Lihue Barbecue Inn
2982 Kress St, Lihue, HI, 96766
Lihue Barbecue Inn Menu
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Address :
2982 Kress St
Lihue, HI, 96766 - Phone (808) 245-2921
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Opening Hours
- Mon :8:00 am - 1:3
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Street
Bike Parking : No
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
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Steven G.
This is a restaurant that cares about the quality and taste of its food as well as the satisfaction of its diners. It has been around since the 1940's. This place is on a side street across from a Salvation Army building. It is worth finding it. Most items on the menu are full meals. Included are salad, soup, bread, a side order and dessert. The prices are quite reasonable anywhere, but especially in expensive Hawaii. First, the bread is baked homemade by the owner and tastes delightful. My wife asked for another two slices of the bread and we each received an extra helping at no charge. My entree was chicken katsu. The chicken was somewhat small but tasted good and was a good value, combined with everything else that was included. This was a lunch order, not a dinner order. My wife had fried shrimp and seared ahi and thought it was good. I had fried rice, as a side order and it was all right. Maybe a bit below average. My wife had miso soup and it tasted very good. My beef soup was also good. Additionally, I ordered a side of French fries and considered them a bit above average. For dessert, had a good size slice of chocolate cream pie. Yummy. It was good. Wish I bought a glass of milk with it. This is not a problem for me because I eat food luke warm, but most of my food came out of the kitchen warm, not hot. I am not used to being able to eat without a wait for the food to cool. The waitress was warm and helped us by guiding us through the menu for the best meal that we could have. As I said, for Hawaii, this place had good prices and good tasting food. They take Master Card and Visa but not my Discover Card.
(4)Lan E.
Love this family owned business. Small diner like restaurant. Most meals come with bread, choice of soup or fruit cup and dessert after the meal. Very good deal for the price you're paying. Friendly staff and very small town feel. Their calamari is a great starter. See my pic. Crispy and tasty. Dinner specials vary day by day. Don't ask me for a favorite theres lots to choose from. Heres a tip: listen to fm97 (96.9 on the fm dial) around 7:30am on weekdays. Win the daily contest and get a gift certificate to eat here. Such a great deal! Certificate almost covers the price of most meals.
(4)Lauri Y.
My favorites are their fried chicken, spaghetti, chicken tofu, japanese style teri meat, or chicken with watercress and noodles. Homemade bread and desserts! For Valentine's Day, I tried the blueberry cream cheese pie and it was amazing! Their homemade soups are tasty including corn chowder, vegetable and miso soup. Breakfast and lunch are also very good. Opens at 8:00 am for breakfast.
(5)Anita L.
= RESTAURANT THAT CAN FEED THE HUNGRY FAMILY = You don't have to worry about paying big bucks and leaving a restaurant empty stomach anymore, because LIHUE BARBECUE INN will stuff you with quality local food for a small price. Like I said, this is a local
(4)Rayna P.
Couldn't eat my food. Our meat was not good quality. The sauces taste like generic bottled stuff you buy from the grocery store. The salad that comes with the meal consists of about a cup of iceberg lettuce in a small dish with dressing. Maybe it's just what we ordered but it was really disgusting. Prices were ok for the island, but even if it's only $11 - if I can't eat it - it's still $11 down the drain. Period. Of course, we left a tip, we always leave a good tip. I appreciate hard work (it took a lot of hard work to make the $11 in the first place), but I also appreciate good food.
(1)Alex S.
....a good old Hawaiian style diner! We ordered a Ahi salad.....fresh and awesome....the meals are reasonably priced.....its a very good place!
(4)Ana S.
The service is very good and attentive. My BF & I shared 2 platters. The Panko Mahi & the mixed plate (kalua pork with cabbage & teriyaki chicken) the chicken had skin on so wasn't my favorite but the flavor was good. They give u plenty of food...plus comes with dessert? Or they gave us coconut cream pie & apple cobbler. If you want a quick bite and local food...this is the place
(4)Lindsey S.
