where to eat near BI hotels

[letsgobobby]

staying at HGVC Kingsland in April. We love good local food and an occasional splurge. we'd like to make one reservation for a large party 15-20 people but otherwise we'll either be about 10 or we'll do take out. A few options near the hotel and others as far as Kona or similar distance would be great.

Also need best poke, shave ice, local/Hawaiian, sushi places. if there a great saimin shop even better!

 

[Luanne]

Not overly fond of the restaurants in the hotels in Waikoloa resort area. I do like Sensei in the Queen's Shops. Up the hill in Waikoloa Village Pueo Osteria is very good. It has moved location into the new center up there, check to make sure it's reopened.

I like the poke at the Island Gourmet store in the Queen's Shops. I have no idea if it's the best.

 

[ScoopKona]

Restaurants are Hawaii's weakest link.

Hawaii has the best produce of any place I have ever lived or even visited. I'll put their tomatoes up against Italy. I'll put their onions up against anywhere. You can get outstanding Maine Lobster, Dungeness Crab, Japanese Abalone and cold-water oysters from the deep-water aquaculture project. An infinite bounty of tropical fruit. Avocados which may as well be free. And wall-to-wall ahi. A continual growing season for everything which thrives in such a climate. We have an absolute embarrassment of riches when it comes to raw ingredients. The ginger growing at my farm tastes better than any ginger I have ever tried in my life. Same with the turmeric. Same with the garlic. Same with oranges, key limes and meyer lemons. Our island-raised beef right where you're staying. Wild turkey. Pheasant. It's all just take-your-breath-away amazing.

But other than Merriman's and Super J's all the way down in Captain Cook, good luck finding restaurants which actually use the bounty I described in the previous paragraph. There may be others besides those two. But I've given up on restaurants. I've been disappointed too many times. "This place is the BEST! You have to eat here." I go there. It's embarrassing -- Applebee's food with Robuchon prices.

Most restaurants want to open a bag of frozen whatever and pour it into a deep fryer. Garnish and sell! The food you're going to find on restaurant menus is mostly "what makes us the highest profit -- food we can keep frozen because that's better for our bottom line." Think $30 orders of tater tots. That sort of place.

"We use only locally-sourced ingredients" is not a popular business model here. There are only a handful of them.

I'd hire a chef instead.

 

[Monkeyboy]

staying at HGVC Kingsland in April. We love good local food and an occasional splurge. we'd like to make one reservation for a large party 15-20 people but otherwise we'll either be about 10 or we'll do take out. A few options near the hotel and others as far as Kona or similar distance would be great.

Also need best poke, shave ice, local/Hawaiian, sushi places. if there a great saimin shop even better!

we did enjoy Sensei for sushi went for the happy hour how they handle it is a little weird, but the food was good. We use to eat at Roy’s in the Kings Shop but we haven’t been in years as it’s higher end price wise. For Shave ice I would go to Big island Shave ice in the Kings Shop we get the Halo Halo. In Kona there is a Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice. We do also like broke da mouth in Kona for mix plate it was take out only last time we went. The ube pie was good. The food in the queens courtyard is a little underwhelming the best place is probably waikoloa shrimp. Two Ladies Kitchen in Hilo has excellent Mochi.

 

[SmithOp]

We like the Swedish Shave ice in Kona near the old governor mansion, there is a free parking lot just up the hill behind it, walk to all the shops on Alii Dr.

For cheap eats we stop in L&L in Waimea in the KTA shopping center.

 

[Luanne]

In Kona we like (or have at least in the past):

Huggo's (not Huggo's on the Rocks)
Kona Brewing Company & Pub – good pizza, nice local beer selection
Fish Hopper Seafood & Steaks
Kona Inn Restaurant – mostly for the atmosphere. We’ve only eaten lunch here.
Lava Java _ there is also one in the Waikoloa Village

South of Kona:

Keei Café

 

[lynne]

Restaurants are Hawaii's weakest link.

