We had dinner here at the end of a 7 night stay in Lihue, and the food was surprisingly good. Â We both had the fresh fish of the day - broiled Walu (escolar) - which was pretty tasty. Â Our slightly different dishes both came with a nice big fresh green salad. Â Mine came with onion rings and deep fried shrimp, hers came with rice.
Service was reasonably good. My first drink (ginger ale) came out a bit watery - I think they were out of syrup - and they replaced it no problem. Â
As far as atmosphere - we were there on a Friday night - they had a local guy playing guitar and singing a mix of pop songs (steve miller, america, etc.) and some hawaiian favorites. Â Multiple TVs featuring MMA and ESPN, so all in all a decent time. Â I'd go there again.
We came here for dinner our first night to meet some friends of my husband. It was not very crowded and we were able to sit out on the deck area. The service was average, which is actual good for the islands. Anyone who lives or has has visited here knows that "island time" is a reality. No one is in a hurry, especially the  waitstaff.
The food was average at best. I ordered the Ahi tuna appetizer. It was OK, but the flavor didn't seem very fresh. I added plenty of wasabi to cover that up. I had the pulled pork sandwich at the suggestion of the locals who are originally from the Kansas City area. They said it was good barbecue, but I have to disagree. It was average for a non-KC restaurant, but I should have ordered something else.
The drinks were decent and I loved that we had a view of the ocean and were eating outdoors. There were plenty of tvs around and this would probably be a decent place to watch a game or come for Happy Hour. It's hard for me not to like a place that has that much outdoor seating.
The restaurant was in a shopping center with its own parking lot and you will pay for parking unless you get your parking ticket validated - or they decide not to not show up that day. Got to love the islands!
Would I go again? Sure, but probably for a snack or HH.
The service was slow, had to ask twice for everything and after waiting for 15+ ,I'm just for nachos, they came with very little of anything but cheese. Â The beans were so non-plentiful that we asked for a little plate of them to make it better. Â It took so long to get the beans we almost had it finished. Â For happy hour we got $2 off the nachos, but it was still no way worth $11 and we won't go back! Â The bugler shack across the street is a way better option!!!
Review Source:Lets start with the never ending menu, which I can only assume was in a different language since it was nearly illegible. Let's call the language "Legipoo", which is the Hawaiian word for "Barely English". I've never been to a place that serves lamb chops, pulled pork, and brie garlic bread. Seriously, learn how to maneuver this menu and they'll award you the Nobel Prize.
The food. Oh lord the food. We had a feeling that a menu this big means they're probably average at making a lot of items rather than making really great select items. I wish the food we got was close to average, but nay, it was like the cook decided to try and make our meals with last weeks leftovers, just to see if anyone would notice. We noticed. It's hard to ignore that the burgers were clearly store bought and that the zucchini was soggy and the tacos were leaking a sauce that I can only assume contained the souls of my shrimp, yelling for me to put down the tacos and run in the other direction.
So we paid about $90 for irritable bowel syndrome and a headache from the blaring '90's music.
Aloha Kalapaki Joes. May we never do the hula together again.
Visited here almost every day during my 7 day trip to the island.
We only went for Happy Hour, so I can only speak about that, but it's pretty great.
The fish tacos and wings are outstanding (recommend getting the wing sauce on the side!), as are the drinks. Castaway IPA is outstanding. The happy hour prices are top notch (we visited a few other happy hour grills during our stay, few could compare).
The only real downfall is the service. We arrived at different times; service was better at the beginning of happy hour, and declined as the 3 hour period elapsed. It's to be expected when the place is packed, but could ultimately be better.
Either way, 4 stars for the prices, food and drinks!
Maybe it was a bad night but they seemed way understaffed and it wasn't even full. I knew they had a big party so i was willing to cut them some slack. But It took 40 minutes to get the worst nachos I've ever had. We asked about the tuna poke app and the bartender said to "stay away from the tuna". In Hawaii? really? The hostess forgot about us while we were waiting at the bar and sat at least five tables before I finally asked her what happened. But we left after the nachos because we literally felt sick. As my wife and I were walking away, we realized that the nachos didn't even come with the famous freshly made guacamole that was in the description! We just had to laugh about it.
One positive would be the white sangria that the bartender made. It was delicious. But I would never ever ever go back. And I would never ever ever send a friend there.
