JO2 Natural Cuisine

Do not waste your time and money to go here. I was very excited because I remember A Pacific Café and wanted to try the new restaurant when I was on the island. Where to begin, It’s in a strip mall with limited parking and had to loop several times to find parking, even though we sat next to the bar the drinks took forever, the table service was poor, the pancake on Korean Rib appetizer was burnt, the fish was over-​cooked and the Bread Pudding was served so burnt you couldn’t cut into it. When I mentioned how disappointed we were the waitress shrugged and said she would tell the chef. A restaurant of this caliber should have servers who don’t care and serve burnt food. Should have gone with my second choice and gone to Plantation 1845.

Great food. Me and my wife finally enjoyed some great delicious beautifully created artistic looking seafood in hawai. Food is even better than Mama’s fish house, the ambience not as much though but way way cheaper.
Dont miss this place if you are visiting Kauai and want your palates to dance with delight.

We REALLY wanted to like JO2 and so I’m bummed we had such an awful experience. We dined here on Christmas Day ’15. We looked forward to the meal all week long and practically memorized the entire menu and photos on Unilocal.
When we arrived for our reservation we were seated directly below the air conditioning unit on the back wall which was blasting cold air into the entire dining room. Our table cloth was literally flapping around, it was so windy Hahha! The entire wall of booths to our right were wide open and so we asked to be reseated. Unfortunately, we were told they were already reserved for groups of ¾ or more and so that was a no-​go. After a few more minutes of shivering under the blast chiller though we were lucky to move to a small table by the front door. Awesome! Only… we then watched 2 more couples walk in and promptly get escorted to the very same booths we had asked for a few minutes ago… why were we denied?
Anyway, we quickly cheered up once we started ordering. Oh the anticipation for delicious food!
Unfortunately, the opening complimentary taro chips and tomato/​Edamame dip fell flat for us because the chips were really greasy.
We then had the crispy green bean salad that everyone raves about on Unilocal.Maybe the B-​team was in the kitchen because our salad was drenched in dressing. Pools of sauce at the bottom of the plate. As a result, the green beans lacked the slight crunch you soooo look forward to when you eat something lightly battered with tempura and flash fried. :(
We ordered lamb chops, medium rare, for our main course. (A small tangent: Another couple walked in and were seated right next to us at this point. Oddly enough they were told they needed to put in their order for all courses upfront because the kitchen was backed up. Before the server even had a chance to come back and bring their complimentary taro chips, the food runner brought out the couples main entrée. Awkward. Hahhaa. I felt so bad for the server. totally not her fault.)
Anyway, back to our meal. The lamb chops that came out were gray and overcooked. Double sad face.
We got our check and practically ran out of the restaurant. We were so OVER the entire experience.
Take my review with a grain of salt. Every restaurant has their off days. Hope you have a better meal there, my friends!

One of the best meals we had on the island. This upscale dining experience with a cute open kitchen and great mellow décor is really one of the best culinary experiences we had on the island. Everything we had was top notch! All of the courses were awesome. This isn’t a cheap meal but you can taste each quality ingredient. We had great service with an extensive beer and wine list. If you are gonna splurge for one meal on the island, I would go here!

Incredible!!! Definitely eat here. 100 stars. Best meal in Kauai.
Love the food here. Everything was prepared perfectly, nice balance of flavors and just downright delicious.
What we had:
Complimentary taro chips and wasabi edamame tomato dip –A just yum!
Thai muffin — A+ and that ginger, pepper butter insane
The bibimbap — A+ great combination
Tasmania Salmon — A — yummy
Scallop Ravioli A+ — savory and divine
Oysters — A+++ just get it
Tempura green beans — A Love the salad with it
Shiitake Mushroom bao A+ delicious
Corn ravioli — A Can’t go wrong
Desserts: ALL AMAZING!!!
Banana cream pie and banana ice cream
Lilikoi Tart
Strawberry guava gelato
Ambiance is friendly upscale which I love.
Service was top notch. Our server Dana was outstanding as well as the rest of the serving staff. Major love and kudos to the chef!!!

Solid service and food. Best meal on the island. Sophisticated plating. Creative flavors. Not to be missed ice cream.
If you are thinking «should I head here in my trip to Kauai», the answer is most certainly yes.

When you are in Kauai you must visit Chef Jean-​Marie. His French-​Local fusion is comparable to Award Winning Chef Mavro in Honolulu. JO2 will have your tastbuds stimulated and your pallet dancing!
We decided to do the Chef’s omakase style. This is where you let the chef know any allergies and he will decide what to feature for your dinner.
I was at WOW from the first dish to the last. His play of flavors are amazing. This is fine dining and the prices are worth the food.
Our waitress’s have a sweet local demeanor and are knowledgeable about the menu.

Loved, Loved, Loved It! We had an overall excellent experience at Chef Jean-​Marie Josselin’s restaurant, JO2! As city folk visiting from Honolulu, we wanted to dine somewhere that was unique to Kaua’i and not a chain restaurant. We love food and fine restaurants, and appreciate the creativity and artistry of seasoned chefs. So when we heard that Chef Jean-​Marie had opened this great new eatery, it was off to Kapa’a we went.
The restaurant itself is small but very modern and comfortable. The Chef was cooking that night so it was fun to watch him creating his dishes. Each was very artistically presented, with the use of fresh flowers and greens. Very pretty!
The menu itself is separated into three sections: Pupu (Start), No Ka Mala’ai Mai (From the garden), I’a No Uka A Me Kai (From mountain to ocean). Our waitress was very informative about explaining the menu and recommending tasty dishes. Let’s just say that we ordered a lot and we loved everything we tried.
We ordered:
**Salmon «Lomi Lomi» — Tomato foam, onion salad.
This dish was delicious. The tomato foam was different, with little taste but it worked with the salmon. A little twist on the traditional Lomi Lomi salmon.
**Crispy Chickpea Fries — Romesco sauce
Presentation was so cute! The fries came in a ceramic pot and the sauce and condiments came in a small pail. The chickpeas fries were actually good, loved the sauce and fresh greens that came with it. Would recommend this dish simply for presentation alone.
**Molola’a Beet Salad — Tomato dashi, goat cheese gouda, arugula.
Presentation is again pretty. A lot of fresh greens of various colors, all grown locally. I love beets so this dish was a fave!
**Green Beans Tempura — Fennel salad, spicy garlic sauce.
The green beans were cooked with a tempura batter and presented on a bed of fresh greens. The variety of greens used was quite impressive, I don’t even know the name of some of them. Very delicious indeed!
**Dashi braised Nantais carrot — Thai basil curry, local pumpkin, avocado
We liked it but weren’t raving about. It was good but there were better dishes. Loved the curry though.
ENTRES:
**Mahi Mahi — Lemongrass sesame crust, Thai curry basil, dragon beans.
This was my entrée. Presentation again was beautiful with fresh greens and flowers. Loved the sesame crust. Filet of fish was cooked to perfection. The sauce was also tasty.
**Seared «Hunan» style rack of lamb — chipotle truffle sauce
My Mom said that this was one of the best lamb she’s ever tasted. She enjoyed the sauce and couldn’t stop raving about it.
**Slow Cooked Wagyu Beef Cheeks
My friend couldn’t