First of all, WHAT?! How can everything we had be a 10/10? Not just the food, but the service as…read morewell. I am so happy that my husband & I got to experience this restaurant while in Hawai'i. For starters, we ordered their special lobster salad (with lobster, mango, avocado, and pickled hearts of palm) and their mushroom side dish. Both were absolutely packed with flavor, and the lobster salad especially included very new flavors for us both. The mushrooms were out of this WORLD! For entrees, we ordered the spicy lobster ravioli and their mushroom side curried macadamia nut fish (swordfish). Each bite was a little taste of fishy heaven for both dishes. We are so happy with our visit here, and cannot wait for the opportunity to come back and try more amazing, home-grown food. Thank you for this wonderful experience!

We had a great dinner here. The staff was very friendly. We got one appetizer off of the special…read moremenu. It was ahi with coconut milk, onions, and jalapeños. It was served with purple potato chips. It was a great combination of sweet, salty, and spicy tastes. We also got the appetizer size of the lobster ravioli. I loved this dish. It also had a bit of chili oil and creaminess in the sauce. Main dishes were great! I loved that they offered a choose two option. I so often struggle with which dish I absolutely want. Merriman's makes it easy. You get glad dishes of two options. My family loved and took full advantage of this option. My daughter got the island beef and the lamb chops. She preferred the lamb chops to the beef. My husband got the island beef and the catch of the day. I got the fish special that came with a spanakopita. It was delicious! I loved the flavors.

Stopped in for a little lunch on our way to Hilo, cute spot . Everything was delicious large…read moreportions. Wife got the short rib bowl, I got the chicken karrage bao , both were yummy. Order at counter, all was fresh and hot !! Would be back !!

One of the few spots that stay up later than the rest of the surrounding businesses resulting in…read moredinner rushes, so be mindful and patient when dining in during busy hours (typically between 5pm-8pm). You order at the counter and if you're lucky, you'll have the lovely opportunity of being helped by Cat. She's very knowledgeable about the menu and is very thorough when leading you through the ordering process. Once the food arrived, presentation was great. Everything looked super yummy and fresh! Our ginger pork dumplings and one order of the short ribs came out right away, however my partner's short rib plate didn't come out at all (20 minutes have passed by). It was a slight disappointment having to eat my meal while my partner was waiting for his, however we gave them the benefit of the doubt and figured it was due to the fact we received our order as soon as that dinner rush started. When mentioned to Cat, she was super apologetic and got us the missing plate right away with no excuses. Thank you so much! This series of events will not prevent me from coming back to this spot whenever I am back on this side of the big island because the food is great, ordering process was easy and to the point, customer service was awesome, and hours are very forgiving. Give it a try!

Some of the most fantastic ramen I've had in recent years!…read more The restaurant was relatively slow with its dine in customers when we went, but a lot of pick up orders seemed to be coming through the door, granted it was a Tuesday evening. The interior was nothing exceptional, it just felt a lot like most Asian/ramen restaurants inside, though there was certainly nothing bad about it. The ramen at this place is truly fantastic, hot, and fresh. I ordered the kimchi ramen with pork belly. The fermented veggies with the spicy ramen broth hit the spot, and the pork belly was nice and crispy. If you're in the Kona/Waikoloa area, I'd definitely say it's worth the trip!

Spicy chicken ramen was very flavorful, broth is too good didnt expect to find a good ramen place…read morein kona, must try Vegetarian tantanmem ramen broth is very satisfying Must have ramen place, not sure why its rated less, this place should have more stars Prices are very minimal and such a good place

We went with a friend for dinner a month ago and the food was excellent. Started with some gyoza,…read moreand tempura, chicken karaage and then sushi which was fresh and beautiful, and black garlic ramen was superb. We had leftovers that were great the next day for lunch as well. This is a popular place so be prepared. We ate inside not having a reservation but I'd suggest calling for a reservation outside. Also keep in mind that rents are high in Kona, it's a challenge to find people that can afford it and work in our restaurants, so be kind to them. Parking is also a challenge but patience and determination will get you there. Currently if you are a Costco member you can purchase gift cards for $80 that will get you $100 at the restaurant, so effectively a 20% discount. Those discount cards seem to rotate in and out at Costco so that will probably change. We've gotten two takeout dinners since then and it's a definite favorite of ours. Mahalo.

We got takeout and had the Vege Tempura, Vege Ramen, Vege Roll and Avocado Cucumber roll…read more This seems like a lot but it's good for 2 adults. Food is very light, tasty and well made. We also had the Matcha Shiratama Zenzai for dessert. It was awesome. Great combination of flavours. Everything is reasonably priced. I would definitely recommend it. Parking is street side and based on availability.

50% of on Sundays and Mondays for early dine? Say lesssss!…read moreWe enjoyed 4 sushi rolls, ravioli, poke, and cucumbers all for under 70 with tip. That's INSANE. The rolls were delicious l, I forget the name of the one I liked but it had spicy crab in it. Also, the ravioli with the mushroom Madeira sauce was heavenly. I could've ate 12 more of those (it's a small portion). Service was great, they have the system down. Waters at every table before early dine and the server gives you a good run down of what the special is and checks back with you before it ends. I highly recommend checking out sansei

I'm giving 3 stars only because of the service that night…read more We never received part of our order, in a very long period of time They were severely understaffed for the amount of people being seated. The manager was very nice and comped what we did get. In future if understaffed- limit seating to match staffing. The crab ramen with truffle was very delicious. Wish we could have tried more.

