Bar Acuda

Pros– expensive but great food if you’re staying in the Princeville area; wonderful and personal servers. Give them all raises!
Cons– you have got to send your hosts to etiquette school so they can learn to be more friendly and less snotty. Seriously. A host is the first impression guests have of your restaurant. This is Kauai, they need to relax.
G
June 20, 2016; 9pm

One word: ORGASMIC!!! I am not even exaggerating. We ended up sitting at the bar next to the owner, Jim. What a nice, super chill, guy. Everything we had was superb and delicious. Don’t skip out on dessert, we had the pineapple crisp with homemade coconut ice cream. WOW.

Because much of the food was so damn delish, my rating was a but tricky. Waitress was dull and somewhat disinterested. Amazing bruschetta was yum but presented with the 2 smallest pieces of toast ever. I don’t ever mind paying for a good meal, but don’t like being ripped off.
The food was really great and the evening very special. Nice ambiance and we will be back in 2 years to dine again on this beautiful island. Might try a different tapas place or chance that we get better service and a little more bread at this place.

This place had a super cute vibe with food that was totally different from what you would find anywhere else on the island. The food was tasty but not mind blowing for the prices. They did offer gluten free options which is a must since I have celiac. I would’ve given them a four for food but the service was just blah! The hostess just tossed our menus on the table and walked off barely mumbling «there you go» and our waitress did not seem happy to even be at work. Not even a smile! If I’m paying $ 14 for 4 pieces of shrimp then I wanna be treated a little better than a fast food restaurant.

Worth the price. Expertly conceived tapas, short but wide ranging wine list. Everything is more expensive on Kauai but this was the perfect answer as we searched for a good anniversary celebration dinner.

Order as many dishes of the lamb as there are diners. It’s easily the best thing on the menu and everyone at your table will love that they don’t have to fight each other for another chop.
Skip the skewered meat thingy. Seriously.
Everything else was a delightful adventure.

We were really excited about this place. We have been to Spain and loved going to Tapas restaurants for dinner but THIS IS NOT SPANISH TAPAS.
We understand the concept of small plates– you order a lot of different things to try. I can also say we were prepared to spend $ 300 on our dinner (being Kauai and a nice restaurant). We easily could have spent the $ 300 had we stayed longer. We put in our order for the first round. Ahi Poke, Bruschetta, Crostini, Bandellini, some meatball dish and the scallop.
There were four of us and the first dish the Crositini had 1 and ½ slices of bread with avocado, tomato and ricotta. They literally sliced 2 pieces of toast and gave us half of one. The presentation was 3 ½ slices of bread. Why not cut it into quarter if you are going to scrimp (the presentation would have been nicer) or just give two pieces of toast for 4 people.
The scallop entrée has one scallop on it. How is that meant to be shared?
All of the food flavors were excellent, the drinks were tasty but small with a lot of ice as another reviewer pointed out.
After our first round of food, we realized this was not a great place for dinner. If we just wanted really expensive appetizers and drinks it was perfect. If you are planning on eating here I would recommend
1) a really huge lunch a few hours before
Or
2) stopping in for drinks and apps. then going somewhere for a meal

Awful service. Lady upfront super rude.
Good– pizza, lamb, meatballs, $ 25 corkage fee
Bad– buciniti — cooked very very aldente.
Avocado toast nothing special.
Overall, best outside restaurant in princeville. (Not saying much). Bring your own wine bottle, enjoy the restaurant.

