The owner/bartender Brian is AMAZING!!! His Mai Tai's will make you smile ear to ear!

Mask Bar is always our regular hangout when we come to visit the Big Island. Super laid back vibe and every time we come here we end up making new friends. Very friendly crowd. The owner Brian tends bar most nights and he always points us to where the best places are to visit on the island. read more

Giirrrrllllll.... Go to this bar. It's so much fun. It's chill, they give you snacks, and there is pool, darts, and Karaoke! I love this place! The bar tender was so nice also. read more

The Mask-Querade Bar - Karaoke - Gay Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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My girlfriend and I visited here on a Saturday night. It's a local spot with friendly welcoming vibes. We played trivia, played songs on the jukebox and had inspiring conversations with other patrons both local and visiting. Can't wait to come back again! Shout out to Mickey Lee and the Bartender Brian. Mickey Lee! Reach out! read more

The Mask-Querade Bar - Quick photo near the pool table.. - Gay Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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Great bartender Brian make perfect martini or cosmo , Manhattan. Can enjoy pool nice cozy cute bar . Clean enough . Patrons are friendly , safe and convenient to park anywhere in Kapiko plaza . We went lots bar and restaurant in entire big island I think Brian " makes best martini kind of drinks. Highly recommended. read more

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Like Maui, the gay bar scene here is weak. Hell, there's not even one bar on Maui, so the Big Island is one up on us! ATMOSPHERE: The bar is oddly located in the middle of a strip mall amongst other businesses, though the majority of them were closed at night. It's a small room with a u-shaped central bar, high tops off to the sides, a pool table, and a TV for karaoke. There's a disco ball hanging but no dance floor. We moseyed on in around 11pm on a Saturday night, and the place was dead, meaning about 9 others were there. SERVICE: Matt, the sole bartender on duty came over, introduced himself, and got us settled in, and took our orders. What a friendly guy. We were happy to hear that they had a late night happy hour on domestic bottles, which were a mere $3. Yes! OVERALL: Cute little neighborhood hole in the wall kinda place to grab a few drinks and talk story. Friendly service, great prices, lots of parking. read more

The Mask-Querade Bar - The place - VN - Gay Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

This is such a great local bar! Great selection of drinks, awesome, bartenders, friendly environment. My friends and I mainly come here to sing karaoke. They have a vast song selection and you can sing any time of day! They also have darts, video trivia, a pool table and a jukebox! You are welcome to bring your own food in. Plenty of free parking and a great vibe. read more

Great time had at this place with friends. Love the karaoke options, trivia and drink selection

Just love the Aloha here. The bar is small but fun and very friendly! The drinks are great and not too expensive! The owner is awesome and he's doing a fantastic job at keeping the place cleaned and Covid safe.... read more

This bar brought me back to when I was a teenager. Great music and colored lights, dancefloor. You don't have to be gay to enjoy this bar's ambiance. Can't wait to go back with my friends. read more

Love, love, love this little hole-in-the-wall gem! A must visit place for LGBTQ peeps in the area...and the owner/bartender is a darling!

I was actually staying in Hilo because I was buying a house in Hawaiian Beaches in August 2020 (Covid-19 and just got out of 14 day quarantine). I was looking for a gay or gay friendly bar to get a drink and found this little gem. It was a bit of a drive coming from Hilo but I was hanging out in Kona. It's in a shopping plaza so plenty of parking. The bar tender was very friendly and so were the couple of customers that were in there, it was during the week so I wasn't expecting a big crowd. The drinks were very good the decor well you guessed it Masks ( New Orleans style ), There was a pool table and Music... Over all a really nice bar..I'll take the drive over from the other side of the island to go back when I move in to my house in January read more

The music is good and the the mood is chilled and friendly. The local the bar staff superstar (Brian) is brilliant in imparting information about all things Hawaiian. I even got a tip for a good local restaurant, Chubbys (think the Real Housewives of Kona). Drop in for a drink or three and you'll feel right at home - just like Cheers. Ps do try the karaoke. This is a gem of an authentic casual bar. read more

