Big Wave Dave’s

Sorry, no food pictures, but food and drinks were fantastic. We all had a MaiTai. Patsy was are server and she was great. Three burger orders and Fish & Chips. One of the best Fish & Chips I’ve ever had. Crispy with a great batter and really good tarter sauce. Great dive bar atmosphere.

Appears to be a local’s eatery. Not much for ambiance — but wow what great place to eat. Incredible beer battered fish and chips. Had the ribeye appetizer that was very, very good.
Russ from Colorado

We couldn’t find NaNa’s so we came here. Patty melt, although not on rye, was delicious. I’m not a Coleslaw person but I tried it, hey Mikey, I liked it! So did my husband. It didn’t have horseradish in it. Husband had hamburger and fries he said the bun was good as was the hamburger. The fries were crisp and not greasy. The bill was $ 20. Cheap for Hawaii. We’d come back again.

I love dive bars. This place delivered. I didn’t eat there but was told by a few locals that their food is good and reasonably priced. No beer on draft, just bottles. The next day I was on the other side of the island and this place randomly came up while talking to the waitress. She said it’s well known among the locals and one of the biggest dive bars in Kauai! Just don’t let the local drunk sell you a $ 70k condo. It’s a scam.

Overall, this place is pretty much a crap hole. The bartender was super sweet, but everything else was pretty nasty. We stumbled into this place from the beach hoping to get a good beer and some tasty food. This bar has no beers on tap. The food is all fried. The place is pretty unclean and run down. Seems more like a local bar to watch sports and have cheap beer.

Typical dive bar, seems like they cater to locals mainly, not very friendly. Drinks were strong but haphazardly poured together. Happy hour was just a dollar or 2 off so nothing special. The bar food seemed iffy but after a few hard drinks and a buzz going I would eat something greasy to soak it all up. That is if I were to return which I probably wouldn’t honestly. But the live music is a plus !

Had the house club and fries it was excellent, Shay the bartender was great she always made sure our drinks were full and never had to wait for anything. Definitely my favorite place in Kapaa.

A hidden gem! Barbara was great and the food was on point! While the a.c. was out… The drinks were cheap and service was friendly!

***$ 5 Mai Tai***
Barbara was the best. Hope you like a little bit of sass with your cheap drinks! Decent food and good drink prices.

4 stars for their strong drinks and their late night hours.
⁴⁄₅ only because I didn’t try the food since the kitchen closes at 9. Just like most places in Kauai.
First night there and my boyfriend and I order some Mai Tais. Silly bartender said we washed those down quickly so she claimed to make us stronger ones next. Score! Don’t tempt us with a good time ;)
2^nd night there and we befriend some locals. This place definitely has it’s local regs and is super divey. My type of place!
3^rd night there… well let’s just say we enjoyed this place enough to come a 3^rd time in our 8 day stay at pono Kai.
Also they have karaōke on certain nights so prepare to possibly get volunteered by the locals there such as I did. This place made me feel like a local and I’ll never forget it! Cheers to good times***

Well, I take it that it’s a locals bar. I walked in at 8pm on a Monday night, ordered a and started to watched the end of the Hawks Wizards game 4 of the playoffs. there were 2 people in the bar. One was a 60 something butt ugly woman with stringy grayish blonde hair. She leaned over towards me and said «your kind ain’t welcomed here.» I chuckled and said really, is it the fact I’m vertically challenged, bald, southern or that I’m a «haole»? she just repeated, your kind ain’t welcomed here. The bartender was nice but I just paid for my one beer and left. Not great for biz, unless you just don’t want the tourist money.

Very good sit down burger joint. We had the Zesty & Terri burgers.
Place was very slow. Bartender was the server and checked on us a couple times.
Will come back if we are feeling like a burger.
Oh… Loaded fries are like loaded potato skins. Good addition.

Decided to come here for breakfast. I ordered the French toast, which was delicious, enhanced by the coconut syrup. My wife got the big wave special with over medium eggs, white rice, and Portuguese sausage. If you are deciding between Kountry Kitchen (see KK review for explanation) and anywhere else you should try Dave’s for breakfast. Small menu but all items are a good choice. We will be back a lot.

