My sister told me about this little gem hidden in a bowling alley! This was our first stop when we landed in Kona. We went for lunch and enjoyed it so much that we went back for breakfast on our last day. See pictures! Long story short everything we tried was fantastic! I specifically got the chicken katsu the crunch on it was perfect! My mom got their chicken Teriyaki ( home made teriyaki sauce was chefs kiss!) I feel like if you want authentic Hawaiian food you should definitely come here. Since it's in a bowling alley the ambiance is laid back diner style. Service was friendly! They bring you your food and clean up afterwards. They suggested items for us to try and explained that most of the sauces and recipes are home made. I try to write one negative/ constructive criticism point in all of my newer reviews: I can't think of one. read more

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** -- Average Food, Way Too Expensive!** Over $80 for three plate lunches and three fountain drinks at a bowling alley restaurant?! I wasn't expecting anything fancy, but that's a lot of money for what we got. We ordered two teriyaki chicken plates and one teriyaki beef plate. The food was okay, and the portions were pretty generous, but nothing really stood out. Just your average plate lunch. The dining area was about what you'd expect from a bowling alley restaurant. Nothing special, but it was fine. The staff wasn't rude, but they weren't particularly friendly either. Just kind of going through the motions. What really got me was the drinks. Nearly $20 for three fountain sodas with only one refill each! To make matters worse, the sodas were flat. They supposedly fixed the carbonation issue while we were there, but the drinks still didn't taste right. Overall, the food wasn't bad, but I just can't see the value here. I don't mind spending money on a good meal, but over $80 for average plate lunches, so-so service, and flat sodas? That's a tough sell. I left feeling like I paid way more than the experience was worth. read more

Chubby's Diner - Teriyaki Chicken plate - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Got the loco moco and it hits the spot. So much food that feeds two hungry people. It was also quick to serve. Just a few minutes from ordering to sitting down to getting the food at our table. It is right inside the billiards/bowling alley. So plenty of parking if you just want to eat a hefty meal. Would love to have more gravy as there was so much rice. But the 3 meats with egg hits. Would come again. read more

Solid spot for Hawaiian diner food! Loved that it's located inside an arcade and bowling alley. Wished this type of food is in main event or David and busters. read more

Chubby's Diner - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Best Loco Moco iv ever had Ultimate Loco Moco to be exact Iv also had their chili cheese fries, their Nachos, Pizza and Brownie Sunday They all get a pass, all of it was good. I lived on the Big Island for a few months, and Chubbys was alwayz one of my Go-2s... The staff is also great, idk if she still there but there was this young Filipino girl who worked there... alwayz made me feel very welcomed and always knew I was there for the Ultimate Loco Moco. Makes me really miss Kona read more

Chubby's Diner - Ultimate loco moco from Chubbys - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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We found this place during a previous visit. This was before I started reviewing on yelp. We were sooooo excited to visit again! Husband loves the oxtail soup and I like the Korean chicken and kalbi ribs. Ok, so the first night we were back in town... we had to go! We ordered a bit different this time because we know it will be good regardless. I ordered katsu chicken and kalbi ribs plate. Husband got the fish of the day and Korean fried chicken. It's sad to say but we were highly disappointed. The service at the counter was great but the food was not what we were excited for. The fish was not fresh or maybe overcooked. The Korean chicken was ok but there were like 3 pieces. My kalbi ribs were full of fat. The chicken katsu was the only thing we could not complain about. For what we paid, we expected way more than this. It was so disappointing that we did not even come back. Our last trip, we were here 3 times!!! My husband did not want to get the oxtail soup here and we found another place that was good and lower pricingMaybe, our next trip to the island, we can try it out again. read more

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Don't sleep on Chubbys. It shares a space with a bowling alley and arcade but the food is exceptional. We got the kalbi beef and chicken kastsu combo plate and it was easily some of the best kalbi beef I've had in the island. The katsu is pounded thin and fried crowing out being greasy. Worth a visit just for the food even if you're not interested in bowling or the arcade. read more

