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Swirl Tea

4.0 (98 reviews)
Open • 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Swirl Tea Photos

Business Info

SWIRL TEA ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Dogs allowed

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Recommended Reviews - Swirl Tea

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I forgot sorry...
Firstname L.

Out of almost all of the boba places in Hawaii, this one comes on top. The boba's have a great texture, and the drink itself isn't too sweet. Like many boba places in Taiwan, you can choose your ice & sweetness levels. The drinks came out extremely quickly, with very small wait time, and the architecture is quite cozy. Love it!

Pebble Party
Déja T.

Decided to stop here after seeing photos of banana cream pie ice cream that looked sooo good, but when I arrived it, and other drilled ice creams that are showcased here and on their facebook page (though, hasn't been pictured since Jan 2023 on Facebook), were nowhere to be found on the menu. I decided not to give up, and to get something else since I was already here and drove this way during my vacation. I love fruity pebbles, so I went for the Pebble Party milkshake. Full of sugar to no surprise, and I was decently happy with it since it was pretty tasty! The price point was a bit high for what it was, but the decorations are cute. My only grip on the milkshake would be that texture-wise, I wish it wasn't as strongly blended so there is a bit more of the cereal texture and less of a gritty, sandlike texture.

Crème brûlée bubble tea and Ube coconut blends with boba Both were delicious!
Jen B.

The only reason for four stars instead of five was that it was a little chaotic inside... Honestly everything else was great... service was good, drinks were good, and the place was relatively clean for how busy it was.

Coconut cream and ube soft serve
Diana H.

Got ube and coconut cream! Really good! Would come here again next time i vacation here

Passion fruit with lychee jelly
Piper H.

Super cute shop! Nice people and great tea!!! I got the passion fruit with lychee jelly!

Store front
Dang L.

Decent milk tea. Got the taro coconut blended shake too and it was ok. Wished it was real taro. Saw that they had don ice cream shake too. Maybe I will get that next time and it will be better.

Ben Y.

Maybe i'm jaded by SoCal prices but my order came out cheaper than expected. The egg waffle cone ice cream concoctions are great. I got the smores one and it was on point. 1 order is definitely enough for 2 or maybe 3 people. It's way too much for 1 person.

Banana Pie Ice Cream (from their signature menu)
Ana C.

Coming from So-Cal, I feel like I can say I know my way around the boba and ice cream shops. This place definitely can keep up with the mainland and they are just so friendly! We got the Brown Sugar Boba (forgot to take a picture because we inhaled it so fast) and the Banana Pie ice cream (pictured). The boba was perfectly chewy and soft (I hate hard rubbery boba!) and you could tell their brown sugar is ACTUALLY REAL brown sugar (none of that fake stuff). My husband couldn't have enough of their Banana Pie ice cream - it was clean and rich with fresh bananas! Usually cheap ice cream leaves a greasy film, but this places uses the good stuff -- worth every penny. We came back for seconds before leaving this beautiful island and definitely will come back when we visit again :) Mahalo!!! And bonus: I love that they support local businesses with their mini setup next to the cashier.

Cookie monster
Kelsey T.

Tried 3 different drilled signatures and they were all really good! It was a cute place & we want to go back for boba and more ice cream! It was quick too!:)

Main lobby area
Rosemary P.

Always a good place to get your ice cream or boba or slushes! They specialize in ice creams with cereal toppings. A great twist to an age old breakfast anytime concept. But if you are not into ice cream, then the boba here is authentic to its Taiwanese roots. This is the go to spot for a quick cold drink fix. The only reason for the four stars and not five is because you will be paying about $7 plus tax for these - which is kinda' steep for a drink...

Kona Coffee Milkshake
Savannah R.

I visited Swirl Tea to order the Kona Coffee Milkshake. The milkshake was tasty, creamy, and flavorful. The only thing was that it was expensive ($15). I usually never pay this much for a blended drink, but it was somewhat worth it.

Menu as of 3/18/21
Jessica S.

