Stopped in here a few weeks ago with a group of 12. Â They were able to seat us after some time, tho the manager was very kind and apologized for keeping us waiting. Â It was our last night on the island and none of us minded, so we hung out in their little bar area. Â The drinks were 'ok', not very strong. Â The mixed drinks were more sugar than anything. Â The food/dinner was tasty tho. Â We had some chips and salsa in the bar while we waiting that were bland. Â Location is also nice, right by the beach. Â All in all, cool place!
Review Source:Visited in Feb of 2013: Meh. Â This place has "ok" food at inflated prices because of their beach location. Â I will say this, our service was excellent. Â Maybe for lunch, but not for dinner.
I had the ahi sandwich with fries, which was pretty good, but the salad I got with blue cheese to start was like an additional $9. Â The salad was good, but it had no meat on it, and at $9, that is just way too high for a small salad, even in Hawaii. Â I also ordered a Mai Tai which added to my bill, and I was not impressed with it one bit.
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If you want a real Mai Tai, and real beach dining experience, drive 45 minutes to Kapaa to a place called Oasis. Â Less crowded than Duke's and less touristy. Â They have great Ukulele music every Weds. Â Best and most authentic Mai Tai's I've ever tasted. Â I will do a separate review of them soon. Â Had to add that in just in case you were looking for beach front dining.
The reviews were mixed but the menu looked good so we decided to try Brenneckes for dinner. We made same day reservations and I recommend doing so because they were busy and our reservation landed us a table overlooking the beach as opposed to further back in the restaurant.
First of all, the view is beautiful and you really can't beat it.
The staff was very friendly and lively even though they were busy.
The food was good. Â It's not The Beach House but it was really good and we would eat there again in a heartbeat. The Ahi appetizer was positively delicious. My husband also got the nachos to start and they were yummy. I had the Ono with the wasabi shrimp and the fish was so fresh. Hubby had the ribs and said they were good.
Try it out!
we stopped in to compare the mai-tai to others and grab a snack. We had the coconut shrimp which we enjoyed.
The maitai was good but not excellent.
the maragarita was the same.
wife got another blended drink to try and mimic one we had elsewhere (mango daquiri with a li hing mui salt rim. She sucked that one down right quick.
Server was quite pleasant.
Can't speak much for anything else. The manager on duty was very talkative with the tables he sat. I didn't care for his used car salesman chattiness but if you're into that kind of thing, you wouldve enjoyed yourself. Thankfully he didn't seat us so i didn't have to deal.
I would probably go back.
This place hits all the right notes for a beach lunch. We dropped in during the day, and were happy to get seating for our party of 7.
They have the sports bar vibe and menu to match. Burgers, fries, shakes, coconut shrimp & nachos. We liked all of the above. Nothing spectacular, but it hit the spot.
The service was friendly, and the view is great if you can get a spot by the open air.
Great service, great food and the owner is a down to earth guy who makes the atmosphere a fun place to be. The view is epic during sunset, so bring your camera. Â Be sure to make reservations in advance and enjoy! If you are vacationing and need some surf gear, stop by the surf shop next door and support Brennecke's there as well.
Review Source:Great views of the beach & obviously the popular spot in town for local and tourists alike. Â The place is pretty busy, so be ready to have to wait for a table for 15-20 minutes at lunch. Â The food is nothing to write home about, but the service was nice & the owners were actually circulating the place interacting with the guests - shows they really care!
Review Source:I have been to Brennecke's many a time but I have to say, it was not as good as I had remembered it being. The service was excellent, which was the best thing about our experience here. The food was bland and nothing special, but it was very edible. I got the fish tacos, which were good but not that flavorful. The view of Poipu Beach from the restaurant is incredible, make sure and request a window table when you go. We were able to see both the sun set and the moon rise during our meal, it was pretty cool! The people here are extremely friendly and will really go out of their way to make your dining experience as great as possibly.
