Kona Brewing Company

I avoided this place last visit thinking it would be too commercial. I was so wrong. I had the crab cakes my friend had the sliders. Divine. We tried the sampler for the beers and found quite a few that I loved.

Can I be back in Kona now please! Loved the beers. Food was pretty good, we missed out on the pizzas which are their specialty. The only down side was that the actual bar area was too small.

Sustainability is priority with this brewery. Local fish and veggies, kind and knowledgeable service and outstanding beer keep us coming back time and time again. The staff take care in discussing menus items, observing and checking in on your personal experience. Jessica was a really gracious server, having a number of regulars whom she prides remembering their preferences and recommending suitable options within dietary parameters. To have many tourists and have personal service is remarkable! The fish tacos rock and we recommended trying all the beers. You can tour the brewery, purchase and refill growlers and get other brewery merchandise.

Been living here for a year now.
KB is Def the absolute best spot for food, beer, and great servers. Polite and friendly.
Love this place.
Go for the happy hour platter, pizza is awesome here, so is the Ahi Tarter. Actually, everything is excellent.
ENJOY…

Really a 3 but the hype and wait just not worth it.
You are in Hawaii, fresh fish is abound, as are some amazing lau lau and burger joints… why are you eating heart attack fuel and waiting for and hour to get it? Probably the beer,. which available all over the island including Costco.
The patio is nicely lit, service passable, but people for some reason love this place and I don’t 100% know why. I think they shoud somehow expand the seating and staff if it for some reason hits such a chord with so many people that clearly love giant cheesy meals lacking complexity in flavour.
In my wife’s words «the flavour is missing something, if I’m going to eat the calories, I want the flavour, tons of sauce, rich,. no tang, no zing» I thought it was akin to biting giant ball of bland mozzarella cheese.

(review is for the two beers I had)
This was out last top before heading to the Kona airport and heading home. I tried the Lemongrass Lu’au and the Kua Bay IPA. Both were excellent!
Most of the seating is outdoor however there are a few indoor tables and a bar that are open seating.
The menu looks delicious (as does all the food that comes out). Looks like that have a lunch special that includes a slice and salad… wish I was hungry!!!
Will totally come back and eat!

Ate and drank here a few times during our stay on the Big Island. Food is acceptable and not particularly differentiated, but worth stopping for the beers on tap. Has many beers that you can’t find bottled in the store.

Who does not love Kona Brewing Co. Beer??? We all love their beers. From Wailua Wheat that we can only get in the summer to their Kona Longboard that is a staple to my diet and a mainstay in my refrigerator.
Whenever we’re in Kona, my husband knows that we have to eat at Kona Brewing Co. at least two times during our stay.
We came here right at 5 and got the perfect seating outside near an awesome mosaic turtle. We ordered the following:
Medium Pepperoni Pizza ($ 16): my son liked it. I was not a fan because the crust was pretty thick (even though I asked for very thin crust) and chewy. But heck, I wasn’t there for pizza!
The Beer Sampler ($ 9): I don’t know which ones I got but they were all good.
Roasted Garlic appetizer ($ 8): It was good. It was free because I had a coupon so I guess it was good.
Small Nachos with Ground Beef ($ 13): this nachos was huge! Lots of chips, cheese, beans, salsa, ground beef and jalapenos. It will take 3 people to finish these nachos.
Pot Roast ($ 21): never thought of ordering Pot Roast at Kona Brewing but it was quite tasty. The meat was flavorful and tender. It came with 3 good size pieces and my 6 year old daughter ate most of it.
Kalua Pork Quesadilla ($ 9): I did not like this at all. It was mainly their pizza crust (which I did not like) stuffed with pork and cheese. I definitely will not get this again.
Small strawberry Spinach Salad ($ 14): Yum! Very delicious and refreshing. It’s a salad big enough to share with two other people.
I’m glad that I can get Kona Brewing Co. beer on the mainland, otherwise it would be very expensive because I would be flying to Kona almost every month just to get my beer fix.