I've been hearing the hype of this place recently and decided to give it a go when I finally went to Kona. This review is mainly on their drinks vs. the ice cream. It's located in Lanihau Center at the end of the center. There's a bright white sign that cannot be missed. Ample parking spaces that won't ever be a problem. I was on the fence between the classic milk tea and lilikoi tea. I asked the cashier for his recommendation between the two and got the lilikoi tea with half sweetness. The tea looked really promising when it came out until I took a sip. It was REALLY watered down as if I was just drinking flavored water. My friends tried their green milk tea with half sweet (more watery than mine; friend could not take more than 3 sips before tossing), honeydew milk tea (watery but okay), and the brown sugar with boba (prob the best especially the boba which was sweet and chewy but drink was still a bit watery). The boba here is definitely not a favorite of ours here. BUT the service was great. The workers informed us that they had to wait for hot water to boil (red flags already there) but they gave us 10% off coupons for the wait. SO NICE! Another friend got their shortcake ice cream. The ice cream was big! We watched one of the workers put the ice cream through this machine to make it soft serve kind. I think this was the best dessert experience we had here aside from the customer service. Highly recommend getting the ice cream (though a bit on the pricier side)! I feel like I would like to try their milkshake the next time. If you want to try the boba, be warned that it is more on the watery side.

Bubble waffle with Nutella and whipped cream
Brooke V.

I've been here twice and they just opened! First time I got iced taro bubble tea and the second one I got the bubble waffle with Nutella and whipped cream. The shop is clean, good vibe, the menu outside while you wait is very detailed so you know what you want by the time you get into the shop (social distancing only a few people allowed inside at a time). The boba was great consistency! Loved the tea, looking forward to when they start offering the blended ice option. They do however offer less sugar options. The bubble waffle was also delicious, big enough to share. I think next time I would get less Nutella and more whipped cream but all in all love this spot. So happy they decided to come to our town!! Highly recommend!!

Ube

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18 days ago

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2 years ago

Fast, friendly service, and the fruit slushes we had really hit the spot! Whatever you feel like having...they've got you covered!

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4 years ago

This place is meh. Bubble tea wasn't fresh. Don't think I'll be back. It wasn't great. I've had better.

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2 years ago

Work hours till 9pm, they closed at 8.50pm, didn't let me order, but let a family next on the lane make an order

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Ask the Community - Swirl Tea

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808 Grindz Cafe - Short rib Moco

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4.3(1.8k reviews)
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We landed in Kona mid-morning and the wife wanted breakfast, namely pancakes. Again not familiar…read morewith too many places in Kona. Of course Google saved the day. Found this place was open till 1 pm and they served pancakes. Nice, because the alternative would have been Denny's...no thanks! Nice little hole in the wall where you order at the window and they serve you your food at the table. I ordered the Seafood omelet and a side of Macadamia Nut Pancakes, wife ordered the Boneless Short Rib plate. My only gripe was the pancakes only came with maple syrup and not a macadamia sauce, which we had to buy separate. I was used to having the sauce come with the pancakes at a certain restaurant in Kailua, Oahu, so this was a bit unexpected. But the food was well prepared and tasty. It was really good! So good we came back the next day to have breakfast again. Only this time it was Adobo Fried Rice. We brought two plates for me and the wife which we soon regretted because my wife could not finish hers since the portions were really big. Should've have shared just one. Another place to add to our go to list to eat when we come back to visit Kona.

We went in on a Saturday morning @ 8 am. It was empty…read more Parking- There is plenty of parking because it is on a strip mall. There are tables inside and outside. When you go in, you order at the cashier and they give you the food in To Go Containers whether you are going to eat in or out. I ordered the 808 Grindz Moco and it was delicious. 10/10 The Gravy was good and the rice too. They have soda cans for $2.50 each. I would return.

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Kalikala Cuisine - The French toast with their special sauce made from lilykoi, it was really good. Came also with eggs and bacon.

