Oki Diner & Bakery - Lihue, Kauai

Oki Diner & Bakery is a convenient food stop on Kuhio Highway to and from the beach at Hanae. If it's evening you'll see the brightly lit Oki Diner signage at the intersections of the Kuhio and Kaumualii Highways and Rice Street.

When you walk in to the restaurant the first thing you'll see is a long counter that winds its way to a cafeteria style eating area. You'll seat yourself so I'd recommend sitting on the lanai, especially if you can catch a breeze or two. There were six in our party and two other groups, a pair and a family of four eating in this area and it didn't feel crowded. Noisy geckos walked up and down the walls beneath low light lamps and paid us no mind. When our waitress appeared she was a bit flustered and said as much when she introduced herself and took our drink orders. She was friendly enough just seemed overwhelmed by the small group of diners in her section.

We had just returned from a day-long and beautiful drive to Hanae and were famished. The menu was a nice suprise, it had pictures of each item displayed next to descriptions which was really helpful in choosing. We picked the saimin, my partner ordered the pork and I had the shrimp version. Go with the medium bowl as there is no difference in size between it and a large. Our other companions ordered the kalua pig and the chef's special, a bouillabaisse mediterranean seafood stew.

Overall, the consensus was that the food was good, especially the delicious and rich broth used for our saimin and the seafood stew. The meat was tender and the portions were generous. The low point was probably the salad which came with entrees, it was plain and topped with a lackluster thousand island dressing.

Oki Diner & Bakery is a good deal for Kauai, with a great broth base for soups and stews and reasonable prices. You'll be hard pressed to find a better value.

Visit Oki Diner & Bakery at 4491 Rice St, Lihue, Kauai, HI 96766 or call (808) 245-5899.