We are here from Seattle for our daughter's wedding, staying in Kona and heard about the "southernmost bar in the US" and had to find it! We did. And it was so worth it! The husband and wife team that owns this is amazing! Completely fell in love with them and would come back because of that. Only for drinks today but tomorrow is breakfast. Will update then but will note, the owner noted my allergy concerns (soybean, which in Hawai'i is hard) and was more than ready to accommodate me.
Cheryl T.
Shaka is awesome! Amazing food, amazing service! The bartender (Marilyn) is great!! Even the fries are great! Highly recommend this experience!
Dee H.
Just avoid this place. We stopped hoping to have lunch and a drink at the southernmost bar. We had the worst experience. Upon arrival, we waited for the bartender to acknowledge us. There is a sign that says "wait to be seated". Finally when she made eye contact I asked if we could sit anywhere. Her response was "we only take cash". Um okay.We proceed to sit and wait over 30 minutes for her to acknowledge us again. No water, no menus, nothing. If you are busy, fine. But acknowledging patrons goes a long way. I was ready to leave at this point but didn't want to spoil the day. We finally ordered. I got the fish and chips. It again took forever for our food to arrive. During this time, we never got asked if we wanted refills on our drinks. When the food finally arrived, they didn't have malt vinegar for the fish and chips. She also said they didn't even have lemon. It's a bar. How do you not have lemon?The food was mediocre at best. But the service was literally the worst I've ever experienced. Don't waste your time or money supporting this establishment.
Sherry C.
Food was amazing, the front door may need repainting but that doesn't subtract from the absolutely amazing food, some of the best we've had on the island, the service is great and the wait for food isn't that long either.
Roxxi D.
I had The Hamburger steaks with homemade gravy, sautéed mushroom & onions, 2 scoops of white rice, served w/Mac salad.We arrived before closing so staff was cleaning up, yet they were very attentive to us. We did not feel forgotten. A casual laidback and friendly place to stop for a bite to eat. One recommendation would be...A larger portion of the steamed pork wrapped in Taro leaves. (I forgot to take a picture) My husband ordered this and it was a very small amount. He did say it was good just the amount was not enough. I gave him one of my hamburger steaks because the amount of my dish was large and I could only eat one. Overall a great place to eat and the staff is friendly. Hamburger SteakLau Lau
Kevin Tadlock
This place is…..the basics! If you are looking for fine dinning, this is not the place! The food is good! It is very basic, but for the price, it is fine! The service is awesome! The staff is very friendly and helpful!! I would recommend for basic food! Poke was fresh and great!!! And again, for the price, it was very good! ????
Jillian M.
Came in for a beer when we saw the "southern most bar in U.S." sign. Staff was pretty unfriendly and just had an overall poor attitude. We had to go find someone when we were ready to pay our tab because the bartender/ server was no where to be found for like 10 minutes. It's also not posted anywhere that we could see, but they don't take card for payment. However the bartender did accept Venmo.
Mathias Spear
It’s laid back vibes at the southernmost bar/restaurant in the United States. I’d say it’s more about being able to say that and enjoy some drinks. The food was ok with large portions and with my group it varied some in regards to thumbs up or down. I was pleased with how much food I got, disappointed slightly in its blandness. Overall we were treated kindly here. I think it’s how you treat people, we got Ohana spirit and had a nice time. It’s a great location between green sand beach and the volcanos. Worth a stop to stretch your legs and at least have a drink so you can say you’ve been there and done that.
Matt S.
It's laid back vibes at the southernmost bar/restaurant in the United States. I'd say it's more about being able to say that and enjoy some drinks. The food was ok with large portions and with my group it varied some in regards to thumbs up or down. I was pleased with how much food I got, disappointed slightly in its blandness. Overall we were treated kindly here. I think it's how you treat people, we got Ohana spirit and had a nice time. It's a great location between green sand beach and the volcanos. Worth a stop to stretch your legs and at least have a drink so you can say you've been there and done that.
Vicky G.
We came on New Year's day since this was the only place open in the area and was pretty satisfied. We ordered the regular ahi tuna poke, spicy tuna poke, Korean chicken, chicken katsu, and a burger with fries. Food did take bit to come out but totally made sense with only one person working in the kitchen. I would recommend the Korean chicken first, and then the spicy poke. Overall food and service are not bad but if other places were open, I'd probably go there instead.