Hawaii has the best produce of any place I have ever lived or even visited. I'll put their tomatoes up against Italy. I'll put their onions up against anywhere. You can get outstanding Maine Lobster, Dungeness Crab, Japanese Abalone and cold-water oysters from the deep-water aquaculture project. An infinite bounty of tropical fruit. Avocados which may as well be free. And wall-to-wall ahi. A continual growing season for everything which thrives in such a climate. We have an absolute embarrassment of riches when it comes to raw ingredients. The ginger growing at my farm tastes better than any ginger I have ever tried in my life. Same with the turmeric. Same with the garlic. Same with oranges, key limes and meyer lemons. Our island-raised beef right where you're staying. Wild turkey. Pheasant. It's all just take-your-breath-away amazing.

But other than Merriman's and Super J's all the way down in Captain Cook, good luck finding restaurants which actually use the bounty I described in the previous paragraph. There may be others besides those two. But I've given up on restaurants. I've been disappointed too many times. "This place is the BEST! You have to eat here." I go there. It's embarrassing -- Applebee's food with Robuchon prices.

Most restaurants want to open a bag of frozen whatever and pour it into a deep fryer. Garnish and sell! The food you're going to find on restaurant menus is mostly "what makes us the highest profit -- food we can keep frozen because that's better for our bottom line." Think $30 orders of tater tots. That sort of place.

"We use only locally-sourced ingredients" is not a popular business model here. There are only a handful of them.

I'd hire a chef instead.

I will add Alan Hess and his restaurant FORC to the list of locally sourced chefs

Dining Experience in Kamuela - FORC Restaurant

Indulge in a culinary journey at FORC Restaurant, where Chef Allen Hess crafts unforgettable dining experiences. Read more.

forchawaii.com

 

[ScoopKona]

I will add Alan Hess and his restaurant FORC to the list of locally sourced chefs

Dining Experience in Kamuela - FORC Restaurant

Indulge in a culinary journey at FORC Restaurant, where Chef Allen Hess crafts unforgettable dining experiences. Read more.

forchawaii.com

Just scanned the winter menu. Yeah, I can get behind that. Prices are fair. It's local produce. I'll give them a go if I'm ever in the area in the evening.

I'm just so over Chez "Frozen Crap from a Bag, Poured into a Deep Fryer." (Chez FCfaB PiaDF. That's "F--K Fab, Piad-F". Doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. But then again, neither does their food.)

You can't miss them, they're adjacent to Jimmy Pakalolo's Island Shaka Get-You-Wasted Cultural Appropriation Palace.

 

[BingoBangoBongo]

I will add Alan Hess and his restaurant FORC to the list of locally sourced chefs

Dining Experience in Kamuela - FORC Restaurant

Indulge in a culinary journey at FORC Restaurant, where Chef Allen Hess crafts unforgettable dining experiences. Read more.

forchawaii.com

My wife and I ate at FORC when we were there in October. Our meal was great and I mentioned on the reservation that we were celebrating a significant event. They brought us a couple of glasses of champagne when we sat down. It’s a relatively small place and has a separate bar area where I think they run some happy hour specials. With groups that size you would want to call well ahead. It’s not a bad drive up from Waikoloa but it is a bit dark and windy road, especially if it’s raining.

 

[JIMinNC]

Restaurants are Hawaii's weakest link.

Hawaii has the best produce of any place I have ever lived or even visited. I'll put their tomatoes up against Italy. I'll put their onions up against anywhere. You can get outstanding Maine Lobster, Dungeness Crab, Japanese Abalone and cold-water oysters from the deep-water aquaculture project. An infinite bounty of tropical fruit. Avocados which may as well be free. And wall-to-wall ahi. A continual growing season for everything which thrives in such a climate. We have an absolute embarrassment of riches when it comes to raw ingredients. The ginger growing at my farm tastes better than any ginger I have ever tried in my life. Same with the turmeric. Same with the garlic. Same with oranges, key limes and meyer lemons. Our island-raised beef right where you're staying. Wild turkey. Pheasant. It's all just take-your-breath-away amazing.

