Don’s Mai Tai Bar

Beautiful location right on the water. Good service — even when very crowded. Staff seems genuinely happy to be there and the cocktails, while a bit pricey, were very good! An excellent place to sit and watch the sunset.

This is a great place to come for drinks and a great view of the sunset! We came at happy hour time and had some very good Mai Tai’s, coconut shrimp and the pork quesadilla. The shrimp was delicious and the quesadilla while good did lack a little seasoning as some people have previously commented.

A good place for lunch or to go drinking at night.

First off, I typically don’t write too much into drinks because they can vary quite a bit per bartender and my tastes are more favored towards less sweet or peaty whiskies. However: it’s Hawaii. You need to know where to go for good mixed drinks!
My friend and I went here multiple times during my stay and I have mixed feelings about it. After hearing this was the best place to get Mai Tais and Lava Flows, we rushed here after all of the fun daytime activities. The seating is self served. There were these amazing high top seats in the back facing the moonlit waves hitting the rocks which was amazing until we were ignored for 20 minutes. The servers saw us but kept helping the tables next to us even though they came way later. Eventually we came up the bar asking for a menu and were told, «Sorry, I can’t help you». One of the servers whom was helping the table came up to us and said, «I’ll help you». Figured we would be good to go. He helped us order drinks, but it took quite a while, never got the water we requested, and it took him until we are almost done with our drinks to come back for our food order. We gave up on that but the drinks were amazing. Had to go back. The next time, we sat at the bar and Mike/​Michael was amazing. He was very friendly, funny, hospitable, and his drinks are amazing! When we came back for the 3^rd time, he made sure someone took care of us. Service was okay that time. Overall, just sit at the bar with Mike and you’ll have a great time!
Mai Tai taster: A great way to sample their Mai Tai selection without breaking the bank or getting wasted. It was so cute how each one was decorated differently: umbrella, pineapple, cherry, and a monkey. Yes, an awesome, hanging plastic monkey.
Don’s Original Mai Tai: A really tasty drink that is exactly how I make it at home so this was a nice surprise that I’m doing it right!
Pele’s Volcanic Mai Tai: A tasty Mai Tai with a punch. It tastes great but definitely quite boozy due to the 151.
Don’s Topless Mai Tai: I always loved the coconut rendition of the Mai Tai. Other than the original, this was the second drink that I loved out of these tasters.
Don’s Legendary Green Flash Mai Tai: This one was a bit sweet for me, but I loved the fact they put melon in it. Sadly I won’t ever order this drink again but I know of a few friends whom would love it!
Don’s Plantation Mai Tai: The most recommended drink online. Honestly, I enjoyed it with the lime forward taste but I loved Michael’s rendition way more.
Michael’s rendition of Don’s Plantation Mai Tai: This is similar to an old fashioned. Same lime forward drink without the dark rum, a dash of bitters, and some other change that I forgot (sorry, blame it on the a-​alcohol baby). Either way, it was the best drink I’ve had on this island. Hands down it had everything I wanted: great taste, not too sweet, and the right amount of booze to know it’s there for flavor but not taking over like it’s 1999 or like it’s your 21^st birthday. This is going to be the drink I’m going to dream about coming back to. Makes me not want to leave!
Lava Flow Sampler:
These are all the same base but with a different fruit juice.
Strawberry: This original was my favorite! Presentation had a gorgeous contrast. The flavor was slightly sweet and creamy but well balanced with the alcohol.
Passion Fruit: This drink was a bit too sour for me. I had to pucker after every sip. It might have been better if they put in less passion fruit mix.
Mango: This was my next favorite. It was slightly sweet but delicious and well balanced.
Guava: This one tasted a bit funky to me since the flavors didn’t seem to match.
Peach: This drink was overly artificial sweet to me, but if you like sweet drinks then this is the one for you!
Put the Lime in Don Coconut: This was a nice like forward drink that was light and refreshing! Not my favorite but it was a nice change of pace from the other drinks.
Michael’s rendition of an old fashioned: Tasty and slightly sweet but a bit bitter for my taste from muddling the orange rinds.
Nachos: A large shareable plate of multi-​colored chips (red, yellow, white, and blue corn tortilla chips) topped with melted cheese, shredded kalua pig (pork), pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole, diced olives, diced jalapeños, diced green onion, and a ground beef and bean chili. The chili, guacamole, jalapeños, diced olives, and sour cream seem like something that you get at a grocery store and throw on the plate. The kalua pig was tender and there were large chunks all over the plate. Overall, you can make this easily at home from your grocery store minus the pork. However it was nice to have a shareable snack.
Overall, the drinks are amazing and the view is great. The service can be very horrible and the people can ignore you. I will be back if Michael is working but otherwise, I think I’ll take a second thought before going here because the drinks weren’t that consistent between bartenders.

The best mai tai in Kona hands down! But do not get the original, get the plantation mai tai. The lava flow and mai tai flights are a great way to test out 4 different drinks at a time. The bar tender Mike offered to make us his custom version of the plantation which was the best mai tai I’ve ever had. The plantation is more of a lime type of drink based of how a real mai tai used to be before myres rum became standard.
The kalua pig nachos are a great snack for two if you plan on munching. Its HUGE but a good value since this place is a little pricey.
I did a ton of research and orderd tons of mai tais while in Kona, and Dons bar wins by a lot with their plantation mai tai. You will not be disappointed.