The Mask-Querade Bar - A great friendly local bar - Gay Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

This is a fun place, many locals and tourists alike frequent this very friendly place where everyone knows you by your name (sound familiar). The owner is very friendly and knowledgeable​ in local and island ways. Pool table, darts, karaoke​e and free delicious popcorn. This bar is inclusive of​ all straight or LGBTQ, everyone is welcomed. read more

This was the most unfriendly experience I've ever had in a gay bar. There are two gay bars in Kona. This horrible place"THE MASK" with the horribly unfriendly and downright rude bartender owner and a bar called "MY BAR" We walked in and there was nobody in the mask bar but us, we said ALOOOHA! To the owner bartender he completely ignored us as he was so busy playing his trivia game. He clearly did not want us there and made it very known! However we ordered a drink anyway and decided to play pool. He was so rude to us it was such a bother for him to make a drink and give us change for the pool table! I have lived on this island for twenty five years and I have never been so rudely treated on the island. Never mind in what's supposed to be a friendly safe environment! I will never set foot in that bar again! We left and went to "MY BAR" where it was jumping for a Wednesday nite as the staff and clientele were friendly and having a good time. Skip the mask bar and choose MY BAR any day over that nasty unfriendly place! read more

Spent over 4 weeks enjoying everyone on Staff Especially Brian!! Host Extraordinaire , Karaoke performer, and Server ..... The décor is so beautiful and to top it off Pool table and Darts !!!! Open until 2am which is great if your in Kailua Kona and want somewhere to go that is guaranteed lively and charming ...... read more

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So here is how I feel about it. Mask is a neighborhood bar. The owners frequent the bar and 1 or both can be found there on any given night. The have a great Trivia game set up and also provide karaoke. the pop corn is always fresh, and the staff brings freshly cooked snack food from home. This isn't your Big bar experience. your not going to find flaming cocktails, or go go boys. what you will find is a nice quiet place where local gays connect over a beer. the music i general a few years behind, and the decor is busy. all and all it's a great place to grab a drink, play some trivia and connect with real people. not pretentious, not fancy, just a gay cheers environment. read more

Okay, so here's the deal. You have to take this place for what it is. A small gay bar in a strip mall in a small town on an island. This is not your hardcore gay bars of San Francisco or L.A. Nope. Not even close. But that's kinda the point. You're in Hawaii. Nice little bar with a lot of mainland transplants that frequent this place especially for trivia nights. If you need both hands to count the number of patrons here it's PACKED!!! No really. I'm not joking. The bartenders are lovely. Cindy is my favorite by far. Yes, I play favorites. read more

Brian, the owner and bartender, is so friendly and charming my group found it hard to leave. Of course, the great karaoke system (great sound), and the good drinks made this place a great stop. A hit was the 'White Gummy Bear' which is sweet and subtle, but can sneak up on you later. We had so much fun in this place we came back 3 of 6 nights while in town, and Brian recommended Chubby's, which had the best local food around. He also was kind enough to give us directions, and his contact info just in case we needed more help. How awesome is that? Brian, not sure we could thank you enough for making our trip exceptional! read more

This place is chill, not a dance place, the bar is in a plaza. There was no one there but us, but maybe because it was a Thursday? overall not the experience we were looking for of the gay scene here in the big island. read more

I spent the evening with a bunch of my women friends at The Mask last night and had a total blast. We did arrive on the early side and there were only a handful of people there, so I don't know if this place gets going later at night. I was happy to find a decent gay bar to hang out in when visiting my Kona friends. I had fun playing darts and the juke box had a good selection of music, although it was such a high tech gadget that I had a hard time figuring it out! The folks that hang out at The Mask are very friendly - Hello to Joe! read more

Dropped in on a Friday night for a few drinks. I didn't realize it was a karaoke bar till we got there. It was a bit dead inside, but everyone was really friendly. The bartender took good care of us. Unfortunately we only had a shot and dipped out. We wanted to get pretty drunk and decided that this wasn't the spot to do it. Definitely going to come back again though! read more