We were surprised to stumble on this place in the lower part of the big island. Its like a sports bar with beers and great food. Our server was by herself, so we were patient. The food was really good, worth the wait. The prices were really reasonable and we were satisfied.
marthasL9380DR
We had a group of 9, including 3 children that ate at this restaurant. The two people running the whole place by themselves were very nice but service was really slow. The big shock came when we got our food! The food was very poor quality and actually made several in our group sick. I had the Korean chicken which was dry and in small chunks with feathers still attached to some pieces. My son in law had the Loco Moco. He threw it up shortly after eating. I had never experienced such poor food when eating out before! The macaroni salad was the best thing we had there.
Charles Jabaley
1 star because I can’t leave 0. Where to begin. My friend ordered the special, which was the New York Steak. No doubt it was special, but not in a good way. It was gray and wrinkly, and looked like it had been in the freezer for several months. He took one bite and his soul left his body, so he threw the rest of it away in the bathroom trash can. He also had mashed potatoes that was instant potatoes had very clearly been reheated hours after it was made. The rice was also somehow awful, not sure how you mess rice up but they did. The lava flow was also blended terribly. When we tried to close out our tab, they didn’t take card, which they never told us. Brutal experience, Godspeed to anyone who goes here. On our way out, we warned others not to go there.
rleNewEngland
Shaka Restaurant is not a fancy place, but does offer tasty food with a smile. We stopped in on a Sunday for lunch....not sure if they were open. The lovely lady running the place said "Certainly and btw it's cash only." Not a problem. We had the pork and cabbage, and the lau lau pork wrapped in taro leaves. And a side of macaroni salad. Heaven!!
Marie Rice
So aunty was pretty awesome. It took a little bit to get seen. We were the only people in there. Out of the 4 plates, and 2 sides we got... It was ok. The Ono macadamia crusted was delicious! The kalua pork and cabbage was very bland. The Smoky part was good. But it needed salt... Bad. The tray of spicy tuna was a little more flavourful than the pork. Got side of Portuguese sausage, and I have no clue how that was also bland... And rubbery. The Lau Lau was delicious. The Mac salad also bland.But! Aunty server was awesome. She told us about a whole bunch of really cool places that I haven't been to yet. Been living here for almost 3 years and still have so much more to see!
We are here from Seattle for our daughter's wedding, staying in Kona and heard about the "southernmost bar in the US" and had to find it! We did. And it was so worth it! The husband and wife team that owns this is amazing! Completely fell in love with them and would come back because of that. Only for drinks today but tomorrow is breakfast. Will update then but will note, the owner noted my allergy concerns (soybean, which in Hawai'i is hard) and was more than ready to accommodate me.
Shaka is awesome! Amazing food, amazing service! The bartender (Marilyn) is great!! Even the fries are great! Highly recommend this experience!
Just avoid this place. We stopped hoping to have lunch and a drink at the southernmost bar. We had the worst experience. Upon arrival, we waited for the bartender to acknowledge us. There is a sign that says "wait to be seated". Finally when she made eye contact I asked if we could sit anywhere. Her response was "we only take cash". Um okay.We proceed to sit and wait over 30 minutes for her to acknowledge us again. No water, no menus, nothing. If you are busy, fine. But acknowledging patrons goes a long way. I was ready to leave at this point but didn't want to spoil the day. We finally ordered. I got the fish and chips. It again took forever for our food to arrive. During this time, we never got asked if we wanted refills on our drinks. When the food finally arrived, they didn't have malt vinegar for the fish and chips. She also said they didn't even have lemon. It's a bar. How do you not have lemon?The food was mediocre at best. But the service was literally the worst I've ever experienced. Don't waste your time or money supporting this establishment.
Food was amazing, the front door may need repainting but that doesn't subtract from the absolutely amazing food, some of the best we've had on the island, the service is great and the wait for food isn't that long either.
I had The Hamburger steaks with homemade gravy, sautéed mushroom & onions, 2 scoops of white rice, served w/Mac salad.We arrived before closing so staff was cleaning up, yet they were very attentive to us. We did not feel forgotten. A casual laidback and friendly place to stop for a bite to eat. One recommendation would be...A larger portion of the steamed pork wrapped in Taro leaves. (I forgot to take a picture) My husband ordered this and it was a very small amount. He did say it was good just the amount was not enough. I gave him one of my hamburger steaks because the amount of my dish was large and I could only eat one. Overall a great place to eat and the staff is friendly. Hamburger SteakLau Lau
This place is…..the basics! If you are looking for fine dinning, this is not the place! The food is good! It is very basic, but for the price, it is fine! The service is awesome! The staff is very friendly and helpful!! I would recommend for basic food! Poke was fresh and great!!! And again, for the price, it was very good! ????
