Nine places, numbered the way they appear on our map: five at or beside Kawaihae Harbor, three dining rooms on the resort coast to the south, and one upcountry in Waimea. Each has its own page with location, the style of food or events, a short history and practical visitor notes.
We picked places that are real, established and worth the drive, from a fish counter to a celebrated farm-to-table room. We are not paid by any of them. Where a place has changed hours, moved or closed in the past, we say so; always check current details before you set out. Café Pesto's former Kawaihae location, for example, closed some years ago and is no longer on the map.
At the harbor
Pins 1–5 · walking distance or five minutes from the piers
Seafood Bar & Grill
Upstairs harbor-side bar and grill on Akoni Pule Highway
61-3642 Akoni Pule Hwy (Route 270), Kawaihae, beside the harbor
Hale Iʻa Da Fish House
Fish market and poke counter where the menu follows the morning catch
Akoni Pule Hwy, Kawaihae (around the harbor shopping area)
Kohala Burger & Taco
Burgers, tacos and a pineapple whip in the Kawaihae Harbor Shopping Center
Kawaihae Harbor Shopping Center, 61-3665 Akoni Pule Hwy, Kawaihae
Anuenue Ice Cream & Shave Ice
The harbor's shave ice window, with ice cream for the indecisive
Kawaihae Harbor Shopping Center, Akoni Pule Hwy, Kawaihae
Puʻukoholā Heiau & Spencer Beach Park
Festival grounds, picnic tables and the most important view in Kawaihae
Just south of Kawaihae Harbor, off Route 270 near the Route 19 junction
Resort coast
Pins 6–8 · ten to fifteen minutes south on Route 19
Manta at Mauna Kea Beach Hotel
Oceanfront Pacific Rim dining above Kaunaʻoa Bay
Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Kaunaʻoa Bay, a few minutes south of Kawaihae
CanoeHouse at Mauna Lani
Japanese-inspired island cooking beside the Kalāhuipuaʻa fishponds
Mauna Lani, Auberge Resorts Collection, 68-1400 Mauna Lani Dr area, Kohala Coast
Brown's Beach House at the Fairmont Orchid
Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine, torches and slack-key at sunset
Fairmont Orchid, Mauna Lani resort area, Kohala Coast
Upcountry
Pin 9 · about twenty-five minutes uphill in Waimea
Merriman's Waimea
The upcountry room where Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine began
65-1227 Opelo Rd, Kamuela (Waimea), up Route 19 from Kawaihae
Table notes filed under Places
- What Changed on the Kawaihae Harbor Dining Strip Harbor dining, then and now: closures, survivors and what to check before you go
- Eating Well on Hoʻokuʻikahi Festival Weekend How to plan food around the August cultural festival at Puʻukoholā Heiau
- How to Order at a Hawaiʻi Fish Counter Without Feeling Lost Weights, styles, freshness questions and the cooler rule
- Timing a Sunset Dinner on the Kohala Coast, Season by Season When the sun actually sets, where it lands, and how to book around it
- Packing a Beach Picnic from the Kawaihae Harbor Counters A shopping list, a cooler plan and the best shade near the harbor