But other than Merriman's and Super J's all the way down in Captain Cook, good luck finding restaurants which actually use the bounty I described in the previous paragraph. There may be others besides those two. But I've given up on restaurants. I've been disappointed too many times. "This place is the BEST! You have to eat here." I go there. It's embarrassing -- Applebee's food with Robuchon prices.

Most restaurants want to open a bag of frozen whatever and pour it into a deep fryer. Garnish and sell! The food you're going to find on restaurant menus is mostly "what makes us the highest profit -- food we can keep frozen because that's better for our bottom line." Think $30 orders of tater tots. That sort of place.

"We use only locally-sourced ingredients" is not a popular business model here. There are only a handful of them.

I'd hire a chef instead.

We just returned about two weeks ago from the Cayman Islands and loved their fresh local Caribbean lobster. I've heard of Keahole Kona Lobster on the Big Island, but have never found any Big Island restaurants that serve that. I've seen some that promote Australian Lobster Tails, but I'd want Australian Lobster in Australia, not Hawaii. Any places that you know of that serve local lobsters on the Big Island?

 

[slip]

We just returned about two weeks ago from the Cayman Islands and loved their fresh local Caribbean lobster. I've heard of Keahole Kona Lobster on the Big Island, but have never found any Big Island restaurants that serve that. I've seen some that promote Australian Lobster Tails, but I'd want Australian Lobster in Australia, not Hawaii. Any places that you know of that serve local lobsters on the Big Island?

I actually had that lobster at a few places on Oahu. We go to Big Island in May so I'd like to know where on Big Island also.

 

[ScoopKona]

We just returned about two weeks ago from the Cayman Islands and loved their fresh local Caribbean lobster. I've heard of Keahole Kona Lobster on the Big Island, but have never found any Big Island restaurants that serve that. I've seen some that promote Australian Lobster Tails, but I'd want Australian Lobster in Australia, not Hawaii. Any places that you know of that serve local lobsters on the Big Island?

The "local" lobsters are Maine lobsters. (Canadian lobsters more accurately). They're pumping seawater from the ocean floor to raise sustainable cold-water shellfish. Close to the Kona airport, just drive up and buy some seafood.

Absolutely first rate. I know of no restaurants which are actually using them. There's more money by selling frozen seafood to tourists who don't know any better. That's the big-picture problem with the restaurants -- they're cynically using cheap mainland ingredients because they assume their customers are ignorant barbarians.

 

[JIMinNC]

The "local" lobsters are Maine lobsters. (Canadian lobsters more accurately). They're pumping seawater from the ocean floor to raise sustainable cold-water shellfish. Close to the Kona airport, just drive up and buy some seafood.

Absolutely first rate. I know of no restaurants which are actually using them. There's more money by selling frozen seafood to tourists who don't know any better. That's the big-picture problem with the restaurants -- they're cynically using cheap mainland ingredients because they assume their customers are ignorant barbarians.

That's too bad you can't get them in restaurants. If we bought it ourselves we'd have to cook it, and we don't cook on vacation except maybe breakfast.

 

[ScoopKona]

That's too bad you can't get them in restaurants. If we bought it ourselves we'd have to cook it, and we don't cook on vacation except maybe breakfast.

And I almost never eat out at restaurants -- vacation or otherwise. I'm sick of paying fine-dining prices for Hooter's food. I have absolutely no problems going to a restaurant if they're thoughtful about the menu and preparation. That describes roughly one in 50 restaurants in the US, and maybe one in 10 elsewhere. I'm more apt to get a quality meal from some dude whacking chicken parts with a cleaver, street-side at an Asian night market than I am in a hotel restaurant in Hawaii. They treat their customers like a captive audience -- because they are. It's self imposed, of course. But the end result is the same. Frozen seafood brought in from half a world away in order to make an extra dollar of profit.

