We went to CJ's for lunch despite the negative reviews and were very pleased. We started off with a great greeting. One of the waitresses, who was not, ours saw that we had our 20 month old with us and came right over with crackers(Total pro move). Our Waiter came over fairly quick, even with a full section, he was a nice kid. He gave us a great description of the specials, one was a wasabi/ranch burger, which both my wife and I ordered. It was delicious. Also the French fry's were great. My middle son, who was also with us, got the fish and chips, also delicious. The service was good, the food was really good, and everyone there seemed happy. The prices were ok, but then again, this is Hawaii, and most restaurants are not cheap. The one negative I will say is my wife and I both ordered our burgers medium. I received an excellent medium, but my wife's was done well, but she still thought it was "excellent." We would go there again.

We'd heard such great things from locals and reviews, so when it came time to pick a place to celebrate the 60th birthday of my friends stepfather CJ's seemed like the place to chew in his milestone. So we called and made reservations, made sure we ate light over the course of the day as to not ruin our appetites for dinner. The website looked solid as I shuffled through considering what I might have a taste for later in the evening. We arrived, within 5 minutes of our arrival we were seated in a cozy booth. The woman we thought was our waitress came around pretty quick for drink orders, everyone ordered a mixed or frozen drink. A few minutes later our waitress stopped over to see if we were ready to order. Some of us were still on the fence but we were ready to move forward with our order. Teriyaki Shrimp with mashed potatoes, Lobster with mashed potatoes, Catch of the Day with rice pilaf. When it was my turn to order I asked our waitress for a recommendation between the Hanalei Shrimp and the Teriyaki Shrimp, she left the ball in my court. Sigh. I went for the Hanalei Shrimp with mashed potatoes. We all made our way over to the salad bar, the first go through was a success. The salad bar, while not the best in presentation, most of the items seemed pretty fresh. The bread wasn't warm and the crispy edges of the purple roll was crispy in a way that happens when the bread is old. We'd recently attended a luau and had the best bread w/ sweet whipped butter. That was not the case at CJ's. The butter was served cold in a metal jar. On the second round through my friend went for some olives and peppers, one of her peppers had a gnat on it. By now we'd each been served our drinks and started sipping away, they were pretty strong but I think they skipped the mango in my mango margarita. Then came time for the main course. I jumped right in, the mashed potatoes looked yum, except they were cold. Not lukewarm, cold. So I asked the others around the table thinking maybe it was just my dish. Nope, everyone had been served cold mashed potatoes. After getting the attention of our waitress we let her know about the frigid temperature of the potatoes, she offered to take our plates back and microwave the plate. Uh, what? I opted for a swap and ordered the rice pilaf instead. The two others recommended she just bring warm potatoes as a side dish, as to not further interrupt their dining. She obliged. The cajun Catch of the Day looked well seasoned and my friend seemed to enjoy it. Until she asked if fish had livers, because it tasted as if she'd happened upon one in her meal. We didn't really have an answer for her, maybe you guys know? Either way she had to remove a portion of her fish, the "liver", to get to the enjoyable portion. I'd ordered the Hanalei Shrimp, I was impressed by the size of the shrimp, but not much else since the flavoring was pretty underwhelming and the rice pilaf I exchanged my cold potatoes for were lukewarm, overcooked and lacked in flavor. Essentially my rice was seconds from being mashed unflavored pilaf. The birthday boy ordered the teriyaki shrimp, three of which were not completely cooked. Happy Birthday? The lobster was overcooked and the mashed potatoes were not much to write home about, though the second batch was at least warm. They did bring what seemed like a pound of Coffee Oreo Ice Cream Cake on the house for the Birthday boy. Thanks? I think we would have done better to stay in and cook a Birthday Dinner. Overall CJ's, while close to our resort, could not have been further from an enjoyable experience. Unfortunate since everything else we've experienced on the island has been memorable in the best way possible. If you are considered CJ's, do yourself a favor, stop short, pull into the Chevron Station and order The Meanest Veggie Burger. You'll save yourself $158 + 18% tip and maybe you'll enjoy your falafel on one of the gorgeous beaches Kauai has to offer.

one of the few places to eat in Princeville...food was okay, but not great and was way overpriced. $167 = 4 entrées (mahi mahi, 2 filets, coconut shrimp) with salad bar. No plans to return. Really didn't meet expectations for a nicer restaurant in a "well to do" area of the island.

we heard some bad stories on yelp about this spot yet we tried it out because it was close and we had to leave the next day. The drinks were watered down the salad bar was terrible the cocktail waitress was a b**ch and was adversarial and rude about the wine list which was sub par at best,she just named the varietals no winery names or vintage years. We ordered prime rib and it looked like it was steamed and maybe cooked yesterday and reheated. Our server was very nice and down to earth. But one of our party ordered seared ahi and it was far from fresh,an unforgivable problem when the ahi poke at the foodland is some of the best I've had. Way over priced! To top it off the bathroom was disgusting. As a classically trained chef I'm going easy on them if it was my place I would tear the place down and start over. Don't go there unless you like getting ripped off and possibly getting sick. Tempted to call health department and complain.

I ordered the lobster and steak. The lobster was fair, but the steak was marginal, at best. At $67.00, I expected much better. My wife ordered the filet, but was served a sirloin. The food isn't "bad", but it is grossly over priced and lacks any seasoning/flavor. The waitress offered steak sauce when our food was delivered...I recommend accepting it.