Anyone who follows my Instagram account will know that i'm a lover of fabulous food and cocktails, for me there is no better combination (unless you add good company into the mix as well)! There is nothing I enjoy more than indulging my passion for a perfectly mixed cocktail and delicious food and I am always on the lookout for somewhere new and interesting to try………

Enter Hawaiian restaurant Kua ‘Aina, the brainchild of Pail Di Francisci and Patrick Gray! Northern Irish born and bread these two boys have already established the Kua ‘Aina brand in London with two restaurants and thankfully for those of us in NI, they have brought the concept back to Belfast!

Their new restaurant has been open for a few months now on Level 2 of Victoria Square Belfast, and I have to say it’s definitely a welcome addition to Victoria Square!

But enough of the background as I'm sure you all want to know what this little "Cocktail Girl" thought of the food and more importantly the cocktails! Well myself and a few of my fabulous blogger friends were very kindly invited along to meet Kua ‘Aina’s London-based cocktail master, who came over to Belfast exclusively to walk us through their bespoke cocktails as well as the classics!

First off I opted for a “Hawaiian Storm” cocktail. This rum based cocktail definitely packs a punch, but still has a lightness across the palette with the welcome addition of a little ginger beer! The hint of ginger really complimented the robustness of the rum finished off with a kick of lime which created a perfect balance on the palete!

Next I wanted to test them to see how well they could handle a classic cocktail, as a martini girl I thought I would give their take on an Espresso Martini a whirl and I wasn't disappointed! The addition of Kahlua (a rum based coffee liqueur) gave it a wonderful rich flavour and the coconut cream created a fantastic froth to the finished cocktail!

However my stand out cocktail of the night has to go to the Avocado Wave! Now I do love my tropical fruits, but I had no idea just how unbelievable a combination this was going to be! Again this was a rum based cocktail, but what really stood out for me was the gorgeous thick and creamy consistency! So cool and refreshing, the mix of mango, orange and lime perfectly blended with the avocado and rum to create a cocktail that was far too easy to drink! In fact it was so good I ended up having four!!

Matching my “Avocado Wave” cocktail with my Balenciaga triple tour bracelet and Balenciaga Mini City handbag! Hehe!

With Kua ‘Aina’s “Happy Hour” in full swing, it was now time for some food! I was looking forward to trying out their Hawaiian themed menu, and if I'm honest I wasn't quite sure what to expect!

First off lets talk about the starters, I loved the beautifully crisp and juicy coconut king prawns, in fact I could have sat and nibbled on these all night!

The salt and pepper squid was delicious too, no sign of it being overcooked and the salt and pepper coating was delicious, while the cool salsa and tortilla chips were a welcome counterpoint to the delicious prawns and squid!

As for my main, well I opted for something from their legendary “Lava Grill”, I was immediately drawn to the seared Ahi tuna: made from sashimi grade yellowfin tuna (I do love my sashimi!) it was served medium rare, and honestly it was cooked to perfection! Instead of a traditional burger bun I opted for artisan toasted bread supplied to Kua ‘Aina from French Village and it really did taste every bit as good as it looked!!

To say that we enjoyed ourselves is a bit of an understatement as we stayed at Kua ‘Aina long after our blogger event had finished as the cocktails and food were just sooo good! If you love a tropical cocktail (or you want to try a grown up milk shake (Jeff from Belfast Times swears by them!) then you have to try out Kua ‘Aina! Everything was delicious and I can't wait to go back, if only to get my hands on those coconut king prawns and Avocado Wave cocktails again!

To check out the Kua ‘Aina menu at Victoria Square Belfast check out their website at http://kua-aina.co.uk/.

A very big thank you to Brittany and Jessica for the very kind invite to attend Happy Hour at Kua ‘Aina! we had a ball!!