Wishing Well Coffee & Tea — Restaurant in Kauai

I visited Wishing Well earlier today for a latte and was so impressed with the coffee that I decided to come back later in the day before heading back to my hotel on the other side of the island. Unfortunately, my second visit left me disappointed.

I ordered the exact same drink, but this time I was charged a different amount. After checking the receipt, I realized I was charged a $2 fee for requesting no ice. The cashier never mentioned this fee, and it is not listed anywhere in the shop, online, or on their menu (in fact - this SAME drink is currently listed on their menu in store at $10 with no ice). The only reason I asked for no ice was because I wanted to save the drink for the following day and didn’t want it watered down. I wasn’t trying to “get more coffee” by skipping ice — I simply liked the drink and wanted to enjoy it again before leaving Kaua’i.

I ended up paying $14 for one cup of coffee, which feels unreasonable and left me feeling taken advantage of. Their own website states:

“We wanted to create a space where locals could grab a coffee early before work, where kids could come hang out after school, and where visitors could slow down, get nourished, and enjoy the day.”

I honestly don’t know any locals who would pay $14 for a single cup of coffee. The coffee itself is good, but the principles behind hidden charges and unclear pricing are questionable. Unfortunately, the experience left me feeling like this is more of a tourist trap than a...

Pros: Lovely area the owner has created here, reminds me of some incredible South/Central America and SEA backpacker jaunts, but with the added bonus of various little food huts to grab what you want and have a hang. Food: Pretty presentation that is quite nice for the “gram”, if that’s your thing.

Cons: Most smoothie bowls are somewhere in the 80/20 or 70/30 regions for Base/topping ratio. Unfortunately if you veer outside for these it becomes a smoothie or a granola bowl. In the case of ours, it became a “Super Granola” bowl that was the first smoothie bowl to actually make my mouth dry and parched with a 5/95 base to topping ratio. I was digging for the smoothie base and when I found it, it was maybe 1/4” to 1/3” deep. The granola was alright, nothing to write home about and the rest of the raw ingredients were fine, and difficult to mess up. The cold brew tasted more like old cold coffee than the purpose of cold brew: a carefully selected coffee which typically owners go for a lower acidity, high in sugar for browning that tastes smooth and sweet on its own; but reacts well with fats in dairy. No notes to be had in this cuppa, and lacking the any sort of thick or creamy texture. Other establishments on the island are crushing the cold brew game though so I have hope they will step up their brew here!

Despite the rad atmosphere, the service was quite stagnant; especially compared to immediately available...

TLDR; Is it WORTH IT? For the mason jars, service and ambience. Yes. For a good cuppa coffee no.

I’m a sucker for mason jars; that’s what got me to try the place and I don’t mind paying a pretty penny for a good meal. When I went, the lines were not too long and options available for food were pretty decent. We had the daisy iced coffee and, the coco mocha. For both of them, there wasn’t enough taste of coffee and the ice made the drink way too watery (we went with the 24 ounce one). If you’re getting that, just add an extra shot and ask for less ice. The bowls were beautiful and delicious but, not worth the high price tag IMO. I’d probably not go back here for the coffee but, I would for the service and the atmosphere. The staff were happy to remake the drink for me, I just asked them to give me an extra shot and they happily obliged. I would pay for the mason jars themselves if they were little cheaper. If you are going there for the jars, I’d say get the iced ‘steamer’ or the herbal teas and you’ll be paying almost the same $ as...