My wife had been wanting to make her own chocolate bar for years and I was primarily interested in…read morethe process every time we come to Kauai. Well, we finally pulled the trigger on it and did the experience...and it was well worth it. Lance, the owner and instructor was fantastic. With only 8 spots available, you have to book this as soon as it is available. The shop is only 300 sq. Ft. So any more people would be too much and the set up was perfect. It is amazing this small space produces the chocolate! The overall lesson is great because he takes you from bean to chocolate. This is not tree to chocolate because he doesn't have the trees nor does he have the pods and that part of the collection process (however, Lance, if you or your wife are reading this, it might be a great future endeavor to have an option to work with one of your partners and add on the collection tour before!). While he doesn't have the collection process, Lance does an excellent job speaking to the process once beans are collected. From there, the chocolate making and tasting process is thoroughly explained and you are part of it. Finally, making your chocolate is a lot of fun and there are roughly 30 ingredients you can use for your 2 bars. I personally made: an Indian spice flavor chocolate for half a bar, coconut sea salt for second half, matcha coconut sea salt for 3rd half, and coffee bean sea salt for last). Bring your creativity! Thank you Lance for this fantastic experience.

Very informative, great chocolate. My grandson and I had a fun time learning and making our own…read morechocolate bars.

such a cute little shop, and they let you try free samples! We got the ube and guava caramels. I…read morethink this is a great place to get a food souvenir for family, since everyone is probably sick of getting macademia nuts from Hawaii! My coworkers love them. The only thing that kinda sucks is that the shop is EXTREMELY small and can get easily crowded, tough to get around inside. Free parking though!

The Kauai Sweet Shoppe is located behind the Gaylord restaurant in a cute little house. The inside…read moreis very small for the space you think it occupies. Maybe 15 people max before it gets too crowded. They had some odd hours. They were closed on 10/6 without any notice but a sign on the door. We wanted to come back but couldn't reach anyone on the phone on 10/7 to make sure the drive there wasn't wasted. Thankfully the Gaylord residence was able to ask someone working there and they mentioned being open till 3:30, opposite of their voicemail which said 5 pm. Wis their hours were a bit more consistent. The shop has caramel which come in 6 different flavors and we got to sample some. They also have chocolate covered caramel, pretzels, pineapple, apples, and bark. If food isn't your thing, they have apparel like shorts, aprons, towels, mugs, cards, cups, coloring books, and hats. There is a small window you can see where they make the caramel. The macchiato caramel was soft and coffee flavored. The perfect mix of sweet and salty. The Oreo caramel apple was good as well. The caramel was soft and very thin around the apple so it felt more like eating an apple versus something covered in sticky caramel. Make sure to check the bottom of the bag if you plan to share these. Some batches had only a month and nothing past 2 months. If you are heading over to the Gaylord property and want to visit the sweet shop, make sure to call ahead.

After eating an early lunch at the nearby BBQ place, I went into Skinny Mike's to get some dessert…read more I didn't see any sugar-free syrups for the shaved ice, so ended up getting a sundae. It turned out great. The NCL cruise ship was in town at the nearby Lihue, Kauai dock, so was expecting a lot of people around at this ice cream shoppe at the nearby Harbor Mall. There was only one hustling worker behind the counter, and she was trying her best to keep up, while maintaining her cool. Being in line for a bit, gave me time to study the menu, and I landed on ordering a S'mores Sundae ($11.75), described as 4 piece Graham crackers, 2 scoops of Macadamia ice cream, marshmallows (roasted) + Hot Fudge. After my order, she immediately to make it. What I really appreciated was that she put plenty of small marshmallows on top, and then used a small blow torch to roast the tops. My wife and I shared it, and we both agreed that it tasted like a freshly made Smores, but with really good ice cream added to it. It was delicious. It was the first time having it this way, and it really worked. Kudo's to whoever created this sundae.

Coconut flake ice cream malted shake! Oh HECK yea!…read more This is definitely a local shop, not a chain. Walking in I'm hit with the various odors of treats and that coconut. -must -have -coconut.. The store itself is refreshingly cool. Floors and tables are clean and there is plenty of natural light through the large windows. Staff is very efficient and thorough. I got, of course, a coconut flake malted milkshake that was incredibly satisfying. The Mrs had a coconut flake ice cream on a waffle cone. Pretty sure she liked it, it was gone quick enough. We're putting a pin on the map for here. Next time we're in town, this will be a mandatory visit.

