Okolemaluna Tiki Lounge

Sorry to hear this place closed. I enjoyed my last visit there last summer.

Closed Permanently - as of September 25th :-(

We visited the Kona coast in December and made sure to find this place in the back of a strip mall. The drinks were fantastic, and the pupus were also good (especially enjoyed the bacon-wrapped pineapple and the teriyaki sliders). The tiki-kitschy decor is a lot of fun. The owner is obviously a true afficianado of tiki culture. I'm surprised this place isn't on the top 25 list, with such a high average critiki. I've been to four of your top 25, and Okolemaluna Tiki Lounge is superior to any of them (with Frankie's Tiki Room a very close second).

We went there twice on our 8 day trip and wanted to go more (especially after dreadful happy hour drinks at Huggo's on the Rocks).

The staff were super nice, the drinks very good and we had the spring rolls and edamame.

I loved looking at all the small touches of the decor. I also liked that it had a lot of locals there.

We will be back!

This was the highlight of our trip. Owner (and talented mixologist)Brice is very gracious, approachable, and passionate about tiki. The drinks were delicious, and succulent. I could literally taste the freshness...much better than neighboring Don's. Also of note, is that there are many rare concoctions of the drink menu in addition to the standard fare. Apparently Brice just won the people's choice award at the mai tai festival, but I was much more interested in trying more of the exotic drinks. For example, my first drink was called the "Happy Buddha", from a receipe of a now defunct Waikiki bar of the 50's. It was savory. Within minutes I was on my second drink, Brice's own "Wicked Wahine". This drink was also divine.

Okolemaluna lounge also has it's own unique tikimug by world renound Gecko. It's not one of those mass produced types, it's well made and fits great in my collection.

The food selection was limited to pupu's, but they were very good, and a real bargain. I rated the decor lowest, but this bar is new and I'm sure they'll continue to add to the atmosphere and decor in time. I did like the retro videos playing, as well as tiki memoribilia under your placemats. I was delighted to see a Kahiki postcard and drink menu on display (Brice, did you outbid me on ebay to win that one? lol).

All in all, this place should not be missed. You'd be doing yourself a disservice for not visiting, especially if you love flavorful coctails.If I had my way, I would have extended my vacation an extra week to try all the drinks on the menu...the 3 I did try were that good.

Yes! So glad to see that Okolemaluna is now on Critiki, look forward to our visit in August...hope they are still saving a mug for me!

You've just gotta go here if you're ever on the Big Island of Hawaii. All the great people hang out here! The drinks are out of this world, the pupus (appetizers) are tasty, and the atmosphere is classic Tiki! My week is never complete without several stops here.

-Nutz-