Ocean House by Roy Yamaguchi just celebrated its grand opening. The restaurant is located at the Outrigger Kauaʻi Beach Resort in Līhu‘e, and was part of the resort’s reopening ceremony.
The resort’s recent renovations include elevated accommodations, updated décor and refreshed gathering spaces.
The eatery is led by award-winning chef Roy Yamaguchi and executive chef Samual Taganeca. Prior to his role as executive chef at Outrigger Kauaʻi Beach Resort, Taganeca most recently served as chef de cuisine at Starwood Hotels in Princeville. His previous culinary experiences include roles at Mina Group’s Stripsteak Waikīkī, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikīkī Beach, and at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.
Ocean House is currently open daily for breakfast (7 to 10:30 a.m.) and dinner (5 to 10 p.m.). The restaurant’s menu is inspired by local farms, the surrounding ocean and Kauaʻi’s fishing community.
It was important to work closely with local farmers, fishermen and ranchers to highlight locally sourced ingredients on the menu, according to Taganeca.
“If you’ve been to a Roy’s Restaurant, you know he (chef Roy) really focuses on the locality and working with local farmers,” he says. “Ocean House is definitely hyper-focused on seafood and trying to find as many local sources as we can.”
“When we first began envisioning Ocean House, what excited me most was the opportunity to create something that truly belongs here,” states chef Roy Yamaguchi. “Kauaʻi has an incredible community of farmers, fishermen and producers, and every dish is inspired by their work. We want guests to experience the flavors of this Island in a way that feels genuine, memorable and deeply connected to place.”
The eatery’s breakfast menu features dishes like avocado toast ($20), acai bowl ($24), loco moco ($26), eggs Benedict ($22), coconut macadamia nut pancakes ($19) and French Polynesian toast ($17). The latter features Hawaiian shortbread stuffed with guava cream and finished with fresh papaya. Meanwhile, the pancakes are topped with haupia cream, toasted coconut and bruleed banana.
“I love the pancakes and French toast,” Taganeca says. “Our sweet bread’s stuffed with a lilikoʻi guava cream; our French toast will definitely be a highlight and one of the more popular items.”
The dinner menu features a variety of chilled seafood options, shareable pūpū, entrees and desserts. Signature starters include kanpachi crudo with jabong, avocado, ponzu and crispy garlic ($25) and twice-cooked baby back ribs ($23). The latter is a customer favorite, and is known for its sticky, salty-sweet Mongolian glaze.
The pork-shrimp-crab-pillows ($38) come highly recommended, and are served with a sesame butter sauce. Other pūpū include a sashimi trio ($35), Kauaʻi seafood chowder ($15), oysters on the half shell ($43), Ocean House-style poke ($22) and Kauaʻi spring rolls ($24).
Signature entrees include the Kauaʻi bag & boil, which features local shrimp, fresh catch, clams, Portuguese sausage and corn in a brown butter coconut sauce; crab mac nut-crusted mahi; and braised short ribs.
The light, flaky mahi is served in a shrimp cream sauce with coconut jasmine rice on the side. The braised short ribs are accompanied by potato gratin, buttered green beans, Pono Farms carrots, natural jus and lomi tomato.
“The seafood boil is a house specialty; it will definitely be popular,” Taganeca says. “It’s something different that you don’t really see. It’s a nice touch to incorporate the seafood that Kauaʻi has to offer.
“He (chef Roy) does a good job at making each restaurant identity a little different,” he adds. “Each restaurant has its own sense of personality, but is still comfortable and familiar.”
Other entrees include a smash burger with fried onions and teriyaki glaze ($33); grilled rib-eye with roasted potatoes, shishito chimichurri and Pono Farms vegetable medley ($58); daily catch beer-battered fish and chips ($28); a whole fried snapper (market price) and rigatoni with zucchini, mushrooms, tomato cream and Italian sausage ($34).
Desserts are designed to feature a variety of flavors, so there’s something for everyone. The eatery’s halo halo is a twist on the traditional Filipino shave ice dessert. This refreshing rendition features coconut panna cotta topped with azuki beans, mochi, frozen pineapple, ube ice cream and mac nut brittle.
Diners who want something more indulgent can opt for the chocolate crunch bar ($15) — a chocolate rice crispy crust topped with chocolate mousse and chocolate ganache — or the haupia bread pudding ($17), which is complete with a coconut milk custard and mac nut caramel cream.
The eatery’s signature cocktails ($18) range from the lilikoʻi margarita and 1944 Ocean House Mai Tai to a matcha Old Fashioned and Ocean House spritz. Diners can also enjoy live music every evening.
Taganeca says it’s exciting to welcome everyone back to the historic resort to see its renovations.
“I’m super excited to get this going,” he says. “I worked with chef Roy at a few different food and wine events when I lived on Oʻahu. To actually get to work next to him in this whole launch has been pretty inspirational. You always hear and see the godfathers of Pacific Rim cuisine; it’s awesome to be a part of that.”
CONTACT
Ocean House by Roy Yamaguchi
Outrigger Kauaʻi Beach Resort & Spa
4331 Kauaʻi Beach Drive, Līhu‘e
808-245-1955 ext. 5540
outrigger.com/kauai
Instagram: @oceanhousekauai
Open daily for breakfast (7 to 10:30 a.m.) and dinner (5 to 10 p.m.)
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Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