Barbecue Inn is Kauai's version of a diner and I love it! Almost all of the meals are served with soup or fresh fruit, a small salad, AND PIE!!! PIE!!! And not just pie but good pie, I usually get the chocolate banana! The staff here have been here for a while and are friendly and quick, the food is local and well priced, and if I didn't say it before I love the pie :)
(5)Jamie L.
I love this place. We ate here 3 times on our visit to Kauai. Casual diner where you can get great food, and the service was always excellent. My favorite dish was the teriyaki meat. The pies were so delicious! Order the macadamia pie! SO good!
(5)Jin P.
If I could give 0 star, I would've gave this awful restaurant 0 star. I was on vacation in Kauai island looking for a good Hawaiian restaurant to dine in. Found this place on Google and decided to give it a try. And yes, I have read other yelp reviews before our visit. I saw this yelp review that mentioned about if you are not local, you don't get good service/good quality food and thought to myself, maybe that yelper just went there and got unlucky with their orders. WHAT A MISTAKE!!! I still beat myself for not believing what she said. Service was okay until we complained of how awful our foods were. After our complaints, it got worse. Maybe waitresses here never heard of "service recovery". I ordered chicken Katsu. Portion was tiny-not small but tiny. I don't eat much but wow, there were barely anything to eat on my plate. And on top of that, my katsu were burnt on the edge. Looked like they recycled pre fried Katsu instead of making me a fresh new katsu. My bf ordered this combo plate that came with fried chicken, bbq ribs and fried shrimp which was not edible. Bbq ribs had 90% bone/cartilage and 10% meat. Fried chicken was 95% fat 5% meat. I am not exaggerating btw. 3 pieces of small fried shrimps were only things that were somewhat decent. Oh, before he ordered his plate, our waitress confirmed that fried chicken was breast meat and his chicken still came out like that! Of course we complained. I almost didn't say anything because I did not want to ruin our vacation but I could not bear not saying anything about my bf's dish. Waitress apologized and offered to take one meal off the check. Now what gets me really upset is that she did not bother to offer desserts that were included with our meals. She wanted us out asap and that was it. At that point, we were upset, we just left. I left 15%tip (for 2 meals) and my bf who usually is a big tipper was bothered that I left any tip. Service and quality of food was THAT BAD.
(1)Jenn K.
Came here on a recent visit to Kauai. Good restaurant for families to dine at. Looking at the menu, I couldn't resist the temptation to order Da Stacker (hamburger with bbq pulled pork, bacon, coleslaw, fried onions, cheese). For dessert I ordered the mint chocolate ice cream pie. Great comfort food.
(4)Marcelino M.
Awesome.
(4)Cheryl K.
Horrible service, horrible food I am a chef and found a hair in my food. The cleanliness of the establishment is not up to par. There is nothing actually barbaqued there on a real bbq.
(1)Dee B.
Came to eat twice here while on a one day weekend trip to Kauai. I was expecting a barbecue kinda place due to the restaurant name and was surprised to see that the it was a plate lunch/dinner set up. Blame me for being a Singaporean coz we always associate places with what's displayed on the signage ; ) However, they did not disappoint for both my meals I had there. My beloved Buddy was extra nice and had in fact did some homework on the best places to eat prior to the trip. We started out with dinner and it was comforting to see as you enter that the place was busy with locals. For me that is a major gauge on how well established and eatery is. I had a teri steak and it comes with either a salad or soup, mac salad or mashed potatoes and a dessert. And I went to have the garlic mashed potatoes and salad. The portion was huge compared to back home and it was all for $12.95. Everything that I had on the plate was so YUM!!! And the macadamia cream pie was the thing that sealed the DEAL! It was sooooo onolicious! I loved dessert but I don't fancy those that are so cloyingly sweet. This was just the right amount of everything. At the end of my meal everything on the plate was so clean I think they could just wiped off the plates if that was LEGAL! Lol.. The next day we were back again for lunch and I went for chicken teriyaki although I badly wanted to have that teri steak for the second time. Which I slightly regretted although the meal was satisfying. This time I had the coconut cream pie and it has become my second favorite dessert. I wish I can go to Kauai again unfortunately but this will be the last. However, I will recommend this little gem to anyone who wishes to eat local food with da locals!!!
(4)Joy S.
