For somewhere that aspires to offer an upscale dining experience, this place was pretty mediocre. Or maybe even bad.
We arrived at our reservation time, and a lady with an iPad asked us to wait, for what turned out to be ten minutes, for our table to be readied for us. Once we sat down we were ignored for twenty more minutes before a sheepish waitress came over to take our orders. Apparently, despite the iPad, nobody had been assigned to wait our table once we were put there. We knew they knew they'd messed up, because they comped our drinks.
I can forgive a lot of poor service if the food turns out to be delicious (my wife, a former server, maybe less so). But maybe one out of the three dishes - the leek and noodle salad that we had as a starter - was any good. My 'market fish', an ahi filet, was served to me cooked medium well, and I really don't know what it (or I) had done to deserve that punishment. My wife's scallops were not overcooked, but were inconsistently seasoned, and served with a puree that was closer to flavorless than 'carrot'.
I don't know if the desserts were any good, because once we'd finished our mains, we paid up and left. We won't be coming back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Alex Carr
Great food, great service, great atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kaitlyn Dodson-Hamilton
My husband and I visited here on Valentines Day, which is a notoriously difficult time to review a restaurant at it's normal excellence, but Postcards did not disappoint. We were seated outside on the patio, which was quiet and very comfortable in February, as it is covered to avoid the rain. Our waiter, Logan, made our whole experience even better; his service was great, and his attitude was one of kindness, with a very chill vibe. Our food was absolutely excellent, and by California standards, in many cases was very reasonable cost wise. We ordered the leek salad with soba noodles, which was incredible, with so much texture. We also ordered the marlin tiradito, which came in this incredible spicy pineapple sauce. This was perhaps my favorite dish of the night. Mid-way through the dinner Logan brought by a Rose for valentines day, which was a nice touch. For our mains, we ordered the catch of the day, as well as the wagyu strip, which were both incredible. The presentations were really unique. The wine list was also relatively good, particularly given that they had a lovely Chianti Classico Riserva for a reasonable price, that was wonderful! Overall, we'd recommend this restaurant to anyway, and shout out to Logan for being such a wonderful server!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Matt Kon
EXCELLENT once again!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Matt Wilcox
My girl friend and I had dinner at Postcards for my birthday dinner. We ordered our drinks and appetizers and everything started out smoothly. Once our first round of drinks were empty our server dissappeared to the other side of a relatively small room for a half an hour, we wondered if he would ever come back. We watched him tend to the other tables 2-3 times before we ever saw his face again. He was chatting up the other tables while we just sat there awkwardly staring at our empty table. Our order clearly hadn't gone through as we waited close to an hour between appetizers and our dinners. We had to flag down the other female waitress to get our cocktails replenished and once our actual server re-apppeared he was very unenthusiastic and made it an awkward situation for everyone. He admitted the order hadn't gone through but that should be no excuse to neglect us and ask if we would like to have another cocktail. After the dinner he didn't bother to ask how the food was either. We wish we had the female server as it likely would have changed our experience. Overall for a birthday dinner I left the restaurant wishing I had gone somewhere else.
Food: 4
Service: 1
Scott Greer
Friendly service, good food. We had the Marlin carpaccio which was delicious. The arugula salad was very good. The scallops, wagu steak, and the vegetarian pasta were all great. The fish of the day was Ahi, which we didn’t have because we had eaten ahi the night before. The gluten free and vegan selections were clearly denoted on the menu. My only complaint is I would like to see another local fish selection on the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cindy Lu
Lamb Chops 5 medium rare, pistachio crusted, tomato sauce, medium juicy, flavorful Ahi Yellowfin 5 seared medium rare, wasabi cream sauce, bread crumb crust, carrot-ginger sauce, tender, flavorful Chevre Cheesecake 5 goat cheese, butter cookie & coconut crust, passion fruit gel, apple-pear jam, soft creamy texture Pina Colada 5 coconut milk, pineapple juice, not too sweet
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chevre Cheesecake
Jake Gould
Decor and atmosphere were great. Some of the dishes were quite good, but some were not quite worth the price. Service was a little spotty, it seemed like the waitstaff was newer and didn’t really know the menu and wasn’t attentive enough.
Other local spots are a better bang for the buck and have better service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Mike Danley
Food and service were ok but definitely not worth the price compared to other local places. The marlin app was the only dish that was great. Wouldn't return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
Nathan Elsheimer
My wife and I tried this place out in January 2025 and we still talk about it a year later. The next time we are visiting Kauai, we will make it a point to try this place again. We live in Seattle and have a high bar when it comes to food. This place beats many of our favorite places at home. I had the rack of lamb, and my wife ordered the cauliflower steak (which was AMAZING). I can't say enough good things about this restaurant. We can't wait to come back!
Amazing food, great atmosphere and music. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jonathan Stewart
Authentic charm, with a decades-long dedicated owner. Arugula salad and mushrooms were fresh and perfect. Pasta could have used a little less salt and added protein, especially since it was one of two vegetarian entrees. Bartender was knowledgeable and helpful. Server was very warm and friendly. The building is a nicely preserved and updated plantation home from the 1800s. If I could only go to one restaurant in Hanalei, I would go here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Judith Cordary
What an extraordinary restaurant!
We ate outside, with all the flickering golden lights. The service was delightful, the mai tai extrao, the lamb and the espresso strawberry pie extraterrestrial.
One of the most beautiful places I have ever eaten!
