We decided to celebrate the New Year's weekend on the Big Island and were lucky enough to discover Manta & Pavilion Wine Bar. The map is a little off because this restaurant is located on the Kohala Coast in the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. It was a prix fixe menu being New Year's Eve but we figured it would give us a chance to sample a little of everything. Let me say that this was one of the best restaurants we've eaten at not only on the Big Island but in Hawaii. First impression when walking in was just the WOW factor, great location with a fresh look and open design. The kitchen is glass enclosed so you can watch the chef's do their magic too. There is a wine bar with automatic wine dispensers (think Amuse here in Honolulu) where you can sample 1 oz. tastings of various wines. Not only was this a great feature but they have one of the most extensive wine lists in the area. Everything here was top notch, starting with the bread & lavosh. The lavosh was huge, I would estimate it to be a 1 1/2 feet tall with a slight chili flavor. The sundried tomato spread that accompanied this was equally amazing as well. Dinner was $120 per person and without writing a novel, every dish was fantastic. I would love to come back here to sample each entree they have to offer. Our entrees were the Pan Seared Kona Butterfish and the Milk Fed Veal Loin. I have never had veal as tender, flavorful and delicious as here. This was quite honestly one of the best dishes I've had in some time. Don't pass this one up, it was a 15-minute taxi ride from the Hilton Waikoloa which wasn't far at all. I can't say it enough but make sure to eat here if you're staying anywhere along the Kohala Coast. read more

Only sorry I couldn't eat here more than once while in Hawai'i! We treated this as our special anniversary dinner on the island as the price is quite steep, but not more so than any restaurant we tend to go to for our anniversary while at home. The food was out of this world! We had the lobster ravioli and ahi, both of which were beyond amazing, but the ravioli was some of the best I've ever had. When the waitress inquired if we wanted the souffle because it would take 20 minutes it was impossible to turn down and had the lilikoi, which is similar to passion fruit. I can't explain how wonderful this was, but with the portion sizes had to take it back to eat later. The food alone would have netted 5-stars in my book, but then add to it the fact that you're sitting on a terrace overlooking one of the most amazing beaches in the entire world and you have a keeper! They have a large flood like stationed at the end of a small paved walk to the shore shining into the ocean to help attract manta rays. We didn't have a spotting while we were there, but Kona Honu Divers made sure we saw them the night before. read more

The location is fantastic. Our dinner was delicious. Eating outside on the patio is so relaxing and peaceful. After dark you can walk a few feet down to Manta Point and see the manta rays swimming swimming quite near the shore. The breakfast buffet is really expensive but there are some more reasonable menu items if you are there for breakfast. You get a little juice smoothie and banana bread to start. So yummy!! read more

Manta - This is the view from the entrance of the trstaurant - Hawaiian Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

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It was clean and good food, the service was good and the waitress was welcoming. we did the breakfast buffet, everything tasted excellent. And to top it off the view was so beautiful read more

Manta - Hawaiian Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

My husband and I went for a special dinner and got a real treat @ Manta. We had been there once before for brunch which was awesome. Dinner was awesome as well + we had a sunset view overlooking Kaunaoa beach. The restaurant is beautiful with outside as well as inside seating. There are huge windows inside the restaurant that were open which let in quite a breeze the evening we were there. We made reservations ahead of time and were seated right away. They seem to have a real "team" approach here, with several different people servicing you at once. It allowed for a seamless night in which we didn't have to wait for anything. We ordered the Salt roasted baby beets as an appetizer and it was incredible. The sweet/salty balance of flavors was so good. It had grilled strawberries on the side and some kind of sauce-very good. For my entree, I ordered the Pork Chop which was gigantic. I asked for it to be cooked medium well and it was a little over. Nonetheless, the sauces underneath it worked well with my dry pork. The server did mention when I ordered it that it is normally served medium and I told her I wanted it a little more cooked. It probably would've been fine then. My husband ordered the Seared Opakapaka with Spicy Pork dumpling (aka "Pork Hash". He loved everything about it. The saltiness of the dumpling complemented the delicate fish. It was served on a bed of steamed greens and everything was great. We got their Lilikoi souffle for dessert and it came piping hot to our table after 15 minutes which as fine. It gave us time to digest our entrees. The server had asked us halfway through dinner if we wanted the souffle, but we decided to wait until after we were done to order. It worked out well. The souffle was very good, but I didn't taste any lilikoi at all. It was essentially a vanilla souffle. Overall, we enjoyed our dinner and can't wait to go back again. read more

