Reviews of Kani Ka Pila Grille (Restaurant)

Benjamin Nichol

Great burger. The service really made our experience though. Ask for Lorenzo. He had some really great stories for us and after we asked for him to take our photo, not only did he take a great photo, he also edited it for us on our iPhone! Great guy!

Pops Awana

Been going here regularly for 6 years mainly for the entertainment and great service. Food menu changed a bit. As did the quality. Prices went up. Service was horrible. Tables were scarce because of empty glasses, food trays and glasses not being cleared from the vacant tables. Music was spectacular as usual. Hopefully things get better. The entertainers kept everyone happy and comfortable.

Harold Spindel

Hawaiian music every night-right on the beach great staff and Expedia desk

Sean Mizner

Try the coconut shrimp! Yummmm!

Matthew Burt

Melissa was fantastic, here on honeymoon and she was a fountain of information. Very personable and the food/drinks were amazing!!!

Joanne Laurino

Quick, friendly service. Our waiter was nice. The pulled pork tots were yummy!

Burt Robl

Cool bartenders! Really tasty frozen drinks. Price is not that bad. Of coarse much cheaper during happy hour. Meet some really nice people here.

LairdStephen J McNeill

Great place to relax

Lauren Sullivan

The food was always great, as well as the drinks but service was hit and miss, the quieter it was, the worse the service got. The live music at night was a really nice touch, even listening to it from our balcony.

stacey kornegay

Super friendly and the food is on point. Love it, love it, love it!

Richard Verbrugge

Good grinds.

Eric Moody

Teddy and Sarah are amazing

diane tustison

Excellent food,service and live Hawaiian music every night. Great time

CProgression

We love you Uncle Cyril!

Echo 8 Kilo

Stopped in for dinner. Had live Hawaiian music playing while we ate however it is situated in a canyon of other high rise locations so any loud vehicles drown things out. Cheap valet parking. Not a very eclectic menu. Loco Moco was good however the fish n chips and pizza were average. Food came out quick and service was very good. Would have rated above average if menu as larger. Only a couple minute walk thru hotel to beach for an evening stroll depending upon tide.

Kim Mayo

The food, drinks, ambiance, live music is excellent. If you are lucky hula as well. Love coming here every visit.

Aida Ehyaei

Very delicious beef stew and seafood plater.

adriana Pizzia

Good enough

Stan Muneoka

Best Hawaiian music venue in hawaii

Ju Hyeon Kang

Nice Hawaiian music

Rayna Campbell

bit pricey, but perfect seafood

Trevor Adams

Good drinks, good appetizers, fairly bland entree selection. Constant live music in evening but there are many quieter tables. Especially convenient for hotel guests, better than other two restaraunts if you don't mind the casual selection.

robert howard

Where the foods and services are great

David Jens

It’s more of a pool bar but the music and food was good and staff was friendly. Hard to find a seat.

Jonathan Moses

Nice

David Bellamy

Enjoy this place because it is a good place for food and love entertainment during the week. The staff were very helpful and nice. The food came in a timely manner. All out door eating with an indoor bar. The prices were good for the food and the drinks menu was reasonable.

Jessica Von Keohohou

Loved the live music with Kawika Kahiapo, Dean Wilhelm, and Joe. Food was ono! Server was awesome...

Gillian Reid

Great food and service. Loved the ambience

Patti Barbee

The Hawaiian music was outstanding.

Quinones Jeremy

Nice and friendly

Billy Loa

Aloha and mahalo food services

William S

Very rude hostess and servers. Great setting and decent food.

James bond

Grate place

Sarajane Sato

Fabulous music and food

Hrafn Jonsson

Was good ++

Craig Gaines

It was pretty decent food and they are live music which was nice.

Kerry Steiper

We absolutely love this place--the food, the setting, the entertainment! On our recent trip we went here at least four times and thoroughly enjoyed it. The reason for the three stars is that on our last night, Saturday , August 31st, a waitress from their other restaurant ( we recognized her because she waited on us one morning) was seated at the bar and proceeded to get very drunk and VERY loud, shouting and yelling during the entertainment. We were seated at least 30 feet away and it was extremely disrupting and annoying and no-one did anything about it. I understand that if they tried to get her to leave there might have been an ugly scene but that is what security is for and we could have enjoyed the rest of our evening. While I hate for any-one to get in trouble I do hope this was addressed later and appropriate action taken. By the way, this went on for over an hour, not just a few minutes.

Nate C

Great service and great food and drinks in a relaxed atmosphere with live music after 6 pm (Cousin Nate plays on Friday's). My wife and I stayed at the Outrigger Reef for 5 nights and passed this place multiple times a day. On our last day we decided to try this place as we waited for our shuttle to pick us up to catch our flight home and were wishing we had tried it sooner so we could have come back. I got the steak and shrimp nachos and they were amazing with homemade flour tortilla chips and loaded with toppings including a mountain of guacamole. My wife got the french onion french dip that came with french onion soup for dipping, it too was amazing. The drinks were on par as well with half priced mail tais during happy hour.

