Kona Grill

Kona grill is always a good time! We came here to watch the NBA playoffs. My friends were already at the patio when I got there and it was HOT outside. I ordered the avocado egg roll for appetizers. If you’re an avocado fan, I definitely recommend it. It comes with a really nice honey based dipping sauce on the side. I also had a strawberry margarita (see pictures). It was my first time trying their margarita at this location and it was pretty good. A little on the sweet side but it had a good amount of liquor in it. For my main meal I had the chicken and broccoli with steamed rice. It’s a little on the spicy side so if you don’t like spicy food you might want to try something else. My friend ordered the macadamia nut chicken with no mashed potatoes. I personally didn’t like the piece I tried. Overall, our server was great, the food was good and I had a good time.

Located in galleria mall, we went to eat some sushi after shopping. We ordered calamari, checkerboard roll, and wave roll. Calamari was good with a spicy mayo like sauce, checkerboard roll had ahi and hamachi with asparagus and a motoyaki (?) sauce. It was really fishy. The wave roll is spicy tuna with shrimp tempura in a soy paper. There was a lot of tempera and barely any spicy tuna, but not bad. Food is not bad, fusion American sushi and the service was ok.

I came here during a busy reverse happy hour. At first I thought it would be a long wait because it looked very packed. However, to my surprise my guest and I found a nice table. My waitress was very sweet and accommodated my interesting in trying out the new peach flavor margarita. Whatever my guest and I was interested in, she gave her tid bits which really helped us come to a conclusion. The food was kind blahhhh but the margaritas made up for it.

Great happy hours! Recommend the Moscow mule and classic mojito! The angry edamame is amazing! Not too spicy, but packed with flavor!

Great food and drinks! First time here and will definitely be back. Houston roll is delicious!

I went for lunch a friend during happy hour. It wasn’t busy and it was past the lunch rush hour, so there was no reason for us to have slow service. However, it took us 30 min to get greeted by a waiter/​waitress and then another 30 min before we got our food. I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt because the servers could’ve been on lunch break or break, but no. They were all just standing in a corner, all huddled up, across from us.

The service was good drinks came at a reasonable rate prices are decent had a good time at the happy hour would recommend coming again!

This place is okay. I think it’s it’s hit or a miss just depending. They have their good and bad days. Happy hour is a good deal since the portions are really big. Service is ok, food comes out kinda slow. Ive eaten here a couple times, and the food is sometimes good and sometimes really bland. But I do like the ambience of the place.
Overall:
Food: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars

KG is a great place for happy hour (least crowded is 9pm-​11pm), but since it’s in the galleria, I don’t think I would visit here at the regular prices. FRIENDLY REMINDER — happy hour is only served outside on the patio or inside at the bar area (first-​come, first-​served).
Drinks– I tried a house margarita ($ 5) and would definitely recommend that.
Food — I tried the crunch roll ($ 3.75), voodoo roll ($ 6.75), and pepperoni flatbread ($ 6.75). All of these were delicious, but I would probably not get the voodoo roll again (it was very spicy). My favorite was the flatbread– it was not heavy at all, and I thought it was great quality for the price (while I was craving a cheat food option).
Again — all of these prices were happy hour (half-​off), so I ate for $ 23 instead of regular priced, $ 46.

Good food and great service! Prices are excellent during happy hour and reverse happy! Centrally located for a go to spot after a long day of work or shopping! I come here all the time! By my self at times and other times with friends or clients!

I’ve been here a few times with different people and Kona Grill is always consistent. The food is decent, nothing spectacular, service is a hit or miss, and food takes a while to come out of the kitchen.
CHICKEN AND SHRIMP LETTUCE WRAPS– bibb lettuce, cucumber salad, and spicy sesame vinaigrette
This dish was disappointing because once they place it down it looks like it would taste amazing, but sadly it was lackluster in flavor. There wasn’t much flavor other than the vinaigrette and it wasn’t spicy, but you could taste the sesame. Without the vinaigrette, the dish was just bland and flavorless.
LEMON-​GARLIC SHRIMP PENNE– parmesan, baby arugula, roasted tomatoes, lemon cream, and garlic bread
I really liked the flavors in this pasta. It was simple, but you could really taste the lemon garlic. The shrimps were cooked to perfection, but the pasta was a bit undercooked. I love some acidity with seafood; so this was perfect. The roasted tomatoes added a hint of sweetness and the parmesan added some cheesy creaminess.
SUNSHINE ROLL– spicy salmon roll, fresh salmon, shaved lemon
I love salmon with lemon rolls because it’s so refreshing, but this roll was very dry. It could’ve used some sort of aoili or sauce. It was very simple roll and you could really taste the tart lemon.
STEAK + LOBSTER ROLL– lobster, horseradish cream cheese, cucumber, beef, shitake mushrooms, and garlic aioli
This roll was a disappointment. It didn’t taste fresh and the beef and lobster mix was strange. I’m usually okay with surf and turf, but this didn’t rub me the right way. Nothing tasted great together. It was a very odd arrangement. I can’t explain it, but it didn’t taste right.
TURKEY BURGER– havarti, lettuce, tomato, red onion, basil pesto aioli, brioche, homemade pickle spear, and fries
This is my favorite place to get a turkey burger. It’s really moist and flavorful. I love that there are chopped up pieces of veggies in the patty itself and the lettuce, tomato and red onion really adds to the texture and fresh flavor of the burger. The fries are nice and crisp and the aioli has a really nice herbal flavor.
I come here from time to time, but I would stay away from the sushi. I usually only get the turkey burger when I’m here and if I crave for sushi, there are plenty of sushi restaurants around this area.

