JO2 (Kapa’a, Kauai)

This is my new favorite restaurant on Kauai. Every single thing we had was totally delicious, down to the bread and the ice tea. So with no further ado…

Passion guava martini, Cruzan guava rum, fresh lilikoi, lemon juice. For Mr A. I think I had just had a (strong) Mai Tai at the resort so I didn’t feel like another drink.

Korean beef appetizer

Ono ceviche Tahitian style with fresh coconut, coconut water foam

Seared ahi, Hokkaido scallop, combination with port Kauai vanilla sauce. This was Mr A’s first try of scallop. Sadly he is just not a scallop fan but at least the one he tried was world class.

Bamboo steamed Moi with Ponzu, spicy garlic sauce. Ms S ate half of this. Enough said.

Seared local beef filet, Port sauce. The deal was that Ms S and I would split the Moi and the Filet.

Valrhona chocolate cream brûlée, Espresso gelato. Somehow the ice cream on the flat serving plate did not melt too much. Maybe cause we scarfed it down too fast, lol.

Sadly, we did not get to try the “Sugar loaf white pineapple soup with Berry salad, island poha sorbet”, we should have gone for it. Only 3 growers on Kauai grow the Sugar loaf and if you are a fan of pineapple you owe it to yourself to try it. Much less acidic than the standard Dole pineapple, sweet and creamy, and tender – even the core is edible. Worth seeking out at Kauai farmers markets, one will cost you $15-18.

To be honest the pricing here is in line with other Kauai restaurants that are approximately Charthouse quality and sometimes less. This is a great value for almost Michelin star dining in my book. The service was excellent. This is my top pick for dining on Kauai.

Food: 5.0

Ambience: 4.5 (strip mall. The other thing I didn’t care for was that our table was directly in front of the main door.)

Service: 5.0

Value: 5.0 This is the experience that I feel is worth paying money for. No excuses quality and flavor.