Review Source:June 14th - I asked for water with ice and it was an ordeal with the manager on duty the night of June 14th, he decided to be a jerk. Â Sorry, but i just asked for water and ice. Honestly, call me at 650-743-3599 if you want to know who disrespectful the owners son was.
June 22nd - Okay, a week later and the owners son crank calls me at 3am. Â Drop it!
Mai tai wasn't close to being world famous as claimed on the menu. Â Food was ok, got the fish taco that was grilled with little to no seasoning and fish/chip which can never be done wrong. Â Nothing special about the food we got. Â View/service was pretty awesome. Â
Tip: should of just gotten a beer and fish and chips to sit back and enjoy the view.
My mom and I had lunch here after spending some time at Poipu Beach across the street. Â The restaurant is upstairs and there is no elevator. Â I guess they somehow got grandfathered in on the US handicap laws. Â Not sure how that can be but what can you do. Â The menu is pretty limited but the options we choose were very good. Â I had the grilled shrimp salad. Â The shrimp were good size and grilled nicely. Â The dressing on the salad was some sort of vinaigrette. Â It was tasty. Â My mom had the clam chowder along with the coconut shrimp appetizer. Â She enjoyed both of them. Â The restaurant is open to the air which gives the place a nice breeze. Â Looks like they do drink specials for happy hour and have live music on the weekends. Â Desserts were good. Â Definitely a great spot to go for lunch after a day at the beach.
Review Source:Love it. Â Great view. Â Good food.
Right across from the beach. Â
We had the:
- Pupu Platter
- Stuffed Mushrooms with Shrimp
- Spicy Mussels
- And the sashimi dish.
The sashimi is killer. Â Not sure where they get there fish but the Ahi Tuna is really something. Â I mean this isn't complimenting the chef so much as complimenting the fish purveyor.
Oh. Â And the fish. Â The fish did a good job growing up to be munched on by us. Â Thank you Ahi gods.
Moving onwards to the Mushrooms: Â Chef: Â I love your Stuffed Mushrooms of awesome execution and crunchy shrimpiness. Â You yummified my life. Â You had me at the first crunch of shrimpy mushroom goodness. Â Yes, you completed me.... that short brief awesome bite.
The mushrooms far surpassed the Spicy Mussels. Â I must confess that dish had good intentions but perhaps a slightly flawed execution. Â Not sure if lemongrass works here; but it needs a kick of something. Â Garlic?
We came in to Brennecke's for a late lunch on a sunny afternoon. The parking lot was pretty full, as it is shared parking for the beach across the street. We liked their open air restaurant feel, and did have a clear view of the beach which was nice.
The smoothies that my Mom and I had were actually really good. My husband had a Mai Tai and said it was good as well. My Mom and my husband both had the fish and chips, stating that they were really good. I had the pulled pork sandwich and thought it was just alright. The fries were great though - I don't think I had had fries in a while, so they tasted really good.
The service was ok... the wait staff congregated and socialized a lot in some of the main areas, and towards the end of our meal, our waitress was a bit slow, but she was pretty nice. Our lunch was over $70 for three people. While I'm not surprised, I think for the quality of the food it was kind of over priced. I'm offering three stars for a pretty decent meal...could have been better.
WOW. Â Haven't eaten somewhere this bad in ages. Â Should've known this was a tourist trap when zero locals were there and the waitress was almost aggressive in how she yelled, "Aloooooha!!!!!!! Â What brings you here, pleasure or business - or both!!???!!!" Â when she came to the table. Â Not sincere. Â You can tell when it's play ed up for a bigger tip or to make you try and forget it's not as bad as it really is. Â
Someone else wrote below that this is a place that needs a Gordon Ramsay makeover. Â Nail. on. head. Â Had the exact thought. Â
I got the fish and chips. Â Just like another reviewer wrote below, all breading and no fish. Â Like a bland donut, gross. Â Served on a chintzy pile of craptastic fries that looked like they'd been re-fried. Â Watery sodas that were never re-filled. Â Sloooooow service. Â Literally, about 20 minutes for water to come to your table when they had plenty of servers. Â Â
My heart sank as I realized I'd blown good money on a tourist trap when I should've known better. Â Just wanted to eat and LEAVE, that's how little I was enjoying myself. Â As looked at people at other tables, it honestly felt like we were giving pained looks to one another like, "How stupid are we for getting suckered into this place??"
