Thursday, June 28, 2012

Josselin's Tapas Bar and Grill @ Poipu

While Josselin's Tapas may be a paradise for seafood lovers, it is a complete rip off for vegetarians. It is a $$$ restaurant owned by an award winning chef who has a modern take on food, offers tiny tapas plates where the focus is on presentation. This restaurant came suggested by another couple we met on the trip as an awesome restaurant in Poipu. Dinner plans materialized instantly.

At 6pm the restaurant was almost packed. They have a fairly big seating area.

Josselin's Tapas
There's an open kitchen on one side where the Chefs in white aprons plate the food. The fine dining ambiance with dimly lit interiors and the cost of each plate that's not proportionate to the portions make it suitable for special occasions when you don't have a roaring appetite.


The Sangria lady rolled her cart to our table to lure us into buying some atrociously priced Sangria.


Tropical Sangrias were too tempting to resist. So a mango Sangria without ice was ordered. And the lady made sure to fill no more than half the glass with the said drink.



The food! Our choices were limited to the "Tapas Inspired from local farmers" section. The waitress brought over some bread and Olive oil vinaigrette combo.

Bread and olive oil
We ordered the Steamed and Seared Spinach Portobello “Pucks” / Spicy Garlic Sauce. Very similar to Tibetian Momos, these steamed and pan seared dumplings were the most filling of the lot. The spicy garlic sauce complemented the dumplings really well.


Then came the Organic Beet Ravioli / Pumpkin Seed Pesto / Orange Mint Vinaigrette. The description was so misleading. We imagined Ravioli stuffled with beet in a pesto sauce. When we got the plate, we rooted around for the Ravioli and then realized the beet itself was folded like a Ravioli. A few slices of oranges were added just to fill up the plate. This was the greatest disappointment of all.


The Avocado Sampler / Roasted / Tempura / Avocado Mousse / Panna Cotta / Peanut Butter came next. Avocado in three forms
-- Avocado tempura with a little soy sauce on the plate and orange
-- Piped Avocado mousse topped with peanut butter, flower petals on top a buttermilk sesame panna cotta
-- Tomato bruschetta roasted avocado topped with garlic flakes and foam.


Avocado in various forms was interesting and tasty. The portions were as big as the samples at Whole Foods. I understand Tapas is bite sized food. For the hefty price, I expect more flavors, exciting ingredients, more vegetarian options. better service, knowledgeable waitresses and above all a better dining experience. I won't go back here again. Certainly not for vegetarians!
Josselin's Tapas Bar & Grill (Kukui'Ula Vlg Mall) on Urbanspoon

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