What a gem that's flung far from Kona, in the middle of nowhere off the side of Highway 11. It's…read moregot this old Hawaii meets Japanese comfort food charm that evokes a wistful presence from yesteryear. There's something about a flower being pinned to your hair as you're seated to eating a bowl of saimin as Unchained Melody plays in the background that brings a nostalgic smile to your face and makes you feel right at home. Oh - and if you ask the server what's in the Kona Beef Curry Stew... it's beef and curry. Ha. Tellin' them city folk like it is.

We tried out this legendary Japanese Hawaiian diner near the end of our trip. It is literally like…read morea slice out of history! Not to be missed! They have a TV showing historical clips of the Japanese immigrants who moved to Hawaii. We learned so much just dining there! The servers were very nice and friendly. They even offer free, hot green tea. It wasn't crowded when we went there for lunch. The server said we could order from the dinner menu too. The restaurant is decorated with a bunch of old family photos. It's not a fancy food location, but a place that is in the locals' hearts. Also, it's not standard Japanese American food, so don't come in looking for rolls and such! Instead, they serve fresh, perfectly prepared Japanese food with a Hawaiian twist, favorites like saimin and shrimp tempura. The large saimin ($16.17) was delicious and really hit the spot. Toppings were Spam, eggs, and veggies. Simple, but tasty! Shrimp tempura appetizer ($14.85) was a pretty large sized dish. The pieces have a lot of crunchy batter and the kids loved it. It was a bit greasy, but that's to be expected. DH got a Oyako Donburi with sashimi ($21.93). Wow, the sashimi was truly amazing! So tender, it just melts in your mouth. The eggs were cooked with bamboo pieces which kinda threw DH off. I liked them, but DH would've preferred it without. The flavor is sweet/salty and pretty mild. It came with miso soup and some pickles. Parking is right in the front and backs into the main road. It can be spicy getting out if traffic is heavy. They don't have a lot of bathrooms, so there might be a wait. Those are the downsides. Otherwise, a wonderful local place to eat!

Long wait, but the food is worth it!! Great local menu, ONO food, especially the pancakes and…read moreFrench Toast! Friendly staff too!

OMG the pancakes!! It comes with whipped cream & haupia sauce and holy cow it's the BEST!…read more The pancake is ginormous and normally comes with two but I didn't want to waste so asked for just one. Volcano omelet and crispy hash browns hit the spot Mahalo Mahalo Mahalo

We had such an amazing dinner here. I would say one of the best of our visit. The sunset was…read moregorgeous. If you watch Top Chef you'll recognize the chef here. She just won it all, so make reservations :) The restaurant offers indoor and patio seating. You can't go wrong either way. We were on the fringe of the indoor seating so it was easy to go out to take sunset photos. For appetizers we got oysters. They were delicious and delicate. For mains we got the whole grilled lobster, lamb chops, and tenderloin. The lamb chops were some of the best I've had. They were seasoned very well and grilled to the right temperature. I loved the mint salsa verde that came with it. The steak was also well flavored and grilled. The broccolini came with a great char. The lobster was great and easy to take out of the shell. The kitchen cuts the lobster for you, but lays it in the shell so you still see the meat in the shells. This was a great grilled dish too. We ordered a bunch of sides too because they looked so great. We were not wrong. They were amazing. We got the sugar snap peas, fried rice, and sweet potatoes. The fried rice was our favorite. We didn't leave anything behind. The sugar snap peas were great too. The lightness of the dish was great to balance out the meats. The sweet potatoes were great, but a little heavy for the dishes we had ordered. For desserts we got the vanilla cheesecake and flan cake. I loved the concept of the flan cake. It was so inventive. We liked it, but the cheesecake won out. Definitely come here for a meal. It was one of the best we had during our visit and we would return.

Overpriced for what was offered especially for the presentation aspect. To be honest, I was really…read moredisappointed by the menu options. There wasn't anything really calling to me that made it seem like the price was worth it so we ordered small plates. If the restaurant is labeled $$$$, I expect everything to be above and beyond. Food 2/5 'Ula 'Ula Hale $18 - Sangria was delicious, loved it. Voyager $25 - Whiskey, cute restaurant logo on the ice. Chilled Oysters $14 ($7ea) - Worth a try, tasted good. Shokupan $18 - Bread with butter. Not a fan of the seeds on the bread but can't really go wrong with this option. Gyoza $18 - Delicious with a flavorful sauce. Hamachi & Uni $28 - Disappointed by the presentation but tasted just fine. We were offered macarons for my birthday which was lovely. Ambiance 3/5 Gorgeous hotel and the view is great when heading to the restaurant but really dark at night. Dining area is huge, indoor and outdoor. We had a table on the in the back corner on the sand. Great view to see everything but it's incredibly dark with minimal lighting. Service 3/5 Our server was nice but nothing special.