CITY GUIDES | HAWAI’I
The 15-seat Aina Kauaʻi Treats Local Kapa‘a Fish Like a Formal Event
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By Mei Chen | Feb. 16, 2026
Āina Kauaʻi serves just 14 diners per night, and it runs like a small ceremony: everyone sits, everyone starts, everyone moves through the same synchronized progression at the same time.
The kitchen is led by Mitch Muroff and Jabez Yohannes, and their whole point is “Kauaian kaiseki,” which means they take Japanese structure seriously while letting the island’s farms and waters do most of the talking.
Expect a seafood-forward set on some nights built around things like ahi tartare, local fish with mango saikyō miso, and seasonal desserts, with optional add-ons that can get luxuriously specific (Niʻihau ama ebi in a vanilla shell broth, Hawaiʻi-grown Ezo abalone in chawanmushi).
On robata nights, the menu pivots into smoke and skewers—ahi tataki, jidori chicken tsukune, binchōtan-grilled vegetables—plus optional enhancements like Maui venison or Miyazaki A5 wagyu. This is not a place that tries to be “relaxed”; it is a place that wants the meal to land the way it was designed.
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