Happy Hour 3-6 daily.
$.25 wings with 2 drink minimum
$3.00 fish tacos
$2.00 off draft beers
$2.00 off appetizers
The wings, pizza fries and fish tacos were good. The pupu steak we ordered rare came out well done and it was the worst cut of meat we have ever had. It was full of stringy tough fat and wasn't even cut up pupu style(they tried to cut it but because of all the fat they didnt succeed)
The surfer nachos were also good but the pork was a bit bland.
Overall Decent happy hour and decent service.
Just got back from Kauai and I am wishing I had a Kalapaki Joe's here in San Diego. The fish tacos on happy hour for $3 are out of this world fresh and oh so tasty, you can't complain about the prices for drinks on HH either. This place had such a great vibe the bartenders are awesome especially the guy that wears a baseball hat, didn't catch his name. the views are beautiful and the food all around was great. My daughter had the Brie and garlic appetizer and oh my goodness, if you are a garlic lover this is for you! Also, the poke and avocado was excellent. I cannot wait until next year to visit this will be one of my first stops. Fish taco and a COLD corona please!!!
Review Source:Really bad food. We ordered a seared ahi taco and a seared teriyaki ahi sandwich. First, the taco was well done white fish. The ahi was cooked well done and blackened and no teriyaki. The best thing about this place was the ketchup and pepsi. If you are looking for some good food DO NOT GO HERE!
If you just want beer and to watch a game then you will be okay.
$3 drafts of longboard and $3 fish tacos...i could stop there... but i shan't
Everything was going fine until they forgot about us! Â It would have been 3 stars, but he forgot a round of beer, and our food....30 minutes go by (no waitstaff anywhere) and he had totally forgot. Â Bad form!
After trying to find somewhere decent to eat on our way to the airport, we finally came across this place. It was happy hour and everything was inexpensive and very good. I had two orders of ahi tuni, one was just marinated and the other was with avocado. Very spicy and fresh. Service was great. The fish tacos were terrific, and the portions were very generous. Love the nice flat screen TVs showing sports. They had live entertainment in the dining area which I thought was just a smidge too loud but ah well.
Review Source:We stumbled upon the Kalapaki Joe's, post-helicopter tour. We enjoyed a super cheap happy hour "dinner" - two drinks and a huge plate of tasty nachos for just over $20. It was a steal compared with everywhere else we went. AND the mai tai I ordered was a full pint glass size - wow! Definitely a great option if you're in the area.
Review Source:Our first meal in Kauai was at Kalapacki Joes...and thats only because its one of the very few places, besides McDonalds and Burger King, open past 900pm on a Sunday, or any day for that matter. Â
$10.99 for the two fish taco plate...this left me missing Rubio's back in SoCal(That's not a good thing, I don't really like Rubio's, except on $1.50 Fish Taco Tuesdays.) The fish was decent, but the meat itself wasn't quite 3/4's of the lenght of the tortilla. No rice or beans included, just some scrappy chips. Â The wife's $13.99 Ahi Tuna Salad was pretty good, but still subpar. Â
If you're listening to the radio in Kauai, about every 5th or 6th radio commericial is about Kalapacki Joes. Â I wish Joe would cut back spending on radio advertisements and invest more in his food. Â
I know its Hawaii...things are pricier and quality is lower, but still, I choose not to write this review until my trip was over and I had other places to compare it against. At least the staff was friendly, and sounds like they got a great Happy Hour from 300-600(according the radio ad).
We came here twice for a recent visit for our friends' wedding. Â The first time we had a big group happy hour there. Â The second was for our last night dinner. Â The live music on the Friday night was nice. Â Naomi was great and very helpful and remembered us when we came back. Â The downside - the food was hit or miss. Â I enjoyed my pork sandwich but the burger I got the last night was disappointing. Â People in our group liked the ahi tuna but the fish tacos were not good and those who ordered them didn't even finish them or barely eat any. Â The waitstaff other than Naomi was rude and not helpful at all. Â The nachos are huge and great for a group!
Review Source:Happy hour was awesome. Drinks were awesome, our server (Naomi) remembered us from our previous visit. The pupu appetizers are awesome and hot wings for under .30 cents a wing you can't beat!!!! Flat screen TV's galore and sports to watch on almost any of the TV's.
