What a wonderful way to fortify your daytime adventure in Kona. Hubby and I wanted something substantial and flavorful to start our day and Island Lava Java did not disappoint. As soon as we came in we were welcomed in such a way that Hawaii is so famous for. Our server was so friendly and very knowledgeable of all of the menu offering which there were a substantial amount. We ordered our coffee and main entrees and before we could even blink it was brought out. The food was amazing. Very flavorful and dare I say healthy. Well as healthy as can be given that it had fruit, avocado and arugula. Hubby's food was just downright decadent. It was super yummy. . read more

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We really had a great dinner here. We ordered the mahi mahi, a smash burger, and a ahi salad. All was delicious. The mahi mahi had a lemon sauce on it with jasmine rice. The smash burger was large and had fries. The ahi salad was great. It had a lemon vinaigrette on it. Delicious. The service was alright. It did take us awhile to be waited on which was annoying but when the server came, the order was in and good was out in no time. The view from the restaurant is incredible. Sitting out on the porch area looking out at the water, makes for a great Hawaiian dinner. read more

Good things come from unexpected places. I thought this would be a typical touristy place down by the waters edge with great views but so-so food. What a nice surprise to find great views, food and service all in the same location! A total trifecta of happiness! The French toast and eggs were some of the best I have had in awhile, with applewood smoked bacon to boot! There must have been a half dozen eggs in my scramble, or at least he very healthy ostrich egg. I couldn't finish it all, but in my defense I started with the cinnamon roll which was so sticky sweet that I almost needed a side of insulin. The wife had the eggs Benedict on a croissant which she said was she enjoyed but the eggs were a bit over poached. Overall we had a nice brunch here and will definitely bookmark it as a place worthy of going to again on our next visit. read more

Island Lava Java - Awesome cinnamon roll. - American Near Me - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Absolutely delicious !! Amazing service! Phenomenal entrées! Great atmosphere!! Mahoe obviously loved his job! read more

Island Lava Java was so good that my family and I had to come back, and we usually don't eat twice at the same spot during a trip. We came in for brunch the first time then returned for dinner a few days later. The restaurant has the best vibes, it's on the beach and the staff were kind and helpful. The wait wasn't too long to get seated on a Saturday morning, similarly to when we came back for dinner. The quality of the food is excellent! We had some waffles and croissant sandwiches with drinks and everything went well together. For dinner I had the mahi mahi tacos and they were so flavorful and fresh; best fish tacos I've ever had. Both times it was just an explosion of paradise in my mouth. Every time I think of Hawaii, this spot is one of the top places that come into mind. I wish we had one in Houston, I'd be there everyday. Till next time Lava Java! read more

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My husband and I went for lunch and we both really enjoyed it. I got the fish tacos (the best I have had on island!) and he got the Lava Lava scramble. Nice portions, beautiful setting (although there is a street between the seating and the ocean). If you are in Kona, be sure to check this out! read more

For our first breakfast in Kona we decided to try this place after reading all the great reviews. It didn't disappoint. We were seated right away by the friendly hostess at one of the front tables with lovely ocean views. The dishes came out quickly and we enjoyed them with our Kona coffees and breakfast cocktails. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive. Wonderful way to start our vacation! We've already gone back. read more

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Wanted to eat at another place nearby but they were closed so we ended up at Island Lava Java. The view along the waterfront is nice and it's a great location but the food was Americanized and pricey. Everything was cooked well but the food was simple and not authentic local "Hawaii" food which I was hoping to eat. I got the fish tacos which were cooked ok but it left me desiring something more. A couple friends got the poke which didn't have much flavor either. Another friend got calamari and a burger which he liked but there was nothing special about it. Service was ok but was impersonal when they have you order and pay online. With so many other great places to eat, I would choose somewhere else rather than return here again. read more

Island Lava Java - Island Lava Java-s Fresh Fish* Tacos - American Near Me - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

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I really wanted to enjoy this place since my friend recommended it as a nice breakfast place by the waters, but I was very disappointed by the service that was provided. Food- They offer a variety of breakfast dishes, such as basic breakfast platters, eggs Benedict, omelettes, pancakes/waffles, breakfast sandwiches, bagels, and fresh fruit. We got the luau omelette and the roasted veggie omelette. The luau omelette was pretty brand. I enjoyed the roasted veggie omelette- there was a good variety of veggies and the flavors of the pesto and goat cheese blended well together. Overall, food was okay but the service was very disappointing. read more

Island Lava Java - Menu (Feb 2021) - American Near Me - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

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We ate breakfast here twice while on vacation. Hands down, the BEST California style Eggs Benedict I have ever had! The sauce is perfectly prepared, and love that they serve it on a toasted croissant, instead of the usual English muffin! Also, delicious breakfast potatoes! We will definitely be returning! read more

Awesome food! Happy hour every day! $7 Mai Tai's. Best carrot cake I've ever eaten. Highly recommend.