Every time I have gone to Mask over the years (originally demanding to be called an "Alternative Bar" but now apparently willing to be identified as an outright "gay bar" in 2013) I have walked into an empty bar, LOL. To his credit, Gunner (young bartender originally from Alaska) did absolutely everything a bar owner would want a bartender to do... he was friendly, talkative, encouraged interaction among patrons. He poured a fair drink and collected the money honestly and put it in the register. Umm, did I already mention he is very easy on the eyes? Although a few patrons who arrived after us were stand-offish; others were surprisingly outgoing and warm, walking in and introducing themselves to everyone with no prompting. We had some laughs talking about the island and people's places of origin. A cute young Idahoan regaled us with tales of his early girlfriend who was a Mormon and therefore he hoped she would be chaste and content with a youthful platonic affair.... but.... not so much.... apparently she had a very strong libido... thereby pushing him out of the closet younger than anticipated LOL. Mormons! We did not intend to spend much money there and Gunner got us to spend way more than we had planned. So he totally scored for Mask. Still, after a few drinks, we left around 10. Seemed like they should have something else going on for a Saturday night.... a DJ would have been nice and I'm sure we would have stayed longer and spent more money. A group of young kids from the Volcano National Park research intern program showed up looking for some dancing and they were a bit disappointed since it was only sporadic karaoke and jukebox with some odd heavy metal selections playing at times (that's what happens when it's music by karaoke and jukebox). So its 5 STARS for GUNNER and 3 stars for everything else. For example, they don't have ginger ale (!?) And when someone ordered a rum and pineapple the bartender discreetly sniffed the juice before pouring it in their drink. As a former bartender myself I recognized that sniff ,and made a mental note not to order juice drinks there, since their juices probably sit in the cooler a little too long at times during the week. I would stick to beer and mixed drinks. Overall, I had fun and would go back. read more

We love this place! Every time we go there everyone is friendly, it's fun and we have a great time! It's a locals hang out, and they always make us feel welcome. We meet so many cool people each time we stop in. Bryan the bartender is awesome! He makes great drinks, he's always serving up snacks and it's always different, cheesy popcorn, chips, meatballs, chocolates, tarts, its always a surprise. He's also a great singer! He's very attentive and anticipates our needs, even helping with a trivia answer. The place has a great atmosphere, super clean, and nicely decorated. They have the cleanest bathrooms I've ever seen in a bar! Very well run! Bravo!! Looking for a non touristy place to hang out meet people and have a great time, stop in here! They are also gay friendly, but really just friendly!! read more

The Mask-Querade Bar - Brian, the best bartender on the Island!!!! - Gay Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

I feel so lucky to have ended up at this bar. I have visited gay bars in many cities around the world and never haveI felt so instantly welcomed. The drinks are cheap, the people are generous, and Brian the owner is a sweetheart who made us feel right at home even though we were just passing through. And he has an amazing voice!! The karaoke was so freakin fun, too. Highly recommend! read more

Found this place from yelp and it was located perfectly in Kona. When we arrived it was just the bartender and the two of us. But conversation was quick and easy as if we'd know each other for years. Then a few regulars showed up and it was a great time. Bobby, the bartender, gave us some great tips on places/things to do. The drinks were great and we left very happy that we stopped in. read more

Fun little place we all hit up while on vacation recently. Great pricing and they do have some fun little games, pool and music. The bartender and possibly owner was very nice behind the bar and always seemed to be doing a great job of taking care of the guests. It's nothing flashy and that's why it's a fun place to just relax, be you and enjoy a cold beer. read more

Always great fun when my husband and i go. The people (both customers and workers) there are always friendly and always nice. You immediately feel like youre welcomed and they quick with their drinks. Everyone who goes is in great moods and no one is shy to talk to a stranger. Theres not always a lot of people, but no matter what it is an awesome experience. Also they always have fresh (complimentary) popcorn going on and it is DELICIOUS especially when youve already had a few drinks. Love this place read more