Drinks are strong!!!!!!!
Out of all the foods we tasted we loved all of it but the Calamari, our server deducted it from our bill because we did not eat it. So since we were given the deduction, we paid for some extra drinks.
Stand up place. The $3.00 fish taco's at happy hour are really, really great!!!!
I had one bad experience here which was totally redeemed by my following visit.
One the first trip, I ordered a burger (yea I ate a lot of ground beef on this trip... judge me) It was way too rare. The nachos lacked beans. Pulled pork sandwich was lack luster. All in all just a very average meal, with slow service, oh and did I mention my beer was warm?
Second experience was much much better. Better service, better food, now that I know what to avoid on the menu I'm a much happier camper. I ordered the ahi and avocado appetizer for lunch started with chips and salsa....D got the chicken caesar salad and he said it was yummy.
The happy hour was on point and the server put the game I desired on TV PS how weird is it to watch football at 2pm on like a Thursday?? WEIRD
The chips and salsa were.... different but they grew on me and I ended up using them as scoops with my ahi tuna sooo.... it all worked out amazing!
Happy hour was good. Wide variety of menu items and they are priced out pretty well! Great option for food at strange hours and avoiding the cost of mediocre resort food.
We went for a cheap & quick happy hour before getting on the plane. Â I figured if someone wanted to snack or a complete meal, they could get anything here.
Their combination of soap and paper towels was discussed as being impressive for the island. Â Other, more expensive, Kauai restaurants seem unable to do this.
The chicken wings were cheap and most people ordered and enjoyed them. Â The fried pickles were salty and mostly breaded.
My drink of choice was a "Lava Michelada"... a beer with hot sauce. Â It might had made an interesting shot, but I got tired of the flavor.
Seared Ahi- best thing I ordered and would order again
Ahi poke- my last chance to get poke and the marinated Ahi has a weird texture.
Lettuce Wraps- no one else has ever tried them and no one was willing... the wraps were simple and tasty to me
Overall, it was a great happy hour bar but just A-OK for a family experience.
We had to wait for the restaurant to open, because when we got there at 11, they weren't ready to open their doors.
For our first meal on the island, it wasn't too bad. Â The boys enjoyed their fish and chips, and my friend really liked the fish. Â I had the chicken tacos, and thought they were a little dry. Â I asked for pico, and then discovered when the bill was brought they we were charged for it. Â They also say you can add avocado to the tacos, which I did, and I was charged 2.99 for two slices of avocado.
We all enjoyed our drinks, which was great!! Â We would go back for happy hour, as their drink specials were good, but it was quite an expensive lunch. Â $100 for 4 adults, with 4 entrees and 4 drinks.
The view was amazing though!
Pros: Â View! Â Price & selection of draft beer at Happy Hour. Â Fish tacos!
Cons: Â Dirty. Â Please Wipe the tables down after each diner! Â The furniture/decor could use a refreshing but I could ignore that for some cleanliness.
So-So: Â Fish tacos are still good but not quite as good as they used to be. Â Not sure what is lacking though. Â (Maybe my memory!). I think they may be skimping a bit on fish. Â No more chips and pico de gallo on the side of the plate. Â
The beers are still big, ice cold, and inexpensive! Â People seem to like the Happy Hour buffalo wings. Â We liked the edamame with sea salt & carrot garnish. Â Great place to spend a couple hours at Happy Hour or for last call of the night.
I was pleasantly surprised by Kalapaki Joe's. Â While our service started out a bit spotty, the food definitely delivered. Â I ordered the Kalua nachos which were enormous and absolutely delicious. Â I would definitely recommend them!
The atmosphere is very sports bar mixed with beachy dive bar. Â Overall a great spot for a casual meal in the area!
It was kind of a struggle getting to this place, but we were happy that we finally did.
This location is situated in a sort of mall compound they called Restaurant Row. There are various small shops around as well. It is not actually in Lihue, but much further down Rice St. towards the ocean in Nawiliwili.
We came on a Friday night, and the parking situation was pretty abysmal, but mostly because there was some sort of UFC weigh in event going on. There were tons of overly tattooed  meatheads and (to put it nicely) scantily clad women to go along with it. There was free parking since we were eating there, but we had to use an additional lot and were lucky we weren't clocked in by double parkers. The overall layout of the parking lot is pretty atrocious, but what can you do.
