4.45 We found this place from searching best places to eat in Kauai through YouTube. A couple of bloggers mentioned this place and we made it in our plans to dine in and try their food. We came here in 2023 - understood that now they changed their concept and decided to open Break+Feast. Glad to be able to try Kiawe before they closed down. They asked if we had ressy when we got there which we didn't know we needed to make one. The staff was able to sit us in a bigger (family size) table. The reason why I wanted to try their food is also they accommodate allergies such as gluten and dairy which I have. Tried the following: - Dad's Fried Chicken: Gluten Free. So good, crunchy, and flavorful. Forgot exactly what sauce that came with it but it was refreshing and went very well with the meat. - Wasabi Pea Crusted Fish: Gluten Free. Came with rice. Very filling. Crispy and so tasty. - Smoked Huli Huli Chicken: Gluten Free. Chose the tangy lilikoi sauce. Wish could have this again. Yum. Def will put Break+Feast in the future list next time I visit Kauai. Looking forward to enjoying a feast and break with the sun breezing through. Mahalo :)

We came here for breakfast and loved it! Make sure to call and make a reservation ahead of time - we saw many parties get turned away while we were seated. We ordered the Green Chili Skillet and Lilikoi Pancakes and both were so good. Didn't get to try any of their BBQ, but we'll certainly be back the next time we're in Kauai!

Everything at Kiawe was delicious! We got to try them at the beginning of the year, sad to hear they suspended dine in service ---bbq sampler: all of the meats were moist, and usually we never like pulled pork but this must have been one of the best pulled porks we've had! ---brussel sprouts: I'm usually tired of brussel sprouts as it seems like every restaurant does them, but they were tasty! Wasn't as crazy about the fish and wings Service was awesome, hope they do reopen in the future!

Lord I knew when we reserved this for our last day that we were going to eat until we died and absolutely over-order and leave with leftovers, oops. We did just that. Kiawe Roots was on my radar for multiple reasons -- 1. All the meats for my omnivore husband and 2. Tons of vegetarian options for lil old leaf eating me and 3. There was a loco moco with a veggie patty omg I could finally try it! We made a reservation on a whim and were not disappointed at all! You can try to walk in and they do attempt to seat you if there's space but it's a petite little spot so I recommend reservations if at all possible! Also you can order things to go if you can't grab a reservation. We had the salad of the day which was delicious; sadly the brussel sprouts that we wanted to try were only available on Fridays but wasn't too sad because WOO that salad was delicious! My husband also got the chicharones and let me tell you IT WAS BOUNTIFUL. He definitely couldn't finish that on his own in one sitting so it came back with us as a snack. We also got the mac n cheese to share and can I just say, it was the perfect level of salt, cheese, and SMOKE. Smokey goodness that I would absolutely get again. I got the loco moco with a veggie patty and died eating the whole thing but gosh it was comfort food embodied and absolutely delicious! My husband got a literal slab of meat and managed to eat it all somehow -- told me it was great~ I would highly recommend coming here if you're in Kauai and really think it's MUST TRY. Service was super sweet and the interior is bright and welcoming. There is parking lot too which is a plus!

Kiawe Roots is a gem. The chefs here celebrate fresh local ingredients with creative dishes and bold flavors. Everything I tried here was delicious. We ate here, and immediately made reservations to come back a few days later. We had the fried brussel sprouts w/ candied mac nuts, pickled beets, roasted garlic, and passion fruit honey vinaigrette, the ginger-marinated chicken, the wasabi pea-crusted mahi mahi over the soba noodle salad, the crispy smoked pulled pork loco moco, the homemade kiawe-rubbed potato chips, and the watermelon-basil and mango-ginger beer coolers. The servers are friendly, and prices very reasonable. Having spent four weeks on the island, this is one of my top five places to eat.

The food here is amazing. My wife had the sunrise breakfast and I had loco moco. It's the best I have had in many trips to Hawaii. The hibiscus tea was really well done, but the surprise was the Bloody Mary. I normally can not drink them because of the acid, but I drank most of my wife's so she ordered another! This is a go to spot for a great meal.

Kiawe Roots is perpetually one of the most recommended restaurants in this area, and it's easy to see why! Although they have a small dining room with limited seating, they have a reputation for delicious food (for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!) which makes them very popular. Although I had originally wanted to try breakfast here the timing didn't work out and instead we made a 6pm dinner reservation on our final night in Kauai before heading to the airport. As the dining room is small, reservations are highly recommended, although they do offer takeout as well. They are known for their smoked meats, so we both had our eye on the huli huli chicken. Unfortunately, they have a limited supply, so even though our dinner reservation was for 6pm, they had just run out of huli huli chicken (we could see a gentleman at a nearby table with the very last order). Keep this in mind if you have your heart set on that, and plan to arrive and eat earlier than we did. Instead, our server recommended the Jawaiian Jerk Pork Ribs. We were not disappointed. The ribs were tender and juicy and flavorful. The side dishes were gandule rice, grilled vegetable (in our case it was zucchini) and this pickled vegetable thing which I can't remember the name of :) The flavors and textures of all the components of the meal were really lovely together. Even though we missed out on the huli huli chicken, we were very satisfied by our dinner! We finished with a scoop of Kauai pie ice cream. It's Kona coffee ice cream with coconut flakes, dark chocolate fudge, Hamakua macadamia nuts and vanilla cake crunch. What a delicious finish to a great meal (and a great trip!). We will definitely plan to visit Kiawe Roots on a future trip to Kauai. 10/10!

Great service and great food. What more can you ask for? The soba salad was a refreshing starter that was fresh and had just the right amount of crunch and acidity. I'm not normally a fan of bean sprouts but it was a good addition to the salad in this case. Dad's Fried chicken was made hot and fresh and delicious. It was incredibly flavorful and juicy. The pulled pork was delicious. I loved the calamansi slaw, the freshly made kiawe chips and the cantaloupe namasu. This is a must try if you're in the area and looking for a sit down restaurant.

Excellent service + excellent food! Not that I had a lot of loco moco to compare, but man, they have one of the best I have had, or just the best combo of burger patty with eggs and rice, period! The eggs had the orangest yolks I have seen in the US! In the mainland, you gotta pay premium for these and still not that orangy! The sauce is so well balanced and I would wipe my plate for the sauce if I could. Said the not-sauce-person! The brisket is so moist that it melts in your mouth! And the spicy lilikoi margarita balances out everything :p

The wait is the only issue, but the food is gourmet level. It was like a local version of Gordon Ramsey prepared our dishes. The server was super busy and was running around like a headless chicken. They need more staff.