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    Engawa by Islander Sake Brewery

    4.9 (38 reviews)
    Open 5:30 pm - 9:30 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

    Engawa by Islander Sake Brewery Photos

    ENGAWA BY ISLANDER SAKE BREWERY ATMOSPHERE

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    Entrance!
    Sally G.

    Wow! Definitely a night to remember! Perfect omakase experience! My first one. The food and sake were incredible. Friendly staff that explained all the food and sake very well. Service was spread out over 2 hours, making for a relaxed atmosphere and dining experience. Definitely would love to try again.

    Sarah L.

    This is the best meal I've had on the island. The variety of sakes my partner and I tried were delicious, and the quality of the food was outstanding. The food really put everything together to be honest. Tama really made the experience for us. Thank you. I'll come here the next time I'm on this island to see how the menu develops as the restaurant just started serving food about 6 months ago. If you're staying at the Mauna Kea resort, you can get here via shuttle or ask the bell desk/valet to get dropped off here via golf cart.

    2/25
    Kristi P.

    This is an amazing hidden gem at the Hapuna golf course! We went for the omakase dinner, and it was a special treat. It is apparent that the owner and chef put a lot of consideration into each component of every menu item. Most of the ingredients are made in-house or sourced locally. The owners are obviously very knowledgeable about all of the sakes, since they make them, and all of the ingredients. My favorite course was actually the Starters--the dashi-simmered tomato had wonderful umami and made my tastebuds so happy. It was just what I wanted without even knowing it! It's a 2 person show, so it can take some time to get dishes cleared, waters refilled, sake and food served, but they are working hard, and you truly feel cared for. The menu changes every month, but I'm sure the high quality will stay the same.

    Grilled fish
    Lesley D.

    If you are looking for excellent sake paired with a wonderful omakase dining experience you have found it! Their sake is brewed in the same building as the restaurant (which also happens to be the same building as the Hapuna golf course pro shop). Surprisingly the proximity to the golf course doesn't hurt the ambiance one bit. Pro tip: they have seatings at 5:30 and 7:30 but book the 5:30 to watch the sunset. Our server was very knowledgeable about the sake brewing process and carefully explained all of the varieties while pouring them into the cutest handmade sake glasses I've ever seen. The food itself was so fresh and delicious. This is the special occasion dining experience we have needed on this side of the island! Pros Locally made sake Thoughtfully prepared dishes with fresh local ingredients Indoor or outdoor seating Cons Prix Fixe menu only. It doesn't disappoint in the slightest, but worth calling out for the picky eaters out there!

    Getting ready to try there omakase dinner.
    Richard M.

    Strange place but worth the effort to find it. It's omakase style and they brew there own sake. The service was good considering there's only two people running the restaurant. I would have preferred more sashimi or sushi, but the cooked fish and chawa mushi was excellently.

    sashimi platter

    Amazing meal with seasonal preparations and sake recommendations. I went to celebrate a special occasion for my short stay on big island. Be prepared to wait to be seated and for each course of the meal - as it is a 1-2 man show for dinner, so if it's a full house for dinner reservations, there's plenty of down time (think 2 hours or more from start to finish). Despite reservations being full for the night, it was a serene and relaxing dining experience. I'd love to go back for their daytime sake tastings!

    Iris W.

    Hands down this was the best meal we've had on the big island. First the food--this was an omekase experience but we had our 7yo kiddo with us and they made slight adjustments to his meal to suit which was incredibly kind. Each dish was interesting, nicely balanced, and well executed with very clean flavor profiles that complemented nicely. We are usually not a fan of fusion but the Japanese twist on caprese with shisho and salmon roe was done very well and made for a very interesting taste and texture enhancement. The radish salad with kombu and olive dressing was refreshing and but still packed w umami flavor. The kampachi was so fresh and each accoutrement on the dish enhanced the flavor/texture. The marinated and grilled kampachi was deliciously soft and that ube was the sweetest we've had. The prawns in the tempura was plump and sweet and the tempura was so light and crispy. But the real gem is underneath with a perfectly crisped rice ball with a very fragrant rice. I could have eaten an entire bowl of that. Lastly, the ice cream is made with byproducts of sake production and had little bits of rice adding to texture. Our server was very knowledgeable about sake and gave us several excellent recommendations. Each sake had a complex flavor profile but was clear and crisp. The overall dining ambiance was wonderful and it was especially fun to see the different types of specialty glassware the sakes came in. Overall I've already sent this recommendation to several friends who are planning trips to the big island and we will definitely return next time we visit!

