Holuakoa Gardens and Cafe

Tucked up in the hillside above Kona, this restaurant was listed in a our Hawaii restaurant guide book. Yes, it was a little high priced, but well worth it. We had four people in our party and everyone ordered something different. Nobody was disappointed with their dinner choice. The atmosphere was excellent, food was superb and service was the best (friendly and attentive). Our first stop when we return to Kona.

Great service! I forgot our waiters name but she was a cute blonde with a nose piercing! She was super sweet :) it was my boyfriend and I’s 1 year and she made it really special. The fish was AMAZING and his brisket was SUPERB!
My favorite restaurant during my entire trip!

We had lunch here once, twice for dinner. Food is good to excellent but service is unnecessarily slow. If you want bread while waiting for your food you have to request it.– and again, wait. Staff is pleasant. Outdoor setting is lovely but it can get a bit buggy when it gets dark. This area of Hawaii has pretty limited good eating places so we’re glad we found this place.
Best meal was a fresh grilled fish salad I had at lunch. Fish was flavorful, lots of nice greens.
My husband had the french toast that was too sweet, like a desert. The vegetarian lasagne is good but nothing special. My husband had a large rib eye steak which was excellent.
Limited deserts, one night it was only white chocolate mousse or chocolate truffles. Second night I had a warm fruit cake with vanilla ice-​cream, good but I’ve had better elsewhere.

The most mediocre meal of my life, paired with awful service.
We decided to eat here on a Monday, when we arrived there were maybe a total of three groups? Our reservations were for 6pm, and after we were seated our waitress took our drink orders, and when she came back with our drinks we ordered food. I was in a group of four, and we each ordered an appetizer, and a main course. It took them a good 45min for them to deliver our appetizers which consisted of two salads, and two soups. Next up was our main course, and we ended up waiting 2 freakin’ hours!!! I wish I was joking! While we waited for our main course we ended up asking for bread because it was getting a little ridiculous. Our waitress did apologize for the long wait, and told us to make room for desert because it was on her/​them. When our main course arrived we were all pretty underwhelmed. I ordered the $ 30 gnocchi which was a joke, it was so mushy, and didn’t taste like anything. I was extremely bummed because I pay $ 11 for happy hour gnocchi in Seattle that tasted a lot better than this garbage. We finished our garbage main course, and then ordered desert. It was the best part of our three course meal, until the check came, and apparently they only ended up taking care of one. Our total came out to be $ 200+ for a total of four people, and it was a disappointment. Awful food, and awful service. I’ll never go back there again!

One of the best dinners on the big island. Great ambiance and high quality local food.

This is great place to go to in Hawaii. If your new to the Big Island it can be very hard to find. Also since there hours are all over call and check to see if they are open. So this place was suggested by everyone on the island, so we just had to experience it. When we arrive we was seated very quickly. I order the tuna melt sandwich, I know I know so simple but it was so good. The most simplest thing on the menu but was made very well. The décor is breathtaking there are koi fish ponds and lights on the trees it’s like an magical garden. It’s so beautiful when I visit the big island again I have to try them for Dinner.

Food was very good. Service was great. Lovely place but why does everyone insist on putting Spaetzle on the menu? (Bad fad) Luckily, they were able to substitute a potato instead.
Overall a really nice experience.

Very classy vibe. Was able to make reservations the day of and it was pretty empty so not really necessary. The ono fish dish was incredible, one of the best bites I had in Hawaii, and the lasagna was great as well. The gnocchi was well cooked but the sauce was not super flavorful. Staff was professional.
2 big tips. There is limited street parking out front but if that’s taken you have to drive to a small road that looks like a driveway called old government road and park in the back behind the restaurant. The other tip is that there are mosquitoes here and we went during the dengue outbreak so I really wish I had put on bugspray.

I had the best brunch of my life here. You are put into a great mood by the ambiance, friendliness and of course, the view, right when you walk in.
I am a big eggs benedict lover, but when my wife ordered them, I knew I’d get half her order because she never finishes her order, but all I got that day was one bite I had to beg for. On my plate was the best French Toast of my life. Fluffy, thick, and perfectly baked for the purpose. Most places focus only on the batter, but they obviously thought the French toast through entirely.
Mahalo!!!

