We've been here multiple times in the past and always enjoyed the food. Like most nights we let the kids run around while they were waiting for the food. Unfortunately my son tripped and fell onto the gravel sidewalk cutting up his knees and hand and face. At some point during the commotion one of the chefs were outside trying to help my son. We returned to our table to find that they had removed our dinner to keep the dishes warm. After we finished the same chef came out to check on my son and to let him know she'd love to have him come back in the kitchen to see if they had any ice cream. After our little tour behind the scenes my son had completely forgotten about his incident - except for the fact that "it was worth it" after that sweet surprise. Loved Moana before - but now it'll hold a special place in our hearts. What a lovely way to remember last night. Thank you Chef! read more

Moana at the Rosewood is an absolutely beautiful restaurant and dining experience. The flow and the open air Vibe makes you feel instantly relaxed and at peace. It's casual fine dining at its best. I love the atmosphere and everyone was very friendly and accommodating. Highly recommend going if you are in the area, it is worth the drive and the property itself is stunning. The offerings on the menu are unique and full of flavor. It's an opportunity to enjoy a leisurely dinner with family, friends or a date. It's romantic and beautiful. Going at sunset is ideal, the views are absolutely breathtaking. read more

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Gorgeous setting! Fantastic service! Onolicious food! Luke took exceptional care of us, and explained the nuances of the dishes and answered all our questions. Everything was delicious. The standout really was the scallops in the XO sauce. WOW! Was that fantastic! Scallops melted in your mouth and you want to lick the plate of the XO sauce. The beef cheeks are good size so we took one home for later.. .and it was still tender and flavorful 2 days later when we had it for breakfast on the side of our scrambled eggs. That's when you know something is really good is if it tastes good later. Will definitely be back. read more

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Come to Moana if you're looking for a beautiful open aired beachside view. The food comes second after the ambience. Everything was solid but pretty overpriced and felt the portions for the drinks especially were very small. Luckily the staff was nice enough to give a free refill after asking. Food: 7/10 Service: 10/10 Ambience: 10/10 read more

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We gave Moana a second chance we are glad we did! I put on my OpenTable comments not to rush us and it really helped. Good: we got an excellent ocean front table and the weather was perfect. From the abalone appetizer to the Caesar salad to the pork chop and lobster dish, all the food was outstanding. The chopped mushrooms and edamame under the lemon foam with the abalone was probably my favorite bit. Hubs was pork chop!! (8 oz) Also the anchovies did not seem canned on the salad, really great. Other stuff: after the abalone the waitress took my sauce covered fork out of the 4 o'clock position and put it on the bare wood table. At that point I asked for fresh utensils and she gladly provided them at the time and onwards. She even wiped her mess off the table. The wine did not come in time for the appetizer, faux pas. I heard other waiters giving a full rundown on the menu that we did not get. Cracked pepper was not offered for the salad. BUT the ambiance was perfect, service nearly perfect and well timed. The sunset and full moon completed our great experience. I highly recommend Moana! read more

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The location is unbeatable - - right on the ocean. An open air restaurant. The food is phenomenal. The five of us had several different fish dishes. Don't eat too much because you're going to want to have one or more of the desserts. Again, the service was unbeatable; very knowledgeable, there when we needed them. read more

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The Moana restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner. The morning setting is beautiful and peaceful. The buffet ($60) has an extensive array of choices for any and all appetites. The a la carte menu has less expensive choices (two eggs any style, waffles, pancakes, burrito). Service is fast and friendly (a hallmark of the resort). The dinner menu needs more choices in appetizers and entrees. We enjoyed the chilled Kona Lobster, $49 (Ka`u orange, Maui lime, avocado, Kahiko Māla'ai farm fennel and tarragon). The Huli Huli Kurobuta Pork Chop, $68, entree missed the mark. The sous-vide pork lacked flavor and would likely be much better seared with a proper crust (sous-vide preparation can cause a dish to lose texture and become mushy, which happened here). Corkage is $100. read more

