Honu's on the Beach Restaurant

75-5660 Palani Rd, Kailua-Kona - 96740
209 reviews
Seafood Hawaiian
(808) 329-2911

It was good food but server hardly came around to see if we needed more water, or drinks

We came here for the crab legs and prime rib. After reading reviews about the “raw” prime rib we decided to go. As my wife is from Texas and I know my way around a steak; I know a great prime rib is red in the center from the slow cook process. But this was the worst prime rib of my life. So over cooked. There wasn’t a single piece of pink in the meat. I had to chew like it was a sirloin when it should just melt in your mouth. It was sad to overhear a table next to us say how great it was and cooked to the perfect well done 🤮 (No steak should be well done). The crab legs were okay, a little over cooked but still easy to get the crab out. The best part was the musician, the chicken, and the rolls.

Celebrating 11 year wedding anniversary. Honu’s did nothing special.

hotel restaurant only open Friday and Saturday for buffet. no tables between 4pm and 8pm. sorry state of affairs. what's the point?

Poke was warm and looked old, carving station couldn't understand the cook cause he was chewing beatle nut. Sever took 15 mintes to say hello to me he walked by a few times before he got to me. I understand the cause could be short handed. Musician was amazing accommodated my friends birthday by singing happy birthday.

For the price ($200 for two and a few drinks, + tip), it was not that great. The selection of food was very minimal, but what was available was still tasty. Upon arrival we were lucky to grab the last two plates or we would’ve been waiting/had to ask a staff member to bring more. A few of the food selections needed to be replenished so we weren’t able to get any till later. A table next to us suggested a certain dessert but they may have grabbed the last of it since more wasn’t brought out by the time we were ready for dessert. They might’ve been short staffed but I don’t mind that as I know how stressful and busy that can be. It’s an open air restaurant so for an evening in July it was pretty hot. We chose this buffet for our wedding anniversary (which wasn’t acknowledged even though we don’t really need it to be but why ask when booking the reservation) and ended up planning for a second dinner elsewhere since we were disappointed. Either way, the staff was still friendly and the view was pretty! And at least the crab and prime rib did not run out (we would’ve went for seconds but was too hot that we chose to leave instead. Even though we love and rarely have crab and prime rib. Lol)

The service was great, but food selection for a $75 buffet was subpar. Of course, the crab legs and prime rib were the star of the meal, but that’s it. Clam chowder was off, and there just weren’t enough options. There were seafood salads, a chicken dish, fish dish, rice, clam chowder, and the two main stars of the crab legs and prime rib, tempura, and desert. For $75 I would expect more—not even an assortment of fruit was present, in Hawaii! Don’t get me wrong, the ambience and servers were great as per usual, but the kitchen and assortment of food should step it up for the price.

Contrary to the negative reviews, I enjoyed the seafood and prime rib buffet. I ate the clam chowder, which was good. Rice and spicy ahi poke, sashimi, chicken, fish, and the prime rib. All of my food selections were good as hell. The bar staff was on point as well. My mai tai and my wife’s lava flow were both delicious. The entertainer had good vibes and kept my foot tapping while he sang. The views from the dining room are open to the beach where you can watch people canoe, paddle board and other aquatic activities. I loved it so much we ate the seafood and prime rib buffet twice.

The crab was DRY. Selection of food was really sad. Not worth the price.

Pros - The music was ok. The only food that was remotely decent was the pasta bar. Cons - We've been to sizzler's that have higher quality food. Deserts were terrible. We had to ask the wait staff several times for things even though it was a buffet and you get most things on your own. The view wasn't all that great, made worse by it being cloudy. We would not go back and wish we didn't go.