It's an OK time. This is a mixture of chubby's diner and the arcade in bowling. The food is decent and the atmosphere is pretty packed on a Wednesday night. Just a heads up if you're looking to go bowling on a Wednesday there are no lanes available due to leagues. Parking is pretty good in this location and easy to access. You can bring a pretty good size group to karaoke or other fun things. Takes quite a while to get your food. But the ones serving, you are very friendly. Overall, it's a location that can be fun if you show up on the right night. read more

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This is an order from the counter restaurant located in a bowling alley, but don't let that fool you. The menu is great, has lots of variety and they serve breakfast anytime. The food is fresh made and portions are large. Expect Hawai'i prices, but not as high as other sit down places and totally worth it. Went to several places in Kona, this was by far the family favorite. read more

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Chubby's Diner is my new favorite. The staff is super friendly and the service is crazy fast. Oh yeah, the food doesn't disappoint. We had the loco moco and the chicken katsu. Each served with home made sauce. The portions are HUGE so we packed half for dinner after buying an extra serving of gravy ($4 but worth every penny) Definitely worth checking out. Can't wait to go back for family bowling night. read more

Forgot to add picture on my last review The memory of such good food with my family is one we will always remember .My family came from Maui to honor the passing of my husband He loved Cubby's food especially the specials loved everything never disappoints My family will continue to come to Kona and eat at Cubby's Next time we will also bowl read more

Chubby's Diner - This is me with my family from Maui As we honor my husbands passing Forgot to add picture on my review - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Terrible food ordered Italian sub was served like open face terrible taste cheap ch meat worst I ever had $21over priced for garbage. Wife ordered nachos tasteless cold garbage. Was suppose to be delivered in 25 mins took 90 minutes to get cold garbage. Place is a complete failure read more

Service was terrible. We came in around 9:50p. It was busy, which is fine. Girls working register weren't very friendly. They gave everyone before us a number to claim their food, but not us. They said we would get a text when it was ready and it would take 45 min to an hour. Food was ordered at 10:10 We sat at a table the whole time waiting. 11:12 pm - still no food. I go to the cashier to inquire about our order. "You need a box?" No, I wanted to check on my food, it's been More than an hour. "Oh it's here." Hands me a bag. You never texted us. "We were calling your name." I was at that table waiting the whole time, you never called my name. How long has it been done? "20 minutes" Are you serious? Why didn't you text us? You said you would text. "We don't text, the system does. If it doesn't text we don't know what to tell you." This kind of service is unacceptable. My food was cold. I had a cheeseburger, the fries were rock hard. I complained. "Do you not want your food?" I waited more than an hour and no where else is open, I paid plus I tipped (I wish I didn't) I'm too nice. She gave me new fries bc I complained they were rock hard. The new fries were also shit. This is my second time here. It will be my last. Learn better customer service. Food was mediocre. Burger was gross - maybe bc it was cold. We also ordered a hamburger / Korean chicken plate: cashier got our order wrong and gave us just hamburger with gravy. So disappointed. read more

Food 5/5: wow their katsu and loco moco were SO GOOD!!! Maybe because of the low rating we did not expect a lot? But man, all the restaurants close at 9pm so this was one of the few that was open. But tbh better than some out there and def deserves more than 4.1 on Yelp. Service 5/5: quick and friendly! Ambiance 5/5: it's connected with arcade and bowling ally. Fun ambiance. Def recommend! read more

If you find yourself in the Kona area and craving some down-home oxtail soup, look no further than Chubby's Diner. Their hearty version is packed with tender oxtail, generous chunks of vegetables and rich, flavorful broth. You won't regret making a pitstop at this spot, conveniently located inside the local bowling alley. read more

