Island Lava Java

Island Lava Java has been our favorite place to eat in Kona. We’ve come here most days during our visit and have had both breakfast and lunch here. They have an ample coffee bar with matcha and chai options. I had a matcha latte with ube cold foam, life changing. For breakfast we had the luau scramble with Portuguese sausage and potatoes (pictured). It was extremely delicious and the portions are generous. For lunch we had the fresh fish sandwich. It was so good we’ve have it multiple times, once with a white fish and the other with the ahi tuna. Both were great but the ahi tuna was my favorite. All ingredients were super fresh and so tasty. The staff have been incredibly kind. The view from the restaurant really can’t be beat. We saw a pod of dolphins the whole time we were there for brea

We went to check out a place that was recommended by our Wasabi tour guide Felix and we were not disappointed! Food was great, portions were huge and service was very good! We wanted to try cocktails and they were well made - exactly as they should be! Bloody Mary was spicy, perfect for brunch! Hana Hou was on the sweeter, more refreshing side (could be dangerous). Burger was tasty and fries were pretty crispy and well seasoned. Island benedict is a must for the start of a good day! And we got an amazing upside down pineapple French toast as a dessert. Definitely worth checking out!

We went for both dinner and breakfast on our trip to the Big Island and as far as restaurants go this was our highlight. The atmosphere, being right by the ocean on Ali'i drive, was superb. We spent dinner looking out at the setting sun and breakfast looking out at the morning boaters. Service was excellent. They kept coming back to check on us, and were able to provide suggestions based on my wife's questions. I thoroughly enjoyed the coconut shrimp for dinner, but the real highlight for me was the island style pancakes. They were soft and fluffy and smothered in tons of mac nuts, bananas and coconut syrup. Highly recommend the pancakes island style if you're going to go for breakfast.

My food was fantastic, sweet potato fries and ribs. My wife's food was meh. The steak was nothing special... cold drinks though. Also, Derrick was probably the best bartender we met on the island. Very friendly and knowledgeable. Place has good views when facing the sea but we sat at the bar which was all we wanted at the time.

We ended up at Lava Java after a change of plans, and the smoked ribs we saw on the way in were too tempting to pass up. The food was delicious—those ribs were fantastic, and we enjoyed a beet salad to start. The only hiccup was that all the food came out extremely quickly—almost assembly line—and our cocktails were forgotten until we reminded them twice. The server was apologetic, but the timing felt a bit off. That said, once we settled in, we really did enjoy the meal, the atmosphere, and the sunset. We’d give it another try!