Tahiti Nui - HANALEI

My mom and I came to dinner and we had a great time! our host francis was very sweet and our server ciara was also very friendly. I ordered a mai tai and lemme tell them that this is the drink. it is strong, but the alcohol is well hidden and we have a veggie pizza that was very tasty. we also visited the luau they have here, that was more intimate, but the food was great and the boar was just so good and so fresh! recommend both the luau and just eat in the restaurant!

We stopped in here for a beverage while waiting to get in at another restaurant down the street. I have made it my mission to eat Coconut Shrimp everywhere we go and, for the most part, it has been pretty much the same, all served with a sweet chili sauce. This place was different. The presentation was nothing short of amazing. Kudos for such a treat.

The Lu'au was fun and entertaining. It was great to learn about the local culture and traditions and we appreciated the background information throughout the evening. It's nice to see this family tradition continuing for such a long time. The food was good and we enjoyed having private tables for our group.

We stayed in Kauai for 4 nights and another 4 nights on the Big Island. During our time on the islands, my dinner here was the best I had all week! We went to Hanalei on a Monday afternoon for a boat tour that ended at 6 pm. After our tour, we were starving but found only a few restaurants were open. We saw the Tahiti Nui was open but packed with people. We decided to check the wait times and for two people it was only 15 mins!! We put our names down and got called up within the 15 mins as promised. Had a great seat at the bar and enjoyed the local musician. The bartender was super busy but very friendly. It's a small restaurant and the seating is tight but it added to the ambiance and gave it a cozy local feel. For dinner, I had the Zesty Coconut Crusted Catch with the recommended purple mash. It was delicious! I started to research the restaurant as we waited for my food and realized this was the spot George Clooney filmed the movie, The Descendants so I thought that was a pretty cool bonus to learn about our visit.

So good that we came back the next night to try more on the menu! Very Hawaii atmosphere and clearly a local's establishment. The vibe is laid back with live music and happy hour. They split the menu into forks v knives, which is a nice touch for the veggie peeps or people searching for some greens on vacation. Super friendly staff and timely service.