The turkey burger is always good. My husband and I get it frequently. Just tried some sushi (Cali roll and shrimp tempura) and it was very fresh.
Our server was Ken, always friendly.
Been here four times and we will be back for a fifth.

I really haven’t had a bad dish at this place. From flatbreads to sushi rolls. The mixed drinks are always tasty, a bit overpriced, but it is the galleria area. The staff is great and attentive.

This place’s happy hour is amazing! I swear I haven’t gone to any other happy hours as religiously as I have gone to Kona Grill’s Happy Hour. They have a great sample of happy hour appetizers (I personally enjoy the spicy tuna rolls, the BBQ chicken flatbread and the Chicken Satay), all decently sized. I HAVE to talk about the chicken satay which is grilled chicken and either cole slaw, fried rice with shrimp, or salad. It comes with a delicious teriyaki sauce and some other kind of peanut sauce. My little trick is to order 2 sets of chicken satay, one with cole slaw and the other with friend rice, make a full meal of it and take the leftovers home — that way I am able to have a good amount of chicken with rice and slaw for work :) all for $ 10. One star off, only because of the lack of seating — it can feel a bit cramped when it gets packed. Sometimes, it is hard to get a seat by the bar, but I’ve been lucky enough to find seats outside when we’ve been experiencing good weather. There have been some really attentive servers (Elena and another young lady whose name escapes me), and the bartender can seem unfriendly at times, but I haven’t experienced anything negative.
I’ve also met friendly people here, had great conversations and expanded my food repertoire: p
Regular happy hour times are all day on Sunday and 3 – 7 p.m. Mon-​Fri and reverse happy hour at 9 — 11 p.m. Mon — Sat.

I’m so disappointed. I usually love Kona Grill. It’s perfect if you want to sit outside or inside. The atmosphere is amazing both ways.
I’m disappointed in my server, Arnold. He was slightly rude to begin with but then showed his true color later. He tried being nice here and there trying to make up for the fact that he was so rude to us when I was just checking up on our food. Mind you, «um yes. The food is still making. It’s happy hour you know so it would take long to make you know.»
Um okay? Is it our fault that you’re an incompetent server and can’t even give us updates, knowing we’ve been sitting here for the past 30 mins. Every time he asks if we need anything, we start replying and he’s already trying to walk back.
So annoyed.
Love the cucumber mojitos though!!!

So, I’m going to be super petty today and take off a star based on how ghetto this place has become :) lol. I think it’s because of that irresistible happy hour. It just attracts all sorts of people. You can definitely come here to «people watch».
It’s a cool place, I still will go, I suppose– to meet up with a girlfriend or something. Drinks and food is good here for the most part.
I remember a time, I was having lunch on the patio and I ordered the ahi tuna with my server. Granted, it was slam packed that day– but he didn’t write down what I said. So a great deal of time passed. I asked him what happened with the order-​he then tells me that I didn’t order anything. However he quickly noticed his mistake and it was not a problem after that.

Holy happy hour this place is amazing. All day happy hour menu on Sunday which includes half price food, super cheap sushi and cold beer.
We ordered so many apps it’d take forever to review them all. The spicy shrimp, lettuce wraps and sushi rolls were amazing.

Kona is a great choice for a group of people who aren’t sure what they want to eat… but know they want something filling and delicious! They have everything from sushi to pasta to sandwiches. They also have a pretty good selection of soups and salads too, and their appetizers range from spinach artichoke dip and chips to Asian potstickers. See what I mean?
Aside from being slightly random, I really do love Kona. I would suggest going on «Wine Down Wednesday’s» because dang… their house wine is kinda overpriced. Their happy hours also allow you to get out without spending too much — my boyfriend and I used to go on Sunday’s, share a roll and a large saki, and got our for $ 20.
Last night, my group chose the «not sushi» side of the menu, and I was still very happy. I got the tomato soup (pic) and lobster mac and cheese (pic). It was nothing short of absolutely delicious. The Mac was crusted in panko!!! I was in heaven.
My colleagues got an assortment of other things… the Kona chopped salad, (B+) the grilled salmon (A) and the shrimp penne pasta, which I tried and thought was an A+, but my colleague thought it was too spicy. She is weak :).
Slightly overpriced? Yes. Delicious with lots of options? Oh yes. Can’t wait to go back!

I love Kona Grill for their delicious & inexpensive happy hour (4−7pm). Then, they do Reverse Happy Hour from 9p-​11p. The margaritas here are strong, so be very careful if you’re a lightweight. Lol
Normally, I love coming here but tonight was a little different. I sat at the bar & staff kept walking around & at one point no one was behind the bar at all. I waited & waited. Two women finally came back to the bar & just stood there having a personal conversation rather than serving customers. After about 10 minutes of this nonsense, I finally said, «Excuse me, is someone going to take my order»? At that point, one of them began the yes ma’ams and finally started to do her job.
However, the margarita is still on point & the food is still good… even if the service did suck tonight.

The first thing I have to get out of the way as I write this review is a mention of the horrible smell inside this restaurant.
— IS THERE A SKUNK IN THE KITCHEN? I don’t know, but the restaurant smells absolutely horrific inside.
— VERY MALL-​FOOD COURT FEEL. They didn’t even bother to close off the restaurant from the mall. It really feels like you are eating in an overpriced food court.
— DECENT SUSHI. I was honestly a bit hesitant to get sashimi here due to the questionable freshness of fish. Maybe I was right or maybe it was an unnecessary worry. None of the sushi cooks are actually Japanese, which typically tells you a lot about a sushi joint. They are cutting cost by training a few random guys to do the work and don’t consider to be sushi making any form of art, it’s just a meal. The approach tends to trickle down further into the quality of the food.