Kona Grill - Baltimore — Restaurant in Baltimore

My office planned a 20+ prepaid set menu Christmas Luncheon with Kona grill. The email and planning of the event was only communicated via email and seemed at the time seamless. We booked, we picked the menu and WE PAID, gratuity included. We then came in the day before to verify our reservation and scope out where we may request being seated and alert them to us bringing our own decorations. We spoke with the hostess and she confirmed we had a reservation for tomorrow. We were then told we’d be in the main dining room which was honestly dated and stuffy. I saw the porch area and asked if we could be out there. We were told the porch is for prepaid parties only. We were very confused and stated we are a prepaid party. Especially since we were told that reservations for 20+ can only be prepaid and set menus (that is an important point). She was very nice and said she’d note our request. Party Day! We showed up 30 min early to pull decorations in and set the tables. When we arrived to no space set up and no space even properly cleaned. They began to move the tables together and had to pull the mop back out because the amount of dirt underneath the tables was painfully obvious. We stood by for 15 min while they mopped the floor with dirty water which left the floor sticky and were still kicking hairballs out of our way even after the “mopping”. Once we sat and guest began to arrive the waitress (who was great) came to take drink orders. She then asked if we needed menus. Why would she ask this if any party over 20 is set menus! (side note- other people were seated on the porch with not prepaid reservations near us which is opposite of what we were told). We very quickly stated the party was preset menu and pre paid. She looked very confused and spoke to who we thought was a manager. The manager then, 15 min later, came to pull myself and coworker from our party table to ask if we had any paper work on this event. We pulled up emails and receipts showing the details. This is while the whole party is looking at us with confusion knowing something has gone wrong. She then left my co worker and I sitting in the bar area waiting for her, for another 15 min, to find the paper work. This is now 30 min into our reservation and guests sitting at the tables awaiting the appetizers which were not coming out. When the manager finally returned she advised she found our packet and would get to work. We realized they had not communicated our reservations to the staff and they were not prepared for this event. The food began to come out, FINALLY, and it was clear the $45pp price was a rip off. The appatizers were good after they were served the staff was busy bringing out the main food so we had to clear our own table and passed dishes to one end to be taken away. We were served Ribs with Asian slaw. The Asian slaw "side dish" was not accessible as they plated the ribs (family style) on top of the slaw and utilized it as a garnish. The shrimp pasta had about 6 shrimp per bowl which was dismal and everyone was rationing the shrimp, the chicken sandwiches were not sandwiches but rather breaded chicken breast cut into strips on top of fries and no rolls were even provided to make into a sandwiches, their “seasonal vegetables” was just broccoli and the Mack and cheese was just unseasoned. Nothing about the meal was upscale restaurant quality and I’m sure I could have gone to a Golden Corral and gotten the same food and more of my monies worth. I’m saddened my office party was such an unorganized event. I’m mad the money we paid for an upscale sit down, Christmas party, event only made us a laughing stock. My first red flag should have been the dirty fish tanks walking in. Very disappointed...

*UPDATE JULY '25: (Please view last group of photos.) Initially WAS a strong 5 Star exp. Been here 2 or 3 more X's since 6/19 Review. Latest visit was HORRIBLE. I slipped up and forgot to Take PICS of everything (had a lot on my mind) which was a BIG Mistake. Take pix & Review everywhere U go esp places that's Not Cheap! When establishments See You Taking Vids & PICS I Notice Service & Food is 👍.

Given menu with NO Price$; I felt this was Deceptive & Shady: Waitress said that was what she had. Prices have of course increased. Barely any Customers. Unfortunately, arrived here with a friend be4 Happy Hour Discount Menu M-F starting 2pm. Although I've ordered from the Main Menu the 3 or 4 times I've been here so far. Almost empty around 1:30pm on a Summertime Wed yet Super SLOW Service. Then: Felt Rushed to Order (Waitress said Manager needed us Order; we had just sat Down 2 min ago) IT WAS PRACTICALLY EMPTY!

Waitress must have been New; very Sweet but: 4got my Drink, left it Sitting @ Bar; had to tell her after 20 min bec she was M.I.A. Drink was not as strong as other times. No extra napkins. Lettuce Wraps discounted $ bec they were almost OUT so I received a Pitiful, Child Sized Portion of Lettuce AND Filling. NOBODY TOLD ME THEY WERE ALMOST OUT OF LETTUCE WRAPS: WAITRESS JUST BROUGH SAD PORTION AND SAT IT IN FRONT OF ME...then Quickly Disappeared for a LONG Stretch of Time. Most ALL Drink choices & many Menu Items: "Sorry, We're Out." $6-8 extra for FOUR Small Shrimp? $30+ sumthn $'s for sum noodles? $40+ small piece of fish with chips?

Don't Mind Paying for Quality Food, Service, Experience, but THIS was NOT. Think I'll be taking A break from Kona. If you DO go would advise a visit on the Weekend or Evenings vs doing a Weekday early or mid afternoon.