What a great find. Enjoyed some beer around the corner and went looking for BBQ, and found this place. We all had Japanese plate dinners (teriyaki beef and katsu chicken for me) and it was so good. Includes miso, salad, rice and you can get many varieties of cream pies for dessert. Service was cheerful and attentive. Will definitely go back for more.
(5)Dn Andrew A.
Wonderful family restaurant in Lihue. From the outside it is easy to miss in an industrial part of town bit it is worth finding. Family owned. Local favorite. Kalua Pork with cabbage was awesome. Also had Korean Chicken which was very good. Comes with soup, salad and homemade pie.
(4)Serenity G.
Family friendly and delicious food. This is one of our favorite family restaurants to visit every time we visit Kauai.
(5)Martin F.
Good food with average portions. it has a lot of locals - friendly servers, the fried rice was simply amazing!
(3)Dodie E.
The first day we ate here, we ordered take-out and brought 2 sandwiches and one mixed plate back to the beach: the mahi-mahi sandwich with fries, the terakayi steak sandwich and the mixed plate which consisted of chicken and fish with coleslaw. This was some of the best local food I've had. The food was so tasty, we went back the next day for a sit-down lunch. We ordered various sandwiches, a mushroom burger, chicken and again, we very pleased. The lunches came with dessert which was home-made pies and they were incredible! Chocolate, mac-nut, coconut and some choco mix. The crust was absolutely fabulous! I could have eaten a whole pie, and I'm not a big pie freak.
(4)Anna Y.
After hearing their ads on the radio recently, I finally decided to give this place a try on one of my Fun Lunch Thursdays. Greeted by some welcomed air conditioning, we were told to pick a seat wherever we liked. I went with the local plate, which had fried chicken, sweet sour spare ribs, shrimp, mac and toss salad, also came with a choice of miso soup/ saimin soup / fruit cup, and also dessert jello/pie. I opted for the saimin soup at first, but then asked what was in the fruit cup, and was shocked with surprise when they told me: sweetsop, star fruit, apple, kiwi, papaya, mango, orange, and plum. WHAT!? SOLD. Wow, best fruit cup ever! My local plate was good, what you expect to get from fried chicken and shrimp and sweet sour spare ribs. For dessert, the waitress suggested the peanut butter cream pie. Now, I'm not really sure what kind of cream they use, it might be a whipped cream substitute, but it was shinier than cool whip. It was rich for my taste, so next time I'm going to ask if I can get another one of those FANTASTIC FRUIT CUPS. Try this place! On Kress street before Hamura's (which IMO is really not worth the hype it gets.)
(4)Elizabeth F.
Not a big crowd... But very friendly waitress. Lets see how it taste. (I've since eaten here and it was yummy. Nice and peaceful off a side road main road in Lihue.
(4)Sophia S.
Ummmm...support local business owners? The service was great and I think they're serving up what some people want. Home style cooking by your untrained aunt or something like that. Boxed mashed potatoes and bland, beige overcooked food. The pictures posted by others look a lot better than what we got so maybe we ordered the wrong things?
(2)Cassie P.
Yes. Dinner for a big group - Yes. This place does that great. Great menu, yummy food, big portions, comfortable setting where you're not afraid to bring the kids. We stuck to the Japanese plates, and were not disappointed by the piles of tempura and katsu. No room for dessert. Good job, Bbq Inn. :-)
(4)Gopher I.
Oooh...this place was good! I had the mushroom burger - home made hamburger patty, topped with sauteed mushrooms, with their special sauce, lettuce, tomato, and onion, plus a load of crispy fries...YUM! What I didn't expect but happily appreciated was the option of having soup, salad, or fruit; as well as a dessert; plus, bread and butter! Now, that was a good meal worth every penny. I am putting this restaurant on my have-to's list for Kauai. Which is good because I'm down a couple after this round, so picking up new places to go to is a highlight! Stop by if you're in the area, and bring your appetite!
(4)Anna F.
