When you travel to Hawaii Island, you may say to yourself, “I need to enjoy my scrumptious meal along with an amazing view of the ocean, because, hey, I am in Hawaii!”
Well, we created this video just for you. Isn’t that nice of us? Yes, we spent an entire day going from South Kona to central Kona up to the Kohala Coast to show you the best view restaurants in West Hawaii.
Join us a we take you from Kealekekua in South Kona to the famous Coffee Shack, to beachside Magic’s Grill in Kona, up the Kohala Coast to the Mauna Lani Resort area to the Canoe House, Halani and Napua and Waikoloa Resort’s well known Lava Lava Beach Club, back down to Kona for sunset in downtown at Papa Kona Restaurant and Huggo’s on the Rocks.
Behind the Scenes
We got up early to get to Coffee Shack and it STILL had a full parking lot. So we were able to get in to buy a lilikoi cheesecake to go and took photos and videos from the balcony and Eric got the drone up in the air from across the street. The mornings are the best time to capture that view over Kealakekua Bay.
We had to jam boogie over to Magic’s Grill (about 20 minutes north of Coffee Shack) to meet with one of the owners, Thalia Mattson, and she opened the restaurant for us so we could film and Eric could fly the drone off the patio and out over the ocean. That is why you see us drinking water..because they were not yet serving food or drinks! They have some construction going on in the condo complex above the restaurant, and they hope by Fall it should be done.
Kohala Coast Restaurants
Inside the Canoe House looking at view
We then had to high tail it up to the Mauna Lani Resort to meet with the sales manager, Chris White, so he, too, could let us into the restaurant to capture some video as the Canoe House is not open for lunch. I LOVED LOVED LOVED dancing around on their super soft lawn in my bare feet for the drone! Chris took us over to Halani and asked that we come back to interview the chef as they would like the public to come to dinner at HA Bar, which is the name the restaurant will go by in the evening. Beautiful view there, as well. Will be great to go back and perhaps add that interview with a few more for a new video.
We then walked over to Napua and the view with the catamaran in the bay is just iconic (See photo). I love enjoying a glass of wine there and the fish tacos are pretty tasty.
We barely got a place to park at the Lava Lava Beach Club located in the Waikoloa Resort. That place is so busy! It’s always fun to see what they keep adding to the place to increase the fun quotient while people wait for a table. They have lawn games, a little van they serve beer and refreshments out of and seats looking out over Anaeho’omalu Bay (pronounced as “ā’-nāe-ho’o-mā’lu”)
Kailua Kona Restaurants
We then traveled down the coast to Papa Kona Restaurant and I had a glass of wine at the bar when a fan of our 365Kona work was there and wanted to chat. Always fun to talk to people who enjoy our work and tell us we make a difference in how much they enjoy their vacations. (and that they wear rash guards and mineral sunscreen, too!)
Huggo’s On the Rocks for sunset
We then went to Huggo’s on the Rocks and it felt like a homecoming as we used to go there ALL THE TIME when we first moved to the island. I had a MaiTai and the sun was creating golden diamonds on the ocean as I buried my bare feet in the sand. It was a long day in the sun as we spent so much time outdoors enjoying all those views!
We closed out the day with dinner at Foster’s across the street at a birthday party, so 8 restaurants in one day! It was awesome!
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View from Napua Restaurant at Mauna Lani Bay
If you are considering a move to Hawaii (any island!) we can lend our insights and experience. Go to www.MoveToHawaii365.com to learn more!
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