The Bistro Eat. Drink. Connect. - Lihue

We stayed at the Royal Sonesta for a few days and while there, without fail, got at least 2 piña coladas every day. Honestly, and I'm not being hyperbolic, the piña coladas at Kukui's were the best I've ever had! The food too was on point for everything that we got... which we ended up eating there a lot either by the pool, at the restaurant, or via takeout in our hotel room. Our favorites were the dumplings, the flatbreads, and drinks, but honestly as I'm writing this I'm realizing that I liked all the food we got.. the wings were good, the salmon and shrimp entrees we got were well made, the teriyaki chicken sandwich was delicious, I enjoyed the taro burger, my bf enjoyed the tuna sandwich, really everything was good. The prices are steep ish but given that this is essentially a hotel restaurant and on an island, I don't think it's unreasonable. The taste, convenience, service, and the piña coladas !! more than made it worth it!

On our first night staying at the Royal Sonesta we knew we wanted to eat something deliciously and filling after our flight in from the mainland. Kukui's on Kalapaki Beach delivered on that desire as everything ordered was cooked to great flavor perfection. From the wing dings, to the sushi, to the prime rib... we throughly enjoyed each dish! The prices were steep but that's a given being in the resort but with the ambiance with live music. It was worth it! Mahalo, Kukuis!

My wife and I were staying at the Royal Sonesta, so decided to check out the in-house dining options at Kukui's had to offer. We walked down at about 8am on a Saturday and we're immediately seated close to the pool. Menu is via QR code only so keep that in mind if you don't have your phone. I ordered the Kalapaki breakfast wrap, my wife ordered the Hanalei Taro Benedict. Both were very good! Our waitress was very friendly. We talked story with her for a little bit and she graciously gave us a Kamaʻaina discount since we're from Oahu. My only complaint is our table had no protection from the morning sun. When the sun wasn't hiding behind the clouds, it would beam down, blinding us and making it uncomfortably hot. Many of the tables have umbrellas to stop this, unfortunately ours did not have one. All in all, a nice place to grab a bite if you're staying in the hotel. But where you sit, and time of day, may affect your dining comfort experience.

Went twice while visiting. Had fish both time and it was outstanding! My friend had chicken Caesar salad and it looked great. My husband said the burger was outstanding

Just paid $7 for literally one scoop of rice. The auntie in the front that helped me was really nice so I didn't want to make a big deal of it. But I feel pretty violated right now. If I can give zero stars I would.