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This Tidepools Restaurant Review is from our 2022 Grand Hyatt Kauai site inspection visit. Tidepools is the resort's signature restaurant, in a picturesque setting surrounded by a koi pond. TravelSort Clients enjoy Hyatt Prive benefits when reserving the resort, which include a $100 resort credit as well as daily breakfast for two and an upgrade confirmed at booking during lower occupancy periods, so when reserving through us, the $100 resort credit could be used towards a dinner at Tidepools.
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Tidepools Location and Hours
The Grand Hyatt is located at 1571 Poipu Road on Kauai, about a half hour's drive from Lihue Airport (LIH). Tidepools Restaurant is located on the left hand side of the resort, when facing the ocean, near the Saltwater Lagoon. The restaurant is set in the midst of a koi pond, with more koi than we've ever seen in one place.
The restaurant serves dinner nightly from 5-9pm, and we highly recommend making reservations well in advance of your stay via OpenTable. If there's no availability for your desired night, try calling the restaurant to see if you can be accommodated.
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Tidepools Menu and Food
The menu is especially good for seafood lovers (we dined twice, as I was so happy to see Opah on the menu) but there are also chicken, steak, and vegetarian options.
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We enjoyed the bread basket of purple taro rolls, which were lightly grilled.
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Over our two visits, we tried three different appetizers. We liked the Hamachi Sashimi with jalapeno chimichurri, tobiko and crispy , although thought the portion could have been a bit more generous for $19, as the slices were quite thin:
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The Grilled Kalbi Ribs were tasty, although not particularly memorable.
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Our favorite appetizer was the Crab and Ahi Dynamite, with both of the namesake ingredients, as well as shiitake mushroom, ogo (seaweed). The dish is finished with dynamite sauce and broiled, with some sprouts and veggies adding textural contrast.
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On our first visit, our son got the Chicken Piccata, which was a generous portion that he enjoyed, although I'd recommend most of the seafood dishes over this one.
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On the same visit, my husband tried one of the two vegetarian main dishes, the Forbidden Rice cooked with coconut milk and vegetables. It was so good that I chose the mahi mahi preparation (which also includes forbidden rice) for my Opah on our second visit. Just keep in mind that despite the “Thai flavors” description, this isn't a spicy dish, so if you want extra heat, you'll need to ask for it.
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My favorite, and reason for visiting the restaurant twice, was the Opah. Opah rarely is on restaurant menus, as it's typically not caught consistently. I would have preferred a fattier cut than these fillets were, but it was still excellent, especially with the jumbo lump crab meat in the first preparation, although the potatoes side seemed a bit incongruous.
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Our next visit I tried Opah with the Mahi Mahi preparation, with roasted banana-macadamia nut sauce and forbidden rice, which was also excellent. I preferred the forbidden rice accompaniment and the banana-macadamia nut sauce and papaya-avocado relish were superb.
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The Verdict
As the Grand Hyatt is a large, busy family-focused resort, I had modest expectations for dining, but we very much enjoyed both our dinners at Tidepool. Our favorites were the Hamachi Sashimi (although it seemed overpriced), the Crab & Ahi Dynamite, the Opah, and Forbidden Rice.
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