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What a gem! Who knew a random diner in an arcade would be home to the best teriyaki chicken at the most reasonable price. We got tipped off to this place by a friend. You will only see locals here, for the record. We ordered chicken teriyaki which came with a huge amount of chicken, two scoops of rice and Mac salad. Ono and fed two adults and one child! The portions are massive and the prices were so fair -- we came here probably 5 times within a week. Definitely check it out if you're in the area. read more

Chubby's Diner - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

We stopped at Chubby's in July for lunch after a Costco run for some groceries. Kona was our second stop following a week of a fabulous vacation in Maui. Chubby's was delightfully unexpected - it is a diner which also has bowling alley and arcade. Kind of a huge Chuckee Cheese. The food court has booths and regular tables which are clean. No frills. The parking lot was crowded for lunch but we readily found a space in front. Chubby's is very casual, not your typical sit down kind of restaurant but more of a fastfood style where you order from a long menu located behind the counter, pay, and then sit yourself in a free table you can find, and wait for your orders to be brought in. Staff behind the counter was polite and courteous even when I peppered her with questions about some Hawaiian dishes I was not familiar with but liked to try and the choices were so many! There was a line but it moved quickly. Chubby's is known for its oxtail soup but I ordered saimin - noodles with broth, pork, egg, spam, and vegetables. Saimin reminds me of a kind of Vietnamese pho I love, even on a hot Summer. My husband ordered a patty melt cheese sandwich, and our sons ordered chicken wings, and mac and cheese, and grilled cheese/fries. Wait time was reasonable, about 20 minutes for lunch time on a Tuesday. The portions were generously big that we had some leftovers. Everything was hot and very good. I regret not trying Chubby's oxtail soup and should have ordered it as a take out. That would have been very good too! Chubby's is a must stop if you are looking for some traditional Hawaiian dishes, usual kids meal, great value, big portions, and an indoor bowling alley and arcade which is great for families with kids and adults who are looking for a break from the Kona sun and heat. Aloha and mahalo Chubby's! read more

Good here is good. I like the pictures on the menu. Got the hamburger steak and adobo lumpia. The plate is perfectly portioned. Very generous with their Mac salad. Lumpia was decent. The staff here are very friendly. I normally don't tip for take out, but since they were all so nice...I left a tip. read more

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We have been coming to Kona for almost 20 yrs...and never ate at Chubby's till this time...food was great...portions are huge ...well worth the money...compared to most of the other eateries in Kona....we will be back. read more

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I ordered the Teri beef and it's very thinly sliced and all the ends of the cut. I didn't have one full piece in the plate. So disappointing. Plus I had to pay extra for the beef. This place is always disappointing since it got taken over. read more

Chubby's Diner - This is what the whole plate was made up of - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

This place was great. Kinda like a Hawaiian version of that Chuck E Cheese pizza place from the 90s. Food was surprisingly good. Who would have guessed you could get pizza and ramen at the same place, all the while being able to go bowling too. Service was good. Ambiance was reminiscent of my youth. What a great place to to a variety of activities. read more

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Chubby's Diner is not really a diner. It's a mix of an arcade and bowling alley as well as a restaurant. I got their mix platter with chicken teriyaki and fried shrimp which comes with rice and a side. My partner got seared salmon. For our sides, we chose macaroni salad which was very good. The portions are huge! There was enough for two meals from one platter. Food was good too and the prices are not bad! read more

Chubby's Diner - Macaroni salad - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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This was such an unexpected place to find good food. It's a bowling alley/arcade but the food is pretty good! You order online via phone or self service computer and they will bring the food out to you. We got the saimin with a side of fries, eggs and toast. The saimin was sooo good and filled with a good portion of toppings. Even though it was a hot day, this was actually refreshing. All the sides were standard. I definitely wanted to come back to try their other food. Plus you can play arcade while waiting read more

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The place is inside a bowling alley. Affordable food for the volume I was pretty excited for trying out the Chubbys Saimin. It was pretty goopy/wet. Looked good but the taste/texture was not good. The chasu pork was pretty big, it was hard to cut through it. There was also a big piece of fat. Definitely dissatisfied (It seems like the food is inconsistent, perhaps the batch we got was bad) The avocado fries were interesting and i think it was something innovative (I've never tried it before). The best was the kalbi, katsu plate. It was delicious and the meat had good smoky tast read more

