Kauai Restaurants

This gets our vote for the most charming ambience on Kauai, with gourmet fare cooked to order, and at cafe prices. Food gets a lot of individual attention here. Caffè Coco is just off the main road at the edge of a cane field in Wailua, its backyard shaded by pomelo, avocado, mango, tangerine, litchi, and banana trees, with a view of Sleeping Giant Mountain. The trees provide many of the ingredients for the muffins, chutneys, salsas, and fresh-squeezed juices that Ginger Carlson whips up in her kitchen. Seats are indoors (beyond the black-light art gallery) or on the gravel-floored back courtyard where tiki torches flicker at night. From interior design to cooking, this is clearly a showcase for Carlson's creativity. The food is excellent, with vegetarian and other healthful delights such as spanakopita, homemade chai, Greek salad, fish wraps, macadamia nut?black sesame ahi with wasabi cream, and an excellent tofu-and-roast-veggie wrap. Although the regular menu is limited, there are many impressive specials. Service can be, to say the least, laid-back. Next door, Carlson's sister runs Bambulei, a vintage shop of treasures.

- Frommer's