Pau Hana Grill and Bar

Looks like they have closed, too bad, we were looking forward to the fish & chips tonight!

The food here is phenomenal! Hands down best fish and chips I have ever had. Friendly and prompt service; very welcoming. I’d recommend this to anybody who visits the island!

Food greasy and cold. Place needs a good cleaning. Very disappointed. Choose somewhere else.

On our first day in Kauai we went to Pau Hana. We made it for lunch time. It was nothing fancy just plain and simple. We ordered the appetizer platter with onion rings, chicken dings and fried won tons. They were out of the fried calamari which my wife wanted. Not bad, the wings were battered a little too thick for me but I think this was an already pre-​made type of deal. The won tons were good just had to ask for the sweet chili sauce. My wife had the fish and chips and I ordered a steak sandwich. The fish and chips were pretty good, a little too much batter for me but really fresh. Now I was told by the waitress they were known for their seafood so when I say the steak was less than thrilling I do know that if I order a steak I shouldn’t expect a Delmonico’s steak. The steak was rather bland and a little chewy but OK. I had a margarita on the rocks which was not the best I’ve had but not a watered down version either. We finally had the apple lumpia which was surprising good. They came out pipping hot with whipped cream. I very good dessert. Next time I need to try the fish dishes and give another critique but I must admit I will probably be trying other places before I get back to this one.

Amazing Fish’n’Chips! Fries are nice, and burger is good, but the Fish — OMG!
Also had a virgin Lava Flow which was VERY refreshing :-) fun!

Food was alright, except for the French fries which were way too greasy. The cook did not look professional at all; in fact she looked and acted like a drug user, which was my biggest concern given that she was handling our food. Do not recommend.

BEST FISH AND CHIPS I’ve EVER HAD!!! And i really don’t like deep fried foods; im more of a healthy, well-​balanced food kind of guy. But this… THIS… I also come from Eastern Europe so I’ve had my share of tartar sauce, but the stuff they have here is unbelievable, and just weird enough to go with mahi mahi. One of the best meals on the island. And the fish tacos are amazing as well.

Pick this place for the hole in the wall atmosphere. Ordered burgers which were good. The barmaid/​server was short on people skills when we came in and sit down. Food was good and beer was cold. Football on the TV

This place had ok food but the bartender was rude and when I told him his pepsi syrup seemed low he just tasted it himself and he said well I don’t think the taste has changed. He didn’t even offer me a different drink or anything. This is the type of service makes people like me, with social anxiety, not say anything about what’s wrong with our food and drinks when they make a mistake. My boyfriend was the one who pushed me to say something since because he’s worked in food service and he said he should be accommodating.
And it didn’t get any better. It was awkward and he took forever to clear our plates. And I usually wouldn’t mind if it was busy but we were one table out of two in the whole place but our server was too busy chatting with the cook and watching the game. Not to mention the cook had come out just to complain about the fact that I didn’t eat the veggies on my burger, I don’t think she realised that I could hear her but I did. Sometimes I forget to ask for nno veggies and the fact that she was complaining out loud in the middle of the bar pissed me off.
And since he took forever to bring the check and never came to pick it up I was lucky to have enough cash to just throw it on the table and leave. I usually like dive bars but this one SUCKED

Some reviewers have mentioned a smoky dining room or surly staff. I’ve gone twice: once in 2013 and once in 2015. Both times were around the lunch hour, so maybe that’s the trick to having a better experience? All I know is that we’ve had no problems here. The service was fast and friendly on both visits, and we were one of maybe three parties in the whole place.
On both trips, I got the fish and chips; my wife got the fish tacos. Both were great. It was one of the first places we went on our return trip to Kauai, and it didn’t disappoint.
We got drinks on our first visit, but not the second. For a touristy area, our tropical drinks weren’t expensive or stingy.
If there’s a low point, maybe it’s the décor? Things are a little faded and dated inside, but it honestly didn’t matter once the meal arrived: the food stole the show for us. It was all we could have hoped for in Hawaiian pub food!

Fish and chips are the best. ventilation a problem as when the food is being cooked it gets super smokey and the ac is not that strong.

Nothing positive to say about my experience here. Ordered a burger and Chicken Caesar salad and the servers response was «you do know we are known for fish» I should’ve taken that as a sign to leave instead I saw it as a lame attempt of him trying to have a sense of humor. Maybe the fish is better. The chicken tasted like it could’ve been Tyson’s frozen grilled chicken, the lettuce was wilted, and the dressing was bland. I left it basically untouched (other then the disguising bite I ate from it) and he never bothered asking how was it or if I wanted a to go box. Just lost local repeat service. I’d recommend walking across the parking lot to 9^th island for better service and food, which was our original plan they just didn’t have available seating and we were short on time so we figured we’d give this place a try.