    Menu October 2024
    Jodi B.

    We visited Engawa October 2024. Wonderful experience from service to food. We opted for the full sake pairing. The Edo glassware from Tokyo is absolutely stunning. The restaurant is located on the golf course and we were able to take a golf cart from Mauna Kea. Would highly recommend and will go back next time on Big Island.

    Sake glasses
    Kenny L.

    **5 Stars** My wife found Islander Sake Brewery Omakase online, and we decided to give it a try. Making reservations was easy, with sittings at 5:30pm and 7:30pm. This unique omakase is run by a Japanese duo: The elderly Japanese man serves the sake and explains everything, while the other, a Japanese lady prepares the food in the back. They operate out of the restaurant at Hapuna Golf Course, which adds to the interesting experience. The meal was tasty, well-prepared, and filling. Though the single server was a bit slow due to serving multiple tables, he did his best, and we just had to be patient. We appreciated the freshly made sake and the selection of dishes. Overall, it was a reasonably priced and delicious dining experience.

    Simmered hijiki. Earthy and comforting.
    JR F.

    What an incredible dinner experience! My family and I are always on the hunt for authentic Japanese cuisine experiences outside of Japan, and Engawa did not disappoint. We went for the premium six-course dinner with sake pairings. Our server and host was also the co-owner, making for a particularly intimate experience. He was both welcoming and knowledgeable, sharing many details on how the food and sake were prepared. Cooking is definitely a labor of love and passion, and you can feel both while enjoying every sip and bite. All the food was extremely fresh and either sourced locally or from Japan. We were told the kampachi was freshly caught that morning! The owners both originate from Japan, so the experience feels truly authentic. The ambiance was serene and elegant while not overly extravagant. If you're into the artistry of ceramics and glass, every serving vessel was impressive as well! Highly recommend and will definitely return.

    April 2025 Omakase menu.  Though we were given a choice for the main dish.

    The Omakase dinner was the best meal I had in our week on the Big Island, though we are partial to good Japanese food. The dashi was among the best I've ever had. (We visit Japan maybe once a year.) The flavors had depth. They made good use of the koji and sake lees from the sake brewery in the kitchen. The bread was warm and fluffy with good texture and flavor.

    Fried Shrimp
    Kevin W.

    This was a fabulous dining experience. If you aren't driving you should definitely add the sake flight tasting too. They are serving great food and drink. This was a wonderful night out during our vacation. Be warned, the restaurant is "hidden" on the golf course's clubhouse. You will have no idea they exist till you stumble upon them.

    3. CHEF'S DAILY SASHIMI* SELECTIONh
    Hanya L.

    It was such a good experience for the night! We live in the Mauna Kea beach hotel and there are various time of shuttle to get here, which is 7mins drive from our hotel to the Westin hotel. The food and sake pairs perfect and were really balanced. The music is calming and chill, seating outside you can enjoy the pinky sunset, all the decor is just perfect! Love the Kona Sake and Yui sake, exclusively made here. The service was so good that we also get some knowledge about how the sake making process(he explained so well and making me want to know more about it!) It's really not only the food but also the experience was amazing. The food portion also really fulfilling, we enjoyed the sashimi upgrades option so much! Definitely recommended to choose the sake pairing option so you can try different ones and it's really a good gift to bring back for friends! Highly recommended and definitely coming back!

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    1 year ago

    Friendly folks, wonderful juice, flavorful burger. Juicy to the point it runs down your chin and arms! Da best!

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    2 years ago

    Great local made Sake and a beautiful dinning room. Located on the Kona coast of the Big Island..

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    Ask the Community - Engawa by Islander Sake Brewery

    Teshima Restaurant - Steak cooked perfectly

    Teshima Restaurant

    4.4(1k reviews)
    32.1 mi
    $$

    What a gem that's flung far from Kona, in the middle of nowhere off the side of Highway 11. It's…read moregot this old Hawaii meets Japanese comfort food charm that evokes a wistful presence from yesteryear. There's something about a flower being pinned to your hair as you're seated to eating a bowl of saimin as Unchained Melody plays in the background that brings a nostalgic smile to your face and makes you feel right at home. Oh - and if you ask the server what's in the Kona Beef Curry Stew... it's beef and curry. Ha. Tellin' them city folk like it is.