Service was perfect, food was tasty, view was amazing, Live music was the perfect volume. Roasted potatoes side was outstanding and more than enough for two. Prawns were a great app and the snapper and ahi were outstanding entrees. I would pass on the rice next time because the potatoes were so good! The combination of romantic ambiance, view, service, and food is hard to beat and made for a memorable evening. read more

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The abalone was terrible. That's not how you prepare abalone. Sticky ribs very dry. Not one dish tasted that great. Sorry Service was good read more

I proposed my now fiancé at this restaurant!!! Only thing I wish is that I came to the restaurant around 4 to really enjoy the sun, but the sunset and night sky was unbelievable !! Our waiter was Aaron, such a solid and positive waiter with tons of experience and intriguing information and details about everything on the menu. He was so cool and took videos and pictures of the proposal on his phone while waiting a ton of other tables. I feel like because of the proposal and celebration they probably comped like 75% of the price, I mean, they gave us tons of drinks and appetizers, completely free that was insanely kind and made it such a beautiful experience . We tried the fish of the day which was unbelievably fresh and I got the beef cheek, which was unique and Ive never had better carrots or mushrooms. The experience is why they have 3 Michelin stars and only 157 other restaurants have this rank. After dinner, we took the scenic route, stargazed and just enjoyed all of the other cool restaurants nearby. i'd recommend this every single day of the week and honestly, the pricing wasn't as crazy as I had expected, and the portions were way larger than a typical fine dining restaurant. Ask for my man Aaron and give him a huge tip ! You won't regret it read more

Hard pass on Moana. Over priced, less than mediocre, weird tasting food. Don't even think about ordering the Mai Tai. I literally gagged at the first sip. Totally weird flavors tasted bitter and nothing like a Mai Tai. Chef and bar appear to be trying for "unique" flavoring in drinks and dishes, but fail. A LOT. Oysters are topped, not with what I was expecting - a lovely, light migonette in a separate bowl to spoon on the oyster in the amount preferred. Instead, oysters came pre-topped with a cloyingly sweet sauce that completely overwhelmed the taste of the oysters. Sad start leaving me wanting for the clean, fresh taste of an oyster. The Caviar was average at best. There was no indication on the menu or cap of the jar of what type of caviar was being served, and the server, when asked, had no idea. It came merely with creme fraiche topped with chives and taro chips. Where's the chopped hard boiled egg and minced shallot? If you're serving caviar at $250. Per order, I expect at least some more accoutrements and an attentive server who does not allow the ice beneath the caviar to melt to the point of flooding the food. Also, it was served with clunky, ceramic spoons. Umm how 'bout some lovely mother of pearl serving spoons, (or at least one!) as is expected with typical caviar service? Sweet it seems is the theme for this chef, as the cold lobster salad fell in line with an overly sweet, gloppy mayonnaise, "dressing?". Don't get your hopes up for an entree of warm lobster with melted butter because it's not on the menu. Served warm appears not to be in the chef's repertoire. Entrees of Snapper and Ono were served cold and dry with mushy, overcooked sides. The best part of the meal was the "birthday" dessert, though I would bet it was made off site. Don't waste your money. Go next door to the Four Seasons for much better food and service, or the plethora of other great food experiences on the island. Moana makes me sick to think about the ~ $600.00 "experience" I had there. Blech! read more

We had a beautiful meal! The view was amazing the staff were so friendly and attentive everything was delicious. Shout out to Rowena our sever for going above and beyond! I will definitely be recommending this to people who come visit me on Big Island. read more

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Pros: - Great bread, great ribs appetizer, solid drinks Cons: - Ordered the snapper, they delivered mahi mahi and said "here's the mahi mahi prepared snapper style" without ever mentioning they were out of snapper. The fish was also extremely overcooked. - Entrees took forever to come out - The price you pay for a meal like this warrants the best of the best, which just wasn't our experience. Sad to see, but the old Kona Village just had so much more charm and soul (for 1/4 of the price) read more

