Don the Beachcomber

Comments about Don the Beachcomber

tropicsdiver

tropicsdiver has visited Don the Beachcomber.

June 16, 2019, 9:27 AM

This is the type of place you really WANT to like, but they really make it difficult. A tiki bar in paradise...what's not to like? Plenty. I've been on several occasions really hoping my prior experience was just an off night. Nope. The service is lackluster at best, the drink choices are just ok. Do yourself a favor and go next door to Huggos on the Rocks. Great vibe, great views, but go early to get a table for sunset!

Whaia-Muri

Whaia-Muri has visited Don the Beachcomber.

June 4, 2019, 1:09 PM

Visited last year right after going to the Huntington Don's in California.

Like most people have said, it was just ok. The restaurant was pretty cool, but on the whole this place really misses the mark. Went to the bar right outside the restaurant. Drinks were well... I knew I was getting into.

But then...

I mentioned having just been to the Huntington Don's and the bartender dismissively told me they didn't know what they were doing. Ridiculous. That comment alone will keep me from returning...

beachleech

beachleech has visited Don the Beachcomber.

April 30, 2018, 12:41 AM

I mean... it�s what I expected. Does it feel like a classic? Not really. Does it feel like it may have been cool at some point in its life span? Maybe.

We went for happy hour the $6 mai tai was pretty bleh, it didn�t have pineapple/orange juice but every mai tai I�ve ever made at home beats it. Since I was in Kona I couldn�t NOT go, and I�m glad I paid my respects to Don, but I feel no needn�t to go back. Great views of the ocean and solid tiki collection, but not necessarily a place I�d hang out at if I lived nearby.

Tikichef

Tikichef has visited Don the Beachcomber.

March 19, 2018, 3:19 PM

We always look for the best Mai tai on the islands when we are on vacation. We tried 5 different locations. The night we were at Don The Beach comer in Kona it was sadly the worst mai tai we had.

Tiki Grabowski

Tiki Grabowski has visited Don the Beachcomber.

April 14, 2017, 2:18 PM

We recently went to Don the Bachcomber's while recently in Kona for vacation. We went on a Tuesday and although the restaurant was closed (only open Thursday-Sunday) we sat at the Don's Mai Tai bar area which overlooked the beautiful Pacific Ocean. While the food menu at the Mai Tai bar is not as inpressive or as good as the Don's in Huntington Beach, the drinks were fantastic. I had a 1944 Mai Tai that was made woth 23 year old rum as well as a Pele's Volcanic Mai Tai. The 1944 Mai Tai was good but seemed to lack the kick of a traditional Mai Tai. The Pele's was different but very good. Seemed to have a little extra kick at the end. My wife tried the Green Flash which she enjoyed and our daughter tried the Mango Tango which she enjoyed as well. We will definitely go again on our next trip to Kona which hopefully will happen when the restaurant portion of Don's is open so we can try the food there.

TikiTravis

TikiTravis has visited Don the Beachcomber.

October 29, 2016, 1:20 PM

This was our final meal/drink visit before flying back to DC. Make no mistake, it's a hotel restaurant/bar. And the gift shop was CLOSED at 5pm on a Saturday night?!?

However, the food and drinks were fantastic, and the tiki was plentiful. It's an homage to Donn Beach, and it's a good one.

Tiki Hayrani

Tiki Hayrani has visited Don the Beachcomber.

July 18, 2016, 3:30 PM

When we recently went to Hawaii, we stayed here and frequented this place. I was pleasantly surprised by the place, especially how good the drinks were - among the best-made Tiki drinks of any place I have been to in the last 20 years, and with an excellent selection of real classics and different ones. They had a zombie that tasted pretty much the way a real Don the Beachcomber zombie should - a definite hint of Pernod (or the equivalent), among other things, and the Three Dots and a Dash was excellent, as well. The decor was great with a central giant Tiki statute holding up the roof, other tikis, and a nice location right on the water with plenty of great views.

Kukuthi

Kukuthi has visited Don the Beachcomber.

November 30, 2012, 12:27 PM

Don's is set in a really nice setting. We sat on the lanai next to the ocean. They have a outdoor covered bar with plenty of tiki's watching over you getting hammered. The ambiance was hard to beat.
My only complaint was the drink menu. Everything was based off the mai tai. Don't take my critiki wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a mai tai. I ordered a mai tai-rita and my wife ordered a navy grog. The only difference I could tell between the 2 was the -rita had tequila in it and the grog had rum. They both looked the same, came in the same hurricane style glass and had the same garnishes. Maybe it was an off night for the bartender when we were there. Also we ordered the tuna which was only suppose to be seared, but it came to us fully cooked all the way through.
Tuna, you disappoint.

Wiki Tiki

Wiki Tiki has visited Don the Beachcomber.

July 28, 2012, 12:35 PM

This is not an historical Don the Beachcomber's. The name was licensed by another company, which launched this bar in the Royal Kona Resort a few years ago. The Okolemaluna Tiki Lounge is far superior, in my opinion, although DtB's has a more extensive food menu. The Kona DtB's makes one important contribution to tiki culture by hosting an annual mai tai contest in the summer.

Tiare

Tiare has visited Don the Beachcomber.

March 4, 2012, 4:26 PM

We only drank at the Mai Tai bar but I peeked into the actual DTBC and looked around. Hard to knock a bar that has a great ocean view. We did the mai tai flight and it was fine. I liked the Pele's volcano the green flash the best.

We did figure out that this place made a great pit stop for a bathroom break when we would walk from town back to our condo.

The coconut shrimp that was a happy hour special was very good. The rest of the food menu looked ok.

PackmanWSU01

PackmanWSU01 has visited Don the Beachcomber.

September 3, 2011, 12:38 AM

The decor is beautiful, and the tiki images and pictures make the decor very exotic. There is also a small section with pictures of Don the Beachcomber's history...but that was the problem. It seemed to me that this Don The Beachcomber is trying to leave its heritage behind in favor of winning over a younger, more hip crows. The neighboring "Don's" Mai Tai Bar had much more business; and it was there that I had to acquire my "Don The Beachcomber's" Rum Barrel. These thinks are advertised in many pictures in the hotel, but the restaraunt has discontined serving them. I was lucky that my barman found one of the few remaining in the back. So one of the original tiki bars doesn't sell tiki mugs...

Another complaint is the small selection of the drink menu. I would have thought that Don's storied history would allow for pages worth of coctails (like the Trader Vic's I visited), but much of the drinks are standard fare. I wanted to try something new. Also, the green flash I was served was actually yellow in color...at least it tasted good.

Although I did not regret going to Don The Beachcomber's, it was not all that I hoped for. Still, it is very worth the time of any tikiphile.

TikiJohn

June 24, 2010, 5:10 PM

We need to see pictures on this one. There's so few real Hawaiian polynesian pop tiki bars...

Regulars and Visitors of Don the Beachcomber

Semi-Regulars

People who go to Don the Beachcomber at least a few times a year.

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  Kona Keoki
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  sr113
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  Tiki Slinger

Visitors

People who have been to Don the Beachcomber at least once.

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  Humuhumu
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  Quince at Dannys
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  Tiare
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  Rugby Matt
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  kingstiedye
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  Kukuthi
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  Iffy
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  tikitabby
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  Tiki Hayrani
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  Tiki Greg
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  bohemiann
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  Tiki Twin
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  phynix
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  Trott
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  ortha
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  KeithH
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  Tikitime
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  Acronotus
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  VOC
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  PackmanWSU01
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  Jawi42
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  InexorableTash
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  TikiTravis
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  bejacob
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  rosie401
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