We were visiting Kauai on the Pride of America cruise, and on our second day we didn't have a…read morerental car. I noticed this place was nearby, so a group of us grabbed a quick and inexpensive Uber over there. There are several shops in the area, but the main gift shop here was definitely worth the stop. They had a huge selection of merchandise along with just about every rum they make from mini sampler bottles to full 750 mL bottles. One of the best surprises was finding out they offer a free rum tasting every hour. We happened to arrive about five minutes before the next one started, so we joined in. The bartender running the tasting was fantastic... super knowledgeable, funny, and engaging. He made the whole experience a lot of fun, even for people in our group who weren't big rum drinkers. After the tasting, all of us ended up back in the gift shop buying something, whether it was rum, shirts, hats, or souvenirs. Since I live in California, I checked Total Wine online while we were there to see which bottles were available back home so I wouldn't have to pack everything in my luggage. I was pleasantly surprised they carried quite a few of their products. I ended up buying several of the mini bottles that aren't sold in California, along with a hat and T-shirt. Before heading back, we grabbed some pineapple ice cream from the stand outside while waiting for our Uber, which was the perfect way to end the visit. We all had a great time here, and I'd definitely recommend stopping by if you're in the area, even if rum isn't usually your thing.

Came to the plantation on a Monday after lunch while waiting for our hotel to be available for…read morecheck in, and I'm super glad we did because the rum tasting room experience was super fun! We signed up in the shop area an hour before and they just checked our IDs and added us to the list. Our host Randy was super engaging and very informative, taught us a lot about the Koloa rum company, history, and great stories around the flavors! We tried the white rum, the coconut rum, the mai tai mixer, and we ended up buying some minis to take home. I liked learning about the history and the alcohol itself - it's made out of pure Hawaiian sugar cane instead of molasses so the taste is super clean. The tasting experience is free but of course cash tips are encouraged. They had some chairs inside but overall it's a mostly standing room only. I would honestly not mind coming back on a different day, since we heard the tastings are different!

The cream puffs are wonderful. Vanilla cream filled and chocolate cream filled. Yummy!read more

We love their matcha cream puffs. It's perfect not too sweet…read more Highly recommended this bakery!

Was in the Kauai Area and wanted to try out some baked malasadas, and Kauai Bakery looked to be the…read morebest option nearby that we could try out! We stopped by on a Tuesday around 8:30AM and got our pick of malasadas to try out! Kauai Bakery is located in a shopping plaza with plenty of ample parking, making it very easy to stop by and grab some delicious pastries. Service is like your typical bakery, you pick what you would like and they get it to you so you can stuff your face immediately after purchase. Ambiance is cozy with plenty of pastries to pick from in the large display case. We got 4 flavors of Malasadas for $16, which is $4 per doughnut, which I think is a decent price for the size and heft. The flavors we sampled were Lilikoi, Coconut, and Guava - out of these flavors, the coconut one was my personal favorite! The flavor was exactly what I would want anything coconut cream flavor should taste, creamy texture with a pleasant coconut taste that didn't taste artificial at all. It captured the floral background taste that is missing from a lot of coconut desserts that makes coconut so pleasing to eat! The Lilikoi one was my next favorite, it had a slight tartness and a more subtly pronounced flavor - I think I was looking for something stronger personally. Lastly was the guava one, which actually tasted a bit artificial and didn't have a pronounced flavor at all, which was unfortunate. Despite this critique, I would still glady inhale 2 or 3 of them because the dough was really pillowy and really enjoyable to eat. I think that the pastries here (at least the malasadas) are very solid and priced competitively vs most things here on Kauai. I would totally come back to get several more of the malasadas as well as try the other pastry options on the menu. Stop by and give this bakery a try if you are in the area!

The bakery is located in a supermarket Plaza. There was plenty of parking. Very easy to get to and…read moreeasy to find parking. Came as many people talk about this bakery. We got there around 6:30am and there were many choices of pastries. We chose a few different flavored malasadas and coffee. The malasadas tasted good but I wasn't blown away. I wish they were served warm. Staff are very nice and friendly. Store super clean and cutely decorated.