So far, the best burger on the Big Island. And reasonably priced. The Mai Tais were amazing (better than most other local places, made with house made Orgeat syrup and top shelf rum). Best of all, our server Mark, who was born and raised here on the Big Island, took excellent care of us and treated us like friends. Great experience, highly recommended. read more

Pros: Broke da mouth Belgium waffles with Mac nuts, bananas and coconut syrup. Seriously ono! Amazing views Once we ordered, the food came FAST! Parking in the back of the restaurant cons: Took a while to get our order taken The music Pineapple in the luau scramble was a huge flavor miss in our opinion and it made the eggs wet read more

Island Lava Java - Brunch - American Near Me - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Visited this restaurant with my husband on a Friday afternoon and were seated immediately. Our server was very friendly and helpful. Our food came out super fast and was sooo good! I got the Lemongrass Curry with Mahi Mahi and my husband got the veggie bowl and added chicken with a side of sweet potato fries. The only thing that I could "complain" about is that the portion size of the entrees was a little on the small side so if you're a big eater you may need appetizers to fill you up. The restaurant is very close to the water and has a pretty view though it's somewhat blocked by power lines. There's a free parking lot directly behind the restaurant, Google maps just took us right past the front and we had to look around for the lot. read more

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We came here for breakfast. I had made a reservation online, so we were seated right way. We were seated upstairs and the view was fantastic. Our waitress greeted us right away. She had a fun personality, which made our dining experience really enjoyable. The food and drinks of course were very good. They never miss the mark, I don't think I've ever had one bad thing in this restaurant. I whole heartedly recommend going to the Lava Java for breakfast, you will not be disappointed. read more

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I went to this restaurant last year when I was in Hawaii and the papaya with yogurt and granola was delicious and I had to have it again. The second picture is when I went back today, honestly disappointed in the difference in quality. The papaya yogurt and granola themselves tasted great but comparing it to last year made me disappointed. Not sure why the same dish is so different a year apart. The granola this time was had the same great flavor but was not as crunchy as i remember. read more

Island Lava Java - PAPAYA, YOGURT & GRANOLA - American Near Me - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

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Everything was DELICIOUS! The coconut "syrup" for the pancakes was the highlight for me - unreal. This was the first restaurant we hit in Kona & what a great intro it was. Service & ambiance were great too. read more

Island Lava Java - Go "Island Style" Pancakes, Luau Scramble & French Press Kona Coffee - American Near Me - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Service was great, food and drinks where ok. Good spot it very touristy area. We for the Sampler appetizer which was very good, poke nachos where ok, drinks where ok. read more

Needed fuel before heading to the beach and was drawn to this place based on reviews. My husband got the island eggs Benedict. This was different than all Benedict's because they use a croissant instead of English muffin! The croissant was flakey and the potatoes were crisp to perfection. I went with the Belgian waffle breakfast which had a good balance of sweet and savory. Overall great service and ambiance! read more

Island Lava Java - Island Eggs Benedict - American Near Me - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

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It's rare for me to write a poor review but hoping this serves as a helpful critique. Service was good. Lots of ample seating. We dined in the evening, so we missed seeing the view but it's right along the water so I'm sure it's pretty. We ordered the grilled fish sandwich, beet salad, smash burger, and the highly recommended Mac crusted catch of the day. Here are pros/cons of each. Fish sandwich: tasty and the top dish of our order, but came with a lot of burnt sweet potato fries. Beet salad advertised oven roasted beets and avocado. Avocado was forgotten and the beets were not oven roasted but rather tasted like regular canned beets. Smash burger advertises two smash patties but the burger we were served came with one regular old, round patty. Mac crusted fish advertises a pineapple sauce and although there was a small amount of something on the rice, it tasted like nothing rice included. No hint of pineapple at all. The plate was also served half cold. You could tell they plated the rice scoop and broccoli then waited for the fish to cook which resulted in a cold plate of food. Unfortunately, this was the worst meal of our trip and I wish it lived up to its overall rating. So much so that aside from walking by, sadly we won't be giving it another try. read more

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This place was great, we liked the food the staff was nice, we went there around 7:30am so it wasn't busy at all when we got there. We were overlooking the water, it was great. read more

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If you're looking for a solid breakfast spot in the area, this is probably the place to go! There's parking in the back which makes it pretty convenient. The portions here are massive so they'll definitely fill you up! I ordered the Lava Java Breakfast - Island Style and my husband ordered the Luau Scramble. The Portuguese sausage was delicious and the Island-Style pancakes were sooo good. I loved their coconut syrup and it was loaded with bananas and macadamia nuts. Their Luau Scramble was really good too with roasted kalua pork and grilled pineapple. A bonus is the nice view of the beach since it's right next to the water! read more