Clair Matheson

Great atmosphere and live music.in the afternoon

Barbara Burbach

Great food & entertainment altho a little hard to get to (parking)

Matt Todd

The food and service was pretty good. The menu seemed a bit limited.

Phillip Lane

Good food....our hostess Tracy was amazing....give her a raise...she did not stop the entire time waiting on people....cleaning...making sure plates are taken away....she's gone home now and our dishes are still sitting on the table. The other staff need to follow in her footsteps.

Luna Wolf MXS

Great service, friendly staff, live Hawaiian music every night. Nice place to relax.

David Ratliff Jr

This is just a great little place to hang out! Live Hawaiian music each night, and just a happy chipper crew and atmosphere!

Kyle Eve

4 stars for the entertainment otherwise the food is mediocre and very expensive when you had a few drinks into the mix

Wendell Ching

Atmospere with music made it very enjoyable. Food was good and service was great.

Garrett Watson

Quick and easy. Great food. Relaxing atmosphere.

Kristin Douroupis

Mai Tai on happy hour was $6... Husband and I enjoyed it.

Babak Salamat

Great food and nice place with live music at night. It is located by the pool and has a great atmosphere.

Jeanne Dalglish

Great music. Good quick bites

Lucas Orellana

I miss that place and I will go back song

Michael DeClue

Pretty good food for the pool restaurant. Plenty of good priced appetizers and entrees

Eric BROWN

Good food fast service. Price not bad for Waikiki.

Stacey Duffy

So good! My husband and I sat at the bar and enjoyed our dinner. We shared an ahi tuna wrap, which was amazing! We will be back again. The bar tenders were social and also gave great recommendations for other great, local places to eat.

Donnie Lousberg

Ate here 3 times and the food was great all three times. Loved the banana split.

MARYK KING

Fantastic food

Harsweet

Good food , great service.

Zelda Kitt

Stopped in for lunch. Sat at the bar and Melissa hosted well. Boom Boom Shrimp. It has a light floor and is fried with rice flour. It has a sweet and spicy taste without the doughy taste-- I thought it was steamed.

Mike Oxbig

Soggy, gross food

Lee Almstrom

Best local music on the island. Never disappoints! Shawn and Lehua are the best easy listening blend of local music and sing a long contemporary

Kenji Shoda

Slow service

Luisito Del Rosario

Awsome steak!!!!

Randy Mathews

Live Hawaiian music from award-winning local artists, combined with s nice variety of snacks and meal makes this, "one winnah!"

John Kassanis

Really enjoyed our meal here, although we ordered way too much and ended up in a food coma for an hour afterwards. Would highly recommend the surf and turf, and the coconut shrimp were excellent. Similar pricing to most places in the area, so not particularly cheap, but not as bad as some other hotel restaurants nearby.

Toni Messer

Good food for a decent price. Had the local style beef stew with rice. It tasted just like my mother's stew. Lighting was a bit too dark to read the dinner menu. Had to use my cell phone to read.

Carla Marioni

Amazing service!! Very impressed with the staff here, our waiter even went out of his way to find a screw driver so my daughter could put batteries in a toy she bought that day. Food tasted wonderful, cooked just right. The live music was very good too, setting is nice as children are allowed and you can still feel like your going out with kids along side. If I am ever in Honolulu again this will be a stop for dinner.

Ric Listella

Great food!

Bernadette Wilkins

This place is definitely overpriced but you do get 15 percent off when you check in with yelp! We had over 8 at our table so our server told us ahead that gratuity will be automatically added. Well, there goes my 15 percent. The best part is the live music but it's super dark eating here.

Carmen Henesy

Hearing the Hawaiian music was a great experience in a nice breezy setting near the swimming pool. I don't know the names of the couple that played when I was there on Sunday night that they were exceptional.

thc productions

We give the Kani 4 stars. It's one of the more reasonably priced places to eat that's actually in a resort hotel. My wife and I shared a chicken club Sammy on ciabatta bread, came wit' fries, we were doing good on the carbs until our lava flow drink showed up....then we deducted one star 'cause neither of us could taste any booze in it. They had a different Hawaiian band playing every night....very nice!

Robert Mentecki

My favorite place to unwind with great drinks, cold beer and tasty food with incredible Hawaiian music!!!

roxie smith

Very nice buffet breakfast and sweet staff!!

