Brown’s Beach House

I debated whether or not to leave a review.
The service was great. We were there before, during, and just after sunset, so the setting was wonderful. Live music was a bonus. We loved the garden greens salad, so flavorful and fresh. I wasn’t a huge fan of the vegetarian tofu entrée, but I could appreciate it – just wasn’t to my taste. Beautifully presented. My husband loved his chicken and semolina, one of his favorite meals on the island.
On the other hand, we were right near a walkway for the hotel near a swimming inlet, so many, many people were walking around taking pictures and getting out of the water, sitting in the sand, etc. Felt strange to be a bit dressed up and paying so much to see that.
Which brings me to the prices. I honestly thought the salad was worth the $ 14. It was that good. My tofu dinner was not worth $ 35, however. And my husband’s chicken was not worth $ 48. I’d have happily paid $ 25 and $ 35 respectively, but it was just too expensive overall. We skipped drinks, appetizers, and dessert for that reason.
We’d planned on paying for a nice dinner, but I felt like it wasn’t worth it in the end. Maybe others would feel differently based on ordering other entrees, but we won’t be back.

This is my favorite lunch restaurant on the island. I have never been a guest at the Fairmont Orchid; but the staff have been very welcoming each time I have visited. I love to go to the beach and snorkel afterward lunch and have felt welcome each time unlike some resorts that are blatantly rude if you visit and are not a guest (Mauna Kea).
The view is spectacular from Brown’s Beach House and I find the food to be excellent. Service is great too.

Was very disappointed with my dinner! Being rated one of the best restaurants on the island I was expecting very tasty food! My poke was warm and mushy… I had 2 bites and was grossed out. The curry seafood meal was not very good, the curry sauce was super thick and lacked flavor! This was our last dinner of vacation and we would have been happier ordering room service! Over priced and not very good!

Oi. I was very disappointed with this restaurant. Everything was fantastic except, the food was atrocious. I had the coconut prawns as an appetizer. Bad idea. Sweetness in a food that should be savory was gross. I also had the venison plate (@$ 52!!!) which was not edible at all. To put this in perspective, I grew up in a way that made sure I NEVER left food on my plate. even if I am stuffed, I will find a way to eat it. Well, I left over 90% of my meal untouched by me and had to beg my companion to eat some of it so I wouldn’t feel so guilty over spending 52 dollars on a plate. Yikes. My companion had the Kampachi which I found to be dry and bland.
Other than the food, I’d say the service was exquisite. Our waiter was very attentive and nice. The entertainment was fantastic. The live singer play contemporary music with a Hawaiian twist which was very pleasant to listen to during the meal. We got a seat close to the ocean and the Fairmont does a smart thing by putting flood lights in particular spots so you can clearly see the ocean waves at your seat.
The experience is nice but the food is not worth the money. I had better food from Hale Kai (the neighboring restaurant) which offers a cheaper price too with similar views.

Everything we had was very delicious. We had the sesame tofu appetizer, mostly because we didn’t want to get anything too large before dinner. We should have ordered the prawns, because that looked awesome. The house bread was served with an awesome salted butter and chili mayo sauce. I ordered the crab crusted kona kampachi, which has a bacon and ulu side. It was sooooo yummy. My husband had the filet mignon, which was cooked perfectly. It was a great date night, and the ambiance right above the beach was perfect!

Very underwhelmed by my whole experience here. I was so excited to try one of «top 3 restaurants on the Big Island», but Brown’s did not live up to my expectations.
The hostess was not very welcoming, and the service was very slow. I had the Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin, which was tender but was a rather small portion and did not have a very strong nor memorable taste. I liked the black pepper pasta and vegetables that came with it, but I don’t think it’s enough to justify getting the dish again. The best thing I tried was their Truffled Bacon Mac and Cheese. It was gooey and cheesy and yummy! But I was thrown off that my side was the highlight of my meal.
Brown’s biggest redeeming factor is their location. It’s right by the ocean, so they certainly have a breathtaking view. I’d like to give the staff the benefit of the doubt, and say that they weren’t as attentive because our reservation was close to closing time, but I would still expect more out of food and staff from a top tier restaurant.

We visited this lovely spot on our last trip to the Big Island. Intimate and exclusive, this restaurant relaxes the senses and whisks you away to fabulous world of food and wine.
The wine list provides a nice selection of both standard and half bottles. Our waiter was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful when it came to choosing our bottle.
This is a dining experience – order all the courses and savor each one. If you find it too expensive, go elsewhere because that is how the chef has designed the menu. Unlike most places on the island, they serve a beautiful steak and know how to cook it properly. It is without a doubt the best place to eat in the area. Skip the Canoehouse (poor service and lacking menu) and go here for an upscale dining adventure.

The best ambiance, food and drinks on da big island. Amazing live Hawaiian music. Ask for the tables closest to the sea. Time dinner for the sunset… Men… Ideal setting to ask your significant other to marry you …, then have a romp on the beach… sand in your hair. Happily ever after. Just sayin! ;-). Live & Love by The Sea

This is my first negative review on Unilocal.I don’t want to get anybody fired so I will leave out names. Overall this was very underwhelming for a 4 Diamond. The décor could use some work and the hostess should definitely not be working at the level of a 4 Diamond.
There seems to be an attitude that no matter what people will eat there anyways so why try to impress.

