holuakoa cafe & gardens

i loved this place so much i wentbackfor brunch. unfortunately, that's when it fell apart. the food was amazing but the service was horrible. my water was never refilled, my server never checked on me after my meal was delivered, i never received a check. i ended up estimating my bill and leaving cash tucked under my plate. it wasn't only my server that was subpar either. the table next to me was there before me, received their meal after i was almost finished, didn't have drinks refilled and when a refill was requested, the server said that he was busy and it would take a minute to the table. he walked by me and muttered "yeah, that's not going to happen." i would not recommend this place. i think i can get great food with the service to match but somewhere else.

fresh local brunch. spent 10 days on the big island in january/feb 2013. holuakoa cafe was recommended by a big island review book we took along. we opted to head up to holualoa to visit the cafe for brunch one morning while on the kona side. the restaurant setting is a delight. up mountain side of the town of kona - about 6 miles from ali drive and a world away. we wanted to visit the art galleries and some coffee plantations up that way so we made a day of it. we started at the coffee bar next door to the restaurant. they whipped up a gorgeous latte and a nice hot chocolate for us before the restaurant opened for our 10 am reservation. the setting is very serene - garden like with koi ponds and covered patio outside seating. very zen feeling. we ordered a couple of plates for sharing. i ordered the brunch fritata, and hubby ordered the french toast. this is definitely a slow food experience so be prepared to sitbackand enjoy the garden while they whip up a fabulous meal. when our meals arrived we were not disappointed. everything was so very fresh from the veggies in the fritatta to the salad underneath. french toast was slices of a very thick hawaiian style bread dipped in traditional batter, but with lots of really cinnamon goodness flavor. on the side were sliced bananas, papaya and whipped cream. real maple syrup also was served so that was a nice treat for us. we split each meal so we could get a sampling of both dishes. we also had a side serving of very nice crisp local pork bacon. the food was fresh, fresh, fresh and delicious. hands down this was one of the best meals we had on the island and for sure in the kona area. we only wish we had more time to have had a dinner at the restaurant. our loss for sure and we will not miss out next trip!
mahalo to the staff of this fine place!

lovely surprise!. found this restaurant by surprise and were so happy we did! we shared a frittata --more than enough for two -- and salad and were tempted by the passion-fruit cheesecake. so yummy! the atmosphere was so peaceful and serene -- even the bathroom was a zen experience! will gobackwhenever we can!

slow foods - oh yeah. we headed off to holuakoa area mid afternoon to walk around and visit the many interesting galleries. the local art is spectacular! the last reservation for lunch was 2:15 and we arrived slightly early to be seated at a lovely quiet table. our server was attentive and accommodated us with information and choices for a gluten free meal. we both ordered the ahi which was the freshest offering and recommended by our server. mine was prepared with a chipotle rub, atop a bed of red beans and red cabbage. the beans were absolutely divine, flavourful, and not too spicy and the texture was perfect. the ahi fish was cooked to perfection. my partner ordered ahi topped with a macadamia nut pesto, atop fresh garden greens - again the pesto was a perfect blend of flavors. our server listed two (not 1) dessert that was gf and of course we ordered the flourless chocolate cake - melt in your mouth goodness! the menus change daily and our next visitbackto the big island will definitelysee usbackfor dinner. mahao