They have good pupu special which has three pupus and is cheaper than getting one or two by themselves.
Kind of small, but a decent size for the place. Located in the same shopping center as Safeway. It faces towards the mountains.
Good place for a pau hana beer or a quick lunch if you have to work.

I’ve found Kauai restaurant Unilocal reviews are very unreliable. I’m not sure if the melting pot of visitors that come here translates to so many different taste preferences that it is throwing the usual reliability off or what. At any rate, Unilocal has let us down numerous times during our visit and this one was the worst one.
It’s a dive bar. Plain and simple. And not the good kind of secret hole-​in-​the-​wall you want to be adventurous about to reap the delicious and inexpensive rewards from.
The food was okay to decent. Not at all sure where people are getting the «best fish and chips ever» impression. The batter was much too thick for my preference and it came out only warm.
What compelled me to break down and write a low review was the total price for this setting especially with the quality and kind of food they are selling (the greatest cost at about 13 dollars a plate). It’s completely off point. A 40+ dollar bill for smallish to medium portions, a very sad looking ahi tuna sandwich for my husband, fish and chips for me and two drinks. The day before we were just a street down and had much better fish sandwiches/​fries, drinks, service and ambiance for only about 10 dollars extra at another restaurant (and it had bad Unilocal reviews!).
Pass on this one or decide to try for yourself without any high expectations going in.

Do not judge this place on appearance!?! The food is pretty darn good.
Chicken wings were okay, fish & chips… fantastic, well, the fish anyways. I was too full to eat the rest. Large fish portion, tasty, moist, overall I was very happy.
Enjoy!

Pau Hana isn’t exactly a dive bar, it’s dark yes, but it’s not terrible at all. Don’t go there and expect to see a touristy place. We were greeted by our server and told to sit wherever we want… good start. We grabbed a drink menu and ordered a few touristy tropical drinks. They tasted really good, but the pour was a little weak. Of course, I have to admit, I always pour heavy myself. The other thing that did not impress me was the table itself. We were in a booth and I was wearing a white shirt. When I left, I realized the edge of the table wasn’t clean and I had a few nice stripes on the front of my shirt where I leaned against the table.
What impressed me most was the food. The lady who cooked up our dinner works in a tiny spot but the food was quick, hot and very well prepared. I really admire her skill in making good food in such tight quarters. Also, everyone we spoke to in the place was very friendly. That was nice. Overall, this is a 3.5 rounded up to 4.
Will I be back, sure I will.

Convinced hubs to try again on our 2^nd trip out. We didn’t regret it.
Yes, it’s divey. The carpet is long overdue for a replacement, the booth I was sitting in was kinda wobbly. Things like this don’t bother me. They had AC this time, so that was a bonus.
We were taken care of by a very kind woman with flowers in her hair. We never had to ask for anything. Plenty of water refills, and she checked on us just enough during our meal.
Husband was more pleased with the fish (Mahi mahi) and chips (really good waffle fries) than he was with the burger he got last time (he said the burger tasted like a frozen patty that was slapped on the grill… pretty mediocre). I got the fresh greens topped with grilled Ono and papaya seed dressing just as I did last time and it was delicious. I could eat that salad every day. I’m not kidding.
We also tried the apple lumpia… it was good. Not blow your mind delicious, but if you want a fried apple dessert go for it. Could easily be shared between 3 – 4 people though… huge portion.

The 4-​star Unilocal average led us here, but it turned out to be a mistake — very disappointing and not at all comparable to a 4-​star Unilocal rating in Seattle.
The «Super Caesar» salad was overdressed — drenched in dressing and soggy lettuce because of that. The next day I had pretty bad stomach indigestion, and suspected some mild food poisoning, since a Caesar doesn’t usually bother me.
The mixed drinks were very sweet — the mango margarita didn’t taste like a margarita, more like a sweet juice mix you might buy premade at a grocery store.
The prices are good, but with so many other good food joints in the area we would have rather gone elsewhere.

Great fries, good burger and fish n chips, ok service. They were really busy for two people running around. Fun sports bar atmosphere.
Wanted the apple lumpia really bad but the server didn’t check on us for about 20 minutes after we finished eating. Glad we waited, lumpia was good.

Nice little dive bar tucked away in the Safeway plaza across the street from the Waipouli Beach Resort. Don’t let the location or the look of the exterior stop you from coming here.
Our server was very friendly. We tried the fish and chips and the pupu steak. The fish was fresh Ono that were nice thick pieces with a slightly sweet flavor. The steak was tender, flavorful and juicy. The Mai Tai looked really good but it only tasted ok. It had a pinkish hue instead of yellow so the fruit used was different than I am used to.
They only have two beer taps and they just got them the day we were there. They do have several bottled beer selections to choose from.
Don’t forget to check out the bills stuck to the ceiling and ask your server about the story behind them.