At least the view was beautiful. Â
Lesson learned. Â Will never be back.
Came here for a happy hour drink and snack. We got Mai Tais and they were gross. Tasted like they came out of a can premixed. They seemed to have a decent amount of alcohol, but the taste was terrible compared to others I had around Kauai.
We got the sliders for a lunch snack. They weren't very good either. Just some very plain tasting meat on a plain white bun. Like cafeteria food. It filled the void (sort of) after being in the sun and just wanting a bite, but so would a bag of chips.
The service was great. The location is awesome. But the food and drinks we had were pretty much terrible.
I'm only giving 5 stars for their boozey drankkkssss.
This place was walking distance from where my family and I were staying for the week. Whenever we wanted to chill and get drinks we walked here. It's right on the beach and had an open patio so that we could see the sun set. (:
When I drink alcohol, i'm either taking shots or drinking the sweetest fruitest girly drinks.
The guava daiquiri catered to my taste perfectly...I think it was one of the best daiquiris I have ever had. Super fruity and fresh. Delicious!!
I came here with my siblings to lounge on a sunny day, and finished 2 pitchers of this stuff. it was awesome.
We had some food during their happy hour, it was average. nothing impressed me at all. the servers are all super nice though. They recognized us by the end of our stay. :P
Over the years, my opinion of this place keeps going down and down. But, with its location, I keep coming back. It does have nice views.
I'm just so frustrated with the service and the menu.
First, if you want a drink, you better get it yourself at the bar before sitting down, otherwise, you'll probably wait 30 minutes. Forget about another.
Second, the menu is just so bland. Where's the fresh fish? This is a higher end beach joint and there's no fresh fish on the menu. I have been successful in asking for fish and rice, but they always hassle me. There only so many burgers and fish-n-chips one person can eat around here.
It could be so good here, but they've just invested no time to make it so.
I was a little apprehensive after reading some of the reviews, especially since it looked like a tourist trap, but I was pleasantly surprised with my dining experience.
Their Kahlua pork nachos rock, and the Mai Tai was great, but the lava flow sent my blood sugar skyrocketing, overly sweet!!! Â
My fish and chips were delicious. Â Fries were thin and crispy, loved them.
Keep your expectations low, and you might just have a great experience
Context: Weekday evenings around 5-7pm
Brennecke's is a great casual restaurant/bar/grille type spot. Â Watching the sunset while dinning and enjoying the company of others at Brennecke's will leave you with a great happy feeling on most days.
The food is a bit expensive for most of the dishes offered (in my opinion) but the vibe you get here makes up for it. Â I have had the rib eye steak, coconut crusted shrimp, the Opah, and the Spinach salad. Â Each dish was moderately portioned, seasoned and prepared particularly, and served with a smile.
Quickie Tippy: Try Brennecke's in a small group (2 to 4 at most) and get a table at the open window.
My service experience was easily remembered as I had no complaints the times I dined here.  All wait staff, male and female, were outgoing, accommodating, and  ready to serve.  Funny, isn't that what you do in the service industry????  Brennecke's has this part down.
Why can't restaurants learn to make a decent Caesar salad?!? Â It's a simple combination of fresh lemon juice, anchovies, olive oil Parm and crisp Romaine for Pete's sake!!!
Okay now that I've got that rant off my chest (which could be applied to most restaurants), let me tell you that is overall a great place for un-complicated but tasty family dining. I drank my first ever Mai-Tai and loved it so much that I ordered a 2nd followed by a Marghurita. Â The Mahi-Mahi was delicious although the sauce tasted like it was bottled. Â My son loved the fish and chips so much that I was forced to sample it myself. Â I can tell that the fish was freshly caught and prepared.
