When you are craving an alternative to the typical Kauai cuisine consisting of crab wontons, seared ahi, coconut shrimp, fish and chips, mahi mahi sandwich, and kalua pork nachos…..take a trip to old Koloa town and discover La Spezia!! We stopped in for their Sunday Brunch and were absolutely blown away by the number of people waiting to get in, the ambiance, aroma, flavors and food.
La Spezia, “the spice” in Italian, offers rustic, home style Italian food in a cozy, decorative location. Modeling after a wine cellar, each table is made of wooden wine boxes and water is served in glass jars. Guests will notice the large porch area as they walk up the steps to the restaurant with bench seating to wait for a table. My favorite touch are the chandeliers!!! The restaurant has a fair sized seating area and a separate bar area.
Sunday brunch is served from 8am-1pm for $12 or $17 which includes a Mimosa or Bloody Mary. I love that the pricing on the menu does not vary, all items in a category are the same price. For example, all brunch entrees are $12. So simple! Makes splitting the bill quite easy too.
We made sure to order mimosas which were fantastic, but quite small. We ordered the Blueberry French Toast which is made with Hawaiian sweet bread stuffed with a blueberry mascarpone, Brie French Toast which is Hawaiian sweet bread stuffed with brie, bacon and raspberry jam and the Caprese Fritatta which is an Egg white frittata with fresh mozzarella, tomato, zucchini, and basil, topped with pesto and mixed greens.
We feature house-made pastas, grass-fed meats, and locally grown herbs and vegetables, in an effort to bring fresh, local ingredients to our family-inspired recipes. Gluten free?? La Spezia offers gluten free zucchini noodles.
La Spezia features house-made pastas, grass-fed meats, and locally grown herbs and vegetables. Enjoy the art gallery displayed on the walls throughout. They are open for breakfast from 7:30-11 a.m. and dinner from 5-11 p.m. on Tuesday-Sunday.
Be sure to check out their website for upcoming events such as Late Harvest Dinner featuring Michael David Winery and Italian Wine Dinner featuring Kobrand Wines.
The wine pairing includes 3 courses plus dessert for $75 per person which includes tax and gratuity!
La Spezia Restaurant and Wine Bar only takes reservations for parties of 6 or more. Seating is limited.
They are located at 5492 Koloa Road.
Dinner Menu
Lasagna With your choice of Arrabbiata or Bolognese sauce
Spaghetti With arrabbiata, bolognese, or spicy meatballs. Also offered as vegetarian spaghetti with arancini (crispy mozzarella risotto balls) and zucchini noodles
Winter Squash Risotto Roasted winter squash, fennel, arugula, sage, parmesan
Pancetta Pasta Fettucine, crispy pancetta, garlic, sweet peas, parmesan, truffle lemon cream sauce
Prawns and Risotto Grilled local prawns, creamy risotto, cherry tomatoes, arugula, sweet basil pesto
Pan-Roasted Chicken Free range airline chicken breast, olive oil mashed potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts, mushroom pan jus
Maiale Con Ginepro Natural pork tenderloin, pan seared. Served over “hot naked” capellini and finished with a juniper caper butter sauce
Hanger Steak With gorgonzola polenta, asparagus, and olive tapenade
La Spezia is a port city in northwestern Italy on the Ligurian coast. Le spezie is the Italian term for “spice”