Our favorite place for some quick grindz and our favorite servers, Diane and Diana! They are always super sweet to our children and take the best care of us! The bucket of shrimp with the dipping sauces is divine, I’ve even eaten these left-​overs for breakfast.
The best pupus: Kalua sliders, bucket of shrimp, tropical salad, quesadilla and poke. Pretty much everything is great and the Mai Tais are fabulous! Volcano is a favorite.

Stopped in again for the awesome on-​the-​rocks/​water view and to have a couple drinks. Open air and very roomy. A great place to grab a drink and watch the sun set on the ocean. I’ve been here a few times and only had drinks… no food. So I cannot comment on how good or bad the food may or may not be. But my drinks have always been good. On my last visit my friend and I decided to try the Mojito Taster… the glasses in the picture look much bigger than the ones you actually get. But the Mojitos were still pretty good. You’ll love the view/setting…so you should at least give this place a try and judge for yourself whether you like it or not.

Gorgeous views! Used to come here weekly for happy hour with my coworkers. Also, great for sunset view with your lovely love. You’ll even have spinner dolphins putting on a show! The original mai tai is ono and strong! Love this bar.

The mai tais are very good (we stuck to the standard version). The oceanfront setting is gorgeous.
We ordered chicken wings and they were large and really delicious.
We were there for the Thursday evening live music. That was a very good decision, as it was a pleasant way to pass the time until sunset.
The only drawback was that the place is very crowded and getting a place to be seated requires pleasant persistence. Fortunately, the ladies using the table we were vulturing over invited us to sit with them as they waited for their check. That led to a pleasant conversation to start the evening.

When my friend asked where I wanted to eat for lunch, I told him I wanted a bleu burger and a spot with a view… sadly I recommended the Royal Kona, which was not busy with one other table.
Our server Anita, was pretty unfriendly from the start; She was more like an order taker, than a server. My friend ordered a Kohala burger Rare, I ordered a bleu hawaiian burger, no onions (sub spinach) and no onion roll, sub wheat toast and Med. She didn’t even give me choices for bread, she said she was just gonna give me a burger bun. I asked for bread choices, finally she gave me choices of bread. Wheat it was.
My friend’s burger came out well done and so did mine, with onions. I would’ve let Anita know, but she didn’t care to check on us.
When another friend joined us, he asked for a menu and water. I then informed her my burger was overcooked and it had onions. No apology.
5 mins later she walked by and my friend had to ask for water and a menu again. He ordered a fish sandwich. Bad Service was a topic of our lunch. I had to ask for a large water, because my small glass of water was empty. My burger came dry and the only flavor I tasted was garlic salt on it and well-​done again, I was hungry so I ate it.
I was far from satisfied and felt like an idiot recommending this spot. Server never asked how anything was. My friend who was still hungry after his overcooked burger, ordered a linguini marinara with shrimp.
Friends fish sandwich came on a hoagie roll, with what looked liked some kind of brown runny coleslaw. He said he didn’t get the concept of the sandwich and was still hungry but didn’t wanna wait for the bad service or order anything else there.
Next the linguini came out, which wasn’t even linguini noodles, it was spaghetti noodles with disgusting sauce which reminded us all of spaghetti o’s. Sauce was so sad and without taste or refinement.
Horrible food and 2 soft drinks came to $ 80.32 + $ 15 tip for crappy service, just about a $ 100.
Even though there is a beautiful view, the lack of service and horrid food will definitely keep my friends and I from patronizing this spot. I couldn’t stop apologizing to my friends for choosing this for our day off. EPIC FAIL.

We were here with a group pre wedding activities. The major draw here are the amazing views at sunset and the space. Just a great spot. We ordered s bunch of items off of the happy hour. The maitais are great. I was feeling the effects after one and they contained the right amount of sweetness. The burger is really good along with the coconut shrimp. I did find the quesadillas a little on the bland side and the wings seemed like standard bar wings. The ribs hd great flavor but wasn’t evenly heated/​prepared. I’d still come back for the views and happy hour though.