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If I told anyone that I would be going on a vacation to Hawaii and said that I'm going to have dinner in a bowling alley, they would think I was nuts. But here we are. This place is hard to find but worth the effort. The pork chops were delicious. You get 3 chops! We also ordered the pork dumpling soup which was essentially very large won tons. We were pleasantly surprised and thank the Yelp community for steering il us to a restaurant definitely off the tourist beat. Excellent! read more

Chubby's Diner - Pork dumpling soup - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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We ordered some mac salad and mac and cheese and had it delivered to our hotel, had some late night munchies. The mac salad was the best we had on the island, and we love mac salad and try it each place we go to. Wish there was a Chubby's back home. read more

Restaurant in a bowling alley. I came here for the oxtail soup but frankly it was a little bit disappointing. It just tastes like a hearty chicken soup. Lots of vegetables piled on top but the chicken broth severely lacks the deep beefy flavor that you'd expect of oxtail soup. The oxtail was a little overly fatty and not trimmed. For the high price (nearly $30) I would not get it. The beef teriyaki was pretty decent though, very tender, almost too soft, but it was better than the soup for sure. Service was fine. You order at the counter and then they bring it out to you. The cashier who took our order was friendly. read more

Chubby's Diner - Oxtail soup - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Fast and friendly service. They offer a variety of breakfast meat choices to sub into their loco moco with lots of brown gravy and white rice. I was tempted to try their other breakfast options. It's situated right in the bowling alley, ample parking out front. read more

We were from out of state, and had seen online recommendations to come to the bowling alley for a late dinner after manta ray snorkeling, since it's open late. We're glad we knew about Chubby's. The chicken katsu and loco moco plates we ordered were big portions and tasty. Service was fast. It was a convenient place to stop in while still a little wet and tired, before returning to our hotel. read more

What a hidden gem! Located in a bowling alley, Chubby's serves up ono plates and plenty options. We ordered the chicken katsu and kalbi plate. Food came out so quick! My favorite was the chicken katsu. The mac salad was a bit bland, but then again I'm not a fan of mac salad in general. Whether you want a quick bite after traveling or trying to eat some yummy food between bowling rounds, Chubby's is definitely the go-to! read more

Chubby's Diner - Katsu Chicken Plate - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

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We had a group of about 20 that came to bowl as a staff team building event. I was able to book online and pre-pay which made the day of super fast and simple. We had 4 lanes and each lane had plenty seating for bowlers and guests. Food was great, service was fast and the selection of cocktails and free refills on fountain drinks was perfect! I'd Iike to shout out to Dasia at the front counter. She was prompt, helpful, and so accommodating to my whole team! Mahalos! read more

Huge thank you to the yelpers who saved this hungry person's dinner! Because of scheduling conflicts I couldn't eat lunch & by the time dinner rolled around I was so hungry. So what's up... inside a bowling alley is a gem of a restaurant? Gotta see this for myself. Well Chubby's Diner lives up to the hype & if you want a great, inexpensive meal you found it at this very unassuming place! Order at the counter, help yourself to the self-service drinks & make sure your table number is visible because the food comes quickly. So happy with this plate of food for about $24!! If you need a plate lunch, Chubby's has you covered! Can't wait to come back! read more

Chubby's Diner - Mixed plate kalbi + chicken katsu - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Thanks to Yelp, I finally got to eat a real meal inside a bowling alley!!! Came here as I was looking for something authentic and not in a tourist area. Great atmosphere with the bowling alley and arcade games. The menu is pretty diverse from Hawaiian food to burgers to pizza and breakfast food. And, the food portions are HUGE so you can probably share a entree plate. Cool place with aloha vibes! read more

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Great food and fast service. Lau Lau was great and so was saimin! The one thing that made it even better was the ube ice cream for dessert! It's like a secret spot for grub! read more