Tj Engstrom
Ironically, this was the best duck I have ever had- did not see that coming. Great vibey music- staff was lovely.
For somewhere that aspires to offer an upscale dining experience, this place was pretty mediocre. Or maybe even bad.
We arrived at our reservation time, and a lady with an iPad asked us to wait, for what turned out to be ten minutes, for our table to be readied for us. Once we sat down we were ignored for twenty more minutes before a sheepish waitress came over to take our orders. Apparently, despite the iPad, nobody had been assigned to wait our table once we were put there. We knew they knew they'd messed up, because they comped our drinks.
I can forgive a lot of poor service if the food turns out to be delicious (my wife, a former server, maybe less so). But maybe one out of the three dishes - the leek and noodle salad that we had as a starter - was any good. My 'market fish', an ahi filet, was served to me cooked medium well, and I really don't know what it (or I) had done to deserve that punishment. My wife's scallops were not overcooked, but were inconsistently seasoned, and served with a puree that was closer to flavorless than 'carrot'.
I don't know if the desserts were any good, because once we'd finished our mains, we paid up and left. We won't be coming back.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 2
Great food, great service, great atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My husband and I visited here on Valentines Day, which is a notoriously difficult time to review a restaurant at it's normal excellence, but Postcards did not disappoint. We were seated outside on the patio, which was quiet and very comfortable in February, as it is covered to avoid the rain. Our waiter, Logan, made our whole experience even better; his service was great, and his attitude was one of kindness, with a very chill vibe. Our food was absolutely excellent, and by California standards, in many cases was very reasonable cost wise. We ordered the leek salad with soba noodles, which was incredible, with so much texture. We also ordered the marlin tiradito, which came in this incredible spicy pineapple sauce. This was perhaps my favorite dish of the night. Mid-way through the dinner Logan brought by a Rose for valentines day, which was a nice touch. For our mains, we ordered the catch of the day, as well as the wagyu strip, which were both incredible. The presentations were really unique. The wine list was also relatively good, particularly given that they had a lovely Chianti Classico Riserva for a reasonable price, that was wonderful! Overall, we'd recommend this restaurant to anyway, and shout out to Logan for being such a wonderful server!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
EXCELLENT once again!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My girl friend and I had dinner at Postcards for my birthday dinner. We ordered our drinks and appetizers and everything started out smoothly. Once our first round of drinks were empty our server dissappeared to the other side of a relatively small room for a half an hour, we wondered if he would ever come back. We watched him tend to the other tables 2-3 times before we ever saw his face again. He was chatting up the other tables while we just sat there awkwardly staring at our empty table. Our order clearly hadn't gone through as we waited close to an hour between appetizers and our dinners. We had to flag down the other female waitress to get our cocktails replenished and once our actual server re-apppeared he was very unenthusiastic and made it an awkward situation for everyone. He admitted the order hadn't gone through but that should be no excuse to neglect us and ask if we would like to have another cocktail. After the dinner he didn't bother to ask how the food was either. We wish we had the female server as it likely would have changed our experience. Overall for a birthday dinner I left the restaurant wishing I had gone somewhere else.
Food: 4
Service: 1
Friendly service, good food. We had the Marlin carpaccio which was delicious. The arugula salad was very good. The scallops, wagu steak, and the vegetarian pasta were all great. The fish of the day was Ahi, which we didn’t have because we had eaten ahi the night before. The gluten free and vegan selections were clearly denoted on the menu. My only complaint is I would like to see another local fish selection on the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lamb Chops 5 medium rare, pistachio crusted, tomato sauce, medium juicy, flavorful
Ahi Yellowfin 5 seared medium rare, wasabi cream sauce, bread crumb crust, carrot-ginger sauce, tender, flavorful
Chevre Cheesecake 5 goat cheese, butter cookie & coconut crust, passion fruit gel, apple-pear jam, soft creamy texture
Pina Colada 5 coconut milk, pineapple juice, not too sweet
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chevre Cheesecake
Decor and atmosphere were great. Some of the dishes were quite good, but some were not quite worth the price. Service was a little spotty, it seemed like the waitstaff was newer and didn’t really know the menu and wasn’t attentive enough.
Other local spots are a better bang for the buck and have better service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Food and service were ok but definitely not worth the price compared to other local places. The marlin app was the only dish that was great. Wouldn't return.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 3
My wife and I tried this place out in January 2025 and we still talk about it a year later. The next time we are visiting Kauai, we will make it a point to try this place again. We live in Seattle and have a high bar when it comes to food. This place beats many of our favorite places at home. I had the rack of lamb, and my wife ordered the cauliflower steak (which was AMAZING). I can't say enough good things about this restaurant. We can't wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Fantastic duck
Amazing food, great atmosphere and music. Highly recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Authentic charm, with a decades-long dedicated owner. Arugula salad and mushrooms were fresh and perfect. Pasta could have used a little less salt and added protein, especially since it was one of two vegetarian entrees. Bartender was knowledgeable and helpful. Server was very warm and friendly. The building is a nicely preserved and updated plantation home from the 1800s. If I could only go to one restaurant in Hanalei, I would go here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
What an extraordinary restaurant!
We ate outside, with all the flickering golden lights. The service was delightful, the mai tai extrao, the lamb and the espresso strawberry pie extraterrestrial.
One of the most beautiful places I have ever eaten!
Ironically, this was the best duck I have ever had- did not see that coming. Great vibey music- staff was lovely.
Get the tuna tartare
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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