This gets four stars for value and authenticity. This is not tourist attraction. It's on a little side street in downtown Lihue around the corner from the Goodwill where you can get good beach read books for a quarter a piece. The food is simple and delicious, and for Kauai - downright reasonable. Last meal we had the daily salad with sesame encrusted grilled ahi and papaya dressing and it was delicious and generous. A friend had a great BLT and the fries are great. You can get a Hawaiian plate lunch, spaghetti, or a dandy sandwich. You can't go wrong here for good food and a slice of local color. If you're in the islands for resort life and fake luaus, don't come here.
(4)Chad Y.
Lihue BBQ Inn is the local establishment where you know you won't be disappointed and at the same time you won't be wow'ed. It is consistent, offers good food, good service, and all in all a good dining experience. The menu is certainly diverse and will please a wide ranging palate. Whether you want an entree salad, a Japanese-style teishoku, or perhaps just pasta, the menu will feature it. While most of the menu items are what you come to expect, I have to say, their Lilikoi Vinaigrette dressing is really quite impressive and what would keep me coming back. It offers just the right amount of sweet and savory to complement the saltier meats and fares of their salads. It just is the right combination. Service is good with the wait staff being fairly attentive and knowledgeable about their menu. You won't get warm and cuddly like you might at other establishments, however at the same time you won't be whining about the lack of attention either. Ambiance is certainly lacking, however it makes up for it in character. You have to keep in mind that this is a local establishment that has done minor things here and there to keep it fresh, but not a mind-blowing redesign that will impress your date. Prices are rather reasonable with most items in the $10-15 range per person. Parking can be the one pain, since it is street only and Hamura's Saimin is nearby. You just might be in for a block or so walk, so plan accordingly. All in all, it is a good meal option if you are in Lihue and if you want that local homestyle food that won't disappoint and will fill your belly and make you go "I'm happy."
(3)Jennifer D.
I love this place. The food is good and the meals have a lot included. It isn't a fancy smancy impressive Zagat rated type restaurant, but it is a relaxed family-run restaurant. They serve a wide variety local food, Japanese, and American food with a fresh list of specials every day from Chef Ruven. Rapper Fabolous says, "Stick wit'cha entree and get over your side," but I'd have to disagree with Mr. Fabolous on this one. I always have fun when meals have lots of included goodies and sides. I often think that the sides make the more of the meal than the entree itself. Most of the meals include your choice of coffee or iced tea, fruit cup or soup, and dessert. What more could you want??? I think the highlights were the fruit cup and the dessert. The fruit cup has an awesome mixture of fresh local fruits. Today I had sunrise papaya, banana, watermelon, lychee, cantalope, and a mystery fruit (my guess is a mountain apple). The homemade cream pies for dessert are so perfect. I love the crumbly crust. For my dinner I got the chicken cutlet with brown gravy, my usual here. My mom and brother are fans of the spaghetti. It isn't like your usual Italian spaghetti. The meatsauce is slightly sweet. My dad got the sweet and sour ribs, which I heard were good. Chicken cutlet: yelp.com/biz_photos/rK2o… Spaghetti: yelp.com/biz_photos/rK2o… I really don't know why this place got bad reviews. You come to Lihue BBQ Inn for the local food and local ambiance. You can go to a metropolitan city for your foi gras and cosmos. Remember that you are on Kauai and not in New York. All I can say is that the food is consistently delicious year after year and I'll be back ready for my exotic fruits and pie!
(4)Sue W.
Had the Ahi Caesar Salad. Very good. The homemade bread, vegetable soup and coconut cream pie were good too. Ahi was cooked perfectly to my taste. Very good service. Nice to have soup and dessert included in the meal!
(4)Nali M.
i have been coming to lihue barbecue inn since i can remember. they've been open since 1940 and have been doing a great job ever since. this is a small family run restaurant, where the staff is friendly and kind. the owners oversee the entire operation, making sure that the quality of service and food is always good. recently, they have updated their menu to hawaiian fusion. it's really great, at a reasonable price. one dish i can always count on is the hamburger steak. it's sooooo good. did i mention that with every (american style) meal, you get a small soup, salad, choice of hot tea or iced tea AND dessert?! (japanese style comes with miso soup and tsukemono) there aren't many places around these days where you can get an entire meal for one price! next time you're in lihue, stop over on kress street and check them out! open for breakfast, lunch and dinner monday - saturday!
