Location: Kailua-Kona
A couple of weeks ago, Anthony and I hopped over to the Big Island to celebrate his 25th birthday. Yep, he's now a quarter of a century old. It was his first time on another island, and it was my first time in Kona since middle school. From what I remembered, Kona was exactly what we were looking for - touristy, relaxing, and the perfect size for a three-day getaway.
I had spent the week before our trip doing extensive research for Anthony's birthday dinner. Or at least I thought I did. My original plan was to take him to Beach Tree at the Four Seasons, an elegant restaurant/lounge right on the beach, with live entertainment. It was a little pricier than what I had wanted to spend, but I justified it by reminding myself that we didn't have a Four Seasons back in Honolulu, and, thus, it would be a while until I'd have another chance to dine at one. So I made reservations using OpenTable, one of my favorite internet sites, after Amazon and that site that lets me watch Gossip Girl for free.
It wasn't until the day before the trip that I finally looked up the exact location of the restaurant. Turns out the Four Seasons is almost an hour away from our hostel and is inaccessible by bus, which only runs twice a day anyway. Damn. Toto, I have a feeling we're not on Oahu anymore. Since we wouldn't be renting a car until the following morning, and I assumed cabs were too pricey for us, the Beach Tree seemed out of the question. I quickly went on yelp, a site that I use, not for the reviews, but for finding restaurants categorized by locations. I made sure to narrow down my search to restaurants in Kailua-Kona, the "urban" section of Kona, which would be on our way to the hostel.
I finally stumbled upon Honu's Bar and Grill, a beachfront restaurant at the King Kamehameha Hotel that offers a seafood buffet every Friday and Saturday night. Seafood buffet. I knew Anthony would love a buffet, so, unless he preferred one of the two pizza places also on my list, it looked like Honu's would be the selected venue. I was right. For once, he passed on the pizza and was excited for a buffet. I returned to OpenTable and booked a table for two.
We arrived in Kailua-Kona about two hours before our reservation, allowing us time to explore the main street and even indulge in an iced Kona coffee beverage at one of the many coffeeshops sprinkled throughout the city. We headed back to the sprawling King Kamehameha Hotel (think Hilton Hawaiian Village, without the obnoxious zoo animals roaming about) and finally entered Honu's. After choosing a table partially inside and outside, we went straight to the buffet line, eager to stuff ourselves with seafood.
Those of you who know me probably wonder why I even bother with buffets; I get full about halfway through a plate. However, like a good American, I appreciate the concept of buffets - lots of choices and unlimited portions must be good, right? - never mind that quality and service tend to be sacrificed.
For my first round, I filled my plate with clam chowder, dinner rolls, and seafood pesto. The clam chowder was wonderful, probably my favorite part of dinner. My next round consisted of crab legs. Only. My mom wasn't around to crack the crab legs for me, so I put the birthday boy to work (I knew he'd come in handy!). As expected, the quality of the crab was somewhat inconsistent, but was, as are all things that require work and come in small packages, still perfectly satisfying.
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| our epic pile of crab legs |
We had come at 6 and thus dined through the sunset, a glorious sight even though it happens every night. I only had a few more pieces of sashimi because I wanted to save room for more important things in life, e.g. dessert. The dessert table at buffets never disappoints! I ordered my second Kona coffee of the day (I could get used to this town...) and piled on the desserts. They had the requisite cakes, pies, and cookies.
My only complaint about Honu's (and another place in Kona, Island Lava Java) is that the restaurant ignored my little note in the Special Requests box on OpenTable that we were celebrating my boyfriend's birthday. It wasn't a big deal because I hate singing in public anyway (I'd need one more glass of wine for that), but, still. Anthony could've gotten a bowl of complimentary ice cream that would have gone perfectly with his dessert of choice from the buffet -- a simple chocolate chip cookie.
Service was attentive and the view was just as I'd hoped. In the end, I'm glad I chose Honu's over Beach Tree; Anthony, who is not impressed by stuffy, five-star restaurants, seemed to have enjoyed his dinner, and that was all that mattered.