Bruh. The OX Tail in this gem is soooooo good, it will not disappoint, it exceeds expectations. Bar none one of the best between the five islands, top 3 easy. Loco Moco - DANG. That was ridiculous delicious. The lumpia Dessert ... I have no words, just have to try it. Well done ya'll. My family really enjoyed your food, the atmosphere was fun, and the hospitality felt like family. Huge Thanks to a Local Gene of Hilton for recommendation !!!! read more

I went here as soon as I landed in Kona. Presentation was nice but the ribs were rubbery! They could've been Cooked longer. I will try something different next time. read more

Chubby's Diner - Chicken Katsu & Kalbi Ribs - Diners Near Me - Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

We ate at this diner twice while traveling around the island. The first time we wandered in by accident, the second time we returned deliberately. Considering the bowling alley, we didn't expect to get such a delicious lunch. The portions are large, everything is fresh and tasty. To be honest, we took half with us, I think one portion can feed 2 adults. The service was great. We will go back there again on our next trip to Hawaii. read more

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The food is terrific. Counter service was great. We found the restaurant on Yelp with a "local favorites" search and it lived up to its name. Lots of locals were picking up take out orders. The atmosphere is what you should expect at an arcade. But the food! I had the loco moco and my wife had the chicken teriyaki. It was some of the best she's had. Lots of locals were picking up take out orders. read more

My wife and I arrived in Kona and after getting a rental car, it was already past 8pm. I had done my research previously, and I decided to order to-go here because of its rating and menu choices. I didn't realize this place was at a bowling place and that it wasn't very easy to find. Although a Thursday night, it was quite busy. There were fewer than 10 tables and they were all taken. Only one waitress/cashier was working so I felt bad for her. I had to take the food to go and couldn't consume it until half an hour later, but the oxtail soup was still warm. The server Shanon even wrapped the oxtail soup in plastic wrap so that it would not spill. Very thoughtful of her. There were many oxtail pieces in the soup so even at $28, this was a good deal. The soup flavor was not salty but just right. With veggies inside the soup, the was very comforting. I chose fries and macaroni salad for the kalbi plate. The kalbi was spot on. Even when it was luke warm, it was delicious. It would have been amazing if I had eaten it immediately. There was enough food for the 2 of us... for almost 2 meals. 4.5 stars for the place, but rounded up to 5 from their thoughtfulness and yummy taste even when consumed 30 minutes later. Too bad they were out of banana cheesecake lumpia. Guess I'll have to wait until next time. =) read more

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BIG ISLAND HAWAII 2023 VACATION #11: AFTER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION The Saturday during Memorial Day Weekend was my niece's high school graduation. I am visitor from the mainland. I wasn't sure where I was going to eat after the ceremony. Through Yelp I found Chubby's Diner. This place was a last-minute decision as most eateries close at 9:00 PM. When I arrived here I was amused this eatery was inside a bowling alley. There was a long line ahead of me so I knew I wanted get my food to go. I came with the intent to get oxtail soup. As I was going to take the food back to the hotel I was staying I began to worry if the soup would spill as I was driving. I ended up order chicken katsu plate and banana cheesecake lumpia. I was amazed on a busy Saturday night that I got my food faster than I anticipated. I thought I would get my food in an hour, but ended up getting my food in about twenty-five minutes. Then I drove back to the hotel where I was staying. The breading on the chicken katsu was crispy, but the meat inside was dry. Thank goodness for sauce for not only to add flavor but also to add moisture for this dish. The other item I got was the banana cheesecake lumpia. I thought this item would taste like turon, which is a Filipino snack. Surprisingly the banana cheesecake wasn't heavy. The banana wasn't too sweet. I enjoyed it better than the chicken katsu. My late dinner meal from Chubby's Diner was satisfactory. I didn't plan to come here for my vacation however I was glad this place was still open after 9:00 PM on a Saturday evening. read more

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