(5)Kristin W.
Omg, I haven't been here in ages. I used to go all the time growing up. The food is good. Good variety. At one point they had a new chef and the food was fancier. Lol. Service is great, staff is friendly and I swear they've all been working there FOREVER. They have tons of pies. My dad always had to have one. Cream pies. Banana cream, this cream, that cream pie.
(4)Jocy C.
We got the Kalua pork and cabbage and the Mahi Mahi dish. It was fantastic. Kalua Pork - yelp.com/biz_photos/rK2o… Mahi mahi - yelp.com/biz_photos/rK2o…
(4)Sarah M.
I need to preface this review by saying that the people who work here are some of the nicest people I have ever encountered and I almost feel guilty giving this place a bad review. They were so nice that when I didn't eat my meal, I wanted to give it to a dog under the table or hide it in a plant just so that they wouldn't feel bad. That being said, perhaps we ordered poorly but the food was unimpressive. It was one of our most expensive meals although it included many courses; the meals included a non-alcoholic drink, fruit/salad/or soup, a main dish, and dessert. My husband had a fruit dish which included maybe 3 pieces of fruit cut in half - most of which were bruised. The salads were pretty dinky. I think I had the best appetizer which was the soup of the day. Win. For drinks, we had a choice of different types of tea. The options were Lipton Black or green tea. The green tea was really good but the Lipton was, well, Lipton. For our main courses, I had chicken and tofu with rice, my Dad had the ahi tuna, my Mom and husband had fettuccine with creamy sauce and shrimp, (I can't for the life of me remember the name) and my brother thought he ordered a beef brochette but ended up with shrimp too. The tofu in mine was could but I couldn't touch the rest - it had some odd parts of the chicken that I couldn't identify so I had to pass. My Mom and husband didn't eats theirs either although I'm not sure why you'd order Italian at an Asian-run restaurant. My Dad's tuna was overcooked and my brother who doesn't eat seafood ended up with shrimp. For dessert, we all had pie...I'm not a dessert person so I automatically didn't eat mine. My brother liked his jello and everyone at their pies but not sure if they really enjoyed them or not. I think everyone was just hungry by the end. We had high hopes for this place because it was reviewed in every guide book...I think we just didn't order right because from other reviews that I read, it looks like people had good experiences here. Sadly, it just wasn't for us.
(2)Norm G.
THE GOOD: 1. The kalua pork and cabbage. 2. The fact that there appear to be mostly local, unpretentious diners in there with their kids. 3. The absence of high-maintenance, ordering off the menu, scrunching their noses in disdain types that are more ubiquitous in the Princeville area. THE NOT SO GOOD: 1. My dear wife eating a third of her oxtail soup, and then discovering the approximately 3/4 inch cockroach in the broth. (Fortunately, it was dead, and was not doing the backstroke!) 2. When my wife quietly pointed it out to the waitress, so as not to have any other patrons hear, there were no words of apology from the waitress. THE RECOVERY: Wife ordered what I had (kalua pork and cabbage) and discovered no roaches. THE WISH UNFULFILLED: The meal was not "comped," but then we were not eating at a swanky place in Poipu or Princeville, either. THE REDEMPTION: My wife was a lot nicer about it than some of those high-maintenance types in Princeville probably would have been. Just another reason why I married her! And, I think she still loves me, although I was the one who talked her into trying out this place.
(2)SoCal G.
My husband and I ate at the Lihue BBQ Inn twice during our vacation to Kauai. Both times I got the teriyaki chicken plate and my husband got the fish. Whatever that sauce is on the chicken....YUM!!!!! And the chocolate cream pie for dessert is the perfect ending to a very good meal.
(4)Aimee A.
came here because fodor's guide recommended it. staff was very nice and attentive, service was fast. I ordered the dinner plate which included chicken, pork and shrimp for 15 dollars. I was not impressed with this main dish. turkey joop soup and choco banana cream pie dessert which is included was pretty good. if I had to go back, I would not get the dinner plate.
(3)Conny F.
