Harbor House

This place is always packed! Before we moved here, we would make sure to make our first stop here after tge airport just after they opened at 11am for our ice cold schooners of domestic brews for only $ 3! The mugs are giant and straight out of the freezer, the perfect «Welcome to the Island» feel with great views of the harbor. Their burgers are bomb, made from all natural grass fed beef from the island, and not to mention huge. Definitely recommend coming here, you will not be disappointed!

Fish and chips used to be great, local fish. Now they use cheap pre-​packaged, pre-​breaded Thailand catfish. Fries were soaked in grease and barely edible. Catch of the day plate was decent. Quality of food is seriously lacking. Beer used to be super cold, served in a frozen glass, now it’s just slightly cold. We won’t be coming back.

Pau Hana!!! This a place to grab drinks and pūpūs (appetizers) after work. It gets crowded in the afternoon as this the place where people come after work.
Happy Hour: Schooners and food. I usually order the poke, chili fries and some of my friends order the calamari.
Lunch: They offer array of of food such as burgers, fish and chips, chili and local plates.
Ambiance: The harbor is a few feet away so you can see the boats come in and out. It’s an open restaurant. They’re can be flies and birds so cover your drinks and food if you leave you step out for a bathroom break. Very laid back place. It can get really busy during lunch and need to check in at the register to write your name down on their clipboard.
Final Thoughts: I’ve frequent this place while living in Kona. Great way to support local businesses and fishermen.

Low key restaurant located at the Honokohau Marina. They have cold beer and tasty fish and chips; what more do you need? Fish is fried well– crisp and not soggy or oily. Service is friendly but slow so make sure you’re not in a rush and proactive on your refills.

What a disappointment 2 yeas ago this place had some of the best bar food on the island. Wow, what 2 years can do. Fish and chips where small little nugget pieces over fried, wings over fried dried out nothing left in them, burger was all bun, fries over done little rocks. This place was great at one time now it sucks. I do not recommend wasting your time or money here what a shame

I went here after a whale watching trip — really close, right on the harbor. I had a veggie burger which was delicious, hot and flavorful, and with generous trimmings — lettuce, tomato, onions. Fries and coleslaw were really good too. Service was decent, a little slow but ok.

Went for a quick lunch before heading to airport. We advised the waitress at ordering, others got their food and left. Still no lunch. 45 minutes later was served cold fish on a cold bun with cold fries. The waitress had no explanation for poor service and poor quality of food. I would skip this restaurant, there are other choices on the island that don’t give you this poor quality.

They make the best fish sandwich on the island!
We have been coming here for years and have yet to find a comparable sandwich. Great tasting fries and coleslaw too. Always busy nice Harbor views added bonus!

Service good. Good came out in a timely manner. Fish and chips made with frozen fish. Expected fresh fish since it’s located on the harbor. Seriously who serves frozen fish when you at a restaurant next to the ocean. If you want fresh fish go somewhere else.

Decent food and cheap eats with a nice view of the marina. Really liked this place for lunch and to watch a game. Honest food without being pretentious and a simple menu. Lots of locals, so you know it’s priced right and it’s between Kona and the airport. Very friendly staff…

Came here after hiking in Kaloko National Park. The breezes here were wonderful, nice and cool and refreshing. I’m not a beer drinker but the ice cold schooners were much appreciated.
The Mahi Mahi sandwich was bland. The tarter sauce was not to my liking. The waitress was very nice but way too rushed. They should have more help here.
I would come again, but only for breezes and beer.

The food was good and the service was good. I had the fish and chips. The servers were friendly and attentive.

IThe guide books and other reference stuff on this place looked good and we were really in the mood for a really cold beer but this place was a disaster. We went in and finally found table next to a five or eight person table that was filled by obviously a bunch of locals. In fact most of the area when you first came in the restaurant was filled with mostly locals and that’s fine. But when we sat down and were ignored for about five minutes I was getting a bit testy. When the waitress came to the table and I was going to order beers I had a question about a couple of beers that I knew nothing about and the waitress just looked at me like you were so stupid, it’s a beer what do you want. When I asked her question about the local red beer she rolled her eyes and turned around and just walked away. Several minutes later when she was walking by the table I held up both my arms and went hello and she came over and I said is this the time where I actually get to place an order? She gave me the disgusted FU look and said do you want to order? I said yeah I’d like to order the red beer and she just turned around and started walkway and I said excuse me I have a friend with me and I think he would like a beer as well and she comes back and says so… I said why think he would probably like this lager and she again just doesn’t say anything turns around and walks away. So a few minutes later my friend comes back from the bathroom and she walks up doesn’t say a word sets down my beer and turns out walks off. We were going to order food but she just left. So I have several sips of my beer over the next four or five minutes and she is walking by and I said excuse me but my friend still doesn’t have his beer and she looks at me and says, well it’s coming. In the meantime she delivered at least six or seven beers to the tables all around us and at this point my friend looks at me and goes we’re leaving. So we got up and left. I haven’t done that in probably 25 years but it was very appropriate.
This is absolutely the worst and most certainly most crappy service and attitude I have ever had at a restaurant. Later when I cooled down I called the restaurant and talked to the manager and to her credit she was appalled at what happened. I offered to send her money or give her my credit card to cover the cost of the beer that I never finished and the one that my friend ordered it was never delivered and she said absolutely no way. She was very very sorry and tried to get me to describe the waitress. I gave her the best info I could and I hope she figured out who it was and that she was packing up.
Bottom line is give it a shot if you want but I personally would never go back to this restaurant no matter how nice the manager was.