«So, one time at band camp… I didn’t use Unilocal!!!» This is how our dinner at Bar Acuda happened without the help of Unilocal.
Being that I’m a Unilocaler, I rely on it like my right hand. Maybe, just maybe, it was one of those times that you just go with your gut and try a place out and then read the reviews! I’m sort of glad in retrospect that I didn’t read the reviews or look at the pictures because I had no idea what to expect.
Hubby and I were window shopping all the cute little shops in the town of Hanalei when we stumbled upon this place late in the afternoon. We walked in thinking we were going to grab a quick drink but found out that they weren’t open for business yet so we asked if we could make a reservation for dinner. It turns out they only had 2 spots open for the times we were looking to eat but it was at the chef’s table and she pointed to an area right off the kitchen/​prep area. We both looked at each other and said «heck ya!»
Arriving back at the restaurant for our 6p reservation worked out perfectly. When we walked in, most if not all of the tables were already full. We were immediately seated (at the last 2 open of the 4 seats) and greeted by Ben, who was working the chef’s table and facing us below while he prepped, chopped and prepared dishes. It felt like we were in the kitchen!
As we scanned the menu, we immediately had several choices of tapas that hubby and I were interested in. We started off the dinner with drinks. He had the 3G’s and I chose the Smoke and Ginger. Both drinks were distinctive yet smooth and refreshing.
AHI POKE –OMG! We nearly tripped out while enjoying this poke and Ben explained what «leche de tigre» meant when tuna is «steeped» in tequila. Get this one!
CROSTINI– freshly baked bread (from next door Hanalei Bread Company) thinly sliced, toasted and then spread with sliced avocados, tomatoes, and creamy ricotta salata cheese. Deelish!
SEARED SEA SCALLOP– wholly moly this one was soooo ono if you love sea scallops and mashed potatoes that tasted like whipped butter or cream or whipped heaven!
LAMB RIBLETTES– winner, winner, we’re having lamb for dinner. We chose the 4 so we could each have 2 but there’s also an option to have 3. The meat was so tender and juicy. A nice sprinkle of feta cheese to top and a few cherry tomatoes were perfect. We licked our lips watching them being prepared by the chef at the stove.
and lastly.
HAWAIIAN ONO– while we both love fish, we felt this was the only dish we didn’t die over, It was just ok., still overall good but not like… OH MYYY! the fish was a little too crispy for the first two bites and the other pieces were much better. It sat in some white beans and topped with crispy prosciutto.
Service: 5 star, server, hostess, bussers
Ambiance: 5 star for this unsuspecting location
Food quality: 5 star, strive to use local and organic
Presentation:5 star, watching them prep and serve it was awesome
Parking: no lot, but plenty of parking across the street
Price: higher than the others, but way more unique, fresh and worth it
Just go and try this place out. Sit at the chef’s table because it’s a lot more entertaining experience. Bar Acuda is definitely worth checking out if you appreciate the «not your average food» kinda meal!

Later was very helpful and friendly. We sat at the bar and emotes tasty cocktails and a few dishes. The much rooms were fairly good and the steak with pineapple was awesome! Worth getting a reservation or sitting at the bar!

What a bad joke this place is. I have eaten here a few times over the years on my many visits to kauai. It is and has been Hit or Miss. The Waitstaff are Horrible, busy talking in the back and not available for any of your needs. Feels like a bunch of kids who went to their first day of school. Out of sorts to be honest. It took at least 20 minutes for the server to come to the table to get our drink order. We felt like we were ghosts and nobody saw us. Finally when the server came to our table, we received an apology! Ok, no problem! Then the real problems began. Weak small cocktails feel like so much ice is in the glass there was tons of ice and a splash of alcohol! Boring no flavor! Basically gross cocktails.
Then THE REAL PROBLEMS BEGAN: the FOOD WAS HORRIBLE!!! We were a table of four, so we basically ordered everything on the menu. The plates are meant to be small, ok! But 2 – 3 bites per plate? No!
Salads arrived first! TINIEST BOWLS EVER! There was SO MUCH VINEGAR ON THE SALAD WE ALL SQUIRMED! A DOT OF GOAT CHEESE AND WE EACH HAD A BITE AND THE SALAD WAS SPIT OUT! The lack of Goat Cheese was evident and we all wanted some but there was not enough. Ok then the Beets = NO FLAVOR AT ALL, we had to ask for salt that took 5 minutes just to get anyones attention, then 15 minutes to arrive. Beets were completely tasteless! And said there was cheese, we never found it and 1 piece of arugula! The plate was so tiny, it could be used in my 6 year old daughters mini tea set. Again tasteless minuscule Beets! Then we the Bacalhau salt cod was hard bits, dry and not creamy and hardly any in again another very tiny dish, with 2 small pieces of toast. I had this a few years ago it was creamy and perfect! Not tonight! Not edible really. Then the risotto balls, which were actually ok, except the sauce of so much honey, that it became dessert like, couldn’t taste the cheese just the honey, and so little truffle oil, that it was barely recognizable in taste. Hmmmmm! Ok then the Meat skewers arrived! Tough meat! Overcooked and sweet sauce again that made them candied like! Sugar marinades toughen meat if cooked to long! This was gross! One Sea Scallop arrived as we tried to divide to get 4 bites haha, not possible, the scallop was cooked ok, but ZERO FLAVOR! i prefer the scallop a little less done than others. For me it was too cooked. The mash potato had no flavor and buried the scallop like a winter snowy night! The lamb ribs tasted like taco meat, overcooked and tough. I think it was supposed to be curried but chewy taco meat was all i got from it! The Pork Belly tasted like moms pot roast! Not that flavorful or juicy or pork belly like! I think it was a pork roast not pork belly, it was served on some GROSS MEALY MUSHY FRUIT WHICH WE ENDED UP THINKING IT WAS PINEAPPLE? Not sure as the texture was mealy mushy baby food. So this Pork Dish was really disgusting and was a SAD EXCUSE FOR PORK BELLY … Hmmmmm oh and the Bruschetta and Tomato the Toast was so hard it almost cracked my Tooth.
We were all still hungry at the end of dinner. So we ordered dessert!
Ice Cream was OK. The Pot d’ Crème was lack lusted and tasted like nestle chocolate some cheap weak milk chocolate and the consistency was runny and not satisfying. The cheesecake was ok, but not much flavor. The chocolate cookie served in the ice cream was again tasteless!!! They do not use good ingredients or fresh ingredients in this so called restaurant. The only thing that was decent was the salad mix but that ruined by dropping a bottle of vinegar on to it! Woke us up!
Overall i would say! THIS WAS A BIG MISS!
Will i go Back? Doubt it! After my last meal here a few years ago i thought that meal was not good! After tonights meal, that meal a few years ago was gold, compared to how bad the meal was tonight! The restaurant is hot and sticky, poor air circulation! If you get sat at tables on the west side (PARKING LOT) you can hear the dishes clank and there are no fans, air stagnant, smells like sewer, view of cars, and lack of service! I think the service, food, cocktails, ambiance were ALL LITERALLY HORRIBLE.