Outstanding local food. Great service: friendly and knowledgable and fast! We had the teriyaki beef kebob and riblets and the mac nut crusted ahi salad. The pies were out of this world, thank god for small slices with light and fluffy cream filling. It's a very unpretentious spot with 99% locals in a small side street. I can highly recommend this little gem!
(5)Ray D.
Important that expectations be correctly set before you go. Great food, good service, friendly family atmosphere, very attractive prices (for the Islands), varied menu with something for everyone. They've been doing this since 1940 - wow!! BUT - imagine a Woolworth's lunch cafe inside a converted warehouse right next door to Salvation Army. There - now you have it. AND - this is critical - Barbecue Inn is NOT a BBQ place. I had the Macadamia Nut crusted Mahimahi. Only they were doing it with Ono tonight, but that's ok, because it was Wonderful and it was a huge amount of food - brought half home for dinner tomorrow. And it included Soup, Salad And Dessert for just $24. Wife had a grilled salmon that she loved too - same deal - dinner for her tomorrow also. Now - with eyes wide open - go forth and ENJOY!!
(4)Nicole T.
I would give this place no stars if I had the option. Every part of our meal was terrible. The fruit that my daughter ordered was old and mushy, the egg drop soup the rest of us had was as gray and flavorless as the bread they served us. I don't even know how you make flavorless bread! When the main courses came, I commented that it felt like we were eating at a horrible cafeteria. Three of us ordered chow mein that I cannot describe....it was that bad. It came with leathery bits of chicken in it and had some kind of deep fried (beyond the point of edible) pork on the side and fried rice that was oily and stale. We thought the pie that came with the meals would be the saving grace. It wasn't. I don't know how you make gray coconut pie, and I don't want to find out either! We left without finishing anything we ordered, including the pie. I don't know who wrote the good reviews about this place...friends and family of the owners maybe? Pass this joint by. Even a fast food burger would have been better!
(1)Ryan Y.
Visiting from Oahu, to Kauai, this was one of the places we ate during our lunch break. I found it funny that the waitresses knew we weren't from here, in fact when we sat down that was the first thing they asked us, where we were visiting from haha, probably because we were waiting to be seated when it was clearly open seating. The waitress was really friendly and kind. I ordered a hamburger steak. It was okay, nothing special, in fact i had to think a little bit when writing this review, because i couldn't remember what I ordered, so that just means it was mediocore. The meal came with choice of soup or salad or fruit, choice of tea, cofffee or iced tea, and dessert choices of pie ( all I remember was blueberry or peanut butter). My coworker got a paina sandwich, it looked goood and she said it was great. She also got the fruit with it, it was a wide variety of fruit which is good, like papaya and star fruit, etc. I got the soup which was regular miso soup. Like i said the meal was average, but the dessert was good. It was light but yet very tasty, I got the blueberry and another person got the peanutbutter. Both tasted great. I say its a great deal for everything. I would come back here. When I think about it, I am surprised I never kanaked that day with all that food.
(3)Bret J.
If you enjoy discovering hole-in-the-wall local restaurants, you are going to like Barbecue Inn. The decor is humble but the food is good (and a relative bargain on expensive Kaua'i). I was very impressed that they make everything from scratch - the bread they serve is bread they baked, the pie crusts are not premade (they're actually made from crumbled cookies), etc. The kalua pork and cabbage and also the grilled fish of the day are highly recommended.
(4)Rick S.
Went there tonight at around 8pm (thankfully still open, closes at 8:30pm). I had their special of the day (one of many), country fried steak ($17). It was very delicious. The coating was crispy and held up well with the gravy smothered on top. Maybe a little too salty, but nonetheless, good. Compared to Big City Diner on Oahu, I preferred this one. Portion size was too big for me to finish (same like BCD). Service was good until they brought out a teriyaki steak for me and we told them we didn't order that. They corrected the order and I had to wait several minutes while the rest of the family was enjoying their dinner. Overall, a good dining experience with friendly staff and extremely casual dress and dining. Will recommend to friends.
(4)Tobee V.