As for the food.... They have a nice menu with just the right amount of selections with a happy hour on drinks and appetizers from 3 - 6 pm unless some big PPV event is going on. This is a typical "sports bar" with an outdoor Hawaiian feel with lots of booze on hand and a TV in every corner. I've always wondered why some places need more drink selections than food, but I guess alcoholics can be pretty particular.
Appetizer - Pizza Fries ($6) - Fries with a generous amount of mozzarella cheese on them and just a bit of sauce to go along... not the best, but not bad.
Entree - Kahlua (pork) Quesadillia ($10) - this was pretty good. Provided a nice left over meal as well.
Entree - Blackened Ahi (fish) with shrimp ($18) - They "cook" their fish INCREDIBLY raw, so if you don't like that, then make sure you say well done. Their was a nice spicy flavor throughout the fish. The side of rice and vegetables was pretty standard, nothing worth remembering.
The service was a bit sketchy, but it was a busy night. They also had a live band playing modern Hawaiian style music was pretty cool, but between that and the drunken amplified conversations, it was really loud that night. All in all, this place can make for a nice bit to eat, but don't expect to much.
I really liked this place. There's free 2 hour parking with validation. Then again, there was no one ever there to collect parking fees anyway!
We came here on our first night on the island because it was close to where we stayed. I was not disappointed! I had the island fish burger and omg it was a delicious white fish and the tartar sauce balanced it perfectly. It wasn't one of those intense tartar sauces but more of a mellow one that blended well with the delicate fish. You get a decent sized slab of fish! The fries were very good as well. They have seasoning on them. My fiance tried the Kalapaki burger and thought it was tasty. He wished we could have had more fries. He also tried the house brew and thought it was an average light beer.
There are TV screens all over the place with sports on if that's your thing. Our server was very nice and it turns out she's from California too so that was neat. She voluntarily gave us recommendations about what to do while in Kauai so that was very much appreciated as well!
How often do you walk into a place (particularly a sports bar) and genuinely feel immediately welcomed, comfortable, and at home? Kalapaki Joe's at Lihue is this place for me.
First, it's a good-sized sports bar, so even if it's crowded they always seem to find a nice table for us. We've never been seated in the middle of the place, but always along the deck which provides beautiful views of Lihue and the Wailua River. They have what seems like hundreds of TVs so you can stay updated on whichever game you're interested in. The servers at Joe's are so friendly and accommodating and will do pretty much whatever you want, food/drink-wise. (Don't ask the cute waiters here to take off their shirts - it's against the rules. I've heard.)
Not only do they offer some of the best Happy Hour specials on the island, the regular menu pricing is very reasonable as well; especially considering the quality and quantity of servings.
Joe's serves up unmatched beer selections, a full bar, and casual beach food. Appetizers we love include their Surfer Nachos (really a meal for at least two), the Seared Ahi sashimi (surrealistlcally good), and the Ahi poke (drool, drool, drool!).
Entrees are sizeable and generally made of awesome. Their fish tacos (they offer two kinds), also on special during Happy Hour, are insanely tasty. The salads are huge plates of crispy fresh deliciousness.
Best tip ever: do NOT miss their Shrimp Tacos. The flavors here are through the roof, and they come stuffed inside a tortilla which has been crisped and treated with melted cheese. It's beyond description.
Any meal or adult-beverage event at Joe's is one to remember and repeat. I would say I wish they'd open a place in Utah, but, regardless of how tasty the food may be, it just couldn't be the same...
Be careful and aware: you're here for value and nothing more. Â Sticky beer floors are usual in old school sports bars--- Kalapaki Joe's takes the 'sticky beer floor' to a new level and actually has found a way to dirty the floors, the tables, the chairs, the chair handles and every square inch of this filthy, although at first welcoming, establishment.
Let's face it-- we all grow tired of spending excessive amounts of money on hotel rooms, car rentals, tips and 'light dinners' while visiting Hawaii. Â We keep telling ourself "hey, $9 beers and $22 appetizers, that's ok, we're on vacation, in Hawaii, right honey!?".
By day 4 or 5---you succomb to the grim reality that your hotel bill and overall vacation expenses are blown. Â Thank heaven for visa and master card and let's all pretend to not actually care.