I'll start with what was great. The location overall is incredible. Really top notch resort where all the details have been thought through. You can tell this is a 3 Michelin spot everywhere you look. Super cool and feels great to be at. We first got drinks at Shipwrecks bar which was tasty and a cool vibe sitting in the sand near the boat. We then headed over to Moana where we had reservations to celebrate our anniversary. Our table seemed like the best in the house and was outside near the water with an amazing view. Our server was prompt and talkative in a good way, explaining each dish and sharing his recommendations. We had ribs and abalone to start, the ribs were great but unfortunately the albacore was tough and didn't seem prepared well. For mains we had the snapper which was delicious. Dessert of the Barley Ice cream Sunday was a risk that we're glad we took! It was different for sure but super tasty. Really the main thing we were surprised and disappointed by was no mention of "Happy Anniversary". They had asked us when we booked the table if we were celebrating anything, so we told them, the same with the hostess who seated us and also asked the same question (although shouldn't she have known?). We exchanged cards at the table and had them sitting there next to our plates, but our server never asked about them, was curious as if we were celebrating anything, or seemed to have received the message it was a special day. I didn't even need any complimentary dessert or drink, just would expect the thoughtfulness of the service to match the careful thought that clearly has gone into the rest of the restaurant and resort as a whole. Overall I would recommend Moana and hope to go back someday, with the feedback to ask a little more about each guest in order to give even an even better experience. read more

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Beautiful newly reopened and renovated restaurant giving awesome, high-end Hawaiian vibes. Along with the hotel, the restaurant was destroyed by a tsunami three years ago and reopened in July 2023 by Rosewood resorts. Great care was taken to create a stunning space that speaks to the local heritage and takes advantage of its oceanfront location. Staff is professional and friendly and efficient. Perhaps it wasn't necessary to read through the menu with me but it was a sweet gesture. Food was flawless and fresh. Cocktails were good. We visited the restaurant in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a predictably quiet time, but the restaurant and resort were exceptionally empty. It may take time for the place to find its footing and really bring in their target demographic given that the restaurant and resort are likely the most expensive on the island. As a restaurant guest, I didn't feel I quite got value for the money spent. Nothing wrong just not special enough to justify the expense for us. read more

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Service is a bit uneven. My faves were kabocha with miso glaze, prawns, Hokkaido scallops and eggs Benedict on ulu cake. read more

Moana Restaurant - Eggs Benedict with lobster on an ulu cake. - Wine Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

I dont throw around best I've ever had often, but their mushroom risotto may be it on my list. The old fashioned was really good too, along with the perfect setting for a sunset dinner. Only reason its not 5 stars is because there was an issue with allergies and ingredients for my gf which slowed down service and made one of the dishes not worth getting, but that was not flagged when we ordered. read more

In September, we had a very close friend (hānai aunty) visiting with us from New Jersey. She had visited Hawaii before with us but was now using a walker and we were a little concerned about the layout at KVR and the sandy village paths to and from Moana Restaurant and the surrounding property. We arrived early, so our friend wanted to use her walker and attempt to walk around the circle to visit the gift shop before going to dinner. So, we gave it a try. We had no issues with using the walker in the sand as long as we stayed in the middle of the pathway. On the path to Moana Restaurant a man (also using a walker) said hello and challenged our friend to a race. Not sure if he was a resort guest or a visiting local but that friendly greeting set the tone for the evening. The wait staff had received the notes we sent about our friend and her issues with ambulation and had chosen a table for us with a great view. The Moana Bartender noticed we were struggling a little to get to the bar and offered to bring drinks to us at the patio surrounding the restaurant. Again, the kindness of staff and attention to detail really set the tone. Once seated for dinner, we decided to order a variety of entrees and appetizers to share "family style." We shared the Grilled Octopus appetizer, Tomato and Strawberry Salad, the Wagyu (which was excellent!), BBQ Eggplant and Hawaiian Snapper Entrees but our favorite, hands down, was a side dish of Ali'i Mushrooms. Most of us "try" to eat healthy. So, we skipped dessert. All of the dishes were amazing and it was a treat to be able to actually see the chef preparing some of the dishes from our table. But what made this the perfect night for us were the present day KVR employees. From the second the valet took our car, to the final Alohas from staff as we left, we were treated as if we were the only guests on the property. And that experience is priceless. Mahalo Nui KVR, Patrick Toal & Jon Vagi read more