This review is in two parts — one time when we sat down and had lunch and the second time is for beer-​to-​go visit at the bar.
First the good part — sit down lunch. We checked in to the resort room and went to Don’s Tiki bar for lunch not expecting much as we were famished and didn’t want to search for restaurants in the blistering heat. The views were awesome, as you are ON THE WATER… literally. The breeze was great and found a shady spot with water views. Our waitress came over with a stack of different menus and we quickly glanced and thought it was something we wanted. I ordered a Kona Red and it arrived right away. I ordered the Nachos appetizer and it was good! Lots of meat and chili — the sour cream was like flavored, which added a nice touch — but stay away from the guac… not sure if those are local avocados, but not as good as the Haas variety. My kids both ordered the kids chicken nuggets meal and they LOVED IT! I tasted some of their stuff (and snuck some fries into my nachos when nobody was looking) and even I liked it! Rarely do you find good food on the children’s menu, but this was an exception. My wife ordered the chicken focaccia sandwich, which she was not thrilled about. American food is not her favorite anyway, and I did not taste her sandwich, so cannot say for sure if it was good or not. We had a great time and I was looking forward to eating here again.
The bad part — unfortunately, we never got a chance to eat here again.
The ugly part — my kids were swimming in the pool and I was watching them, as there are no lifeguards in Hawaii… Everybody must be excellent swimmers? Anyway, I wanted to have a drink by the pool and wanted some beer in a plastic container. The bartender was not so friendly and did not even make eye contact with me for a few minutes — though I saw her smiling at other patrons. Eventually she gets to me and I ask for a beer to go in a plastic cup. She pours on and somehow had the check ready even before she got the beer to me. $ 5.99 for a beer, but I knew it. So I gave her my credit card and within 30 seconds, I got the slip to sign and tip. $ 12.98??? What happened in 30 seconds? She ran my credit card for 2 Mai Tai’s that another couple had and put the tab on their room not too long ago! Hello!!! Did you expect me not to check the tab and sign for it? No! I brought it to her attention, which she fixed right away and didn’t even feel ashamed that happened — though she apologized but the apology didn’t feel like a genuine mistake. So after a while I stop for another beer and I hand her a 20 this time so I don’t get any funny business on my credit card. So I get $ 13 and a bunch of pennies back? It was a different beer, but was it $ 6.49 this time? I don’t know. I just leave her the coins and an extra $ 1 (which I now regret) and leave. So look out for this bartender, or sit at one of the tables and receive excellent service and good food.

Wow. As the name says, they have lots of different Mai Tais! I’m not an expert at all, but I quite enjoyed trying different types of Mai Tais while I was there. Great sunset view, too!

I had one of the best burgers here. Ordered medium. The well done was a bit over cooked. But the medium was superb.
The drinks are great. I had my first Mai tai. It was nice and strong, so the bartenders give a great pour.
The view is amazing. But if it is windy, you might need a light jacket.

View is excellent! Staff decent. Prices and Mai Tais not so much. As a local I prefer Mai Tais at Kona Inn or Kona Canoe club. Plus during Happy Hour Kona Canoe between2−5 has em for only $ 5

Go for the sunset… and stay for the Mai Tai! Their happy hour special is a good deal. They don’t skimp on the drinks, even during happy hour.

Lava Flow and Mai Tai sampler sets. ‘Nuff said.
But really, Don’s is a great spot to imbibe along the water. Can’t speak for the food as my friend and I came by later at night, but we certainly loved the sampler sets.

Okay, the views are to die for here. Especially around sunset. We came when there was live music as well, so atmosphere was great. However, food & drinks were just alright. Yes, everything was very pretty, but kind of bland. And the mixed drinks are pretty weak… Got the maitai & lava samplers, and they were yummy, but yeah not going to really give you a buzz. Also had their kalua pork nachos & they were severely undersalted. The service is also not great… but hey — we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset by the water. And I didn’t get eaten alive by mosquitos, so that’s a win for me!

Beautiful location with outrageous views and we got the perfect table. Do try the Mai tai sampler flight. Great Kalua pork sliders. Yum!
They will validate your parking as well. Wonderful lounging afternoon in the sun for valentines day.

We were SO weirded out upon finding/​entering Don the Beachcomber’s, but I’m so glad we stopped by.
I insisted we do a DIY Mai Tai crawl around Kona and we were 3 – 4 Mai Tai’s deep when I remembered where the original (allegedly) Mai Tai came from… Don’s! I’m super bossy, so I immediately found it on a map and led the way.
To get to the restaurant and bar you sort of walk through the hotel which is eerily quiet (but nice) and felt like there was no one staying in it. The restaurant was no different, tons and tons of space, everything right on the water with amazing views, and yet it was completely empty (this was just shortly after 8:00pm).
They have a really large main dining room with absolutely no one in it… I’m not sure if maybe it was just because of off season (December) or what, but it looked like it used to be pretty magical and had such a life and I hated that it wasn’t still living in its glory because in my eyes Don’s is a staple and a quintessential part of the typical Hawaiian vacation. In the hall at the end of the dining room when you’re leaving there are old black and whites of some of the famous people who have dined there and all the life the place had and it made my eyes mist over a little (could have been the booze, but still, I’m a sucker for sleepy places rich with history that have just been lost and forgotten).
Anyway we headed to the bar/​bar area where everyone else was (also looking confused), and a lot of people were ordering dinner and eating there, so maybe I’m just completely dramatic and mistaken about the restaurant part, but it looked straight up like aloha, RIP, nice knowin’ ya, ghost town.
We ordered a Mai Tai of course and enjoyed the quiet weirdness of it all. The Mai Tais were strong and of course tasted no different than the four I chugged before it.
I will absolutely be back because I demand to know what the hell this place is all about nowadays and why it didn’t live up to the picture I had painted in my head of beautiful tan babes with long hair serving me pig and pineapple and an old fat Hawaiian man playing ukulele in the corner with tons of white people in floral shirts looking sun burnt and happy.
I love it either way.