We had reservations for 4 at 7pm for a birthday dinner. Reservations were made MONTHS in advance, with a special request for ocean view table. Upon arrival at 7pm, our table was not ready. We went to the bar for drinks, 45 min later the best they could offer us was a small table for 2 near the kitchen. We saw multiple couples sitting at a table for 4. We told the hostess that we decided to leave and she started laughing at us! Her manager came out to apologize and told us our table was «90% ready.» The hostess was still laughing at us so much so that the manager had to nudge her multiple times to get her to stop laughing! When patrons are spending $ 500+ for dinner at a 4 diamond restaurant, I expect much better service. This was the worst experience at a 4 diamond restaurant I have endured and, if I could, I would petition to have their 4 diamond status revoked!

Magical! My husband and I went to Brown’s on our last night on the island, and loved every minute we spent here. The view of the sunset from their location was wonderful, our food was fabulous, and our server Christian was top notch. To top it of off they had a live guitar player who played for the restaurant throughout the evening. This was truly an experience we will never forget, and absolutely worth every penny!

As a rule my husband and I rarely eat at the same place twice (for dates), but on our recent vacation we opted to come back to Brown’s and are so glad we did. Great view (we did the early 5:30 reservation due to child care/​kid swapping), beautiful sunset, excellent service, good food. My steak was cooked perfectly and the server went out of his way to get me a specially requested item. And, he also took several pictures for us b/​c he wanted it to be perfect.
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If you go early enough you get to watch the guy light the tiki’s and blow the shell. In the world of nice restaurants, it’s priced right.

Still a great place for a romantic dinner. The music was great. The sunset was fantastic. This is our favorite place over the Canoe House and the Clam Bake. The crab crusted Kona Kampachi was tasty and moist. We would come again.

Extremely Disappointing.
Celebrating our anniversary at Brown’s Beach House proved to be a mistake. We had high hopes, and the view is hard to beat, but the overall experience was mediocre to bad, especially considering the exorbitant prices.
The beet salad was okay, but contained little innovation and even less salad. We truly enjoyed the gazpacho, but it left us with a tummy ache later. The poke was too salty to finish, and the Ono was uninspiring.
The service was kind, but not particularly informative or helpful. In fact, when the meal finished, we couldn’t wait to leave.
For the money, enjoy the view with a cocktail. Then, drive up to Waimea and enjoy a real meal at Merriman’s.

My husband and I spent part of our honeymoon at the Fairmont, with one of the resort’s many strong suits being this restaurant!
Brown’s Beach House afforded us the best ocean/​sunset view of our entire trip, which was coupled with delicious food and attentive service from Cliff. There was a live musician playing outside, but we were happy that the music erred on the ambient, not the loud side.
A bonus is that they are vegetarian/​vegan friendly.
We look forward to dining here again on our next trip!

We celebrated a belated Mother’s Day here on the Wednesday night after Mother’s Day. As with our previous visits the ambience is world class and the service is excellent.
My wife ordered the fresh catch dinner and it was cooked to her perfection. Unfortunately, I ordered the Mahi Mahi and in was over cooked and very dry. I could not finish the entrée. But, the deserts were excellent.

Bread basket came with four types of bread (including a sourdough and seeded macadamia nut), a spread of tomato aoli and salted butter. Service was really slow. My mama in law was a little less than thrilled with the sides that were pre chosen for each meal (she got an oversized hashbrown with her filet and my husband got 4 thin slices of squash under his fish as a side).view of sunset was magnificent

This is the place to go for romantic special occasions with your loved one while in Kona. My HUSBEE took me here for my birthday dinner and we enjoyed the tropical outdoor dining experience. The service was outstanding and the food was very tasty. They served a sourdough ciabatta bread that was so moist and addictive. We ordered BBQ rib to start, and for our entrees — duck breast with foie gras, lobster and filet mignon. Foie gras was heavenly.
Definitely worth a visit for a special celebration if you’re in the Kona area.

Super elegant, romantic and one of the most distinctive dining experience I’ve experienced in a long time. They have a beautiful setting but a menu for all forms of dietary needs (diabetic, gluten free, macrobiotic, low fat etc) and can modify their standard menu if needed.
the diner was impressive, the watercress tomato salad with cucumbers was beautifully presented. we had no complaints, start to finish with the entire experience. I will agree, it is very pricey. I’ve paid this same amount at the Four Seasons In Boston so was not as shocked as some other reviewers but be go with the idea of being treated like royalty and spurge on yourself.
They honored a couple next to use for celebrating over 50 years of marriage (5.I think) with wooden beads presented by a man in a grass skirt, who blew out of a shell-​horn honoring them and then he ran to the ocean and blew the horn in the direction of the four points respecting the elements of the compass.
It was at sunset and although very much a tourist demonstration it was still fun to see.
Enjoy, being from New England it was a great experience!

This is five star elegant dinning!
It was a surprise for my 50^th birthday. A table along the beach in this gorgeous restaurant at sunset. Staff is perfection– at the table before you need them but not looming over you, incredible knowledge of their menu and ingredients and overall pleasurable personality. The outdoor space was impeccably clean. White table clothes and overall space exudes romance
Some may say the evening will be pricey– I believe you get what you pay for. Start with a bread basket with three types of bread and butter and aioli. That, with a glass of wine, could have been a good dinner for me any night of the week. Complimentary amuse bush of beet mousse was a treat. The entrée selections were so hard to choose from– wild boar, duck, 3 – 4 fresh catch fishes, seafood and steaks. Even the veggie sides were local and fresh. The duck i ordered was butter knife tender and the foie Gras just melted. My husband tried the crab crusted kona kampachi, that sat on top of a roasted corn mash. The ka’u orange and poha sauce was like the plate good. (but I didn’t). I barely saved room for dessert but for sake of judging it we ordered mud pie to share. Other items were Crème brûlée, chocolate mousse and several ice creams.
Not just mouth watering food, but art on a plate.
Totally worth a big night out !!