April 2025
Lihue, Hawaii.

Our hosts in Kalaheo recommended a stop at Duke’s Restaurant last year, so on the night we attended the luau show, we stopped at Duke’s because the meal portion of the luau had sold out. The lush tropical display at the entrance to Duke’s Kauai, featuring waterfalls, tiki torches, and vibrant foliage, serves as a tropical threshold that honors the spirit of Duke Kahanamoku.

Duke’s Tropical Garden

That evening, we vowed to return to Duke’s when we had more time and also to visit Café Portofino, which is co-located with Duke’s in the same building. During the research process for this article, I gained a deeper understanding of Duke Kahanamoku. He was born in Honolulu in 1890 and grew up surfing and swimming in Waikīkī. He became a six-time Olympic medalist in freestyle swimming, winning gold in 1912 and 1920. However, his legacy extends far beyond his medals—he’s credited with popularizing surfing worldwide, introducing it to places like California and Australia.

The downstairs bar

Duke was also a Hollywood actor, a long-serving sheriff of Honolulu, and was later named Hawaii’s official “Ambassador of Aloha”. He lived with grace, broke racial barriers, and embodied the spirit of the islands. Today, his name lives on in restaurants in Hawaii, California, and in the world of surf culture.

View from Café Portofino

At the edge of Nawiliwili Bay, two restaurants share the shoreline. Step through the torch-lit garden into Duke’s Kauai, and you’re immersed in surf culture and island nostalgia. Duke’s trades in grilled catch and hula pie. But just steps away, Café Portofino offers a different kind of welcome, complete with white linen, Northern Italian dishes, and a view of Nawiliwili Bay. Guests from the nearby resort hotel and shopping centers can enter either restaurant from Kalapaki Beach.

Outdoor seating at Café Portofino

Though they occupy the same building, they have different corporate ownership and speak different languages; one in the rhythm of waves and ukulele, the other in the cadence of candlelight and cannelloni. Together, they form a rare pairing of two culinary worlds united by a single panoramic view.

About the photos: All photos were captured with my Samsung S23 Ultra. Creating the opening image of Duke’s Garden Entrance was the most fun. Given the difficulty of photographing the building’s entrance and the garden in front of it, I blended two photos that shared a small section of the landscape, the roofline, and tiki torches. Unfortunately, the two images didn’t line up correctly at the building’s roofline, and the resulting panorama didn’t blend well. I used Photoshop’s Generative AI to make the roofline contiguous, even if it is not architecturally accurate. I then added tropical plants to fill in the blank areas of the panoramic image along the borders and recreated the sky around the building as needed. All images were processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic, and in some photos, I used AI to remove distractions. Finally, I finished processing each of them using Luminar Neo.

I invite fellow bloggers to join in by creating their own Cellpic Sunday posts. There’s no set theme—the only rule is that your photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or other mobile device. The second rule is simple: link your challenge response to this post or drop a comment here with your link so others can find it. And remember, despite the name, there’s no penalty for sharing on a day other than Sunday.

One final administrative note: Lynn and I are currently on a cruise that severely limits my Internet access. If I don’t respond to comments as quickly as usual, rest assured I’ve read every one and will reply when I can.

John Steiner