The former plantation community and now county seat, Lihue is a place where local residents live and work. For action after sunset, music, dancing, and bars, the hotels and resorts are the primary players. There are a few local places, but generally all is quiet in Lihue after dark.
The Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club, 3610 Rice St., Nawiliwili (tel. 808/246-9599), has a host of nightlife activities. Kukui's Restaurant has a sunset hula show on Saturday and a torch-lighting ceremony on Monday and Thursday. Duke's Canoe Club's Barefoot Bar offers traditional and contemporary Hawaiian music nightly. On "Tropical Friday," tropical drinks go for $3.50 from 4 to 6pm, when live music stirs up the joint.
On the other side of Lihue, the Radisson Kauai Beach Resort, 4331 Kauai Beach Dr. (tel. 808/245-1955; www.radissonkauai.com), has a nightly torch-lighting ceremony and hula show in the central courtyard, plus the "Old Hawaiian Style Luau" featuring Polynesian entertainment on Monday at 5:30pm. The luau's cost is $55 for adults and $25 for children 6 to 12. If you've already experienced a luau, they also feature "A Night of Broadway" dinner show: an evening that includes a buffet dinner, song, and dance. The cost is $68 for adults and $34 for children 6 to 12.
If you are looking for a neighborhood bar, Rob's Good Time Grill, in the Rice Shopping Center (tel. 808/246-0311), is a terrific place to have a beer, shoot some pool, watch the big screen TV, and display your talent at karaoke. This down-home bar is not fancy, with its Formica tables, but the crowd is friendly and it's a great place to meet local folks.
Another neighborhood-type bar, which gets more tourists due to its location near the Marriott, is Nawiliwili Tavern, in the old Hotel Kuboyama, 3124 Paena Loop, at the bottom of Rice St. (tel. 808/245-7267). They serve pupu and plate-lunch type dinners and stay open to 1am. Drop by for a cold one and get into a dart or pool game, or watch sports on satellite TV.
If you are up for a movie, the Kukui Grove Cinemas, in the Kukui Grove Shopping Center, 4368 Kukui Grove St. (tel. 808/245-5055), features the latest films at prices a lot cheaper than those in New York City.
For arts and culture, local residents flock to the plays put on by the nonprofessional group the Kauai Community Players. Call tel. 808/245-7700 to find out what the latest production is and where it will be performed. It's not Broadway (or off-Broadway), but it is energetic community theater at its best.