There is no way I’m happy walking if here after paying $ 120 and still being hungry. This is the Island! My dinner last night was $ 30 and we were stuffed and happy
Letting us know they serve tapas-​style portions, we were advised to order 2 – 3 dishes per person
Advised they were OUT of honeycomb that night, the only reason we had wanted to come here, we ordered 5 alternates, plus drinks
Crostini with avocado and parm — microscopically shaved cheese here and paper thin slices of avo
Lentils with kale — had a weird mint undertone I did not care for
Chop salad
Fingerling potatoes — w/​an extremely smokey sauce
Mushrooms — super bland! Guess the paper they steamed the mushrooms in, sucked out all the flavor.
Drinks were weak & totally watered down. Your drink money is better spent at Tahiti Nui!
Dishes were okay but nothing I couldn’t cook at home myself (and I’m a novice chef) and the portion size, even for tapas, was super small. Your experience and money and tastebuds will be much better spent at Plantation Gardens Restaurant in Poipu!
We won’t be back

We studied intensely for a place for our 20^th anniversary dinner and ended up here. Wonderful setting with cascading waterfalls of the mountains and the cute intimate city of which it sits.
Very knowledgeable and attentive staff. We had 5 different tapas and felt full afterwards. Incredible flavor and quality in all of the presentations!

Being from San Francisco, I’m used to paying a high price for small portions. As long as the quality and general effort behind the preparation is there, it’s fine and tapas are a good way to try a lot of different things.
Bar Acuda seems designed to cravenly extract money from patrons due to the general scarcity of upscale Hanalei restaurants while exerting minimal effort and creativity. Dishes we had were either dry (bacalao fritters), bland (mushrooms), idiotic (the impossible-​to-​eat bucatini), or ridiculously small (the decent but unremarkable meatballs). The chopped salad was awesome, though. $ 120 for the aforementioned food and two glasses of wine, after which we went back to our rental and fed ourselves.
It’s the kind of place you leave feeling A) hungry, and B) exploited. Service was fine and atmosphere was nice, though.

I’m not sure why the employees of this restaurant are so annoyed by the guests. I made a reservation 3 days in advance. When my husband and I arrived, the hostess Cherie could not find our reservation. She immediately held us accountable. Asking again when we called, who did we speak with to make reservation? I had to «prove» I called Bar Acuda by showing my phone date and time stamp. Oh guess what? She found our name on a different page where they wrote in the wrong spot. Cherie offered no apology and actually acted even more annoyed at us because now we have really caused her problems.
Our server was not friendly either.
Annoyed and put out by us.
Anyway, food was pretty good for Kauai standards but not mainland standards. NO WAY would a restaurant survive with that kind of bothered, rude service.
The management needs to give the employees a chat about being kind to customers.
No Aloha for sure!