    We tried out this legendary Japanese Hawaiian diner near the end of our trip. It is literally like…read morea slice out of history! Not to be missed! They have a TV showing historical clips of the Japanese immigrants who moved to Hawaii. We learned so much just dining there! The servers were very nice and friendly. They even offer free, hot green tea. It wasn't crowded when we went there for lunch. The server said we could order from the dinner menu too. The restaurant is decorated with a bunch of old family photos. It's not a fancy food location, but a place that is in the locals' hearts. Also, it's not standard Japanese American food, so don't come in looking for rolls and such! Instead, they serve fresh, perfectly prepared Japanese food with a Hawaiian twist, favorites like saimin and shrimp tempura. The large saimin ($16.17) was delicious and really hit the spot. Toppings were Spam, eggs, and veggies. Simple, but tasty! Shrimp tempura appetizer ($14.85) was a pretty large sized dish. The pieces have a lot of crunchy batter and the kids loved it. It was a bit greasy, but that's to be expected. DH got a Oyako Donburi with sashimi ($21.93). Wow, the sashimi was truly amazing! So tender, it just melts in your mouth. The eggs were cooked with bamboo pieces which kinda threw DH off. I liked them, but DH would've preferred it without. The flavor is sweet/salty and pretty mild. It came with miso soup and some pickles. Parking is right in the front and backs into the main road. It can be spicy getting out if traffic is heavy. They don't have a lot of bathrooms, so there might be a wait. Those are the downsides. Otherwise, a wonderful local place to eat!

    Photos
    Teshima Restaurant - The main dining room

    The main dining room

    Teshima Restaurant - Fried ahi meal

    Fried ahi meal

    Teshima Restaurant - Interior

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    Interior

    Big Island Tokyo Table - California rolls

    Big Island Tokyo Table

    4.0(28 reviews)
    10.4 mi

    I came during a Friday lunch rush and they were turning out orders pretty fast here. It's counter…read moreservice where you order, wait for your food, and either take it home or eat it in the food court (it's not about the ambiance, it's about the flavors). I got the pork bento which came with miso soup and an iced tea and it was $32 with tax and tip. Kind of on the expensive side for lunch but it was a lot of food and it tasted flavorful and fresh. Pros Fast fresh Japanese food Cons Food court or take-away (not a major con but worth noting)

    A another local boutique Owner recommended this place to us, and we decided to come check it out…read more Sadly, we were full at the time and have not walked off our lunch yet. Lol. We were able to order an iced Matcha tea and it was really good, but a little light in flavor. Lol. I was really excited to try their Ube smoothie, but it was pre-mixed with cow, milk, and since I'm lactose intolerant, I wouldn't be able to have it comfortably. Lol. The lady that helped us was incredibly friendly, sweet and nice, and she knew everything about the food and drinks. She was very apologetic about the cow milk and the smoothie being premixed. Hee. They also had a little Ready To Go take out counter area with some delicious looking items. I took a picture of that as I took a picture of the drink. I will have to go back for lunch and write update my review. Hee

    Photos
    Big Island Tokyo Table - To-go items if you are in a rush.

    To-go items if you are in a rush.

    Big Island Tokyo Table - Refrigerated section with sushi, sides, & dessert ready to go!

    Refrigerated section with sushi, sides, & dessert ready to go!

    Big Island Tokyo Table - Brown sugar milk tea with tapioca boba

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    Brown sugar milk tea with tapioca boba

    CanoeHouse - Scallops

    CanoeHouse

    4.1(824 reviews)
    4.4 mi
    $$$$

    Amazing food and wonderful experience. We were staying at the Mauna Lani, and had to try its…read moresignature restaurant (especially since a few in our party were big fans of Chef Rhoda in Top Chef). Each dish we tried had an amazing mix of flavors. Everything was fresh, even the pull apart bread. I opted for the Ahi Tuna, and it was cooked to perfection. The oysters were excellent as well. We also LOVED the ambiance. It seems most tables, whether indoors or outside, faced the ocean with an open concept. Therefore, even the indoor tables are technically outdoors. This was the perfect set up to watch an amazing Hawaiian sunset during dinner. As expected the service was very friendly and attentive. This is one of those must visit spots on the big island. Even if we don't stay at the Mauna Lani next visit, we're definitely going to still visit this place.

