Hanalei Dolphin

Came back a second night in a row so we could try not of the menu! Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $50–100 Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5 Recommended dishes: Seafood, Sushi Rolls Parking space: Plenty of parking Parking options: Free parking lot, Free street parking

Positives: Dolphin has access to amazing fish. Doug Beatrice Allen have built a good reputation since the 90 's. The fish market is to die for (been going there since '07 . Now the reality check: The Allens need to have their heads examined if they plan on keeping the female manager. Upon arrival to the restaurant, she just finished sending away a party of 4-5 with their tails tucked between their legs. We 'd heard about her rep, but how bad could it be, right? We soon found out. The first thing we noticed was the staff (ALL the wait/bus staff we running around like a wolf was chasing them, with very stressed looks on their faces. Barely made time to answer questions about the menu. The sushi rolls had an over abundance of rice (scanty on fish . My wife 's calamari was over done and rubbery, coating burnt. When asked about that, the waiter simply said that 's normal (NOT! . Then the waiter was in such a rush to turn over the table, he dropped a small square plate on my wife 's foot, DREW BLOOD, but just said sorry and dashed off, again with that scared look on his face. I asked for the manager, and who would you guess claimed the position... yep, cranky-pants 'hostess '. Without listening to me, she popped of and said I 'm not buying your dinner! (note: I never asked for that, nor did I expect it , but she instantly went from awful to completely demonically insane and turned her back to me and walked off. So I followed her to have a reasonable discussion. But she wasn 't having it. So, right their, in front of people waiting for a table, she 's screaming and said get out of my restaurant! Looking at the people 's eyes, I said you really might not want to eat here , at which time she said she was calling the police (really? I said OK, I 'll wait here, and went back to my table and sat down to wait. I might have agreed to simply leave, but in the fake police call, she said very loudly I have a person refusing to pay his bill !!! and hung up. Now the gloves are off. I sit down and wait. She came over and leave! I said you called the cops on me, remember? I 'll wait right here till they get here. So much fun, yeah! Then she said get out, your bull is paid and sent a guy over to escort us out. The shock other patron 's faces was the icing on the cake. I tipped the waiter in absentia and asked the 'escort ', it must be awful working with her , he said it 's not easy . I apologized to him for that, and we left. You would think that a patron about to drop $150-200 for a meal would receive some form of a show of appreciation, no? Maybe even just a smile and how is everything? Obviously we won 't ever be back (unless the Allens reach out to me, and tell me the manager has been fired. THEN I 'll return . Until then, we 've had awesome dining experiences at other restaurants in town. The mediocre food, high prices, PLUS an unwarranted attitude, just ain 't worth it. Eat at Dolphin at your own peril.

We ended up here by pure happenstance (location, hanger, etc). We sat outside by the river which was beautiful, however you had to refill your own waters. That said, you are paying heftily for the location and that is about all. I don’t wish to be disrespectful to the hard working people or the owners, but It is wildly overpriced for the value. My husband got a steak that was mediocre. My daughter got 2 pieces of octopus nigiri (about 1Tbsp and 1 sliver of octopus each) for $22. Her 1 sushi roll was small and underwhelming for $28. We paid half the price at Kauai Sushi station food truck in Lihue and got huge portions of much better tasting sushi. My other daughter got teriyaki chicken and rice. She said the chicken was ok, but felt the rice mushy and sticky. My swordfish was very mildly flavored, but grilled nicely.

Food was fine, service has had the stars lowered as half our table had their plates cleared before the rest of the table were even close to finishing. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Food: 3 Service: 3 Atmosphere: 3

Very expensive for what it is. Is more of a laid back casual place but the prices are more high end. Would not return for that reason as the service was very casual and not attentive for the price as well. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $30–50 Food: 4 Service: 3 Atmosphere: 3 Recommended dishes: Sushi Rolls