DK Restaurant Group Opens Gastropub in Kīhei

Shearwater Tavern is now open at the Azeka Mauka shopping center in Kīhei.

The gastropub, serving dinner from 5 to 10 p.m., is touting signature items like pesto-marinated jumbo prawns with kabocha ravioli, beer-braised oxtail poutine and the Shearwater burger.

Dinner prices range from $6.95 to $24.95, with daily happy hour specials from 5 to 6 p.m. that include $2 off draft beers, signature craft cocktails and wines, plus 50% off appetizers and flatbreads.  There’s also a late-night happy hour from 10 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Chef/Restaurateur D.K. Kodama describes his new restaurant as “a neighborhood gathering place serving a variety of creative comfort food and excellent craft beers.”

Beer-Braised Beef Short Rib will be on the menu at Shearwater Tavern which has opened as of Dec. 13 at the Azeka Mauka shopping center in Kīhei. Photo Courtesy.

Shearwater Tavern is the eighth restaurant in the DK Restaurant Group and marks the group’s 20th anniversary of serving award-winning food and drink throughout Hawai‘i and beyond.

“I’ve visited a lot of gastropubs all over the country,” says D.K. “When the location became available (locals will remember it as the old A Pacific Café then Stella Blues location in Azeka Mauka), I thought a gastropub would be a perfect fit. The menu is a collaboration of ideas from many folks in our company.”

Menu includes items such as: posole, housemade pastas, hand-tossed pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven, lobster roll and entrées like smoked turkey drumstick, southern fried chicken, and braised short ribs.

The restaurant will also have an ever-changing, carefully selected list of craft beers available.

The name of the restaurant came from the Wedge-tailed Shearwater. The bird are native to Hawai‘i and its Hawaiian name is ‘Ua’u Kani; they live at sea and nest at the shoreline.

“I remember learning about shearwaters when I encountered a colony on Kaua‘i years ago. I knew there was a shearwater colony near our new restaurant location,” says D.K. “I liked the idea of naming our restaurant after the Shearwater.”

Shearwater Tavern is located at 1279 South Kīhei Rd. (Azeka Mauka Shopping Center), Kīhei. To learn more, call 808-793-2324 or visit the Shearwater’s website.