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First off - WOW. The entire experience of arriving to this little village was incredible. We came here for my 30th birthday and an early first wedding anniversary celebration. I cannot remember our servers name, but he was so kind and gave great recommendations on dishes to try. When the appetizers came the chef greeted us who ironically shares the same anniversary as us. The food was phenomenal and I am so glad I found this place last minute. If we are ever back in Kona we will definitely make it a stop on our agenda. read more

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Absolutely great setting. We came here to celebrate my wife's birthday and the food, service, ambiance, and location were great! We didn't realize it was in a resort, but if it's going to be in one, this was the one to be at! Small, intimate, and not crowded...you can see the sunset from the restaurant and you have a small beach in front of you. Food and drinks were awesome...will definitely try to come back and maybe just stay at the resort! read more

Came to Moana for our 30th anniversary dinner and it was perfect. The setting, the food, and the service were all on point and so well thought out. It was wonderful to be presented with a complimentary glass of champagne, and from that through the oysters and prawns, to the main courses (the beef cheeks were amazing), then a lovely anniversary dessert and the pineapple upside down cake finisher, we treasured every bite. Definitely a meal to remember. read more

Moana Restaurant - Wine Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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Shocked to see anything less than a 5 star review here. All of the dishes were incredible, the service was delightful and the views and restaurant are impressive! Yes it is pricey.. so is everything else on Hawaii! Come enjoy a meal, or two, here. You won't regret it! Our favorite bite was the scallop with XO, but everything was delightful. read more

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Starts with the ambience- Amazing front row to the ocean views. Our server was very pleasant and accurate on her menu items she suggested. Serving water was on point and drinks! I ordered the pork chops, which was the most moist and so flavorful. For Pupu's octopus and lobster salad were out of this world. Caesar salad was very flavorful and crispy lettuce. Very lovely dinner. Best of all our server did not rush us. We enjoyed every bit. read more

Beautiful, breathtaking view. Service was great and food was exceptional. Highly recommend making the trip down here and will come back soon read more

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Wow! Everything we ordered was out of this world. The service was phenomenal. The sunset was magical and the music (there was a DJ) was playing the perfect music. Highly recommend: fried rice, risotto, sea bass, gem salad, chicken. read more

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The food is unbelievable. So fresh and delicious and indulgent. Imagine the best version of any dish you've ever had, that's how they'd serve it here, but elevated with fresh local ingredients. The service is up to the original KONA VILLAGE standard. Friendly. Personable. Chatty if you so desire. Able and willing to go above and beyond for anything, and if you come with a sense of aloha, you'll be treated like ohana. read more

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Food and service very much improved! Low point was a dish described as ahi spread. Not a spread. Basically a pressed, cooked ahi. Very boring. Otherwise all food was good and as described. read more

Everything went well. The service is outstanding, attentive, caring. The food was exquisite l. I had the charred ahi as an appetizer and the mahi mahi. My bride had the tomato salad where the tomatoes were fabulous. She the had the lobster as an entree. You can't go wrong here. read more

The food was delicious We had the charred ahi Dungeons crab salad Seafood ramen Highly recommended Ambiance beautiful Service. Needs a lot of improvement Requested for them to serve the wine. Fell on deaf ears. Requested siracha for ramen, from 3 people. We ate over half before they completed our request. read more

We enjoyed breakfast and dinner there today and both meals were very satisfying we had trouble deciding because everything sounded so good! And it was! Was very grateful for portion sizes being smaller so we could eat more. Everyone was warm kind and attentive. And sitting right next to the ocean enjoying the sound of the waves on their cozy armchairs and couches was just magic Can't wait to return ! read more

