Laniakea Café — Restaurant in Hawaii

Okay… Soooo… The Kona Airport “Restaurant”. How to describe? Well, the nice thing is that it has AC, so there’s that. And they do have a pretty good selection of local beers on draft, served pretty cold, which was a welcome surprise. But other than that, that’s about the limit of the kind things I can say.

Basically, this “restaurant” consists of you standing in one long line that wraps around the perimeter of the the small space where as you come up to various display cases, you pick up what food or drinks you would like, and then slooooooowly (and I do mean slowly) make your way up to the front where you get to pay for them.

But wait! You want a beer to go with your overcooked made from frozen cardboard pizza, you say? Not so fast! Now you get to go stand in another line for your beer (although fortunately that line moves a little bit more quickly). Note to self: while the food can be taken outside of the restaurant, all alcohol must be consumed inside the restaurant. Just a “good to know” piece of info before you purchase.

In total, I spent about 25 mins waiting on line (no lie) for the worst tasting pizza I’ve ever had. I was quite literally starving and knew I wasn’t getting anything to eat on my 5 1/2 hour flight back home, so I tried my best to eat a few bites. But most of it was so overcooked and hard that I was afraid I was going to break another tooth (but that’s a different story and another review). Although if that happens and you live anywhere in the Portland metro area, I’ve got a great dentist for ya. ;)

Final words, unless you’re just running in for just a beer that you’re okay drinking it inside the restaurant standing up against the back wall, don’t even bother. You’re going to spend a lot of time waiting around for food that isn’t even close to sub par. You’d be better off checking out the granola bars at the newsstand...

Firstly, I'd like to acknowledge the fact I am reviewing "airport food." That being said I also understand some airports have some of the most amazing dishes I've ever had.

Facility: The setup and cleanliness of the facility was what you would expect for a venue designed to get people in and out qs they make flights or travel in and around gates. I didn't see any notable problems with seating or cleanliness of tables/countertops.

Pricing: The prices for here are through the roof and definitely capitalize on being the only restaurant past airport security.

Food: I ordered a pretzel, fries, and a philly cheese steak sandwich. The sandwich was $11.00 and was poorly portioned. The meat was placed on a hotdog bun, mixed with cheese and a sauce that tastes like a sloppy Joe mix. The meat itself had a good texture and the sauce complimented the dish. Again, I wish the portion sizing and bread choice made it feel worthy of $11. The fries had a great crunch to it, but it tasted like it was fried in the same oil as some of their fish dishes, which is a no no.

Service: The staff was very nice to me and the timing of my order to table was quick.

Conclusion: If you're hungry and need a quick bite, this is a good place to enjoy small things and finger food. If you could wait to get to Maui or Oahu, save your money for something that you can get the best bang...

The ABSOLUTELY most rude people on the Big Island, especially the bar tender, who I tipped $9 on top of $11 Mai Tai, before the following happened (I'd give negative stars if possible). I bought four $5 waters ($20) for my kids to drink in AC while I had a $20 Mai Tai, with intent to buy more as we waited for departure. Bartender came to our table after I was just 2-3 sips into my drink and told my daughter, who was resting her head on table, and said to us "this is a bar, no sleeping on tables".... What does that even mean? It's not just a bar? I searched for someone to complain to, then reviewed the bad comments / reviews over 2+ years and realized it was pointless, the management and ownership of this place just don't give a **. I travel 100s of thousands of miles a year, 100s of airports worldwide, and I'd never recommend anyone to come through this airport again, because this is the only place to stop in before a flight and the staff are obviously anti tourists. Big Island and all her people rock, the Laniakea Cafe at Kona Airport, do not. Avoid at all cost until ownership fixes the problems with staff.... In my opinion, and many others...