four hits. The waitress was efficient. He took our order (no suggestions, especially once she heard we didn’t drink), made sure we had enough water, brought our food in record time, as well as the bill. She gave us the impression that since we weren’t ordering alcohol, the word should have been to get us out of there as quickly as possible.
The food was delicious, really nothing great. Although very expensive. We decided to order the $28.00 appetizer pot. Due to the description of its content, I decided that the best thing to do was to order a small salad. Even my husband couldn’t believe what was on the plate, so he ordered a vegan main course. Then it was placed on the table.
$28.00 and this is what we got: 2 short ribs, 4 pieces of ahi-sashimi style in 1″x1/2″ slices, 1 vegetable egg roll (cut in two) and 2 wontons stuffed with chestnut puree. Granted, we know that all the restaurants on the islands (except the Costco snack bar) are much more expensive than on the mainland, but this was absolutely ridiculous!
The waiters rushed us so hard that our “special” dinner last night lasted half an hour. And we were still hungry.
Thank goodness during our travels throughout the day 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 accommodation 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 long last, we finally had our best meal.