6/19: Upscale Casual? Business Suit or Bermuda Shorts; as long as you Look Presentable, you will feel & be comfortable here. Absolutely DIVINE experience!❤️ Busy but no super long wait. Cute, Cozy restaurant. Very Diverse Menu choices: Something 4 Every1. Awesome Customer Service. Stopped past here with a friend of mines after a NICE Juneteenth Celebration @ Baltimore Museum of Industry. Caught the free Banner Route which stops right near Kona & the Inner Harbor. Dimmer lighting but not as dark as Cheesecake Factory. CLEAN. Not too cold or hot in there. Waiter asked if any food allergies before we ordered.

Food was GR8!; honestly, 1 of THE best (wagyu beef?) burgers I've ever had. Crispy fries. Everything came fresh & almost hot. Decent Enough Portion Sizes. Fabulous Presentation. Nothing was oversalted, esp the fries, like so many places are doing now. Ordered THE Tastiest Strawberry Margarita (Godbless whoever made it!); was gud & strong + not too sweet. Perfect amount of ice. Not watered down. My friend said her iced tea was Nice.✌️

Wait staff was attentive, without being a nuisance or intrusive. Omg Professional, Friendly, Patient, Very Welcoming Waiter; friend & I start talking for a while chillin' and we never felt rushed to order nor to finish our meal.

Quiet, peaceful vibe; not loud. Respectful guests/diners. Even staff coming to clear tables afterward were SO sweet & friendly. Hostess checking ppl in so sweet: young men on Waitstaff ALL so Very Nice & Helpful. Carrot Cake for Dessert was Fabulous: Moist, Tender; a REAL Carrot Cake like my Homeade 1's and enough to share.

Prices here are quite reasonable considering the Quality & Level of Service they give...And it doesn't seem Phony: Genuinely Cool Positive Vibes! They do have a Happy Hour Menu too with some DEALS. And they were Busy: Still Gave Phenomenal Service. Will most DEF be BACK.✌️Highly...

My family took my grandmother out for a big birthday and thought we got lucky that the Saturday before her birthday fell during Restaurant Week. Had the service matched the food quality, it would’ve been a fine experience and I could’ve given it a solid 4 stars, but that’s not what happened.

In total fairness to Kona Grill: the food was on the salty side, but generally tasty. My prime rib was cooked more than I ordered, but still very tender. My husband’s sweet chili glazed salmon was delicious. The sashimi was excellent, particularly the eel, which almost literally melted in my mouth. If you like sushi and have a lot of time to kill, it’s worth a visit for that alone. The double-stack brownie portion was very generous. The bathroom smelled like a combination of port-a-potty and weed, but visually seemed very clean.

The pros end there.

Our party of 7 sat down to a table with 4 sets of silverware, which wasn’t rectified until dinner was served and we asked for it specifically. 30 minutes after being seated, we were just getting our water, which was never refilled despite us asking for it and several cups being visibly empty. My daughter ordered orange juice as part of the kids meal, but the first one she received was fizzy and sour tasting like it was starting to ferment. I sent it back and asked that if they couldn’t fix the issue with the orange juice that they give her apple juice instead. Our server brought us an orange juice and an apple juice with the explanation that the orange juice should be better, but if not there was apple juice. I thought this was excellent service until we were charged for an extra juice.

It took, without exaggeration, at least an additional hour for any food to come out, and it was our appetizers and entrees simultaneously. Even still, we had to remind our server that some dishes were missing. This wasn’t down to a backup in the kitchen: nothing was warmer than slightly above room temperature; of the 3 of us who ordered prime rib, only 1 of us got the au jus that’s supposed to come with it; and the sweet and bleu salad was skimpy on bacon and had no pecans. Given how long it took to receive quite literally everything, it didn’t feel worth it to mention of this. It took 3 attempts for the server to bring us the correct number of boxes for our leftovers, plus at least another 40 minutes to order and receive dessert. We, again, didn’t have adequate silverware, but again, given the service thus far, we opted to share spoons. My son’s ice cream had the frosty, crunchy texture of ice cream that had melted and been refrozen. None of our dishes from any of the courses were ever cleared; we were left to stack them in the middle of the table ourselves to make some space to eat.

I would expect to be able to eat a meal and leave within an hour and a half; this took over 3, entirely due to the pace of the service. I’ve worked in food before and tend toward extending grace where earned, but it wasn’t even busy.

When it came time to pay the bill, there is a tablet on the table to offer paperless payment, which would’ve been cool if it had been loaded with our actual check instead of another party’s. We had to flag down our server, who left someone else’s tablet on our table while taking ours to elsewhere to fix it and never picked it back up.

I’m giving it 2 stars because I’ve absolutely had worse food before and I’m certain the hilariously terrible service will turn into a family joke eventually. However, I’m equally certain none of us will return to or...