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It's wonderful to see Kona Village back from the grave. The restaurant itself is beautiful, pays tribute to the past, and affords diners incredible views of the sunset and ocean in an open air dining setting. The service experience overall could've been better. Service from start to finish was in the slow side, with drinks taking just shy of half-an-hour from order to delivery and there was too much down time between our three-courses. We didn't even look at the desert menu because at that point the meal had gone too long. My first taste of the Mai Tai from the cocktail menu was pleasing, but with each additional sip the drink became more unpleasant. I suspect Trader Vic would agree this is a poor iteration of his famous cocktail and the Amaro is likely to blame. The food ranged from exceptional to never be repeated. My meal started strong with an exceptional dish of Hokkaido Scallops with XO sauce. This left me thrilled for what I expected to come. The second course - Caesar Salad - had good flavor and notably exceptional, fresh greens, but the sourdough crouton was more like two pieces of toasted bread that remained soft, not crunchy, so the salad fell flat without croutons. Every great Caesar Salad must have an amazing crouton. My entree was unfortunately a complete miss. The Pork Chop Katsu had no flavor, was dry, lacked seasoning, and was topped with a kale green mess that added nothing to the food, but annoyance. It needed a sauce, apple sauce perhaps, instead of flavorless slivers of sour green apples topping the green disaster. The menu said ginger miso of which I question if there was any? I asked for salt and pepper, which could not bail this sinking ship. I left more than half the park chop uneaten for the garbage pail and that is the one thing I would not recommend. Others at our table had fish for their entrees, which they enjoyed far more than I did. The final positive was the live music was delightful. It was classic Hawaiian songs, but most importantly not too loud to overwhelm the atmosphere and this making dinner conversation difficult. . I'm ending with 3-stars because 4 seems a bit generous. To be fair there are just over a half dozen other restaurants between Waimea and Kona Village that I would pick over yours because of the food. The nostalgia of Kona Village is lovely and your atmosphere exceptional, but ultimately the food is what really counts. read more

Came for breakfast. Ocean view is great, Food selection is good and quality is excellent. French toast was excellent but portions small. Kamaaina discount of 15% helps. read more

The setting is gorgeous and very picturesque. Our waitress gave us a run down of her favorites and recommendations. She highly recommended the octopus as a starter which was pretty good. She also suggested the Scallops, then when we began our order, she asked if we'd like to start with oysters ( which we preferred), but were startled when she didn't suggest the scallops, which she raved about. We also ordered a Caesar Salad , the Catch of the Day and a Pasta dish to share. Unfortunately she forgot our Caesar Salad, and brought out our entrees 1st. While apologizing profusely and asking if we still wanted our salad, we declined, since our entrees were on the table already. Definitely a mistake that should not happen at a restaurant like this. We also had Tropical Pavlova for dessert, which our waitress mentioned had 6 scoops of sorbet, unfortunately it only had 3, but it was delicious. Will be back, just hoping for another waitress read more

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I went to this restaurant for the first time and I had a nice dining experience. It's located in the Kona Village property which is nice. The restaurant is situated close to the beach and takes advantage of the views. The restaurant is open which allows for fresh air breezes. The staff is friendly and accommodating. I thought the food and presentations were nice but the portions were very small. The prices were expensive construction the small portions. read more

Always an amazing experience at Moana Our server Rowena was incredible, and the food was delicious ! Ambiance was unbeatable, live music right on the beach read more

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Room Temperature food, warm drinks, poor service. I spoke with the manager about the entire property and he admitted he hears similar complaints all of the time. Why is there no leadership at this Rosewood property? It's not a resort, it's not good dining, it's all 100% a joke. Staff, bartenders (BJ) are so unhappy it's palpable. If you order a cold martini shaken you'll always get a warm glass. Food is perpetually room temperature. Avoid this hell hole it's not worth the effort. You'll leave disappointed. read more

Absolutely amazing dinner! The food was incredible, service was great, and of course the restaurant itself is beautiful. everything we had was both presented well and tasted amazing. The tomato and strawberry salad is a must! Will definitely return during our next trip to Kona :) read more

Excellent sunset from this open air restaurant on the beach. Come early to enjoy the sunset. We shared the Caesar salad which was excellent. The Katsu pork my husband declared was better than the famous Tokyo place we went just for that dish. My mahi mahi was moist and delicious. Service attentive but not overly so. Thoroughly enjoyed this restaurant. read more

Perfection. Crowd favorites, bar none, were the gem salad (yes, believe it or not) and the pineapple upside down cake. All the dishes were made to perfection using incredibly fresh ingredients and amazing food and spice combinations. read more

Very nice property but are still going through big learning curves in wait staff and kitchen.