We were guests of the Mauna Kea hotel for 5 days. We tried all of the restaurants, which were delicious, but our favorite was Manta. The food and views are INCREDIBLE. Mahi Mahi was insane. Breakfast is fantastic as well. Even if you don't stay at the hotel, make sure to go to this restaurant and take the recommendations that Eric gives you. He knows his stuff! read more

We enjoyed our last dinner on the Big Island here. You can't beat the views. We enjoyed the prefixed menu with the days fresh catch app and dinner with their dessert. Definitely go with the mud pie and not the goat cheese cheesecake. The Kona coffee ice cream with the cookie cracker crust on the mud pie was amazing. The price was not bad for app, dinner and a dessert, $69. Last nights special app was the scallops, it was perfectly cooked and the sauce was just enough sweet/acid. We walked down to see the manta Rays in the bay. This is definitely the perfect spot to send our last night on the Big Island. read more

Manta - Hawaiian Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

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Ridiculously poor value, even for Hawaii. 3 slices of tomato and a dab of goat cheese for $15. Fish is about $5-10 overpriced vs other fine dining. Food tasted good, but would not revisit this restaurant. Service was friendly enough but not overly efficient. Silverware not replaced after salad course. Very average experience. read more

I don't give reviews normally. I travel a ton and eat well. I don't have a budget for food and I rate things (internally at least, since I normally don't give reviews) for what they are supposed to be (3 Michelin has a higher bar than a taco truck). Had breakfast 3X and dinner 2X at this place. Stayed at the hotel (problems there too unfortunately), so was a captive audience. The one star is for the view. Really nice view. Here are the rest of the problems: 1. Sat down with 3 people, got 2 place settings. Had to ask for the 3rd one. 2. People constantly passing us by, not a single person helping us take our order. 3. Forgot about the lobster I ordered. Had to reorder it, and they said that they'd take it off the bill. They put it on the bill anyway and I had to remind them. 4. Brought out the dessert at the same time as the lobster. A souffle of course, so it's not something that can really just sit and wait for a while. 5. Standing at the empty host stand (very few people around, don't know where the host was) while servers just milled about. If servers see patrons waiting, then the servers should go greet the patrons. 6. Food generally mediocre. 7. Suddenly applied autogratuity one day (they had never done that). It was for 18% and I generally tip 20%, so they actually saved me money, but still not something that I think should be done. Particularly not for a breakfast buffet where the only thing they did was pour my wife coffee and ignored us the rest of the time. 8. Would come by the table and leave the dirty plates there. Plates that are clearly empty and moved to the side. Etc., etc. Don't waste your time here. read more

Great food!!! With great service, the brunch Is so good and with a variety of food that satisfies everyones taste. From sushi to breakfast and desserts of all kinds. Great view of the ocean and the beach. The grounds of the mauna kea is beautiful and green. The staff is wonderful. A must go to restaurant. read more

The Manta restaurant at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel has seating outside overlooking the ocean, complete with tiki torches and beautifully landscaped paths - nice atmosphere for a high end fancy dinner in Hawaii. However the menu was very overpriced even for Hawaii standards and you would expect great food for the prices. I say just "great" not fabulous. The service, however, was definitely not on par with price of the meal. No personable friendly server tonight. All the waitstaff seemed bored and uninterested, despite the $600 plus dinner our party tried to enjoy. There was a couple different mistakes in the bill - food added that was not ordered and food ordered that was never received. On top of it all, service was extremely slow and even though we were not in any sort of a hurry and wanted to sit and relax at dinner... It was sloooooow. I don't think I will return and as far as restaurants go, I've been to much better here in Hawaii, both less expensive, a better experience, and just as beautiful of an atmosphere ... With much better service. read more