Don't eat here unless you know what to expect! If you do, then you will appreciate the extra fat (grease) on the ribs. i pass on the fat, but someone at the table will invariably eat it! you will also recognize the fried chicken cut chinese style, not turn your nose up at jello for dessert and salad w/miso dressing served up next to rice on your plate. it does sound gross to some, but to locals, it's comfort food. the service will not be the highlight of your vacation, but it's served up by people who are working their butts off to continue to afford to live in a place that has become "play land" for the West Coast and honeymooners. be kind and leave a tip if you go here. remember, not everyone can afford vacations for thousands of dollars and the workers here don't deserve to be insulted by those who expect one thing and are "shocked" or "horrified" when they get something else. iceberg lettuce is the norm for plate lunch not "mixed greens with balsamic dressing." $11 meal includes your drink and dessert, so it's not like it will cost you $20 to eat here. but, if you don't want pie or jello for dessert, don't eat here. so sorry to Norm about the cockaroach, that is nasty but good on your wife for not being a pretentious snob about it! i think you should have been comped, or you should have left, so it's nice you still gave 2-stars! to most: save your haughty expectations and honeymoon memories for Princeville and Poipu beach establishments where you will take pictures for your Christmas card! P.S. When you are ready to pay, walk up to the register by the kitchen and the old lady (probably the owner) will cash you out.
(3)Dan W.
This is a consensus review from four people. The Inn is a good solid local eatery that is well worth visiting for good, local, and inexpensive fare. The Kalua pork and cabbbage was tasty, if a bit salty. The Pepper Ahi was delicious, and generous portions too. Papaya salsa was good with it. Batter fried fish and chips, overdone and not distinctive. Stick with local dishes you won't find elsewhere. Like the Akuli (mackerel shad). Creme pies come with dinner, but two of us were too full to try. The other two liked the pies.
(3)Michael G.
The greatest local restaurant in Lihue. Both Grace & Eileen provided the best service (5 star). The food is great & very reasonable. I had the Local Specialty (Ahi tuna, Kalua pork, rice, salad & desert) for $18.95. My wife had the Yakitori & shrimp tempura. The homemade coconut cream pie was out of this world. This was our first dinner in Kauai & we will be back before we leave. You are missing out if you do not try this little bit of local heaven.
(5)achoo c.
I came here for breakfast and was pleasantly surprised with the decent prices. Service was good, food came fast, and the staff were friendly. I ordered the traditional breakfast with fried rice, 2 eggs, portuguese sausage, and toast. Huge portions and great taste. I would totally come here again.
(4)Sau y.
It was our last meal in Kauai.. and we decided to grab some grub before our flight out of LIH. If I could give negative stars I would... I know food on Kauai is bad, but this was AWFUL. They didn't have half the things on their menu because "things are slow so they stopped stocking many items for their dishes"... ie. no ribs, no pork, etc... Ultimately, anything that made it a "BBQ" joint went right out the window. It was like eating bad cafeteria food. This says a lot since the phrase "cafeteria food" already conjures up negative memories, but BAD cafeteria food?!-- horrendous! After we had to take a go at the menu for a 2nd time b/c all the dishes we wanted when she first came over were not available we ended up with: 2 Chicken Katsu, Fried Mahi Mahi with Fries and Spaghetti. She said "it's all homemade, so it's all great." Oh... ok. Soups: Miso was salty broth with green onions. Tomato soup was OK with corn tortilla chips. She said it was tomato basil, but then it wasn't... Chicken Katsu: fried, and then... fried again? It was fried, cut up... probably sat around for a few hours or maybe it wasn't cooked through on the first go... so they took the cut up pieces and fried it again. It was a sparse portion compared to Mark's Place... and quality was so so. Fried Mahi Mahi w/ Fries: The breading was so thick, I couldn't eat it. It was 65% breading and 45% fish. I shit you not. The fries... there was a total of about 10 french fries.. you know those little sauce dishes they have at restaurants-- the fries sparsely filled one of those up- SERIOUSLY. The Spaghetti-- oh... what a mistake. The Mahi and Spaghetti came with dessert. Menu said "jello or shaved ice"... when I asked her about it, she threw major attitude... and then tried to push the 10 different nasty cream pies they had in stock on us instead (my guess is those expire, but shaved ice doesnt?) We opted for shaved ice, although at this point it was just to see what would come out... not b/c we actually believed it might be good. We asked "what flavors?" She said "red or orange." What flavor is that? Red could be... cherry, strawberry, watermelon, etc. Orange could be orange, papaya, passion fruit, etc... we are on Kauai after all! She goes "uhh, I don't know. Strawberry and Orange, I guess." We go "ok- red for both of us." It comes and it's literallyy a pile of crushed ice (like from the fridge with some syrup spilled on top). NEVER EVER AGAIN... this was probably the worst meal I've eaten in years.