Came in for a beer when we saw the "southern most bar in U.S." sign. Staff was pretty unfriendly and just had an overall poor attitude. We had to go find someone when we were ready to pay our tab because the bartender/ server was no where to be found for like 10 minutes. It's also not posted anywhere that we could see, but they don't take card for payment. However the bartender did accept Venmo.
It’s laid back vibes at the southernmost bar/restaurant in the United States. I’d say it’s more about being able to say that and enjoy some drinks. The food was ok with large portions and with my group it varied some in regards to thumbs up or down. I was pleased with how much food I got, disappointed slightly in its blandness. Overall we were treated kindly here. I think it’s how you treat people, we got Ohana spirit and had a nice time. It’s a great location between green sand beach and the volcanos. Worth a stop to stretch your legs and at least have a drink so you can say you’ve been there and done that.
It's laid back vibes at the southernmost bar/restaurant in the United States. I'd say it's more about being able to say that and enjoy some drinks. The food was ok with large portions and with my group it varied some in regards to thumbs up or down. I was pleased with how much food I got, disappointed slightly in its blandness. Overall we were treated kindly here. I think it's how you treat people, we got Ohana spirit and had a nice time. It's a great location between green sand beach and the volcanos. Worth a stop to stretch your legs and at least have a drink so you can say you've been there and done that.
We came on New Year's day since this was the only place open in the area and was pretty satisfied. We ordered the regular ahi tuna poke, spicy tuna poke, Korean chicken, chicken katsu, and a burger with fries. Food did take bit to come out but totally made sense with only one person working in the kitchen. I would recommend the Korean chicken first, and then the spicy poke. Overall food and service are not bad but if other places were open, I'd probably go there instead.
Restaurantji Recommends
We were surprised to stumble on this place in the lower part of the big island. Its like a sports bar with beers and great food. Our server was by herself, so we were patient. The food was really good, worth the wait. The prices were really reasonable and we were satisfied.
We had a group of 9, including 3 children that ate at this restaurant. The two people running the whole place by themselves were very nice but service was really slow. The big shock came when we got our food! The food was very poor quality and actually made several in our group sick. I had the Korean chicken which was dry and in small chunks with feathers still attached to some pieces. My son in law had the Loco Moco. He threw it up shortly after eating. I had never experienced such poor food when eating out before! The macaroni salad was the best thing we had there.
1 star because I can’t leave 0. Where to begin. My friend ordered the special, which was the New York Steak. No doubt it was special, but not in a good way. It was gray and wrinkly, and looked like it had been in the freezer for several months. He took one bite and his soul left his body, so he threw the rest of it away in the bathroom trash can. He also had mashed potatoes that was instant potatoes had very clearly been reheated hours after it was made. The rice was also somehow awful, not sure how you mess rice up but they did. The lava flow was also blended terribly. When we tried to close out our tab, they didn’t take card, which they never told us. Brutal experience, Godspeed to anyone who goes here. On our way out, we warned others not to go there.
Shaka Restaurant is not a fancy place, but does offer tasty food with a smile. We stopped in on a Sunday for lunch....not sure if they were open. The lovely lady running the place said "Certainly and btw it's cash only." Not a problem. We had the pork and cabbage, and the lau lau pork wrapped in taro leaves. And a side of macaroni salad. Heaven!!
So aunty was pretty awesome. It took a little bit to get seen. We were the only people in there. Out of the 4 plates, and 2 sides we got... It was ok. The Ono macadamia crusted was delicious! The kalua pork and cabbage was very bland. The Smoky part was good. But it needed salt... Bad. The tray of spicy tuna was a little more flavourful than the pork. Got side of Portuguese sausage, and I have no clue how that was also bland... And rubbery. The Lau Lau was delicious. The Mac salad also bland.But! Aunty server was awesome. She told us about a whole bunch of really cool places that I haven't been to yet. Been living here for almost 3 years and still have so much more to see!