How can I rate a place when my fiance and I were turned away based on the fact that he was wearing a Non collared shirt. The shirt was a solid colored v neck purchased at nordstrom for a hundred plus. On a slow thursday night and the beach is approximately 100 yards away. There is no posting of this supposed dress code. Honeymooners beware Dave the manager was the dismisser, but don't worry they'll offer to give you a shirt which is even more discriminating. Even the hostess mentioned they have had problems before with the dress code. Setting and ambiance is the only reason this place gets a star. Oh and I hope you're not allergic to cats given they have an assortment of ferals that sit outside on the steps of the restaurant. We were staying at this hotel and everyone was very hospitable it's a disgrace the one "nice" restaurant in the place is so judgmental and bougie. read more

This review is for the Sunday brunch. $48 per person for brunch is extremely steep. The selection was impressive, but it was lacking a little. I would have liked to see more of a sushi selection and more seafood items. The first waitress that took our drink orders looked miserable..honestly, she was the only person I encounterd in my whole five days in Hawaii who didnt seem genuinely happy. I don't even know if alcoholic drinks were included in the price..I was never told and I guess screw me for not inquiring. It would have made the price more tolerable. I asked for orange juice which never came. I guess I should consider myself lucky I got coffee. read more

Practically a perfect dinner. The service and food were both excellent and the wine pairings were on point. A lovely ocean view if you come for sunset. read more

Buffet was delicious. There was tons of food. They had a variety of items to choose from. The made to order sushi bar was to die for. An amazing buffet experience. The staff was nice but did not come around to check on you. The food made up for the wait staff though. read more

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I've been to this restaurant well over 20 times and it never disappoints! Brunch is fanatic, so many options and I love the omelet bar. The staff is incredibly accommodating! Dinner is lovely, the ahi is great as well as the steak. The Waimea tomato said is fantastic! Don't forgot to order the soufflé, it takes about 20mins to cook! read more

Manta - Beet and goat cheese salad - Hawaiian Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

Great view and sunset! Our meals were prepared so amazing and we all ate too much! The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable. The mantas were out after dark and topped off the evening! read more

Sunday brunch was great but expensive. Lots of unique choices. Fresh made waffles were wonderful even if the guy making Them skipped over me twice and I waited well over 10 minutes, he did the same thing to my daughter later . The food was great and the nice lady at the valet gave my two girls lai's. The property is beautiful and food was worth it for a special occasion. read more

Cats, cats, cats!! And more cats. Avoid this place to eat! Anticipated a nice upscale relaxing oceanside dinner, but instead the dining table area was overrun with roaming cats looking for food. Shockingly ignorant customers even fed them, which of course brought more unwanted feline find diners. Restaurant staff did nothing to chase off the cats dining at the feet of guests tables, even when I brought this to their attention. If you are not fond of dining with felines do not spend your money here. Food was average, assuming I wasn't eating Fancy Feast! Otherwise great spot on the ocean over looking one of best beaches on Hawaii, good list of wine offerings. read more

My wife and I are staying at the Muana Kea resort and decided to try this restaurant. I ordered the Ribeye and was really disappointed. My guess is that they do not have a lot of experience offering and preparing this cut of meat.. My steak was presented with silver skin on the edge and did not smell right. I did not make an issue as it was a great evening and incredible view. Just align your expectations that this is a location and view restaurant more than a top scale food spot. Mahalo read more

We stayed at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel and decided to take the complimentary inter-resort shuttle service to the sister hotel - Mauna Kea Beach Hotel. It is a gorgeous resort!! It was Sunday so the popular thing to do is attend their lavish brunch buffet. I will have to warn you that it is $50 a person but well worth it. The restaurant was beautiful, the view is to die for, service was excellent, and the spread was extravagant! There was a chilled seafood bar, specialty cooking stations, sushi bar, dim sum, and more. I regret not being able to taste everything but I didn't want to explode. My favs: deshelled crab legs; shrimp/veg tempura, unsweetened ice tea with fresh pineapple; freshly baked breads with brie cheese; and sashimi. Definitely worth experiencing. read more

This place was the best thing to happen to me on my trip to The Big Island (other than the spam sushi of course). My family and I went there for Sunday brunch which was incredible and consisted of fresly made sushi, crab claws, eggs benedict...anything you could dream of. Then we returned on our last day (a Saturday) and I had the BEST eggs benedict I've ever had. Their Oscar Benedict is worth moving mountains for and I live in a city who knows their brunch! Oh...right, and the views pretty amazing too ;) read more