Great place. Like a hidden gem!!!
Quiet and so peaceful. Menus is just perfect all severed with local ingredients.
Burger was fresh but lacked seasoning.
Otherwise I love is place

Wow!!! Absolutely THEE best caprese salad I have ever put in my mouth… and I have had a lot of caprese salads… in my mouth. It was amazing. From the fresh tomatoes to the delicious generously sized pieces of mozzerella to the pesto (omg, the pesto) this salad was a mouthgasm! I can’t say enough good things about it! I could have devoured 5 more of these things. I loved it so much that I wanted to skip my main course and order another. It was that good.
I also enjoyed the veggie lasagna. It was very good and came with a yummy piece of bread! The veggies all tasted very fresh, all the ingredients here did, really.
I didn’t get to try dessert this time but I’ll definitely be ready to try it next time! They have a dark chocolate flourless torte I had my eye on.
This place is a hidden gem. It’s nestled right in between the art galleries in the tiny town. Verrrry easy to miss because there is no sign or anything with their name on it! I was actually nervous walking in because I didn’t know if it was just a private residence or the restaurant. Just look for the beautiful string lights and foliage and you’ll know you’re in the right place. It’s also just to the left of the café.
If you are in Kona, or anywhere on The Big Island, please please please do not pass up the opportunity to visit this restaurant! You can thank me later :)

Awesome dinner for our final night on the Big Island
Started w/​the Mango Mai Tai — lovely take on the mai tai w/​a lovely dark rum
Shared the Baked Brie as a starter came with melty, pungent brie & toastpoints & a lovely salad w/​balsamic reduction — we could have had 2 more of these — each!
Main dish for us both was the Gnocchi with homemade pumpkin-​curry sauce. I could tell the curry sauce was homemade given the bits & pieces of mortar-​ground spices that I’d tasted for myself when Sis & I took our Thai cooking class… exact same consistency so I knew it was fresh & made w/​love
Tender potato pillows held onto the super-​spicy sauce & we were thankful for the bread to help mop up the sauce & our Mango drinkys to calm the heat
Dessert for me was the Salted Caramel Cheesecake & Mr got he Kona Coffee Crème Brulee. Although not totally blown away by the desserts, they were a lovely way to end the meal

Holuakoa Gardens and Café is a magical spot at night.
This may be my favorite dining setting on the Big Island. With that old Hawaiian Sugar Plantation-​feeling, their twinkle lights, fountains and the coi ponds, their outdoor terraced seating up in the hills between Kona and Captain Cook, this location is a five.
I really like what they are doing here with their fully local menu and slow food philosophy. We are told by our waiter that the chef is a very talented guy and caters for celebrities when they come to town. Certainly, the pride in this place shines through. We are told the restaurant is sending their beloved chef to Italy to the heart of the slow food movement to train with the best. Expectations are high and our whole party is feeling excited and anticipatory.
The food arrives and it’s about a three. First off, its certainly fresh and pretty on the plate. Some exceedingly fresh fish, but the seasoning on the fish and vegetables (sriracha sauce directly and liberally applied to bok choy) is problematic. On the fish, there are visually a lot of herbs, yet while the fish tasted moist, it was also plain and seasonless despite its herbed appearance. The veggies were almost inedible with sriacha overload (this is coming from someone who likes heat, and keeps sriracha in her pantry.) The slow roasted pork was a sensational looking dish, arriving on a long rectangular plate and beautifully garnished, but darned if that pork wasn’t tough and chewy, not fall off the bone and succulent like you would hope slow roasted pork to be.
The promise of brie and toasts is translated by the chef into sliced cold brie and raw focaccia bread with olives and a salad. The dish was perfectly acceptable, (especially on an island, where its more difficult to source ingredients) but here was a dish that promised more and could have easily delivered it. Several in our group agreed they were expecting something else –seared toasts, warm brie, maybe a compote –from the menu description. The lilikoi cheesecake was good but the crust was tough. I hate to compare, but I had a more terrific slice of this same dessert at the local Coffee Shack in Captain Cook.
Setting-​wise you won’t want to miss this amazing spot. Ethos-​wise (slow food, all local) hats off, freshness-​wise terrific, terrific, but I’d like to see more here flavor-​wise. This place is quite spendy, so hopes are high. I do think they should be able to produce more excitement out of these terrific, fresh ingredients with just a few tweaks.