Roy’s Poipu Bar & Grill in the Poipu Shopping Village is one of several restaurants owned by the famous 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 in the four prior nights of our anniversary getaway. The closest we came to saying “yum” over a meal was “The Beach House” on our second night. Truth be told, the service rated an A, the view was spectacular (we had ringside seats for the most gorgeous sunset) and the food was more than palatable, but for the prices we had been paying, we actually rated some hometown eateries that were a fraction of the cost higher in taste.
So we were really looking forward to our last night’s splurge. We even took the short walk from our hotel to the venue to see if we needed reservations on that Sunday evening. The hostess said it 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 view the goings on of the kitchen?” (My husband and I are foodies at heart and Emeril’s actually took us on a tour and let us take pictures!)
She was quite blase and acted as if we were a bother. Bad start.
We arrived a few minutes early with high hopes for the experience. The new hostess led us over to a table that was nowhere near the window view of the kitchen we had requested. There was hardly anyone seated in that area, so we asked to be moved. She said she was sorry but a large party had already be “staged” to be seated in the spot within 15 minutes.
Our table seemed to be one of those that were perpetually “in the way”. I think ducked and moved toward the wall about 4 times, my husband felt at least four bumps. The waitress was efficient. She did take 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. We got the impression that since we weren’t ordering alcohol that the word must have been to get us out of there as fast as possible.
The food was tasty-truly nothing magnificent. Very overpriced though. We decided to order the $28.00 appetizer boat. Due to the description of it’s contents, I decided it best to order a small side salad. Even my husband couldn’t believe what was coming on the plate, so he ordered a vegan entree. Then it was placed on the table.
$28.00 and this is what we were given: 2 small spare ribs, 4 pieces of ahi-sashimi style in 1″x1/2″ slices, 1 vegetable egg roll (cut in two) and 2 wontons filled with waterchestnut mash. Okay, we know that all the restaurants on the islands (save the Costco snack bar) are much more expensive than the mainland but this was absolutely ridiculous!
The wait staff rushed us so, that our “special” last night dinner took all of one half hour. And we were still hungry.
Thank goodness, during our travels throughout the day we stopped in at a little restaurant that also had a small bakery in it. At that time, we were just wanting a drink when we spotted all the goodies! We loved the smell of the oatmeal pineapple coconut bars, so we bought a couple and had them in our room. Our accomodations had a coffeemaker! We were in business. As soon as we walked in I brewed some of the Kauai Company’s coffee. My husband set up the lanai.
At last, we finally had our best meal.