Island Lava Java - Lava Java Breakfast & Luau Scramble - American Near Me - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

It is hard to beat Lava Java for breakfast. Sit in their open air restaurant while watching the waves crash -- and, if you're lucky, you'll see spinner dolphin. We love Drag in though the Garden, and their coffee and coffee drinks are great. They only hire the nicest hosts and servers -- friendly, helpful, professional. Win win. read more

Great breakfast spot on the Kona strip! Seating is gorgeous with the beach front views. Staff is extremely welcoming and warm! You have ample parking at the backside of the complex. Food is delicious and the proportions are gracious. You can substitute the meat for fruit. Loved the skillet potatoes, they were perfectly charred and cooked. Waffle was delicious too. The Kona coffee press was quite satisfying as well. Only downside here is that they don't have any gluten free bread options. Also this is a typical American breakfast kinda place. Other than tropical fruit options don't expect any Hawaii an breakfast options as such. This one of the best breakfast places in the Kona area! Should be on the mandatory things to do list!! read more

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Walking down one of the main drags in Kona, we walked past the sandwich sign and decided to detour here. We lucked out, there was no wait for our party of 3. We settled for high top seating and were handed menus. This is one of many places featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. My family and I all ordered a round of drinks and placed our entree order. I settled on the guava bbq ribs, recommended by Guy Fieri. My sister ordered the roasted veggie pizza and my niece ordered tacos. Our food arrived within 20min. Upon first glance, it all looked amazing and mouth watering. Overall, my ribs were flavorful but the meat not as tender as I would like. The pizza was okay, lacked flavor and crunch. Place was great, service was great, cool place to try if in the area. read more

Island Lava Java - American Near Me - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

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Food was good enough. The pancakes looked heavenly. The service was absolutely terrible. We couldn't even get a coffee because they didn't have enough cups. They also didn't have enough silverware until halfway through our meal. read more

They have a decent coffee selection here too. Alyzabeth waited on us today from the bar, she's cool. Ordered the cinnamon roll, island lava Java salad, full order, island eggs Benedict with fresh cooked fish and a roasted veggie bowl with blackened Ono fish and a fresh OJ. The cinnamon roll is big, fills the entire plate. It was baked this morning, but rather dense and not as billowy as I like. Our bartender nuked it some to soften it up some. Even heated the outside of the roll doesn't do it for me, it's too crusty. The inside of the roll isn't bad though, flavorful too. Enjoying the live island music at the restaurants along the water. Helps to get you into the island feel for sure. The lava Java salad isn't bad, light dressing and leafy green is quite refreshing. The goat cheese is super fluffy. The chopped macadamia are a nice and what I would expect here instead of Marconi almonds or almonds. Love seeing bib lettuce in my salads, they are so soft and buttery. The ono fish eggs Benedict was good. Eggs were cooked over hard. The OJ is ok, not super sweet. The ones being squeezed for the bottle has a richer orange color for sure. The veggie bowl is okay, the veggies are rather sweet. The ono fish isn't my favorite so much, it's not a light fish and not flaky, it's more dense and heavy like a swordfish. The rice is at the bottom. It's a nice spot for a meal during the day or at night too. read more

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Fabulous ocean view & nice service right in the center of town. Big portions with some good & many kinda ok dishes. Decent to great drinks. Loved their ribs, sweet potatoes fries & pineapple juice. Reservations can make on OpenTable or their website. Recommended because usually there's some wait but came at 4:30pm on a cruise day and got a table easily. View great View of Kailua Bay from most tables. Prefer 1st floor's view because 2nd floor has view of the the street wires as well. Coffee website says they serves 100% extra fancy Kona coffee (not cheap at all so they charge for refill). Food 1. Locally Sourced Ingredients: beef, lamb, chicken, lettuce, produce, goat cheese, etc 2. Made from Scratch on Premises: dishes, breads, doughs, pastries, muffins, desserts, cocktails, juices Ahi Poke tuna, shoyu, sesame oil, fresh ogo (crispy purple seaweed), scallion, sesame seed, wasabi aioli, micro greens, furitake MP turned out to be $13.50. 3.5* Kono Combo Pizza pepperoni, Italian sausage, black olive, onion, red sauce & moz. Soft bready crust with lots of cheese $23. 3.5* Guava BBQ Ribs very tender ribs with light bbq sauce topped with minced tropical salsa with some pineapple, Island slaw with mainly carrots (as featured on DDD). Chose side of sweet potatoes fries instead of fries & they were crispy and excellent $30. 4.5* Shrimp Carbonara fettuccini tossed with egg & Parmesan cheese. Had garlic shrimp, bacon, spinach, asparagus & small tomatoes $27. 3.5 Ginger Root Lemonade has a slight but noticeable ginger kick. $10.50. 3.5* Pineapple Juice freshly blended so was frothy 16oz $8.75. 5* Service not hard to get her attention and no issues 5* Parking parking lot behind of the building that can be accessed from the driveway on the northside of the restaurant building or from Kuakini Hwy (1 block east) Located -right on Ali'i Dr -1door adjacent north of Foster's Kitchen -2 doors just north of the Beach volleyball court & Humpy's -2 blocks north of On the rocks & Huggo's -2 buildings south of Sushi Shiono -8 min walk south of Holiday Inn Express read more