Then one morning--one of you says--hey I found a solution! We'll goto Kalapaki Joes! They have happy hours 7 days a week from 3pm to 6pm and the beers are only $3.50 and apps are less than $6!!! Â
you go. Â you park. Â you saunter in--why? you're 'beating Kauai' at its own game. Â you may be 1,851 miles from home--but you're still a value hunter in flip flops--a full grown adult and smarter than most. Â
You get a table, you're welcomed. Â You order.
But the filth, the dirt, the smells---the flies--there's no getting over it. Â You're paying 50% less than every other bar in Kauai for a reason--this bar should be closed by the authorities for lack of cleanliness. Â
And look-- I love a 'dive bar' as much as the rest of us-- the charm, the old school outdoor look---the third generation bar tender---and ok I pay a bit less but I look more  cool---in my mind, being here.
THAT IS NOT THE CASE HERE. Â Kalapaki Joe's just is ditry, worn out, smelly and not worth the 'value' play that is seems to offer on its somewhat shiny veneer and even shinier radio-campagain on KONG FM radio. Skip it ,spend a few more bucks, and maintain your sanity. You have no business spending time or money here even when you think you'd rather spend less.
Hawaii is expensive: for a reason, it's worth it.  Kalapaki Joe's: it's cheaper for  reason, not worth it.
Maholo.
My friend and her husband loves the Kalapaki Dip sammies here. Served on toasted garlic bread, the roast beef was juicy and really tasty. That was the highlight of our meal.
We shared their Famous Surfer's Nachos with kalua pig (instead of the grilled chicken). The portion was massively topped with cheese, enchilada sauce and pico de gallo. It was flavorless and missing salt in the kalua pig. Who makes kalua pig without hawaiian salt?!
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/PK7j7N-IykVGYPO1OuH2zQ?select=wneOr6s2hOtw6HNG9kEeFQ">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
The calamari although crispy, lacked salt/seasoning in both the batter (menu states "seasoned flour") and marinara sauce.
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/PK7j7N-IykVGYPO1OuH2zQ?userid=lsSiIjAKVl-QRxKjRErBeg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
My Fish & Chips was also blah. The fish was panko-crusted and dry. Again, no salt or any seasoning, which seemed to be the theme at this establishment. I did like their tartar sauce that came with it, so I used that as a dipping sauce for my calamari and fries.
My friend's husband also barely touched his burrito. Portion was huge but  again, lacked seasoning. The food here was a disappointment for me that day, proof was in the huge amounts of leftovers. Evan eats pretty much anything, he's the guy that usually polishes off everyone's leftovers, that says something about the food here.
I'll give this place another go the next time I'm visiting. I hope they'll remember to use salt!
This place was better when I came last year. Since then, portion sizes and service has gone down. We ordered appetizers and it took an hour to get them. It would have been faster if I went back there and made them myself. I've never waited so long for nachos and chicken wings. It was ridiculous.
Our server was nice but we didn't get to see her much. I don't care how busy it is, it shouldn't take 15 full minutes to get a beer. And when my uncle's burger had sauce on it, after he requested it plain, it took another 15 minutes just to get a plain toasted bun.
The food isn't bad thus the 3 star rating, but unless you have a whole night for dinner, I wouldn't pay this place a visit.
1st Pitch Strike One:
When I came here everyone seems to be having a fun time! The first time I stopped here they were very busy during lunch, so unfortunately I had to eat at another establishment, but I was determined to come back as I didn't see an unhappy face in the joint!
2nd Pitch Striiike!:
The guys at joe's do a great job of make the slow times a great laid back experience, the bar tender took the time to remember my name, plus! They have a good selection of beers on tap including a bunch of local micro brews, I had the Kona Long Boarder..choice!
3rd Pitch Striiike!:
I guess I'm out! But not without being full! Tried their Kalapaki Burger, which had all the greasy nommy standards! Cheddar and swiss cheese, bacon, grilled onions, lettuce and tomatoes, and BBQ sauce! Did i mention it was MESSY!!! oh that's my queue...bump it to 4 stars baby! did you hand slip off the bat b/c you just drooled all over it? yes yes it did. They have steak cut fries with cajun seasoning...delicious treat to add to the burger.
For the future, this place had a large bar style menu with a decent list of appetizers, finger foods, salads, burgers, and a bit of seafood.
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