Pecorino Cheese Stuffed Pork Chop
Come on in
Sometimes you just crave that good ‘ole country food with homemade barbecue sauce, steak sauce, meat with the grill marks on it and grilled potatoes. After 11 years of living on Kauai and hearing so many great things about Kalaheo Steak & Ribs, we finally decided to take the kids! Kalaheo Steak & Ribs is located in a historic building at 4444 Papalina Road in Kalaheo on the west side of Kauai. The restaurant has been in existence for over 30 years and was originally named the Kalaheo Steak House.When you first enter the restaurant, you will walk right into their saloon.
Saloon
The saloon is a happen’n place where you will find karaoke on Friday/Saturday evenings and live music on Thursday/Sunday evenings. It has the feel of a real saloon, minus the dust on the floor. Complete with horns on the ceiling, wood siding throughout and my favorite, the pictures of Kalaheo from the 30’s & 40’s in sepia and black & white. Step into the feel of a true steakhouse, with dimmed lights and paniolo decor. The restaurant is filled with booths and wooden tables.
Let’s talk food~ for starters the waiter will bring a basket of bread covered in garlic butter. May very well be the best bread I’ve ever had. Clearly not low in fat, the bread smells amazing before you take the first bite. Of course, I took a photo so that your mouth would water. I am one of those people who really expects hot bread brought to the table whendining at a nice (pricey) restaurant. I love bread with my food! Just be careful not to fill up on the bread which keeps coming throughout your meal. I also appreciate that, not having to ask for more.
Garlic Bread
Usually a steak house is known for their hearty meals, steak and other special cuts of meat. However, Kalaheo Steak & Ribs had a very diverse menu for a steakhouse. For those of you who don’t eat red meat or pork, try the calamari, poke (raw ahi), stuffed mushrooms or steamed clams for starters. Non-beef or pork entrees include Chicken Picatta, Fettucini Alfredo, Pasta Marinara, and Fresh Kauai Water Fish. All entrees are served with a salad and a choice of mashed potato, baked potato or rice. Let me add that the mashed potatoes have chucks of the skin from the new potatoes, which I love!!!
Since my family is made up of carnivores, those are the only pictures of food that I have. Pork can be so dry if not prepared properly. I ordered the Pecorino Cheese Stuffed Pork Chop (pictured above), which was to die for. The sauce over the pork chop and potatoes made the entire dish! The pork chop was stuffed to perfection, not too much cheese oozing out but enough to taste the flavor.
Paniolo Burger
Baby-back Pork Ribs
Rib Eye Steak
For those of you who are “burger people” (there is one in every family), Kalaheo Steak & Ribs has a Gourmet Paniolo Burger made with top-quality ground round, apple wood bacon, aged white-cheddar cheese, grilled onions, jalapeno peppers, tomato, lettuce, and aioli on a sesame seed bun. Steak, steak, steak. We must talk about the steak and ribs at Kalaheo Steak & Ribs. We ordered both!! The baby-back pork ribs fall off of the bone and are served with hickory cranberry BBQ sauce and island-style slaw.
For the steak choice, we opted for the Rib Eye over the Filet Mignon. The portion was large and cooked perfectly, as requested. This is one of the few restaurants where everything that we ordered was wonderful. We didn’t have any complaints about the food and the service was fabulous! Don’t forget to save room for dessert! The dessert menu offers delicious local favorites such as Coconut & Chocolate Pie, Heavenly Hana Ice Cream Pie, Molokai’i Sweet Bread Pudding, and Lappert’s (locally made) Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
Kalaheo Steak & Ribs is open Tuesday – Sunday from 4:00 to 10:00pm with Happy Hour from 4:00pm to 7:00pm and Dinner from 5:00pm to 9:30pm.
$$ Saving Tips~ The portions are fairly large, so it is a great place to split entrees! Order an appetizer and split a meal. The bread keeps coming, so you will not leave hungry. We each took home doggy bags. Try and arrive just before Happy Hour ends so you can order a drink with your meal at a discounted price. Kalaheo Steak & Ribs does have kids menus.
5wheelsto5star.com is featured monthly in Destinations Travel Magazine
5 Wheels to 5 Star 