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I will start by saying we've eaten here before and enjoyed the atmosphere, view, and food. Yesterday, however was a total disappointment. My food looked like it had been dumped on the plate. I ordered a veggie scramble that was completely unappetizing. Veggies were the same consistency as the eggs like they had been steamed and then added to the scramble to create mush. The fruit on the side was tasteless and most certainly straight from Costco. The service was sloppy and mechanical. Our lattes arrived in cups that looked like the drinks had spilled and been remade in the same cup. On top of all that, we were charged an egg surcharge for each meal, one of which was not even eaten. I'm a "local" and eat in town often. I won't make that mistake again. read more

If I could give them zero stars, I would. We had a reservation for 15 for Saturday night to celebrate our wedding. We arrived about 15 minutes early to check in and were informed they were closed. When we showed them the reservation confirmation email, and I was very obviously in my wedding dress, they changed their story to say the kitchen was too backed up and it was taking over an hour to get tickets out. There was no apology, nothing. Thankfully KAI went out of their way to arrange a table for us and the food/drinks/service was amazing there! Highly recommend them over this restaurant. read more

So good and with a nice view of the water. My husband and I came 3 days in a row (for dinner, breakfast, and breakfast haha). The mahi fish tacos and blackened mahi sandwich were delicious! I forgot the name of the plate that I had for breakfast but atleast you can see it on the picture. Don't forget to try the Kona coffee if you're a coffee lover! I even took a pack of it back home read more

Island Lava Java - American Near Me - Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Our staple on the first night of any trip to Kona. Bustling spot with lovely ocean view. Food quality good and good service.

Overrated. The first time I've ever had a pancake that couldn't cut with a fork. Unfriendly service

SKIP IT!! 2 stars for the view and nice local waitress and bus boy. Was "greeted" by the hostess. No hi: " Host- do you have a reservation? Me- yes at 11:30 (it's 11:16, figured I'd check in) Host- OH. (clicks a few buttons, looks at me and says- you're early mumbles something and SHOO'S ME WITH HER HAND. Our waitress def made up for the rude hostess but the food is terrible. Sweet potato fries were hard and burnt. Brown rice was hard, burger was overcooked, waffle was just ok. I'm a little surprised for habit. Fresh fish they didn't have any fresh salsa or local hot sauce. These are details that good joints sometimes lffer Would be a nice place just to sit at the bar for a drink! read more

Service here was friendly and attentive. My group of 3 adults and a child were sat down for Sunday brunch with out a reservation. The view was amazing and well made up for the fact we had to wait to be greeted by a server. The food was good and worth the price because it was more than enough to be shared with my little one. Definitely a child friendly environment read more

Hostess was great, yet took a while before we saw waitress, we ordered drinks first per waitress prompting. Drinks came yet not together at one time. Then waitress took our order and not sure what happened, we were only a table of 4 adults, yet we sat there just talking for about an hour & watching as people seated after us were eating their meals. Our meal took maybe an hour to get to us and plate of food lukewarm, not hot. While obviously I cannot prove this but it felt like our order got lost or forgotten, we don't really know, but was my birthday and I wished I would've chosen a better place for us to eat in Kona read more

We enjoyed this place on Ali'ii road. Excellent views, quality food. Tip: find out when the happy hour starts; they have $7 dollar drinks and $5 dollar tacos. Customer service: excllent. read more

While visiting this week, we patronized Lava Java THREE TIMES after being taken there the first time by a friend who is a local - two times for brunch and cocktails, and once for drinks and apps while watching the sunset. Great local vibe, excellent menu variety, and helpful and courteous staff all contributed to our repeated visits. read more

Server was very nice. The hostess the old white lady with glass very racists. Was very nice to all the white guests offering seating if the sun bugs them but the birds were pooping on our party and she told us to deal with it and rudely moved us saying she hopes we would stop complaining. What great service from the hostess who represents this "fine" establishment read more

Delicious breakfast. The pancakes were delicious even without syrup! The service was prompt, polite and friendly. Love the morning breeze specially on the top deck area. So relaxing to just be and not have to hurry! Island time for sure! read more

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