Fresh fish, good Burgers, lots of tasty fried things and good choice of domestic and local beers served in their famous «Schooners» at very fair prices. Our waitress was efficient and friendly, yes they were busy and almost all the people in there the evening our group of 6 had dinner were locals. Nice breeze, view of the boats in surrounding marina and the water as the sun goes down.
My kind of place, would return and recommend.

They used to have icy cold mugs of beer here, whenever we got off the plane this was the first stop in Kona the entire family would go to and sadly the family still thinks this is the best place to go after landing in Kona, I strongly dis-​agree!
The last three times I’ve gone here for an Icy mug of beer, they were out of them, in fact I don’t know if they serve them anymore.
Once right after they bought out Atalia’s I had an icy– beer there but none since. Twice this last trip the family wanted to go here for a meal and each time I told them I would rather go elsewhere. Hugo’s on the Rocks or The Kona Brewery Company, anyplace but here!
I did see improvement on customer service but you won’t find me here again!
Next time if anyone wants to go here after arriving in Kona, I’ll say, «Bite me»! Is where I want to go … Just next door to Harbor House.

Open restaurant overlooking the marina. Coming from the airport going to Kona/​Kailua it’s convenient and prices are fair.
I’ve been here at least 10 times over the years and the food has been consistently ok (3 rating).
Good service.
Basic food, nothing fancy however it fills you up.
Draft beers come in heavy cold schooners (I prefer a glass however that’s a personal preference)

Eh… best of the meal was the beer. Came here based on reviews and that was a mistake. Seriously, frozen cod fish n chips (minus the chips btw).
Food was uninspiring and bland. In Oregon, on the coast, we serve fresh (note that: FRESH) fish.
Waitress was also uninspired. Friendly is not what I would call it.
On the upside, the sunset was gorgeous! And we watched or snorkeling pics from our Go PRO.
So, the empty parking lot was our first clue. That is the only clue we needed. Could have enjoyed A Mai Tai on the strip. So, not happy with the people who rated this place 4 & 5 stars.

This restaurant is ‘hidden’ right next to the marina, and we almost went to far! (Don’t do this because you’ll end up to a hot-​dog shack next to a fish shop)
What a fantastic selection of items, and very inexpensive for Hawaii.
The food was fresh, and came out almost too quickly!
Now here’s why I removed a star: We were having an early dinner as our flight wasn’t until almost midnight. The restaurant is quite large, and open-​air, with plenty of seating. We arrived around 4:30 expecting to enjoy some drinks and dinner for a couple hours. (9−3−14)
Long story short — we were pretty much badgered into ordering food before being able to finish our first drink. Why would you rush your customers when the place is empty — and not let them relax and enjoy their last evening on Hawaii?
If I do go back, and get even the slightest hint that we are being ‘hurried’ — I’ll be asking for a manager.

Their Fish & Chips are amazing!
The best I’ve tried so far!
Service was ehh. okay.
Food is amazing!
Worth every penny!

Harbor House is an open air restaurant located right off of Honokohau Small Boat Harbor. Stop by for lunch, only if you are not in a rush as they get busy and service slows down, or for an early dinner to relax as the sun goes down.
It feels like a burger place to me and the «Big Island grass-​fed beef» gets me every time. The burger can be a bit dry and under seasoned, maybe my cow was on a diet? You can guarantee yourself more flavor by ordering a teriyaki burger (assuming you don’t mind the sweetness). I wouldn’t normally want to mess with the flavor of the beef, but this beef sometimes needs it. I do like the grilled soft bun and the thick cut fries that come with the burger (or you could have a salad).
Besides the burgers they have the standard (for Hawaii) pupus: poke, wings, fried calamari, edamame, etc. Entrees include fish and chips, pork chops, fried chicken, and a variety of hot sandwiches like the Philly cheese steak or teriyaki chicken. Kiddies will enjoy a root beer or coke float served in one of their frosty schooners, adults can get a well priced beer.
The restaurant is group and family friendly, especially if you come off-​peak, so sit back and relax.