Charlene is the best bartender ever! Get the Blue Hawaiian Mask-Querade! We walked to a Thai restaurant that had closed for a week and this bartender made our walk worth it! read more

The Mask-Querade Bar - Gay Bars Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Kona is the man. We spent a week on the big island and we can honestly say this hole in the walll reminded us of some local (great) dives. We've lived in boystown in Chicago, which can be over the top. This was much more subdued, and you totally got the "anyone was welcome" vibe. I love the big island so much, and Kona definitely cemented that for both of us. Kona - I hope you see this! Thank you for your recommendations and all the laughs. We're still looking at plots! ;) Mahalo! read more

Loved this place! Awesome decor, super nice bartender and patrons. Fun karaoke for $1.00 a song. Decent location but a little bit of a walk (about 1/2 mile) from the main strip and hotels. Good drink prices and an overall fun place. read more

The only gay bar on the island. I thought it would have had a line to get in, but on a Friday night, there were 10 people (at most) at any one time. The bar is situated in a strip mall, about two blocks up from the beach. The owner, Brian, was just so nice. He is always smiling and makes a good drink. Prices are really good, and they offer a happy hour from 9p to 11p. Karaoke and darts are the main form of entertainment - well, also some of the locals. read more

Love The Mask! Brian, the owner/bartender is the coolest, friendliest, fast server, and make the best drinks!

We were on the big island for our honeymoon & dropped in Mask on a Tuesday night. Brian the bartender (and owner) was sweet & gracious (and made tasty margaritas), and everyone was very welcoming. There was free popcorn and fresh fruit to eat, fun music, and Buzztime trivia to play. We went back for their weekly Sunday night barbecue & had homemade porkchops that were out of sight good, and the bartenders took good care of us again. The interior is kitschy fun, lots of Carnival masks and decorations. Mask isn't an attitude bar or a dance club -- it's the neighborhood gay bar you've always wanted to have around the corner. Highly recommended! read more

Everyone is so friendly! What a great place to relax, meet new friends, play pool and enjoy a cool beverage.

Great local bar, where you can be yourself, hang with other gay guys and play some trivia or darts. While a small town in Hawaii will never give you that big club or city bar effect - you'll always find some cuties in there, and the owner Brian (and hottie Gunner) will make you feel the Aloha. Brian is a real local, and full of information on places to see or things to do, while pouring great drinks with a smile. The place is just perfect for Hawaii, and we found ourselves there a good many nights!! If you are gay, and in Kona - for sure stop in for a few drinks at Mask! read more

I went here on Monday night with my new husband and a couple of friends who met up with us for part of our honeymoon. This bar reminded me a LOT of a local bar I used to hang out in San Francisco - friendly service and patrons, great drinks, great prices. We made friends with the bartender Ilima, who is a Hawaii native and funny as hell! She makes great drinks, and tells great stories - she normally works on Mondays, so I highly recommend swinging by for a cocktail that night of the week! read more

Great local bar! We went for my friends birthday Brian is super sweet and makes the best drinks! Really friendly atmosphere

Super friendly bartender. Great selection of masks around the wall. Good drink selection.

Coming from a major city, and being born in California; the gay scene in Hawaii is definitely more on the DL (down low!) When you arrive to the strip mall that this is located in, there's the usual nail shop, office, and even a gym at the top! Once you step inside the love and acceptance is instant! Everyone is greeted so warm and after a few drinks everyone is chatting! We spent almost 5 hours here, and enjoyed some Thai food from next door! The pour is strong, and the green bottles are aplenty! Thank you for really setting the standard high for creating an inclusive, and gay scene on the Big Island! It's not the club like, techno driven, half naked boys of Seattle or really any major city, but it definitely is a place of comfort and relaxation! The large, UShape Bar helps keep everyone facing in, and ordering drinks! Bathrooms are small but who's there for those anyways! Thanks again for the ALOHA and love!!! See you soon!!! read more