This has been a problem for a very long time, and it's getting worse over time -- not better. On the food front, society is calcifying into two groups: a slim minority who eats well, eats local, and eats fresh. And people who eat nothing but processed corporate food.

Every time I read a post over at the lounge of some member's incurable malady, I keep my mouth shut about the effects of a poor diet. Even the salads at these TGI-McFunster's restaurants are unhealthy. It all adds up over time.

 

[davidvel]

Holy hell, <iframe src="https://giphy.com/embed/wSU1U3h1PFFsc" width="480" height="360" frameBorder="0" class="giphy-embed" allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="

">via GIPHY</a></p>

 

[cowboy]

In my opinion Pueo Osteria is the best restaurant on the island. Too bad it’s so far from Kona.

 

[Luanne]

In my opinion Pueo Osteria is the best restaurant on the island. Too bad it’s so far from Kona.

We really liked Pueo Osteria when we went there.

If you are staying in Kona have you gone south and tried the Keei Cafe? We haven't been there in a long time but it used to be wonderful.

 

[alexadeparis]

Brown's beach house isn't too far, its in the Fairmont, i think - kind of pricey but we thought it was good for the area

 

[1Kflyerguy]

I will add my votes to both Pueo Osteria and Browns Beach House.

Within Waikoloa Beach Resort, the two most popular places with a view would be Lava Lava and Kamuela Provision Company. KPC is located within the Hilton Hotel and is one of the best places to eat and watch the sunset in the area. That said KPC is pricey and the food and service have been mixed for me. The food is only OK at Lava Lava, but many people love the view, drinks and live music.

Another place to consider is Tommy Bahama's, they are not located in WBR, but nearby. We often travel with another couple and the husband is a vegetarian, which can be surprisingly hard to find in Hawaii. When we last went, Tommy Bahama's had a couple of vegetarian mains..

 

[Luanne]

We were not overly impressed with either Kamuela Provision Company or Lava Lava.

 

[10spro]

Another place to consider is Tommy Bahama's.

I'll second Tommy Bahama's. I'm not usually one to eat at chain restaurants while on vacation, but we rarely go to the one at home, and we were over there anyway. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and freshness of the food. There is no view, per se, but we enjoyed sitting upstairs on the patio.

 

[10spro]

We were not overly impressed with either Kamuela Provision Company or Lava Lava.

We've been to Lava Lava many times and always enjoy it, maybe more for the location than the food...it's a great place to get your toes in the sand with a laid back kind of vibe. I'm looking forward to trying Lava Lava on Kauai when we go there in a couple months.

 

[vacationtime1]

I'll second Tommy Bahama's. I'm not usually one to eat at chain restaurants while on vacation, but we rarely go to the one at home, and we were over there anyway. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and freshness of the food. There is no view, per se, but we enjoyed sitting upstairs on the patio.

We've been to Lava Lava many times and always enjoy it, maybe more for the location than the food...it's a great place to get your toes in the sand with a laid back kind of vibe. I'm looking forward to trying Lava Lava on Kauai when we go there in a couple months.

+1 as to each of these reviews.

 

[JIMinNC]

We've been to Lava Lava many times and always enjoy it, maybe more for the location than the food...it's a great place to get your toes in the sand with a laid back kind of vibe. I'm looking forward to trying Lava Lava on Kauai when we go there in a couple months.

Agree 100%. Lava Lava is not as much about the food as it is the location and the overall vibe. Having said that, I love their "Sizzling Shrimp" appetizer.

 

[lynne]

I can highly recommend Napua at the Mauna Lani Beach Club - outdoor dining with great sunset views. For @ScoopKona, another restaurant that is locally sourced.

Home | Napua Restaurant

www.napuarestaurant.com

Lunch will be a problem since you will be unable to park there without an access card but they do open the gates for dinner service.

Edited to add - not vegetarian friendly