Wow everything here was legit. If you're a sweets person, this place is for you. The cheesecake,…read moremacarons, and pies were all great. The lady working there was very nice and answered questions for us (we were first timers). There aren't seats indoors but had a bunch of tables outside.

Wow! Island pumpkin pie! Absolutely delicious!…read moreAnd it's vegetarian! From a pumpkin! Great for the holidays! A friend gave us one! We Devoured it! Two pieces every night over a span of three days. Along with an earl gray latte! Highly recommend!

I think my favorite loco moco on the island…read more Very much a no frills diner, fast service, and great food. Located in an outdoor mall surrounded by a bunch of businesses, shops, and bar. Across from here is a beach and outdoor activities, so you can definitely start your day here and explore the surrounding area for the day.

It was our last day on Kauai and we needed to check out of our room by 10:00. With a 21:30 flight,…read morewe had a lot of time to kill, so decided to go back to the Harbor mall to find a place to eat. We ended up choosing Lilikoi Bar and Grill on a late Sunday morning. The service was OK, with the food being OK. The restaurant is located on the 2nd floor of the mall, and was fairly hopping when we stopped in. We got lucky and got assigned a window table. The food as a whole was OK, with tourist prices. The Kalua Pork Sandwich ($20) was served on buttered texas toast and came with deeply battered french fries. The strawberry milk shake ($9) was not good: tasted ice in it which didn't make sense since it was marketed as a MILK shake. The edamame appetizer ($11) was a good beginning and we used that as our base. I got a bowl of the seafood chowder ($16) and it was a generous amount, very thick with plenty of clam and fish pieces, and it tasted good. Service was OK and we paid at the table using our credit card (no credit card surcharge here).

Passion Bakery Cafe is an absolute must if you're on the hunt for fresh malasadas! We came bright…read moreand early, and it was 100% worth it. We ordered the Lilikoi, Haupia, and Ube malasadas -- and WOW. All of them were so good, but the ube was our favorite! Soft, fluffy, perfectly sweet, and filled with so much flavor. You can really taste the freshness. The employees were also so sweet and kind, which made the experience even better. It's always nice to feel welcomed, especially early in the morning. Another big plus is the private parking lot with plenty of spaces -- super convenient! There's also lots of outdoor seating in a courtyard surrounded by beautiful plumeria trees (and some friendly chickens walking around), which adds to the whole island charm. Such a delicious and peaceful spot to start your day -- we'd definitely come back again!

Went to Passion Bakery for breakfast to try their "famous malasadas". Got the guava filled malasada…read moreand also too their Java Chip Mocha Frappuccino. Unfortunately being from Oahu with having Leonard's Bakery malasadas, these malasadas were rather mid compared to that. The guava filling was the artificially flavored type. But other than that it was a decent/above average sweet treat. The malasadas itself I'd say was 3 stars. However, the star was the Java Chip Mocha Frappuccino. The thing I loved most about it was that the java chips were small enough where it never got stuck in the straw and was evenly consistent with every sip. By far the best java chip mocha frappuccino in my book! I'd come back for this one. It made starbucks seem mid tbh. Service was friendly and efficient. And the ambiance, though quite small it was fresh with the smell of a malasadas bakery :) Plus a few tables and plenty parking outside. Overall I'd give it a 4 stars. Definitely coming back for that java chip frappuccino YUM!!!

So many flavors to choose from. I got a keiki and it was a LOT. The double scoop was even bigger…read more Caramel coconut macadamia nut - super yummy. lowkey thought I'd never say this, but there may have been too much caramel, not enough coconut and macadamia nut. The caramel made it extremely sweet. Pukalani pineapple - SO good oh my gosh. It didn't even scoop bc it was so crumbly, but it was a sorbet and so refreshing. Auntie Mabel's Lilikoi dream - passion fruit ice cream + swirl of passion fruit sorbet + shortbread was such a good combo.

Very good ice cream but expensive…read more They have so many ice cream flavors and all are terrific. They let you sample them and it was hard to choose what to order. Very Hawaiian flavors which we love!