Hubs and I dined here our 4^th and final night in Hanalei– and we had a great time. The restaurant ambiance is funky but romantic, and we were nestled off in a row of two-​tops comfortably.
Our server was a tall friendly man — he got us going on water and cocktails (another martini night) and helped us maneuver our way thru the menu. He suggested for two people we should order 4 – 6 things. I wanted 6 things but the couple next to us only ordered 3 right before we ordered which made me feel like a heffer so we changed our order to 5 items instead of 6 at the last minute. Sort of wish we hadn’t now. Anyway– details to come on food momentarily. First off the bread that they started us off with made me wish SO MUCH I had visited Hanalei Bread– it was so soft, warm and flavorful– like a sourdough with a little sprinkle of salt. A great indication of good things to come.
We ordered:
–Honeycomb — yummmmm nothing like sweet rich honey to get your meal started right? oh add some cheese and apple and yes yes please, I’ll have another.
–Ahi Poke– excellent flavors, but not quite as good as Dolphin down the road
–Oven roasted broccoli — OK– wouldn’t order again, tasted more like boiled than oven roasted, but had to add some greens to the rotation ya know?
–Meatballs — tasty, warm, flavorful– melted cheese– all the makings for warm and delightful right there.
–Lamb Rillettes– excellent– the flavors were amazing the mint added the nostalgic «mint jelly with lamb» memory from when you’re a kid– meat was tender and perfectly cooked.
OK so I didn’t think ALL the things we tried were fantastic, but most were– and it’s getting 5 stars because the ambiance, service, bread, cocktails, and lighting were all excellent. Would definitely return, regretting dining here only one night of our 4 in Hanalei.

If you are looking for something different on the island, this place has you covered. We came in on a Wednesday night the place was packed. Very posh, eclectic and non island décor. Not what i was expecting for a quite Wednesday night. Reservations are highly recommended although we didn’t have to wait long for a table of 4, maybe 15 minutes and the hostess was quick to accommodate.
Ok, now lets get to the good stuff.
Sangria: Very light almost like spa water, good for non drinkers. But if you need something fruity and strong, pass and go to a cocktail.
Food: Lamb: Phenomenal prob the best prepared lamb I’ve ever had and that is tough to say because the lamb i make is pretty amazing.
Meatballs: Superb, five come to a dish and the sauce is perfection.
Clams: Great
Banderillas: Delicious, meet is so tender and the sauce that it comes with is also very amazing.
Local North Shore Honeycomb: the perfect touch to end your meal, not a dessert but the sweet taste of honeycomb and apple with goat cheese. Yummy
Scallops: To die for, only comes with one but you can cut it up and share, its rather large.

I would have to agree with the 2& 3 star reviews. The atmosphere is nice but if you are a foodie it’s about a 3 star. I did like the scallop but the other dishes I would not try again. There is not much on Kauai as far as fine dining so this place really has no competition. I ordered the smoke and ginger drink and not much alcohol in the drink. I wouldn’t rush back there but I would be open to giving it another chance since there are not to many choices.

Overpriced tapas.
We ordered a few different tapas (see pictures) and the lamb was the most tasty.
Would not return because I don’t think the food was worth the cost. Kauai overall has a pretty disappointing selection of restaurants.

Trying to find a cutting edge restaurant on Kauai is hard; most play it safe and give you the Duke’s experience. I like Bar Acuda. It is a bit trendy and pretentious, but the food was really good.
The plates are advertised as small and sharable. I felt some of them tried to be more like an entrée; a full plate of protein, starch, and veg only small. This doesn’t work for sharable. Do a few veg dishes, a few protein, and a few carbs; don’t create small dinner plate.
The cheese and honey was spectacular. It is worth the trip just for that. The other dishes (shrimp, lamb, their take on a nicoise salad) were all good.
Bar Acuda is also one of the few places to get a well crafted, non-​tropical cocktail. They are still working on learning the classics (French 75 was a miss).
I wish they had fans on the deck seating. It got very muggy without a breeze. I think this also accounted for the bugs that started biting around the end of our meal (at least they had bug spray).
Make reservations

De todos os restaurantes que fui ate hoje na ilha de Kauai, este e um dos melhores. A garçonete foi excelente e como a minha mesa estava localizada na varanda do lado oeste do restaurante, não tinha uma brisa sequer, nem um ventilador e muito pernilongo, tornando o momento quase em tormento, porem o serviço e comida valem a pena. Eles ofereceram um repelente que deu uma aliviada. Quando voltar se não garantirem um mesa do lado esquerdo, leste, prefiro não ir, pois nem pela boa comida vale a pena passar tanto abafamento e mordida de pernilongo.