The Bistro at Waikoloa Luxury Cinemas — Restaurant in Hawaii

I was having a good day but after I ate here I ended up feeling awful.

Good food is easily spoiled by poor service. In which, that is what I experienced. We had the Older Lady with the Red Hair as our server. Never even caught her name.

Once she opened the option for drinks I asked if there were any Ciders. She recommended the Dragon Fruit Lychee Cider. (Didn't check ID btw) "Sounds delicious." I thought. But, unfortunately, it didn't suit my palate. So I set the drink aside and waited for her return.

"I'm sorry, I cannot drink that." pointing to the drink as soon as she comes to check on us. She responds with "Why?" as one typically does. "It tastes 'Beer-y'" I said because I didn't get any notes of Dragon Fruit or Lychee but a severe and bitter taste of yeast. My dad, too, had a taste of the cider and agreed with me. (You should've seen him wince when he tried it.) Not her fault that the drink she recommended didn't suit my tastes... But it's the next part that has daunted me since and lingered well after getting home.

She grimaced at me, "Well, It IS a Cider..." she says with, what I felt, was a condescending tone. "But... OK..."

She does ask if I want something else. But after making a comment like that... "No. I'm fine with water now." She takes the drink and leaves.

We get our meals. Tuna Melt for me, Fish Tacos for my dad. They're fine. I honestly should've tried the tacos as they did look good. I noticed our waitress is now keeping distance from us. Whenever she did come by she directed her attention mostly to my dad.

The nail in the coffin, the drink was still tacked onto the bill! 9$ for a sip of a drink I did not like. This upset me. More upset that now my dad covered the bill and that extra charge, I feel, was my fault.

I don't want to go to a restaurant that displays such incompetency and sour behavior and as well makes me feel bad about myself because I didn't like something then charges me for it.

A. We're in a pandemic and lots of businesses need customers to stay afloat. This is not how you keep locals returning and reviews like this will deter tourists from coming. B. This is a Resort area. The Expectations for the service received is well above that of a Denny's. C. Every Customer has their own distinct palate. Do NOT make a snarky remark because of how I describe the flavor. A simple "I'm Sorry to hear that, can I get you something else instead?" Would've changed this entire...

We had pupus and drinks for the 1st time here. Made a reservation for 7 pax at 5p. Was told on the phone that for that size party it would have to be earlier than 530 or after 7p. 4 of us arrived at 5. We were celebrating a birthday, so we asked if we could add 2 more chairs and a table if possible. The busser didn't hesitate and said sure let me check with the server. So they added a table n chairs. When our next party of 3 arrived they were rudely greeted by a (hostess)manager, once they mentioned the name she started to tell them that they better be done by so n so time because the next group needs that table...blah blah blah. Our guests were basically 'ambushed' having no idea what she was talking about. When our other guests arrived, they were met by the other Hostess with no problems. As several of us are hospitality professionals, we were frustrated on how our guests were (mis) treated. When confronting the manager, she tried to justify her stance. However, I told her she acted in an unprofessional manner and that the problem on how her employees handled it is not our problem and that she was rude to our guests. She did apologize, but it was not genuine and she just walked away. 75% of us are business owners and there is a standard that we ourselves live by. However, thanks to our wonderful server...she may have redeemed us. But some of us have exclaimed, "I'm never coming back here!" Did I tell you that we're local too. Food was good, but that experience left a bad taste in our mouths! FYI rude lady, we were videoing you for evidence and training purposes! So that we may teach on...

We came here last night starving after we watched the Wednesday night weekly free luau in the Waikoloa Village plaza area. We were so hungry after a day spent exploring the volcanoes and needed something to eat. We went inside and the inside really wowed us- beautiful, dim lighting, tropical, lots of lush plants everywhere. It was really spectacular and you could feel the cool island breeze as you sat there.

I ended up getting an Island Chica off the bat because it looked so appetizing and it was so refreshing! Absolutely delightful, light and crisp and refreshing with tequila, coconut cream, lime, and some other liquor (orange maybe?). It was delicious and really hit the spot. I was between the Beet, Goat Cheese, and Avocado salad but got the Island Harvest which has cajun grilled shrimp, local greens, candied pecans, oranges, and some strawberry dressing. It was absolutely amazing. I walked away perfectly satiated after a long day of travel and would not have added or subtracted anything. The portions are GENEROUS! Honestly everyone was raving about what they got and nobody left hungry or disappointed. We all kept marveling and raving that we needed to leave reviews, so I decided to hop on here today and leave one. I would highly recommend this place and may even come by again before the trip ends.

Super friendly wait staff and right across from our villas where we are staying, so we just walked on home. It was a lovely night all in all and I can't wait to return and have that salad...