Kona Kitchen - Seattle — Restaurant in Seattle

Pretty good portions here with tasty food. It can be a little salty but I personally enjoy the saltiness so it was fine. However, a few confusions (expanded on later) drop this spot from above average to average because we added money to lose food. Would be back but nothing made me crave this spot particularly, it's just a solid spot with solid food and solid portions but nothing spectacular.

We ordered the Waimea and added $2 to make a customized plate. This customization allows you to add 1 extra carb (rice, baked potato, mashed potatoes, or fries) and 1 salad (steamed veggies, green salad, or mac salad). However, when we received our order the original 2 scoops of rice and mac salad were replaced by fries and steamed veggies. We asked about this and were told that we substituted the rice and mac salad for the fries and veggies. This doesn't make sense because rice and mac salad are options, so I wouldn't pay $2 to get one scoop of rice over two and replace mac salad with mac salad.

This $2 price is also reflected in the receipt, so we were definitely charged to substitute food not add and ultimately, we're paying more for less food.

However, on the bright side, the meat in the Waimea was really good. The beef was sliced thinly as stated and very tender, so easy to chew. Also surprisingly flavorful as it didn't look saucy or anything. Alongside that, the katsu was tender and juicy as well.

Then the Lau Lau Plate was pretty good, but when they say Lomi Salmon, you kind of expect a fair amount of salmon. Instead, they mix it with pico de gallo on the side and it's barely any fish. There were like three tiny cubes of salmon that looked just like the small cuts of tomato. They may as well omit the salmon from the description because it's insignificant and irrelevant. The amount didn't enhance the dish at all so it really was just pork lau lau with rice and mac salad. If I knew this, I definitely would have ordered...

We ordered the Lau Lau Plate and the build your own Loco Moco. The Lau Lau pork was moist and delicious. The Lomi salmon and Mac salad are also delicious. We ordered the Loco Moco with fried rice, burger patty, spam, egg, and gravy. The combo was to die for. Portions were a reasonable size and we ended up with leftovers. We also ordered a piece of guava cake which was layered to perfection, moist, and had a delightful guava taste, it was not overly sweet. We also ordered a piece of haupia cake, I am not familiar with this cake version, I am only familiar with the Filipino hopia. This did not take away from the light and airy vanilla cake and light melt-in-your-mouth coconut frosting. The servers were attentive and quick. The entire establishment was busy.

The only unfortunate part was the cleanliness and upkeep of the restaurant. There was a heavy layer of dust on the faux plants hanging over our table, decor, and window coverings, the paneling was breaking that lined the walls, and the carpet and flooring were clearly in need of replacing/repairing/or cleaning, the bathroom (womens), had cobwebs coming from the ceilings and a layer of dust on top of everything. It's as though only the tables and chairs and counters tops were being regularly cleaned. For a restaurant this busy, it's just unfortunate to see it in this state. I did not post photos as I didn't want to take away from the delicious food. This did cause a...

I think this was Kona Kitchen's 1000th review (on Yelp)! Anyways, I've gone here ever since I was a little kid, and came here for several events whether it was a birthday party, family reunion, or just to have some good food during breakfast, brunch, lunch, and even dinner. I've really been here for many occasions , and I have always enjoyed the food here and I've had the same exact order throughout all these years.

I always enjoy eating inside because of the inviting and friendly environment, and it is really cool seeing all the autographs and pictures from different actors. Everyone is always so nice, and it is pretty clean inside as well. Just recently I ate inside for the first time in awhile, and there has been a couple of renovations that have been made from when I was a kid.

My usual order is the banzai pipe line with chicken, plus a side of fries. It is always spot on and amazing and is actually really filling. Honestly, the french fries have always been bomb as well, and they are always super crisp, and soft on the inside and have a really generous seasoning of salt. I can just snack on 'em all day. Then, the teri-beef is phenomenal too, I love the marinade on it, and the thin pieces all pack a lot of flavor.

I love the environment, and the food, and I always look foward to when we eat at Kona and I hope that they can stay open for when I have kids, and I can bring them here to enjoy some...