Caleb Bell

Really cool pool side Hawaiian restaurant, my wife and I went on a date here and got the tropical banana split and it was really good! It was the first time my wife had a banana split because she is super allergic to peanuts but this banana split is topped with macadamia nuts instead for those of you who may have a peanut allergy. My wife said it is her new favorite dessert. Hope y'all enjoy it as much as we did.

jerry farese

What a great Polynesian atmosphere! The staff was friendly, the band was phenomenal and the crowd was very lively! A great place to end up on our 1st day in Hawaii! The funnest part of the night was watching Hula dancers come up from the crowd and dance to the music! Somewhat of a limited menu, but the food was very good!

Jessica Preuschoff

Can I just start with I absolutely love this place and we ate here every day of our stay except once? There is always seating available in the evening. During the day and early evening, they cater to you at your lounge chairs around the pool. There is evening entertainment between 6 and 9pm. They have a cocktail wine and beer menu as well as a food menu. We tried the Mai Tai, Lava Flow, Waikiki Water, and Cucumber Melon Refresher for Cocktails. The cocktails were always great no matter who was working that day. Great consistency! Waikiki Waters and Cucumber Melon Refresher were great cocktails during the day as they were both refreshing and light. They also have an assortment of mocktails which we did not try. For Pupus (appetizers) we tried the fried calamari and chips with salsa and guacamole. Both were excellent. For entrees we had the House salad, fish tacos, fish platter, and grilled chicken wrap. Highly recommend the fish platter as it gives you a good variety of different seafood. They were always very accommodating switching out sides when we asked. Definitely recommend and can’t wait to be back next year.

Ainoa Miyashiro

Great entertainment by Weldon Kekauoha and the crew! You can tip the band and make song requests too!

Nathan Nahinu

Home of Hawaiian cultural arts and events, including the finest in Hawaiian music @ Kani Ka Pila Grille 6-9pm.

Ipo Cole

Did May Day hula show wirh my hula sisters !

Eliot Brown

Service was a little slow to get going, but the food was great and all at a competitive price. Overall, a pleasant place to have lunch just off the beach in an informal setting.

WIlliam Lehman

Good food, good service, decent bar. You could do worse.

steve Hillis

Had salad and potstickers they were excellent good view of the pool nice Breezy area

Jérôme Saint-Omer

Nice place with hawaian live music. Stuck between the hotel front desk and the pool. Food is will presented and good overall. The guacamome and chips is surprising and good. Fish of the day was great and the streak is good too but are well cooked and full of flavor. But please, get rid of the mac salad, replace it by an actual salad or grilled veggie too balance the plates. My daughters' fish and chips were way too greasy taking away all the thaste of the fish.

Samantha Harrison

Great food and great live music!

Chris sisemore

Cheap for location. Very good vegetable sandwich and onion rings. Amazing deserts

K Lee

Really great live music, but odd layout has only a few tables near the stage. Most of the other tables are behind the bar, where noise from the bar drowns out the music. If you enjoy Hawaiian music, make a reservation and request one of the 3 or 4 tables closest to the stage. Food is moderately priced. Very friendly staff didn't mind us making a dinner reservation for 6:30pm (when the concert starts) and just picking at our food for 3 hours until the musicians finish.

Wendy Lyautey

Love the atmosphere

Curt Dodds

One of the best places on Oahu for Hawaiian music but food prices are embarrassingly high, even for Waikiki. Top Hawaiian musicians perform on a nightly rotation with occasional guest artists. Locals and visitors often spontaneously dance to hula favorites like Hiʻilawe, Ka Uluwehi o ke Kai and Hanalei Moon.

Winston Steven

Great and service

Marie-Pier Lessard

This place is not the cheapest but you will be surprised by the portion. I ordered the seafood plate and I was not able to finish my plate since it was too big. It was really good and full of variety.

Paul Roth

Excellent service, but was hoping for a little bit more of a native fare.

Haley Kubeja

Amazing live music, great food, excellent staff. Cant wait to go back

Gürdal Kilic

Had loco moco, it was amazing. Staff is laid back and very kind. + live music = best dinner ever. The tuna wrap and burgers are good as well.

Matthew Motas

Great atmosphere with good music and tasty pupumenu

Cristina M

Went there for dinner mainly for the ambience and live music which was great! I didn’t enjoy the food that much (burger, chicken fingers) Overpriced for quite simple dishes, although I understand it’s a hotel. Perhaps going for appetizers, drinks or desserts can be more enjoyable. Staff was friendly but took a while when bringing the check.

Renee Carlson

Good food. Dinner is unique, you choose your meat and grill it yourself.

Karen Bower

Fabulous music every afternoon, great food, lovely staff!

Colin Earl

Great food and live music

Becky Pasquale

Go here and see Christian... he's the best bartender ever! Great food, awesome service and super friendly staff with a very laid back feel. Wish there were more places like this around.