Endless line but should I even tell this tip? The bar and tables in the bar are open seating. You will thank me if you didn’t know and hate me if you did.
Amazing staff, drink the brews you can’t get at the liquor store. Pizza is solid but 2 attempts at well done and thin and crispy failed. Just get it like they bring it to you, I don’t think they have time to customize.

My husband and I came in today for the brewery tour. We booked online and paid in advance to secure our spot, something I highly recommend doing. It’s only $ 5 and is totally worth the «expense»; not only do you get a short tour of the site and an explanation of their history and how they brew their beer, you also get a keychain and 4 beer samples. We didn’t get to choose the samples we wanted, and I wasn’t fond of the ones we tried… But that’s okay, you don’t know unless you try!
We decided to stick around after and tried 4 more 5-​oz samples and then settled on two pints, some wings and a pizza.
The wings were awesome (we went with the Buffalo hot sauce — quite spicy!), and the Ka’u Pesto pizza (artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, chicken…). It was all super yummy.
Our tour guide was super friendly and knowledgeable, and all the other staff we met through the afternoon were great too. Really fun spot, I recommend checking it out!

This place has some of the best beer in town, the food is good but not excellent and its always always crowded. There is plenty space for parking and they have some great music every Sunday. If you are wondering what beer to have I recommend the Big Wave Golden Ale, The Longboard and the Castaway IPA. If you are a pizza expert like me, I would suggest you go for the fish tacos ;)
For best experience seat on the bar where the locals drink. The bartenders are the best in town.
Prices are on the high side.

One vacation ago…
Hubby and I were driving the island and stopped here for lunch.
We are both fan’s of pub grub and were not disappointed.
The brew’s–
Not to lead with the negative but…
They were ok, not my favorite. I had the Hula Hefeweizen and the Porter. Not bad, but not great.
My husband liked the blonde ale he had just fine
The grub–
Very, very good.
Loved the crab cakes. Big fan of crab cakes done well and these definitely were. The curry was a nice touch.
My husband had the Shrimp Melt and he loved it. I had a bite and it was quite good.
I had the Portobello Focaccia Sandwich and it perfectly hit the spot.
Liked the ‘ambience’, touristy, but not over the top
Very good place to stop on the big island.

Super happy I got to check this place out while studying in Kona, I came here twice while I was visiting. The first time was two of us and we waited about 10 mins, second time with four of us and waited about 10 – 15 mins, so not bad overall. Came for lunch both times and we left satisfied!
The bar inside is actually pretty small, we chose to sit outside both times so we could enjoy the weather. The location is just ok, not on the beach or anything but they have palm trees and decorations around which make you feel like you’re on vacation.
The food was hella good! The first time we went we got the pizza bites, IMU burger and a Greek salad. I didn’t try the burger but the pizza bites and the salad was really good. I also enjoyed the Wailua Wheat beer that I got. Second time we went, we got the Hawaiian Luau pizza; I enjoyed that along with their Pipeline Porter. The food here is better than most other bars/​breweries. Not a standard pub menu that you usually see. Everything is decently priced too. I would definitely come back here again!

Super busy we ordered the nachos (no meat adding) with sour cream, the fish tacos, the fresh catch! I don’t eat wheat tortilla shells and they don’t offer corn tortillas for fish tacos — disappointing because then they could essentially market that as GF and last dish, shoyu chicken — the place was super busy. The pizzayolo was flinging pizza dough in the air as pizza’s came out of the kitchen by the dozen.
I would go back, the food was OK, nothing special, but not bad. The nacho’s were OK, not all the cheese was melted (inside it wasn’t), perhaps a sign that they were rushed. Listen, this is my first shot at this place and I would go back, if not for the food for the energy this place creates. Maybe I would ask them to please melt the cheese inside the nachos, it wasn’t a big deal just was my experience. They still get 4 stars! Well done in my books.

