The Honu Restaurant and Tiki Bar — Restaurant in Dunedin

Ok, I've lived in Hawaii, so I've always been reluctant to come here. I moved up here from the Keys because of the pandemic. Judging from the front of the building, I've (personally) never found it appealing. Looked like any other cheesy "Hawaiian Themed" restaurant....in Florida. Already rubbed me the wrong way. (Florida isn't trying to be Hawaii, just Florida. I get territorial of my new homes 😜) I respect the Hawaiian's and their way and the Floridian's doing their way. Both of them no one else can pull off lol. However...... Finally came here with the dogs. I've heard lately from other sources who honestly raved about it. I finally agreed to come here. (I've worked in F$B (no pun tended) for 20 years all over the U.S, I get snobby after being spoiled. )) I WAS IMPRESSED! We sat out back , I didn't know there was a tiki garden or back. (With fans in the peak of summer, absolutely needed in the state of Florida at all times) and the VERY first thing I noticed was how CLEAN it was! The bar, the shelves, the fish net on the ceiling, the bar top! The tiki decorations, the taxidermy puffer fish (Florida fish species are hard to dust) and alllllll of this was outside! Open air, no garage doors, no screens, just straight Crazy Florida air at any time of the day! During hurricane season! Nothing had dust! Outside! Everything looked new. Under the bar matt on the glassware shelves, barstools. It didn't smell like rotten mildew coming from the drain pipes (common in outdoor Florida humid bars) and staff looked clean and like they showered! I was just in awe! Every job of employment I have had has strived for this but with low wages and seasonal areas...it gets last on everyone's list. No matter how popular or great of ratings it is. You would be surprised of the "amazing, fancy, first class and resorts" I've worked at and the first teammate I get introduced to is a rat or a cockroach. It's Florida y'all. This place has no reason to let them get free take out! After we finished Aloha Hour and our Dogs (babies) were greatly taken care of we were leaving. My friend who brought us there said she'll take the dogs inside so I can go take a look. Y'all, I said to myself, "screw the dogs next time, we're coming inside and drinking in the blasting A.C. next to my kind of people (skeletons 😉.) I had to snap chat this! I was sooo impressed of the floor to roof decor and Hawaiian Vibe! Honorable vibe 🤙 (I hope Y'all can see the emogi's in this Google review. If not, there's a wink by skeleton and a Shaka gesture after Hawaiian Honorable vibe) I was impressed with every corner I took (to the bathroom, I took detours.) And in the bathroom, I noticed how still, there was not a drop of dust. No streaky mirrors, gross markings on the toilet paper dispenser, doors or wall. The floor looked like it was freshly mopped (happy hour just ended and the full bar just left.) That's when it clicked in me. This owner cares about all this, and if they don't (bc in my experience the staff and managers do that.) But how do you get staff to do that for you if you don't hire a cleaning team? (You should just hire a cleaning team and not abuse your low hourly, non benefited loyal staff bc they don't meet "full time" requirements, unless you're those 1 of 100 employers)It's the staff and leadership that does that and ensures that. The owner can also if they have the same passion as their crew. Again, Good leadership! Always starts with great leadership. It reflects here very clearly! Sooo my "long story short" review is GOOD JOB TO EVERYONE WHO IS PAST AND PRESENT TO MAKE THIS DIFFERENCE! There is no ONE PERSON WHO CAN DO THIS! I don't leave reviews typically, and definitely not where the cleanliness over comes the Food and Beverage part.! Hands down impressed! Clearly exemplifies "a little today makes tomorrow easier! " Bravvvvoooooo staff!" This is true reflection on your hard work and loyalty! It may suck at times especially when you're on hour 14 and are "Clopening" but that's why people come...

While visiting my childhood hometown, I met my former high school Spanish teacher who is like my other mother, and now my friend, here for dinner. The ambience seemed ok when walking in. The server and hostess were super friendly and helpful.

"Mi otra madre"/friend got the Huli Huli chicken stack. She gave a 4/5 and enjoyed the meal. My son and daughter both got the kids cheeseburger. Both were cooked well to the requested temperature pretty accurately though my son said he has had better at a different restaurant earlier this week. The fries looked like they may have been at the end of the batch and they were given a small handful of fries. We had to order an extra side of fries which seemed better. Given he was disappointed in the serving size he rated his meal 2.5/5, but flavorwise he gave 3. My daughter rated it 4/5.