(1)Joyce M.
Japanese Hawaiian food. chicken katsu and butterfish dishes were decent. 30 bucks for 2 people. they serve a ton of cream pies too. tried the macadamia nut pie. it was ok. I think you need to really love cream pie.
(3)Rosie H.
This is definitely a local place. Ordered the Kalua pork with the fruit cup. It was very good. The servers are friendly. I would be back here.
(4)geb B.
BEWARE travelers!!! This is not a place you want to go during your kauai visit. The food is safe to eat but these locals take advantage of vacationers. Eleven bucks for shake and bake chicken?!? My girlfriend ordered the "special" which included a piece of chicken which I could have made tastier and a scoop of rice (these people are Japanese but sadly enough don't know how to make good Japanese food). I ordered the chicken katsu which included four slices and a scoop of rice - cost me eleven bucks!!! The dessert?? = a mouse cake piece that has the consistency of snot. Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. There is a reason this place is always empty.
(1)Diane A.
The food was good, but the service was quite craptastic. I cannot understand why our server seemed to totally ignore us when we wanted to pay. When she finally came with our check, my husband tried to give her his credit card, but she walked away even though she had seen him with his card out! We had to flag down a different server to take our card, and she took it. However, she didn't run the damn thing, and it took another eternity to get everything squared away so we could get out of there. We weren't expecting a high end restaurant, but frankly, I can't believe how hard we had to work to get them to take our money.
(2)Kendyce M.
This is one of my favorite places for lunch or dinner. Pretty much anything you want, they have it! You want spaghetti? How about pork chops? Chicken katsu curry? Shrimp tempura? How about a fruit cup with that? Seriously, you cannot go wrong with Lihue Barbecue Inn.
(4)Christine K.
Oh man! Great place to eat! Cheap food, bang for your buck, and waitstaff is super friendly. Recommend the kalua pork with cabbage. I'd totally eat here again when I come back to the island!
(4)Ant M.
We got the Kalua pork and cabbage and the Mac Nut Mahi Mahi dish. It was good. The food comes with soup and cream pie. Service was good.
(4)Annie F.
YUM!! My friends and I were craving some local food and were not disappointed. For a reasonable price, we got soup or salad, a main dish, a beverage, AND a dessert. (You have to overlook the decor) I had the hamburger, rice, and brown gravy just like mom used to make! The dessert was my favorite- I highly recommend the coconut cream pie. It was the best pie I've ever had!!! The crust melted in my mouth, I could taste the coconut, and the pie filling was ice cold. OMG! We all want to go back, even if it's just for the pie!
(4)Frankie S.
We found a blurb about this restaurant in a 10-yr old guidebook and decided to check it out. The location is away from the touristy places but it wasn't difficult to find. It has a very modest ambience. Our server was great. She was very friendly and offered helpful suggestions. Our lunches came with saimin soup or a fruit bowl, bread, iced tea and coconut cream pie (yum!!) for dessert. At our server's suggestion, we got the herb-crusted ono. It came with sauce on top (can't remember what kind), a little side salad and rice. It was delicious. I got the seared ahi salad. The ahi was sliced thickly but it was almost cooked throughout. It was still good though. The large crushed peppercorn pieces crusted on the outside added some kick.
(4)kris k.
BBQ Inn is one of my favorite places on the island...being that you get a ton of food for your money, they have EVERYTHING including super good local plates, and most of the time the service is great. Once in a while it'll be a little slow if it's crowded, but it's worth the wait. Don't get me wrong...if you're into ambiance and fancy garnishes, you'll be disappointed. Definitely not Duke's or Keoki's. But the food is great, everything is homemade, and the pies are excellent. Try the kalua pig and cabbage...
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