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If you enjoy awesome food and awesome views you are in for a treat! Go around nighttime so that you can walk down the pathway and check out the manga rays that are lit up with a huge spot light! There are many in the area eating! Don't forget to grab a bite yourself! The coconut shrimp soup was so good and I ate an embarrassing amount of the delicious fresh bread and salted butter. Polish your meal off with chocolate soufflé! It is so incredible that you might not want to share with others! Indulge and eat the whole thing yourself and convince yourself you're burning the calories off when you walk down the flight of stairs to check out the mantas read more

While having a bite to eat, your get incredible scenery. You have a nice panoramic shoot of the beach and the cove. Food is not bad, had breakfast while staying there. had all my favorites, waffles, omelets, and if your looking for a big breakfast, the Loco moco over fried rice ono! Employees were friendly but when its slow, less staff =less service. All in all the friendly service and great food along with the amazing view, made up for the slower service. read more

Manta - Loco moco with a view - Hawaiian Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

One of the better brunches I've eaten in a while. Not to mention the excellent service! But then again it helps if you know the staff. The omelet station was delicious, and you can choose from a variety of toppings. The spread of food varies from eggs benedict to steamed salmon to traditional cereal and toast bread. For the price you pay its only $35 for a super meal! Definitely will be back again one day. read more

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This was our first restaurant we went to on the Big Island. We only stayed in the resort area for a couple nights, but I can say with confidence this is the best restaurant in this area. The food was pretty good. There were a couple of execution errors in the food I had, but the Opakapaka (pink snapper) was cooked perfectly. I was very satisfied with my meal. They did a good job incorporating Hawaiian flavors and local ingredients into their menu, and making it taste good. I usually just care about the actual food when I read reviews, but I must say this place is more than just food. They have a pretty big wine tap system, and an area where you can chill and pay per ounce to taste tons of different wines. It also has a pretty sick view of the ocean on the outdoor terrace with an ample amount of tables. I'd recommend calling ahead and reserving one of these tables if you happen to be there during busy season. There is nothing like eating fresh fish, while overlooking an amazing view of the ocean where it came from. read more

Stopped by to enjoy the beach and Breakfast buffet Service excellent Omelette and waffle bar yummy Spectacular view worth every penny read more

This place had great views and ambiance but the food was horrible!!! Another super expensive resort restaurant that delivers awful food! Four stars for our wonderful server, the scenery and the dessert soufflé! Now, the food was undercooked...the rice was not cooked!!! What restaurant doesn't know how to cook rice!!! My bf got the chicken curry and the rice and veggies were all undercooked...he was complaining of a tummy ache after too. My lamb was nothing special which I ate since I was hungry and my daughter had Mac n cheese which was plain and she didn't even touch it...she loved the cooked white rice though which they offered after seeing that she wasn't eating...grateful for that and also for not letting us pay for the food we didn't eat! Still paid way too much at the end for mediocre food. read more

I love the seasonal menus that change. Amazing view well worth the price. Don't skip the fredricos! Everything is good and the wait staff is incredible read more

We are staying at the resort so we expected a typical hotel outlet - we were blown away by what we got. The view was second to none. The food was good bordering on great. I was just as impressed with the quality of the food items as I was disappointed by the finesse of the kitchen (poached eggs are supposed to be runny !!) read more

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Very fancy experience! Starting with the complimentary apps and finishing with special complimentary desserts. Everything in between was pretty special too. read more

Manta - Hawaiian Near Me - Kamuela, Hawaii

We booked a reservation and drove 45minutes because we were excited to see the Manta. Upon arrival the host told us there is only a 20 percent chance we would see them. (oh great). We decided to stay since we had a reservation. My husband ordered the $69 beef tenderloin with mashed potatoes. The steak was delicious, however the mashed potatoes were purple and he was pretty disappointed! He had chocolate cheesecake for dessert. It came out looking like dyed scrambled eggs with bread crumbs over it. Not bigger than a Twinkie :) it was so gross we didn't even finish it. I ordered the chicken breast but was told by our waiter that it would be dry so I changed my order to curry chicken. It was ok, too many raisins and over cooked eggplant, I ate about half of it. We spent about $200 on dinner and were not impressed. We asked our waitress and she said the Manta probably wouldn't come because of a previous hurricane. It's confusing because this is what they are famous for. Next, we were told they didn't have a light bulb. So.... the big highlight people drive to see at night, the same thing they include in their advertising, couldn't happen because they didn't have a back up plan. I'm sure some of the food must be good, just didn't happen for us. If you are going to see the Manta, I would suggest to park in "public beach parking" at the hotel (there are about 20 spots), and go to the restaurant, walk down the ramp to the overlook point, and you will be able to see the Manta for "free" (as long as the light is working) but I understand it's on a timer and goes off after sunset each night. You don't need to eat at the restaurant like we thought. read more

