Josselin’s Tapas Bar & Grill

Came here looking for small plates. First off, everyone was ridiculously nice. The table service was on point — except for our server. He seemed jittery. We both got the blueberry sangria, which was quite tasty, but nothing overly amazing. We ordered the roasted feta salad, the poke, and the kawai asparagus.
The best part of the meal was the poached egg. It was probably the best firm yolk poached egg in my life. Perfectly creamy and delectable.
Now for the critiques: the greens were overly bitter on the salad, the salad had mushy strips of zucchini and eggplant hidden on the bottom, the poke was over marinated to the point the ahi tasted like salt, and the asparagus was roasted to mush. The portions were no where near tapas style and the prices were as inflated.
If I could learn their secret for the poached egg, the meal would have been worth it. But as it is, I left mushy and salty with a strong finish of blueberry.

This is the best restaurant I’ve had here in the southern part of Kauai (Eating House comes in at a close second).
We had the corn beef hashubi for starters, very tasty. For «entrees,» we had the pork belly and the butterfish. The pork belly was most excellent. The cucumber-​type vegetables on top adds a really nice crunch. The butterfish itself was really good and flavorful too, except I didn’t like the vegetables that came with it.
The décor is very clean and modern. It was spacious and wasn’t crowded. The service was really great. Our server was courteous and fast. Water is refilled right away, the small plates you eat with are swapped out with every new dish, and the table is wiped/​cleaned immediately.
Another great thing about this restaurant is that it is a bit cheaper than some of the others at this caliber. For example, the butterfish here is $ 30, whereas the one at the Eating House is $ 36. The portions may be a bit smaller here, but I actually prefer that. Also, this place doesn’t try to fill you up with fluff (e.g., rice, lettuce, etc.). All you’re getting with each dish is the true and good (meaty) stuff.

Husband and I have been coming here for 2 years now, and every time we leave satisfied and super full. We have dined at the bar and the dining room, but I prefer the bar. Ryan has been our bartender ever since our first visit, and we try to sit at the bar with him if the bar is not too busy. He’s personable and always makes our dining experience pleasant. Since I’m pregnant he made me a couple of fantastic mocktails that made me feel normal again. :) Try their blueberry sangria, it’s so good!
The dishes that I’m obsessed with: rock shrimp tempura, roasted mushrooms, beet risotto, garlic truffle fries, duck confit, 36hr pork belly and the short ribs.

We came for a group dinner with a bunch of my classmates because we are all home for winter break. we were really excited to eat here because we have haven’t been here before. The ambience is really nice and there’s a lot of seating. The workers were also very nice.
However the food was really overpriced or how big the portions were. To be honest I would not stoked on my order. Lol. My friends went to the bar and ordered drinks and it took them almost 25 minutes just to get an AMF. Dishes cause about $ 15-​$ 30 and kinda not worth it. The place is called Tapas so The food here is meant for sharing. We were expecting small portions, however he portions were so small that we couldn’t even share.
The food took a while to come out, and some of the dishes didn’t come out till we were basically done. If you have a big appetite, I suggest finding another restaurant.
Overall it is a nice place, but a bit over priced for the food. The workers were nice and helpful, but I probably won’t be back because I’m a hungry girl.

My husband and I come to Kauai at least once a year. We used to look forward to eating at Josselin’s. In fact, when we were here in August 2014, we brought our party of 20 there on at least 3 occasions. It was definitely one of our favorites and had I reviewed it a year ago, I would have given five stars without hesitation.
When we eagerly arrived for dinner last night, we immediately noticed a different «vibe» and a much smaller menu. When we asked the waiter about the menu (and name) change, we were told that Josselin’s is now under new ownership. The menu was probably half of what it used to be and most, if not all, of our favorite dishes were gone. Gone were all dumplings and the fabulous short ribs. No more hamachi, crab summer roll, ceviche tostada, schezuan short ribs steamed buns, rock shrimp tempura, etc., etc.
We ordered the short rib fried rice, which actually was delicious and turned out to be the only thing we truly enjoyed even though the pieces of short rib were tiny tidbits. Even though it was only 6:00, we were told that they were out of the shrimp tempura roll because they «were very busy last night.» The ahi roll and poke were average (at best) and the last dish we ordered (it was called stuffed Jondoori chicken which probably was a misprint on the menu but nonetheless we thought it was a favorite Indian dish so we ordered it anyway), was dry and flavorless.
All in all, a huge disappointment. Why on earth would the new owners (apparently the owners of the entire shopping center), mess with such a fantastic menu? It was apparent to us that the new menu cut a lot of the food cost down. If you’ve never been to the previous Josselin’s, you might enjoy the restaurant. However, those who have had the experience of the previous establishment likely will be as disappointed as we were last night. Unless the new owners wise up and bring back the innovative and delicious variety of dishes for which Josselin’s was famous, I doubt if we (loyal & frequent customers) will return.

We dined here because of a friend’s recommendation.
It was expensive for what it was. I honestly cannot remember anything we had except for the table side sangria. Not that the food wasn’t good — it just wasn’t very memorable.
The ambience was non-​existent. It felt like we were eating in a half-​finished dining room. Not Hawaiian ambience, not trendy ambience, just… blah.
It was the most disappointing meal we had in Kauai. Not because it was BAD, but because it just didn’t live up to the expectations and price.

We ate here twice in the week we were in Kauai. The grilled ono was AMAZING! I had it both times we were here. We were not a fan of the calimari or the shrimp tempura. The pumpkin ravioli is really a tortellini so smaller than we expected but very tasty. The naan bread was weird and not very good. We tried the jalapeño corn muffins and they were just okay.
Ryan the bartender was great and remembered what we ordered when we were in 4 days prior.

Josselin is still touristy like almost any other restaurants in this newly developed area. The food, however, was much better than expected.
Whether it is the choice of ingredients, taste of the sauce or the presentation, most tapas dishes here are strongly Hawaiian. Lots of fish. Lots of fruity flavors. Those of you who doesn’t fancy sugar in non-​dessert courses might find the sweetness simply overbearing. If you don’t mind the slightly bold flavors, Josselin is a great place to dine at.

Dinner was delicious and was perfect for date night.
Service was good. Atmosphere was fun and modern.
Make sure you go hungry. Unlike most tapas places, the portions here are larger and many items can be eaten alone as entrees.
My boyfriend and I had the dumplings, the poke bowl, the opah, and the prawns. Everything was delicious and it was the perfect amount for the two of us.