    My wife and I got last minute reservations to Canoe House on a Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. Despite…read morehaving missed the sunset, we still had a very lovely dinner. We saw from Yelp photos that Canoe House offered a tasting menu at some point in time, but during our visit, it was more of an impromptu tasting menu of sorts -- created by our server, rather than an official one with a set beverage pairing. In any case, we still had a wonderful experience ordering items a la carte. Before diving into the food, I wanted to call out the outstanding service at Canoe House. My wife and I were celebrating our anniversary and our server started and ended the meal with a round of congratulations. Throughout our meal, our server was super attentive and there was never a moment when our water cups were empty. Empty plates were promptly cleared, cutlery was refreshed when it was needed, and whenever a dish was brought over, he would carefully slide things around on the table so dishes were accessible and not overcrowding. Friendly, professional service of this level is honestly hard to find these days outside of Michelin dining establishments. My wife and I started our meal off with the large loaf of pull-apart milk bread ($18). The milk bread was incredibly fluffy and the outside was finished with some honey and sea salt. The sweet cream butter was rich and had the perfect spreadable consistency. As tempting as it is to want to finish the loaf, you'll definitely want to safe your stomach for the rest of the meal. The next items that we ordered were two chilled oysters ($7/piece), and a hamachi + uni citrus salad ($14). Since we were dining as a couple, our server informed us that we could actually order half-portions of some of the dishes. This was a perfect way to not fill-up before our mains arrived, so we did that for both the salad and the gyozas. The uni in the salad was melt in your mouth tender and had a delicious sweetness to it. I thought the hamachi in the salad was a bit unremarkable: it was certainly fresh and there were two generously sized pieces in the dish, but the fish definitely needed a bit more salt to it. Our next and last appetizer to arrive was the beef and foie gras gyoza ($7/piece). The chili garlic ponzu sauce the gyoza is resting leans towards the sour side, but that's my personal preference when it comes to dumpling sauces so I really enjoyed it. The filling inside the gyoza was on the leaner side compared to your typical pork and cabbage dumpling, but I didn't mind this too much since there was so much sauce in the bowl to accommodate the dumpling. The next four items we ordered all arrived together: the garlic fried rice ($32), the Kona kanpachi ($67), the Iberico char siu pork ($65), and the side of sugar snap peas ($22). Of these items, my favorite bites were the Iberico pork followed closely by the garlic fried rice and the sugar snap peas. If we could've ordered one fewer dish, it definitely would have been the Kona kanpachi. While the fish was flakey tender and the the skin was cooked to be perfectly crunchy, the portion size was far too large for two, and I thought the coconut ginger sauce felt a bit diluted and not as flavorful as advertised. I wish our server warned us that we had ordered way too much food, because we brought 85% of this dish home as leftovers. While I don't necessarily mind having leftovers, having leftovers on vacation -- with less than ideal heating methods available (i.e. hotel microwave), is not great. Overall, I couldn't help but feel this dish was somewhat a waste of money for the two of us. On the other hand, the Iberico char siu is a dish I'd order again and again if I were to come back. The pork was lean and grilled to perfection. The charred end pieces were some of my favorite bites of the night. I didn't miss the fatty bits that are typically present on a piece of char siu pork, and the mustard that accompanied the dish was not over the top spicy like some of the mustards you find at dim sum restaurants. The garlic fried rice was packed with so much garlic flavor. One criticism I had with the dish though is I wish the hot sizzling plate the dish was served on was even hotter. The rice that was in contact with the plate didn't crisp up in the same way that it would with a Korean bibimbap served in a hot stone bowl, or the socarrat at the bottom of a Spanish paella. Nonetheless, the dish was well-seasoned. If you want to save a bit on carbs and not fill up, you might want to skip this dish. Overall, the dining under the stars experience at Canoe House is hard to beat. The service is incredible, the included validated valet parking experience is seamless, the ambience of the hotel where the restaurant is located is breathtaking, and Chef Rhoda has really done an wonderful job with the vast majority of the items we tried. I would not hesitate to recommend Canoe House for celebrating a special occasion if you're visiting Hawaiʻi.

    Photos
    CanoeHouse - Lobby area

    Lobby area

    CanoeHouse - KONA KANPACHI with yuzu kosho, dashi, lime, mitsuba, ali'i mushroom

    KONA KANPACHI with yuzu kosho, dashi, lime, mitsuba, ali'i mushroom

    CanoeHouse - CanoeHouse

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    CanoeHouse

    Engawa by Islander Sake Brewery - japanese - Updated May 2026

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