I brought three friends for a Sunday brunch, and we all had exactly what we wanted, lingered at the table outside with such a fabulous view. The service was excellent, highly recommend. read more

Outstanding food quality and amazing service! Can't wait to get back there. Get the table outside - you would love it. Welcome to paradise! read more

Manta was a mixed bag so I think three stars is appropriate. Let's start with the pros: incredible ambiance, especially if you sit outside. We were there at sunset and it was absolutely beautiful. The live jazz was excellent and really contributed to creating a lovely ambiance. The cats roaming the property were also super cool. Now for the cons: the service was poor. I definitely understand that with the pandemic, they may be short staffed so we were cool about slow service, failure to take one of our party's dessert orders, etc. It took about 20 minutes just to get drinks, but we were amused taking group pictures overlooking the ocean so that worked out okay. The food was fine, but not great and the portions were tiny. Even for "fine dining" the portions were comically small and overpriced. We had the rack of lamb and king crab. We requested medium rare for the lamb. The lamb was medium, but edible. The soufflés were pretty good and made from scratch in house. This was probably my favorite item! I think the most disappointing part of the meal was the bottle of Pinot noir we ordered. The server said they refrigerate the red wine because of the hot weather, which isn't acceptable. Chilling a bottle of red messes up the flavor profile. I'm not sure why a restaurant of this caliber doesn't have a wine fridge. Very strange. So, unfortunately, we didn't enjoy the bottle of wine we spent like $80 on. All in all, it was an okay dining experience with remarkable ambiance. Just don't expect to be blown away by the food or wine. Go for the views and the music! read more

This restaurant is great for a romantic dinner! Food and wine selections are great!! Theen dining concept allows you to dine out while watching the stars. There is also a spot to watch the manta rays. Great experience :) read more

Went here last week as the final dinner of our trip and wanted to love it so bad, but we left so disappointed. Pros- The view is beautiful and you can see the mantas in the evening, the Mai Tai and seafood platter were delicious, and the desserts were so good. Cons- service was nonexistent and the food was cold. My husband was brought out his steak, only for it to be taken away by our server because our other food wasn't ready. It was late at night and we were starving and when the food was finally brought out the mashed potatoes that came with the steaks were ice cold. The server forgot our crab fried rice and asparagus and when my husband reminded him, they were cold as well. We ordered sparkling waters for the table but the server never once refilled our glasses, I had to do it for us as well. Honestly, we saw all the tables around us being checked in on throughout the night while we were neglected. The server also took our almost full bottle of water away but thank goodness our busser brought it back. The busser was amazing by the way, wish he would've been our server. The manager, Thor, did manage to bring us some desserts to try and correct what was by far the worst dinner we had on the island. The only reason I am giving this place 3 stars instead of 1 was because of him, our fabulous busser, and the view. read more

Celebrated our anniversary at Manta & everything was spectacular. From the outdoor setting to their eclected wines by the glass options. Kaimi our server did great. GM Eric was more than thoughtful when accommodating our needs. This will become a ritual! read more

We made a reservation for 6:15 and it was still a bit sunny and warm. Next time would do a bit later. The restaurant is set above the Pacific Ocean, most of it is open air which is amazing. The service as perfection. Try the Kicking Mule served in a cool tiki mug. A+A+A+ the whole dinner was really beautifully prepared and very tasty. Would eat here again. Then take a still to the point to watch the huge Manta Rays come in for their dinner. read more

We where here with our Kids on our first visit to the Big Island (12) years ago. As empty nesters we tried it for a second time. It was amazing i would recommend coming early as last call is around 2PM. They validate the valet so why not laze around the beautiful beach after. The food was top quality fresh including the shasimi and prime rib. Come hungry it is all yiu can eat brunch. read more