The service was friendly and the view was beautiful. Â I'd highly recommend for families looking for a nice meal in Poipu.
This has been my third trip back to Brennecke's and as before, the food was wonderful. Â I have eaten here with and without reservations, and have never had more than a 30 minute wait. Â Each time back, more than one of the staff recognized me or a member of our party, even though it had been a year since our last visit. Â This trip, we were fortunate to have a young waitress by the name of Chelsea (sp?). Â Her memory, her attitude, and her service were all top notch. Â With staff like this, Brennecke's will have return business for years to come!!
Review Source:Good spot to come after spending some time at Poipu Beach, I think the open air seating and view make it worth a stop. Â
Our server was really nice and accommodating but pretty slow considering the restaurant is fairly small. Â I had the pork sandwich since I was kind of burgered out from frequent vacation lunch outings. It was good but not $16.50 good, too bad this is the norm for lunch pricing around here. Â Luckily we mentioned the 10% yelp check in discount for an appetizer, not sure if he heard us wrong but it ended up being free!
The convenience to the beach and views from the restaurant make this a decent lunch choice.
We went here without reservations so we had a 30-minute wait for a table. Â A cocktail waitress came by and offered some great suggestions.
When we were seated, one of us had the shrimp skewers, another had the ono with shrimp and wasabi butter and I had a beach burger with swiss cheese.
Our order came quickly and the food was delicious and our friendly server kept our glasses filled.
This place is just as good as when I first came years ago and I would go again without hesitation. Â I would just make reservations next time.
Headed to Brennecke's after hearing about their "World Famous Mai Tai's." Â Maybe we should not have expected much from happy hour drinks, but the Mai Tai's and the margaritas were veeeery mediocre. Â But cheap enough to drink several, so there was that. Â You really only save a buck during happy hour, though.
Food-wise, we just ordered the nachos to share as a late afternoon snack. Â They were pretty good. Â Salsa is decent. Â Cheese to chip ratio is good. Â We were happy.
Can't speak for the rest of the menu, but the upstairs restaurant location is very nice with a view overlooking Brennecke's Beach. Â It was a great spot to wait out the rain shower.
We chose this restaurant more for the location than the food. Â
We were looking for a beach front location where we could eat dinner and watch the sun set (we had reservations at the Beach House the following night). We managed to get a table where we could enjoy the view.
The atmosphere, like most locations in HI, was very casual. Â We were seated quickly and waited for our server, Falcon to arrive. Â Yep, that was his name, Falcon. Â He was a cool guy, a local with a very laid back attitude, friendly and helpful when it came to menu selections. Â
We both ordered fish as our entrees. Â Between the two of us we had Opa, Ono and Mahimahi. Â The fish was nice and moist and the veggies were very tasty. Â Overall the meal was good, I wouldn't say excellent, but good. Â I thought it was a bit pricy for what we got, but that is to be expected at most restaurants in the area. Â
The restaurant has a full bar and by the time we left it was hopping.
While we've gotten food to go from the deli on the first floor, this was our first time eating in the restaurant. Â The restaurant is in a fabulous location - right across from the beach, so you can hear the waves and see the ocean, which always makes things better, right?
We had to wait a few minutes for our table, and enjoyed a cocktail at the bar. Â Since it was my first night, I had to have a mai tai,and Brenneckes does it up right. Â My hon of hons husband got his usual martini, and enjoyed it.
Once we were seated we were taken care of by a very ambitious and animated waiter, who tried his best to up-sell us on every single part of the menu. Â No matter, we held our ground and he was cool about it. Â My said was a little watery since the lettuce leaves hadn't been dried thoroughly, and my HOHH's had the same problem. Â They were OK, but could've been better if the greens were handled properly.
We both had Opah with tropical fruit salsa, veggies and white rice.  WTH is with the scoop of white rice?  Honestly, you can't come up if with something better?  That was sort of annoying, and we found the scoop of white rice repeated on another couple of dinner plates, despite the fact that we weren't eating  plate lunch, when you expect white rice!
