Kauai, Hawaii
My husband and I got married at Kiahuna Plantation in Kauai in 2008 so Kauai has always been a special place for us. This trip in May, 2022 was our first trip with our son Ethan who is 3 years old. Last time we were here I was pregnant, and unfortunately not enjoying food as much at that time because of it. This trip was in celebration of my 40th birthday–a big vacation for a big birthday! This was also my first vacation since my celiac diagnosis so of course my dining options were fairly limited unlike in the past, but, I found that Kauai was pretty gluten-free friendly and restaurant workers seemed to know right away what gluten-free offerings they had available and a couple servers even asked if I had celiac. We found some delicious gluten-free food while in Kauai. Keep reading to find out what I ate….
Koloa Fish Market
It’s hard to describe just how delicious fresh poke in Hawaii really is. Koloa Fish Market in Koloa is a very popular poke destination in the area–prepare to wait in line–but it is truly delicious, considered the best by many, and worth the wait. There are two pokes and two sides that are GF and I had all of them. A small bowl gives you 1 poke and 2 sides, a medium give you 2 pokes and 2 sides, all come with your choice of rice.
Below is the Avocado Ahi Poke and Spicy Ahi Poke with rice, cucumber namasu (salad), and Lomi Salmon Salad which is similar to a pico de gallo but with small, diced salmon poke added. The only GF sauce was Wasabi Cream and I’m not a wasabi fan so i skipped it, but the pokes were so creamy the sauce topping wasn’t necessary. In the other side of my takeout box is Haupia Pudding, a coconut pudding often seen at Luaus that is naturally GF. It’s made from only coconut, sugar and cornstarch. Delicious! I miss this place already.
The Spicy Ahi Poke with rice, cucumber namasu (salad), and Lomi Salmon Salad. I loved that there were onions in this poke!
Eating House 1849
In the past, my favorite restaurant in the entire world was Roy’s in Kauai, located across the street from Kiahuna Plantation, and there are other Roy’s locations around the US still to this day. The Roy’s at Poipu Village Shopping Center in Kauai moved to The Shops at Kukui’ula and became Eating House 1849 by Roy Yamaguchi. My favorite restaurant still exists, but is slightly different now that it’s Eating House 1849. Eating House (and Roy’s) give the table a small bowl of flavored edamame that are SO delicious but unfortunately not GF as they have soy sauce. I make a version at home that is VERY close to the original and my version has always been GF. (Recipe coming soon!) Only a couple menu items were GF so I ordered both:
Sizzling Ribeye Tataki – Ho Farms Cherry Tomatoes, Shiitake Mushrooms, Orange Yuzu Soy
This was even more delicious than it looked! The Orange Yuzu Soy sauce was SO delicious and the thinly-sliced ribeye ended up cooking to perfection in this sizzling hot cast iron skillet. I added a little bit of Ethan’s rice to soak up the extra sauce at the bottom. I don’t usually want steak when I’m on vacation in Hawaii, for me it’s always seafood every day, but this was absolutely worth it.
Kamuela Farms Tomato & Mozzarella Cheese Salad – Arugula, Balsamic Pancetta Vinaigrette, Pine Nuts
Delicious but I always wish there were more toppings on restaurant salads! I’m a big fan of arugula so this was fresh and tasty, just needed a bit more dressing. I wish I hadn’t been moving when I took this picture, haha! I must have been excited to eat.
Keoki's Paradise
Keoki’s Paradise, across the street from Kiahuna Plantation in the Poipu Village Shopping Center is where we had our wedding dinner. It’s a large, open-air restaurant with a beautiful water feature flowing throughout with small waterfalls. Some nights feature live music. Keoki’s is another restaurant with only a couple GF options, one being the Seafood Risotto, but it was so delicious we came back two nights later so I could eat the same thing, haha! The photo doesn’t do it justice. The risotto was creamy, flavorful and had perfectly cooked fish, shrimp and lobster, shittake mushrooms and spinach. I also tried the kale salad which was full-grown kale that was lightly dressed. In my opinion, full grown kale should be massaged to soften the thick, hearty leaves. These had not been massaged and were too thick and tough for a salad. It’s a lot of chewing! This reminds me, I need to share my favorite kale salad recipe.
Keoki’s is worth the wait and worth the trip for ambiance, food and cocktails.
Little Fish Coffee
Across the street from Kiahuna Plantation at the entrance to the Poipu Athletic Club, a cute little teal blue shack called Little Fish Coffee serves up delicious acai bowls, coffee drinks, and other breakfast and lunch items. Though this is not 100% GF much of their menu is GF with special coffee drinks, smoothies, fruit bowls and acai bowls. I ordered my acai bowl sans granola since I wasn’t sure if it was made from GF oats or not. This is another long line food place but worth the wait. I need more acai bowls in my life!
Below is Shippy’s Bowl which is an acai smoothie topped with pineapple, Greek yogurt, banana, coconut condensed milk and coconut flakes. This is without the granola.
I also ordered my standard iced latte which was delicious. There are so many other fantastic menu items that I need to try next time I’m in Kauai.
Tiki Tacos
Tiki Tacos is location in Kapa’a on the main road through town. This gluten-free local taco shack is popular with locals and tourists. They make their own tortillas and there is no flour in any of their products making the whole restaurant 100% gluten free! The tacos are HUGE! In this photo below, that is one taco with a giant scoop of guac on top. That is the Best Fish Taco and above are the Kalua Pig and Paniolo Beef Steak tacos. It’s an extra charge for salsa and guacamole to be added to the tacos but I recommend it. Check out their menu below.
Naupaka Terrace
The last two nights of our trip we stayed at Kauai Beach Villas in Lihue. It was nice but it wasn’t Kiahuna. We just love Kiahuna Plantation and the Poipu area so much. It’s the only area we’ve ever stayed in. The resort next door to Kauai Beach Villas is Kauai Beach Resort & Spa so we walked over there for dinner at Naupaka Terrace two nights in a row. We sat on the patio overlooking the koi pond, pool and the ocean. It was beautiful and the restaurant had quite a few GF menu items! The first night I ordered the locally-sourced catch of the day which was a type of marlin with ginger-kaffir beurre blanc, jasmine rice, sugar snap peas and pineapple salsa. Delicious! The next night I ordered the Thyme Citrus Marinated Roasted Chicken. Also delicious and served with a roasted smashed potato and buttery green beans with grape tomatoes.