Ok, I think I’m going to throw up.
Really. Just got back from this grease pit and the three of us are tasting and feeling last weeks deep fry oil in, around and throughout our bodies. We’re not high brow diners by any stretch. We go for almost anything. especially in the islands. Some places hit, some miss but this place didn’t even get off the ground. Patty melt: Full on yuk in between two pieces of slightly toasted white grocery store bread. Wife’s coke was flat as a board and watery. Oops, didn’t change out the tanks last night I guess. Fries were oiled up good. The time from ordering to getting our «food» was forever. 20 plus minutes. I actually think the deep fry was going cold and they had to get it back up to cook temp. We were there for a late lunch and
they supposedly were closing at 2pm. Still, it was early
yet, well before shut down. That would explain perhaps the rancid taste and the preceding smell coming from the kitchen.
Look, this seems to be a place where you go to get hammered and then order up some 30 weight bar food to soak it up with for the drive home. It’s awful. Just awful.
The islands, particularly on the tourist strips are full of generally very good small hole in the wall dining options. Lots of competition and you better be trying your damn best to pull in the hungry visitors in or your out. I don’t know if there really is a «Dave» at Big Wave Dave’s, but he has work to do I think. I hate dumping on small independents like this one but it’s a shame to see them do it to themselves. We’ve been coming to all the islands for over twenty plus years have seen them come and go, usually for the same reasons.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to hit the bathroom real quick (if you know what I mean) then a nice shower with lots of soap.

Everybody at this wonderful place was extremely kind. 5 stars, AAAA+++++ the perfect real place in Kauai. :)

Okay, my wife and I have been visiting Kauai for about ten years. We also spent time on Oahu and the Big Island. This is the worst restaurant we have ever walked into with the rudest employees. No one would make eye contact with us when we walked in. There was no hostess or server or anyone interested in helping us. No tables were available, so we sat at the bar. The bar chairs were so mismatched to the bar that the bar was level with my wife’s nose. (We felt like Hobbits on the bad part of the adventure.) I jokingly said that the chairs were pretty low. The female bartender who would not make eye contact said, «It is what it is.»
We can’t comment on the food because no one ever gave us a menu and other patrons had any food on their tables. The fist truly rude locals that we have ever met in Hawaii.

As you’ll find noted all over, Kauai is not an island of nightlife. We were joking throughout our vacation, «Uh-​oh, it’s almost 8 o’clock! What are we gonna do now?»
Big Wave Dave’s provided a very nice if low-​key Wednesday night for us, as well as the strongest and cheapest mai tais of the trip. We almost fell out of our booths when our bartender said $ 10 for the both of you. I’m still feeling a bit bad as I tipped a dollar for each drink, and when I handed over the exact change for our bills, I felt like I got a little side-​eye («Like really, I made you these bomb ass drinks and charged you nothing and this is what you tip?») I thought it was warranted, and I hope I can make up for it next time.
They had a DJ in the front but not much of a crowd beyond the few booths, though I really liked the scene, feels like a place you could hang and get to know people. Alas, it was our only night out of the room after 10pm, cause that’s how Kauai do!

When me and my husband walked in here It reminded us of a bar that we always go to in cali. We walked in and was welcomed by the bartender Barbra. Shes so Sweet and made us felt right at home. We have gone to other bars around the area but no one has better service and happy hour like here. They give out complimentary appitizer that taste great and people here at this bar are nice and friendly. The loaded fires here are a must try! Barbra recomended a few restuarants and help us know the area a little better. She makes the best mai thai so be sure to try it. Thank you Barbra for making us feel like home and ofcourse making us the best mai thai we ever had!

Great staff, excellent food, good prices. Best Mai Tai, and Hand pattied burger in Kapaa town. Karaōke, Music and Dance with a Home Town feel.

Kauai needs a hip dance place like this sooo badly! Thursday nights are electronica and it went off pretty hard for a local club. Dub step house reggae D&B etc. $ 5 cover was worth it. $ 5 drinks; so that’s a cheap night out. Plus the women on Kauai are the most beautiful on earth! Make sure to treat our Kauai women with respect guys…
Just like the hip place I went in San Francisco but half the price for drinks, ¹⁄₅ the cover charge, and ¹⁄₁₀^th the attitude.
Yes, it’s small — but this is a small island.