Noel Cockett

Fun

Jorge-Carlos Roldan

small menu, average food. my poached eggs weren't runny :( go somewhere else for quality

Nancy Daniels

Love Kani Ka Pila Grille, not because of the food, although food is good yet pretty pricey, but because of the Hawaiian music each and every evening. If you're looking for Hawaiian music, this is the place to be.

Ken Tsuji

Good food, great local music

TONY BOORA

smoothies here are so awesome

Blake McNamara

I love the pineapple cocktails

Cynthia Petti

The food is delicious. I was surprised for it being a poolside bar and grill, and it was great food. There is music starting at 6pm and the atmosphere is relaxed. They played local music and many times people from the audience would get up and Hula to the song. Fun place to visit for music, food and a relaxing time.

Wave Daze

Great place to hang out and listen to music. The drinks are a bit pricey. We did not have food. I suggest trying to find a table away from the Jacuzzi to avoid the strong smell of chlorine.

Lötscher Tobias

Good service with good food and live music

Rich Martinez

Awesome place for live classic Hawaiian music - 6 to 9 pm. Food okay. Not an inexpensive dinner, but worth the experience. I went 3 nights.

Francis Chock

Wow. Great place to catch legendary local musicians

Nye Guy

This review is not for the entire service, food, staff, or restaurant as a whole. I just got off of a sunset sail cruise, and decided to walk to this nearby restaurant. It had decent reviews and had some great seafood choices that attracted me here. Me and my lady went here, and the service itself was initially great. I got the ahi wrap and my lady got the coconut shrimp. Both were great. Service was awesome as well. They had great music going too (especially on a Monday). Unfortunately, right after I tipped the band playing music...I got asked to leave by a manager (I think). I went back to my table to prepare to leave and before I could even pay, I got asked leave the restaurant so they could 'clean up the table'. She was a tall blonde lady. I have no clue what that was about, or the real reasoning behind her actions. I'm a 26 year old humble adult and had never been asked to leave a restaurant in my life. I thought, maybe I had been there too long? But their were people at tables beside me that had been their longer than I (since I arrived). She honestly asked me to leave, before I had even paid my check? I politely (and stunned) said that we were waiting on the Check. I honestly was Waiting on the check for about 10-15 min but figured I'd be nice and be patient since they seemed to be busy. I was blown away. Clearly the lady in management was confused and didn't really understand that I was waiting to for the check to leave? Unfortunately, this particular situation altered every honest opinion that I had for the restaurant prior to this. I'm sure anyone else would feel the same. This place would have gotten a solid 4/5 if it weren't for this abnormal awkward moment. I hope that this gets to the right person to pass on info on how important customer service is. No one in the right mind wants to have this experience, let alone on a vacation.

Christina Philipp

Great place

Mike Margossian

Stopped in on our first night in Hawaii, it was late and we just wanted a casual dinner. We were staying next door and found this place. It was perfect. A guy performing local music was spot on to fit this outside bar/restaurant setup. We had an octopus salad app (very good), a beer battered fish and chips (we have a lot of fish and chips in New England and this was fantastic), and some kalbi steak which was also great. We spent over 2 more weeks between Waikiki and Maui and this was right up there with quality meals we had

Patti Lopez

Bernie is an awesome server! She anticipates your needs and makes great suggestions.

Jenny Puskas

Delicious

Mias Army

Great food and service.

Robin Makapagal

Loved the music, service, food and drunks

Bryan Hughes

The food is good, however, it's way overpriced. Not recommended for families. A pair of sliders (with no side) was $20, chicken tenders for the kids was also $20. The atmosphere is just okay, with an active pool right next to the dining area and no lighting at the table.

Thom Read

Fun!

Harley Davidson Silent Vlogger

Friendly staff and great food.

Gairy Reynolds

Great food, and service, pricing $$

Fabio Jacon

If you want to taste typical and local foods with an great flavour, order these and share with your accompanians: Pork Adobo, Ahi Poke and Loco Moco. Be prepared to be amazed !!!

Kyungin Mun

Good

caleb maz

great food, entertainment, drinks, and service

Kamilche of Incarnation

Great food, live Hawaiian music, cozy atmosphere with tiki torches right next to the pool, prompt service. Will definitely go here again!

Peter Saward

Had a fabulous night here. Service, food and music was top class

Heather Murphy

I liked the food, the beef dip sandwich was pretty good. And the purple sweet potato fries were yummy! But, this is a pool side restaurant in a lobby, with people walking through, kids screaming out Marco Polo, and priced for the convenience of a lobby restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, I liked my meal there. But for the price point, I expected classier surroundings.

Dustin Hoekstra

Good food, music, and service.

lynn kline

Nice happy hour, great bartender.