My husband got the Hawaiian BBQ Salmon. The flavor of the sauce was great, but the fish was overcooked which made it seem as if it could use another basting of sauce or more pineapple to give it more moisture. Adding more greens would have added to the flavor and contrast that was needed to help balance the flavors more as well. In the end he stated that it looked better in the picture than it tasted.

I debated between the pu pu platter and the Fire Dancing Island plate but upon the recommendation from our server chose the latter. The flavors were good with succulent shrimp and bits of chicken. They went well with the combination of peppers, pineapple and onions which has always been one of my favorite flavor combinations. However, the most blaring problem of the dishes containing rice was the rice itself. Sushi rice should be plump, shiny, sticky, fluffy but with a firm bite. However, it was glaringly obvious in our meals that the ratio of water to rice was not well measured (by cup or by knuckle). It was even questionable as to if the rice was rinsed well prior to cooking. This step is key to rinse off the extra starch that would affect the texture of the rice. This major error of technique or basic knowledge greatly detracted from the experience, making it hard to get past it to fully enjoy the flavors of the rest of the dish.

For dessert the kids split the Kona coffee brownie while my husband and I split the pineapple upside down cake. The brownie was a good brownie and although the kids were happy, I expected to have more coffee flavor than it did given its name. The pineapple upside down cake had a cake that was dense: so dense in fact that there was no flavor of the pineapple juice seeping into the cake. Additionally, although I forgot to take pictures of dessert, I will say the caramelization that is key to this particular cake was lacking. Only a little of the caramelization could be found at the edge of the cake (so I would say we were lucky to get an edge slice of the cake, otherwise I would not have been able to taste it at all.) The flavor of the cake, though I would say far from exemplifies a pineapple upside down cake, was ok, but parts of the cake were warm around the edges while the middle of the slice was cold. This is likely due to the pound-cake-like density of the cake making it difficult to properly warm the cake. Reworking of the recipe could make this cake far more enjoyable and pleasing to the palate.

Overall my rating for the meal would have been 2.3/5 but because of the service and company at the table, I would...

My family and I visited the Honu for their Halloween "party" which was not actually a party at all, just a standard night with decorations.

We waited for nearly 2 hours to be seated (which I do not fault the restaurant for) during which time I had a single, very weak but nonetheless tasty drink.

After being seated I made the mistake of ordering a salad instead of a sandwich. After taking a single bite and expressing my dissatisfaction several members of my group (restaurant professionals themselves) convinced me that it would be fine to exchange it especially considering how long we waited.

I was quite apologetic when speaking with our server, Nick (who was excellent by the way) explaining my stupid mistake and asking for a replacement.

Upon receiving the bill there were two charges for fries. The burger comes with fries as a side. Since they had brought fries with the salad I told them I didn't need a second order Since the burger comes with fries and since the order was being exchanged there should have been no charge for fries...but there were 2 charges. Hesitantly, I decided to mention it and have the charges removed from the bill. Everything seemed fine...until Kim (the owner) showed up. She was extremely rude right from the start despite my deference and claimed that I had eaten all the meat from the salad before exchanging it. I had a SINGLE bite of the salad.

Two of my party members reviewed Kim's service and her replies were full of outright lies claiming that I was clearly intoxicated (though I had been drinking water the entire night after having just a single lightly poured drink hours prior), that we had berated her and the server, that we had called her "stupid" to other staff members and several other falsehoods.

I'm still not sure if Kim actually believes these things took place or if she is simply lying to protect her interests, or perhaps some combination thereof.

I'm interested to see how she responds to this review. No doubt it will be with more lies, which she has clear motivation for. I and my family have no motivation to lie. Or perhaps she'll try to take the "higher" ground...we'll see.

The more interesting part of all this is that it's not often that I deal with deceitful/deranged and simply angry people, so admittedly her response to me and my group had me a bit stirred up, but as I often remind myself, every challenge is an opportunity for growth. Why should I let such a miserable person affect my emotional wellbeing?

I can understand someone having a bad night, but as the days progressed and Kim continued to lie and spew venom, it's clear that there are real moral and/or emotional issues at play.

5 stars for Nick, no stars and much...