Naupaka Terrace — Restaurant in Kauai

Being expensive is not the same as being good. Went for dinner with my wife and was by far the most disappointing of any meal in my time in Kauai.

With the exception of the Crab bisque appetizer which was larger than I expected and dare I say almost divine. It was rich and creamy with small chunks of Snow crab. Frankly I should have stopped there and got an appetizer.

Instead appetizers I opted for the Shrimp and Grits and my wife the 5 spice Chicken. The plates were beautifully presented looking like I would expect a $30 plate of food. The portions were large. I had 5 huge Shrimp my wife a large half-chicken. Both plates were larger than they need to be. I really wish they would shrink the plates and focus on flavor.

Without going through a step-by-step of the two plates my final analysis, by a joke to my wife, the dishes did not elevate the basket ingredients. The 5 Spice Citrus Marinated Roasted Chicken lacked the crisp skin one would want from a good Roast, the marinade lacked citrus and most of all the 5 Spice was non existent. It tasted more like watered down teriyaki soaked chicken. The chicken was HUGE but besides that uninspired we left half the plate.

As for my dish I was excited to see Kauai'i sweet prawns paired with Portuguese sausage and creamy polenta. The shrimp were so big I was literally afraid for my life. At the end of it all the shrimp were sautéed and slathered with chili oil for flavor and one stuffed with garlic. The polenta a one-inch slice off the tube and maybe grilled as I could not tell. There was no creamy involved.

Having eaten lunch there as well my final analysis is they take good ingredients give a nice atmosphere, excellent staff, a dash of pomp, and healthy price-tag and hope that people won't notice. Now, that being said I have to say their restaurant is beautiful and the Staff kind and courteous, and...

They tried too hard to accomplish something that they are not. Food was completely blunt tasteless and nothing special at all. The focaccia was just a fluffy piece of bread served with terrible Olive oil and the sweetest balsamic glaze that you have ever tasted. Neither focaccia is supposed to be like that, nor olive oil taste like that or balsamic vinegar. The shrimp ceviche was nice as an idea, but was completely tasteless. There was no salt at all in it, and no citrus flavor at all. Ahi tuna was again lacking of salt and the portion was really small. The grilled vegetables that came with it where really good. Lamp chops again lacking of this something special that will make them pop. They serve you and the Cutler is wrapped in a napkin. Nowhere to place them other than on the table itself. Although I changed from fish to meat, I had to hold on to them and they were never changed. Also, the wine glass was being refilled and not changed to a fresh one. These are just small details that if you want to have a high class restaurant you need to take care of. You can't expect to charge five-star prices with one-star service. Don't get me wrong. It was not the server's fault. That's probably management 's directions. They should know better. For breakfast again the same. The eggs looked amazing but tasted like nothing lacking of flavor. Cappuccino was one of the worst that...

Poor service and food. A couple next to us was seated after us and the server went over to their table 4 times without anyone coming to our table. I finally had to go ask the hostess if a server could come to our table. The server comes to our table, does not apologize about the wait, and makes a comment about us only drinking water. He kept trying to push upgrades/ordering extra and was annoyed when we only wanted our two entrees. Garlic fries were supposed to come with my meal. There was no garlic or garlic flavor on the fries. I asked him about it and he tried to tell me there was garlic on the fries. I asked for a side of garlic fries which he brought out and you can clearly see the garlic on the fries, unlike the fries that came with my meal. We get the bill and there was an extra $4 charge for sauce. I had asked for the sauce that came on my sandwich on the side and a side of ketchup. That is ridiculous I would be charged for that. I pointed it out and he took it off the bill. My husband said the Red Snapper is the worst he has had. My $20 burger was not good, especially for that price. Just take the time to drive to a restaurant outside of the resort and...