Avalon Gastropub — Restaurant in Hawaii

A Disastrous Dining Experience at Avalon Gastropub My recent visit to Avalon Gastropub in Kilauea, Kauai, was nothing short of a culinary catastrophe. From the moment we walked in, it was clear that this experience would be unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. The first strike against Avalon was the excruciating wait for any semblance of service. We waited a mind-numbing 20 minutes just to be acknowledged by our server. Another 20 minutes passed before we could place a drink order, and a staggering 55 minutes went by before 2 out of the 4 drinks we ordered made their belated appearance at our table. Shockingly, the ordeal was far from over. Our food, which arrived after the drinks (because apparently, that's a logical sequence), consisted of only 1 out of the 4 items we ordered. Distressed and perplexed, we requested to speak to the owner. Little did we know that this encounter would be the cherry on top of this disastrous dining experience. The female owner, who seemed to have left her customer service skills at home, graced our table only to dismiss our grievances with an outrageous explanation. Brace yourself – according to her, the root cause of our delayed orders was none other than an alleged glitch in Amazon's system. Yes, you read that right, Amazon, not a miscommunication or an oversight on their end. To add insult to injury, the owner shamelessly threw her server under the bus, claiming that the order wasn't entered correctly into the mythical Amazon system. The most baffling part? Everyone around us, who was seated after our party, received prompt service while we languished in culinary purgatory. The ensuing heated verbal exchange only further underscored the incompetence of the owners. No apology was offered, no solutions were presented – just a vacant and dead-eyed response from both the female and male owner. It's astounding how they allowed the situation to escalate without taking any meaningful action to rectify the situation. In conclusion, the only showstopper at Avalon Gastropub is the large whiskey wall behind the bar – everything else about this establishment is a complete and utter letdown. Save yourself the disappointment and steer clear of this dining disaster. P.S. We left $135 in cash on the table to demonstrate that we were not after a “Free Meal” or be accused of not paying for our drinks and flatbread. P.S.S. We’re Kauai people- Hawaiians....

Overall the experience dining here was underwhelming, and slightly off putting. From the very first contact with walking in the door and seeing a sign that says "Be nice or go home." to the grand finale- being billed $4.00 for hot water with a lemon wedge.

We did not have a reservation and were told upon checking in that we would be seated in 3-5 minutes outside. The gentleman at the host desk was kind and smiling & said we didn't need to give him our name, he would be right with us. We stood outside, as on their welcome sandwich board, it said "One party at a time inside." Another interesting choice of greetings to customers. After waiting 10 minutes we went in to check and he didn't seem to recognize us.

We were seated outdoor at wooden craft like table, and given paper napkins. We did not order any cocktails, however did request one cup of hot water with lemon which took about 20 minutes to come and only after a gentle reminder to a service staff member. We ordered the roasted cauliflower small plate to share, which we enjoyed, however, could have benefited from some sort of dipping sauce, as it was a bit dry and very small portion, considering the price. For our mains were ordered the duck salad and the Caesar. The Caesar was unremarkable - didn't come with a protein option, and did not include croutons- literally just hearts of romaine grilled with a lot of dressing on top. Again, quite pricey for what was offered. The duck salad was ok - nothing to return for though, probably had about 4oz of duck and a small portion of salad for $25.

The catalyst for actually leaving a review was when we received the bill and noticed a $4.00 charge for hot water with a lemon wedge. We inquired with the server about this up-charge for water, and she offered to have the owner come and speak with us. The owner never came over, we were informed by the server that he was too busy, and just took it off the bill. The restaurant was somewhere around 70% capacity. That was an interesting customer service move- considering this is a relatively new restaurant and the price point. The lack of hospitality was the most outstanding quality of...

The cocktails are amazing as always. My husband and I loved going to Avalon when they were located in Wailua. The menu has been changed but the quality and uniqueness has not.

The new location has a wonderful outdoorsy repurposed aesthetic going. The plates really brought in that countryside vibe which I liked. Lighting was great - we could clearly see what we were eating.

They are quite busy so I recommend folks to plan ahead. Despite that our waitress always checked in on us with a big beautiful smile and chipper attitude.

Avalon is a top shelf booze place with the creativity to make it worth your time to drop by. My husband loves his dark liquor cocktails whereas I love my gin. We aren't disappointed with what they do with their liquors. I especially love their chamomile infused gin based drinks.

While they no longer have a Beyond Burger patty in their entré list, they have greatly expanded their appetizers. There were a lot of veggies that helped fill me up as a vegetarian. The portion sizes are smaller but each bite had ample amount of flavor.

The desert was fantastic. I was able to get the cheesecake without the candied bacon which is a plus as a vegetarian. The desert cocktails were delicious too!

All in all, it was a pleasant evening dining out eating foods and drinking cocktails that isn't easily made at home. It's that exact aspect that Avalon has that makes the trip and price worth it.

If they ever add a vegetarian entre I will update my review or...