Kona Brewing Company is one of the main reasons my husband and I decided to vacation on Big Island. We are stockholders of Craft Brew Alliance and Kona is one of their companies.
We took the brewery tour, which is $ 5, but you get a little souvenir and a taster flight at the end. Colin was our tour guide, and did a great job of taking us around the grounds and explaining the process. You know that Kona lager you enjoyed in San Diego? Brewed in Oregon, not Hawaii. They do brew onsite, but everything brewed in Hawaii, stays in Hawaii; just like Vegas. or something.
After the tour, we stayed for dinner where we tried several more tasters and got one of their famous pizzas. Our server was more than helpful even in our slightly over indulgent on the beers moods. The pizza was SO GOOD.
They were out of a few beers that were listed on their menu, but other than that, everything was great!

If I could I would come here every day for the rest of trip. Love it!
We went on the tour at 10:30 (the other is at 3pm). I recommend this early one because less people come and that means more beer at the end for you. The tour is only $ 5 and is pretty interesting, especially the history. At the end you sample 4 of their beers with the group.
Then! We had lunch. When our tour ended at 11:30, most of the restaurant was already filled with people ready for lunch. The seating outside is almost all shaded with a great breeze. Their pizzas are incredible. So many great options too if you’re adventurous!
Overall, friendly staff with amazing food (oh and good beer too)

Those 4 stars are as a tourist looking for a good beer bar in Big Island, there do not seem to be many in this part of the town. So, if you are thirty of a good draft beer. There is probably no wrong coming here. If you are also looking for a good dining experience, go somewhere else.
Unlike elsewhere, the beers here are not intensively hoppy and crazing for those deep, dark, roasted, coffee like flavor. They are lighter and very drinkable. The Hefeweizen (wheat) has a very distinct passion fruit aroma and very appealing to my companion. I had the Lavaman Red and liked it very much.
The foods session is really not the point coming to this place. Order a pizza or flatbread and treat them like bar foods.

This place was a fantastic refuge from the craziness of the Ironman! Note: they are smart and avoid the complete chaos by closing on race day. The beer is very good, and the food is great. It’s cool that they include beer in many of the menu items, including the pizza crust, which I’d highly recommend. We also did the tour, which was only $ 5, but truthfully, a little overrated.
You’re much better off ordering some food and a flight at the brew pub and chatting with the friendly and knowledgable servers! Also, as a reminder they a lot of the beers on tap aren’t widely distributed so be sure to sample some of those!
Note: if it’s hot out, you can get a shaded table on the patio. The brew pub was really hot inside!

When we got here I was pretty bummed because we missed the last brewery tour (3pm), but we had just as much fun in the restaurant/​bar. They have an outside patio and and indoor area. They had a full menu but we opted out for their appetizers since we were going to a luau afterwards. Must get the pepperoni pizza rolls!
SO MANY BEER CHOICES. I’ve actually never tried any beers from Kona Breweing Co so I didn’t know what to expect. We all ordered flights ($ 9) which I believe came with 4 choices. I loved their Wailua Wheat and was so sad that it’s only available in Hawaii. I also tried some of their seasonal which were also very delicious.
The only thing that I would change about my experience here would be that I planned out more time here. We kind of rushed because we wanted to fit in more things before our luau. Next time!

I’ve had Kona on the main land, but coming to the brewery to have some of their Brewery Only specials is simply an amazing experience. Wifey and I ended up coming here twice since it was so good and just a short walk from the hotel.
The first night, we just had a few appetizers and dessert, along with a few beers. That was a perfect dinner for that day. The second time we were there, we had more traditional pub grub, sandwich and burger type things. Again, that was really great. The brewery only beers really we very good and even long board you get here tastes better than what you get on the mainland.
The service was good. The place gets crowded and loud, but hey, it’s brewery. It’s supposed to be. That’s how you know it’s good.
Will I be back? Of course I will whenever I am nearby. Good job folks.