All in all, a pleasant evening and a decent price tab, even with the cocktails and bottle of wine. Â A good place for a casual dinner, and very kid friendly.
3 stars for food and service, 5 for view. $ 22.50 for fish and chips that were just ok....I had the Nachos with pork and again...way overpriced and not very tasty. Drinks were good, I would recommend the Lava Flow....YUM YUM. Â I could have sucked down 5 of them!!!!
I would go back for the sunsets and cocktails. And they do have good happy hour deals
Great restaurant with an ocean view! Here is what we ordered all which was absolutely cooked perfectly!
1. Brennecke's Dry Rubbed St. Louis Ribs
special dry rubbed, slow roasted ribs, broiled with plum barbeque sauce. *DELICIOUS*
2. Broiled Opah with Sauteed Shrimp
Served with a tomato caper relish and garlic cilantro fried jasmine rice. *The fried rice was the best part for me, it was just so flavorful with just the right amount of oil and garlic*
Drinks:
Brennecke's World Famous Mai Tais
A special recipe of Hawaiian rums, orange liqueurs and juices, rimmed with some li hing powder, so refreshing and just the right amounts of sweet and salty!
We were fans!
Every time we come to Kauai, we always make sure to come to Brennecke's. They have an activities/souvenir shop on the first floor, so make sure you enter and take the stairs on the left up to the restaurant. The nice thing about Brennecke's is that the restaurant is outdoors without being outside completely. It's a indoor restaurant with no windows whatsoever! So whether your going through a famous sunshine-downpour or glorious warm day, you have a great view of the ocean and park in front. Not to mention the baby chicks with their mothers that frequent the park's grassy, open fields.
Now back to the restaurant... I can safely say that I had the best fish tacos on the island here at Brennecke's. Keoki's came pretty darn close! I will admit that. But something about the ahi tuna here and the sauce it was in just hit every taste bud with such flavor that we had to eat here twice in the same day! The fish here is very fresh, nice portions and happy hour is nice as well.
The waitresses were nice. We never had a bad experience with them. Keep in mind folks that Islanders are going to be different than posh Beverly Hills or the LA area. If you're from New York City, I feel like you can handle anything that comes your way. But for those who might not be familiar with sarcasm or feel like they are getting pushy service, you just gotta relax. A little humor and/or a smile goes a long way with the servers- and servers in general!
The food is a little pricier than Keoki's, but for the natural sunlight, great (reggae) background music, and beautiful view, we were hard pressed to look elsewhere for a solidly consistent restaurant that we all enjoyed.
Had a great experience at Brennecke's in 2009. Â Was back this month looking forward to another great experience and was very disappointed. Â No more yummy bread, no amazing salad bar, and now very pushy service. Â Too many things have changed in the wrong direction for me to want to go back.
Not interested in dining here again.
"The Good, the Bad, and the Ahi"
Brennecke's is across from the beach.
The beach in Hawai'i.
The island of Kaua'i to be precise.
South shore of the aforementioned isle to be even more precise.
It's not much to look at from the outside, and it's not much to look at on the inside. But there is much to look at from the inside when you look out at the outside; most notably, the Pacific.
Anyway, I walked in the front door after parking my rented Altima in a rather sparsely populated lot, save for two young island girls chatting near a Dumpster for God only knows why. Most likely talking about hair or make-up or Kotex or how good looking that guy with the Altima is.
Inside was a Jeff Spicolli-like dude propped up at a register, mumbling with a close twin about something I'm sure I wouldn't care about. It looked like a little store of some kind which, again, I'm sure I wouldn't have cared about had I bothered to look at its offerings. A sign pointed upstairs to the restaurant so I traipsed up the sticky steps, avoiding the handrail like the born again germaphobe I am. Once the staircase had expired I found myself in Brennecke's.
