Common Ground Kauai — Local services in Kauai

im shocked this is rated so highly. I love the concept and supporting the concept. However we left hungry. The only reason im giving it 3 stars is because of the concept. Since it was such an early dinner we didnt eat a ton because it looked like a large menu offering. However it was michelin portions without the michelin taste. The salad was way too acidic there shouldve been something cutting the acidity. The soup was good but thats pretty easy and hard to mess up. The beef was a pot roast. Very tiny portion and it was just soaked in fat. I did not taste the demi glaze at all. There was very little flavor at all. my boyfriend was served a huge portion of fat so his protein serving was cut in half and it was already a small portion. I think this has high ratings due to the vacation effect. It was mediocre food at best. The dessert was also a michelin serving but not much skill involved. Plain mango sherbert with honey on top which did not go at all. If you plan on opening a restaurant you need to step it up. This was such a small portion for mediocre flavor. My pot roasts are better at home. The dinner felt rushed as well. The lei making was a lei po which i wasnt expecting either. That is much harder for people to make. It was giving i didnt have enough flowers to make leis… the flower choice was underwhelming…Also for the price i expect some beverage to be provided. I dont drink but some fresh juice or something shouldve been given beyond water… very poor planning. Eating a super acidic salad with no protein in it made my stomaxh super upset. There shouldve been some homemade taro bread or something served to cut the acidity and fat. Then add beef drenched in 2 inches of fat was just gross. I liked the mash but it didnt even taste like there was salt. It was soaked in soo much fat it really wasnt goving carbs to cut the fat tbh. We didnt do the farm tour because we expected it to be underwhelming im glad we didnt pay $50 extra because as plant people im sure i wouldve been unimpressed. The lei po making didnt really give clear instructions and people were left asking questions. The waiters were asking people if they were done dinner was that rusged. Super poor planning. Take the reviews seriously. The crappiest tasting menus where i live are better than this. Yes the ingredients are fresh but you served a pot roast…one of the easiest and cheapest things to make. Many of your visitors are from california and Washington. These two places have tons of farm to table options and are also bog of regenerative farming. If your from the midwest this may seem cool but being from the west coast this is one of the worst farm to table experiences I’ve been to. The ingredients are great and fresh but very lackluster. I could cook a better meal with these amazing ingredients. Also you should probably count the calories in your meals. That felt like barely 600 calories. If i ate the 2 inches of fat on the bottom it probably wouldve been 900 calories but that is gross. Like why would you think this is enough calories and portion size for a meal? You should be absolutely stuffed after a tasting menu… The only thing with any substantial calories was the meat and taro. This shouls be thought about if you’re mainly going to serve fruit and veggies.. If coconut milk was added to the sorbet and a larger portion was given that could easily add an extra 200-300 calories. I get the beef is expensive but you couldve done more carbs. Especially if youre going to serve meat in 2...

My husband and I were excited for a unique experience on our 2nd trip to Kauai. I thought the farm tour and dinner at Common Ground was interesting but has room for improvement. First off, we tried to go early for the Stone Dam walk they advertise but couldn’t find it. There were no signs or maps and no one greeted us. Another dinner was going on and the staff didn’t acknowledge us. It felt kind of weird and like we were intruding. We finally did find a road to the stone dam but it said “no entry”… we went down anyway but it was unmarked after the first sign so we turned back.

The tour started later than advertised. The tour guide was inexperienced/nervous and not well informed. He shared a lot of interesting “facts” but my husband and I have good general knowledge and particular interests in culinary and gardening so we didn’t really learn anything new. The guide actually said a few things that were incorrect. We didn’t hear much about the history or inspiration for Common Ground.

When the chef came out, post tour, I expected him to go over the menu and share inspiration and sources for all the food. He didn’t do that. He just kind of said, “go eat!” I would love to have heard more about why they chose the items on the menu and what was actually in everything/how it was prepared. I just expected a lot more focus on the food than there was!

There were no serving utensils out when we got to the buffet… fellow guests founds them in a basket and put them out. The food itself was very good! It was cool to try some new things and things I wouldn’t normally choose for myself if I was at a restaurant. I have no idea what was in some of the dishes because the menu board wasn’t specific.

I was disappointed that the only drinks included were tea and water. Their cocktails were pricy and they ran out of the one that sounded remotely worth $18. I was VERY disappointed there was no dessert. The tour guide teased dessert but was actually just telling us to buy $20 chocolate bars from the gift shop. I heard a few people express confusion about that, thinking there were chocolates for us.

Overall I think this experience needs to add more to make it worth the cost. Better customer service and training, more background and informative tours, maybe an h'orderves before the tour? A signature drink besides...

Amazing and the highlight of our trip! We were talking to other guests at our hotel and they were raving about the amazing experience they had at Common Ground. Reservations are needed and we wanted to go same day. I called and they were able to work us in. I'm so glad they did!

We were advised to arrive an hour early if we wanted to walk to the stone dam. We did and what an amazing walk it was. You get to explore the beautiful backcountry and see a dam built in the 1800s. It was a beautiful walk, the trail is well marked with signs but it does get muddy in a couple of spots. The staff saw us pull in and handed us umbrellas prior to us heading out.

The tour was super informative. Why does Kauai import 90% of the food people eat? That's a good question and these guys have the answer. They show how they grow food using methods that are good for the land without relying on pesticides and other destructive practices. There is so much information about this, they do a good job at giving you a good overview.

After the tour, it was time to eat. We were beyond impressed with the meal that was prepared with 100% Hawaii ingredients down to the oil and spices. They did a great job in explaining what went into every dish. I'm pretty hard to impress with food but I was actually impressed with every single dish presented. This was served buffet style and there was plenty of food offered. Dessert was a selection of local fruits. They do not refine sugar in the islands so don't expect dessert to consist of chocolate cake. Even the signature cocktail offered relied on syrups they made themselves with local fruit.

We would have loved to have spent the whole day with the crew there. Super informative and after being in Kauai many times, this is the best thing...