Kalikala Cuisine

4.2(692 reviews)
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Okay. Sometimes you stumble on a restaurant that ticks every single box. Kalikala Cuisine is that…read moreplace. To begin, the greeting from Richard was welcoming, informative, and made us feel like we were visiting long-missed family friends. Once seated, the ambiance was open and comfortable, and of course, the view is beautiful. Our server, CC, was genuinely friendly and efficient despite being the only server on the floor AND shadow training a new server as well. She is skilled managing the floor! Now, as to the food.....I cannot praise it enough. The Brunch menu had a variety of options that made our choices difficult. We opted for the Lilikoi French Toast and it was fabulous. Truly memorable. We also tried the Banana Bread and it was heavenly. We were told that the everything on menu is house made, and I can say that this level of care shows. While we didn't get the chance to try any other menu items, we did watch the Salmon Eggs Benedict being served to several diners near us - it was a beautifully plated dish and we overheard rave reviews. Adding to the comfort was a musician playing guitar and singing beautifully. Frequently, he shared interesting local tidbits and stories about the songs he chose. Our party agreed that returning to Kalikala Cuisine is an absolute MUST when we get back to Kona. A big Hell Ya!

This spot absolutely delivers on island vibes--if you're seated overlooking the busy street and…read moreocean, the view is beautiful and makes for a great breakfast setting. The overall experience felt lively and relaxed, and even the little geckos running along the railing trying to sneak a sip of syrup added a fun, memorable touch. That said, the food didn't live up to the setting. While everything tasted fresh and the presentation (especially the avocado toast) was beautiful, it was surprisingly lacking in flavor. It honestly felt like the island ran out of salt and seasoning--very bland for how fresh it was. Overall, a great place to sit, relax, and soak in the view, but unfortunately the food was the weak point.

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Kalikala Cuisine - Antique carved horse.

Antique carved horse.

Kalikala Cuisine - French toast is indeed best you've ever had!!

French toast is indeed best you've ever had!!

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Big Island Grill - Super loco moco

Big Island Grill

4.2(1.4k reviews)
0.3 mi
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Went for breakfast with a group of 5 (2) of have lived in Kona for (7) months. Walking in I saw the…read moreawards for 2025 #1 in Big Island of Hawaii for breafast and family restaurant. Definitely not disappointed although the locals recommended the macadamia pancakes, I went with the steak & eggs 9oz New York strip, which come with a nice of side I choose hasbrowns but added an addressed of stir fried vegetables.(25$) before the additional side. Good Value. The steak was cooked to order perfectly medium rare as ordered, same as the over easy eggs. The service was both friendly quick your coffee never got cold between top offs and the servers all had smiles. Definitely recommended!

Big Lines, Big Portions!…read more We chose this breakfast spot, and overall it was a decent experience, though not a memorable one. We waited about 15 minutes to be seated, which was fine. My husband ordered the loco moco with coffee, and I ordered the macadamia nut pancakes with POG juice. In hindsight, we probably should've ordered just one dish to share. Portions here are very large, and lately we've learned that ordering less is smarter for us, both to avoid wasting food and money. I completely forgot about that in the moment. The pancakes came as two large pancakes, and I wasn't able to finish them. I kept them simple, no extra toppings. They came with butter and syrup on the table. The pancakes themselves were fine, but a bit dry. They relied a lot on the butter, and I personally didn't love it because it was salted butter, while I prefer regular unsalted butter. Nothing bad, just not something I'd crave again. My husband's loco moco was actually enjoyable overall, but we didn't like the chicken katsu substitution. It was completely soaked in gravy, which made it lose all crunch. If you order loco moco here, I'd recommend sticking with the classic beef patty instead of substituting, since anything breaded will likely lose its texture in the sauce. In the end, we weren't upset, but we also weren't especially impressed. The food was solid, portions were generous, and it felt like a reliable, filling breakfast spot, just not a standout one.

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Big Island Grill - Seating area

Seating area

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Swirl Tea - desserts - Updated May 2026

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