Welina Terrace at 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay

We were seated immediately for our reservation. I can’t get over how beautiful this place is. We were seated on the lush sofa side-by-side and table settings were Japanese and low.
Our great time was long. We got water about five minutes later, but it took almost 40 minutes for somebody to approach our table.
We absolutely loved our server. We were informed that the hibachi on the menu was not available, and that they were sold out of one other item, but the real dilemma came to the cocktail menu. They were already out of their signature Mai Tai and one Whiskey cocktail on the menu. Of course, these were the two that we were going to order. We ordered a tour of the menu.
Surprisingly, the Beef Tataki and Mushroom Salad came out immediately and were were well-composed. The problem was that we were still waiting for cocktails. Food continued to come out and no drinks. Now it has been 25 minutes.
When she finally got to the table, I noticed she only had one drink on her tray. They had sold out of one of the cocktails we had ordered.
Our sushi and nigiri started to arrive and it was flawless. Super high quality, the Hoikkado scallop nigiri being the best scallop I’ve ever had. By far the best sushi we had on the island and we ate lots there.
But not getting drinks got frustrating. We had finished our sushi by the time our second round arrived. One of the most prominent things I noticed was that there was not a manager walking around and talking to tables and checking on them. By this time we had not been checked on at all, and I found that a little strange, especially given the newness of the restaurant and the cost to dine there.
Interestingly enough, two gentlemen sat down at the table next to us, and turned out to be directors for 1 hotel. We chatted with them for about an hour about the hotel and execution, had another round of cocktails and a dessert. They asked us how long we were on the island and told us we should come back. We got to be introduced to the chef and told him how magical his food was. I verified that the restaurant opened 4 PM, we paid our check and left.
The next day, we decided to go back and arrived at 3 PM. Around 10 minutes to 4, I went back up to the front of the restaurant and approached the general manager and re-introduced myself and he said he figure out how to accommodate us. But the restaurant wasn’t opening now until five because they needed the extra time.
At 5 o’clock, we were seated at one of the best tables in the house. Then we waited. And waited. I noted that we sat down at at our table at 4:55pm. At 5:30, we still did not had a server. The restaurant was about a quarter full and we had been served water by the busser. Another table behind us also had not been greeted.
We flagged down the busser and asked him to find our server. Another 15 minutes went by. Finally we were greeted at 5:50.
Our server tells us that they are out of Mai Tais 🤦🏻‍♀️ and they still not doing hibachi.He does inform us that Chef has some amazing features that day. Two types of Uni, a fresh fish feature and kama-toro, o-toro and chu-toro. We decide to do all the specials. We also ordered the tempura and a sushi roll we had not tried yet.
Again, food came out quickly and was beautiful but cocktails took that full 20 minutes to get to the table. We already had courses by then. We were not going to order any more cocktails, because we saw coming the same result as the night before, so I decided to switch gears and order some sake.
I gave our selection to the server when he came back to the table. He informed me they only had one type of sake by the glass available even though they had at least six listed. I said fine, give me whatever that is. That also took 20 minutes.
All of a sudden, an announcement was made, and a sunset ceremony ensued. It was simply breathtaking. Singing and chanting and the blowing of the horns. I’m not sure if they do this every night, but it was something very unique and shouldn’t be missed.
The Uni and the Toro came out and the presentation was so magical and it was so delicious that it almost made me cry. The Chu-Toro was topped with caviar and gold leaf. The Uni was creamy and musky, in that distinct flavor profile that only sea urchin has.
We still had our fresh fish course, and no drinks lol. Our server graciously brought us a complimentary pour of sake. Mind you, the restaurant was only at 50% capacity and they had four bartenders behind the bar. I also saw the manager working back there this night.
This is going to be the number one dining experience for the view alone in Kauai. It is so worth going, simply for that view. If you love sushi, you will not have better. It is a hefty price tag. I’m hoping to get the service kinks worked out because I want to love it so much, but when you’re paying that much money for dinner, twice, your expectations are higher.