The bar was to the left, table seating to the right, ocean views from all windows. I picked a chair at the bar, ordered a Longboard and asked for a menu. As I was looking through the fare, a waitress sidled up beside me. She traced a finger along the delineated musculature of my good forearm, whispering in my bad ear what the specials were. I looked at her with my good eye, shifting my bad leg so it brushed against hers. She melted at my touch, naturally, and began to stammer in that bad ear I told you about it. So since it was my bad ear, and she was stuttering with pent-up desire, to this day I have no idea what the specials were.
She stumbled away on weak knees and I went back to my menu. Ah, yes. I see what I want to start with. Seared ahi. Center-cut yellowfin. Medium rare. Complete with seaweed, sesame seeds, wasabi and ponzu sauce.
My entree choice was pretty easy too: broiled ono with a fruit-like adornment.
I gave my order to the barman while I sucked another Longboard, turning in my stool to stare at the water, wishing I was out there in a sailboat, far from the stickiness and the germs and the people who make it that way.
I heard a plate hit the bar and looked over my bad shoulder. The ahi had arrived. I pivoted back around, shifting my weight to my good buttock as I did so.
Beautiful color that ahi was. Wondrous flavor, too. I could write poems about it if I was so inclined but I'm not. The guy next to me was a regular from what I'd overheard him saying to the bartender and he remarked to me that the seared ahi was the best thing on the menu. I don't if that's true or not but I'll tell you this: it was just plain awesome. I should have ordered three of them and skipped the ono which, I must admit, was fine but not as good as the ahi. The fruit sauce was good but the rice wasn't so tasty. The ono had decent flavor, though, yet just wasn't in the same league as the ahi. I had a glass of Pinot Grigio with my entree which complemented it nicely, however.
I don't remember what the bill was but it was somewhere around 55 bucks or so, sans the tip. I paid with the trusty Amex card and departed down the sticky steps, the handrail silently screaming for me to touch it. But I wouldn't. No way. Not even if I was to lose my footing and fall down the steps with my neck snapping like a dry twig, the result of which would be a sexy corpse with its head at a horrible angle, the empty eyes staring upwards into The Void....
Back in the Altima I looked towards the Dumpster but the island girls were gone, no doubt my handsomeness too much to bear a second time.
I drove away beneath a cloud-darkened sky, wondering if Brennecke's would still have the ahi the next time I returned. My guess would be yes, only next time they'd need a whole lot more.
Brennecke's sits on the beach in a fairly nice location. The service is almost outlandishly friendly and helpful. But, unfortunately, when the quality of the food is compared to its price, it falls way short.
I had opah with shrimp in a wasabi sauce. It was served with white rice and (steamed?) vegetables such as broccoli, carrot, and a few other things. The dish didn't work wonderfully. For one, the wasabi sauce, which is of the fake wasabi variety, is totally lacking in subtlety. It overwhelms the fish rather than enhancing it. The shrimp served no purpose on the plate. Further, one was deveined and the other was not - inconsistency that is unacceptable at $30 a plate. The fish itself was cooked perfectly, but the preparation was marred by the large number of bones left in it. Still, it was the high point of the meal, and bites of fish that weren't over sauced were quite good. The veggies were an afterthought, overcooked and poorly integrated into the dish.
The beer, unlike most places on the island, is actually priced fairly reasonably. The selection, is weak, however. The only decent beers offered are a few of Kona's blanderer offerings.
If you don't mind hugely over paying, Brennecke's can deliver well cooked fish. Unfortunately, everything else falls short.
Had a great meal here with a party of 10 to celebrate an anniversary. Â The service was friendly and the atmosphere was definitely "beach". Â Good views of the Pacific from the dining room upstairs.
They have several Hawaiian beers on tap and some local rums too. Â Everyone seemed happy with their cocktails and the bartenders were friendly.
I wouldn't give the food a 10 out of 10, but it was definitely good. Â Lots of fish options, prepared well, and a couple meat options as well. Â I had a prime rib and shrimp combo that was good. Â I do think the prices are a bit high for the quality of food, but the seafood lovers at the table seemed pretty happy with their choices. Â Seems like most dinners were $25.
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