The Honu Restaurant and Tiki Bar

This is the first time I am trying Honu. I think the atmosphere is decorated really well and has a good outdoor vibe. The server was very good and was attentive to what we need. I love Hawaii and have been there three times and able to experience great food. So I was excited to try what this place offers. The drinks were well decorated and had a good menu of creative Hawaiian drinks. However I was disappointed in the food. The food portions were extremely small. It was overpriced for what you get. I ordered the fire dancing plate and sad to say that it was not good at all. The rice was so soft that it had to much water when they cooked it. The entire dish had no flavor. I wanted to finish it but only able to eat a couple of bites. I may want to come back and try some of their other dishes.

The Honu tiki bar restaurant is a hidden oasis located near downtown Dunedin. This incredible and unique restaurant is a must visit. Starting off our experience the key word was Rum. So many amazing cocktails to try, all tropical and wonderful. We did try as many as we could and still walk. The musubi was interesting. We missed trying it while in Hawaii. That’s okay. We really don’t need to do that again. Be sure, we do like Spam. Enough there. Try the Painkiller (or several). The Zombie (the tasty kind) was wonderful. They do limit you to two Zombies, makes sense if you ever had one. Switching to the Honu Rum Punch put us back on track. At this point we felt food would be a good idea. The Fire Dancing Plate and The Big Kahuna Burger are very delicious choices. Finally the Kona Coffee Brownie closed out a fantastic meal. At a table near us they ordered the BBQ pork and Kalua pork, the aroma from that table wafting over cemented our return visit to try more offerings. We sat outside in the Tiki bar where live music was playing a spectrum mix of tunes from Buffet, Tom Petty and I seem to remember an Indigo Girls song being chucked in. The whole atmosphere of the restaurant sent us back to Hawaii. Jacob and the staff was friendly and helpful. We are definitely planning a return visit for the Aloha vibe.

We found out about this place through a Facebook events ad for Pineapple Dole Whip day. And the Dole Whip is probably the best I’ve ever had, including comparison to Disney’s Pineapple Dole Whip. We decided last minute to order food as well and it did NOT disappoint. Just shut up and take my money! This place is so freaking good!!!

While visiting my childhood hometown, I met my former high school Spanish teacher who is like my other mother, and now my friend, here for dinner. The ambience seemed ok when walking in. The server and hostess were super friendly and helpful. "Mi otra madre"/friend got the Huli Huli chicken stack. She gave a 4/5 and enjoyed the meal. My son and daughter both got the kids cheeseburger. Both were cooked well to the requested temperature pretty accurately though my son said he has had better at a different restaurant earlier this week. The fries looked like they may have been at the end of the batch and they were given a small handful of fries. We had to order an extra side of fries which seemed better. Given he was disappointed in the serving size he rated his meal 2.5/5, but flavorwise he gave 3. My daughter rated it 4/5. My husband got the Hawaiian BBQ Salmon. The flavor of the sauce was great, but the fish was overcooked which made it seem as if it could use another basting of sauce or more pineapple to give it more moisture. Adding more greens would have added to the flavor and contrast that was needed to help balance the flavors more as well. In the end he stated that it looked better in the picture than it tasted. I debated between the pu pu platter and the Fire Dancing Island plate but upon the recommendation from our server chose the latter. The flavors were good with succulent shrimp and bits of chicken. They went well with the combination of peppers, pineapple and onions which has always been one of my favorite flavor combinations. However, the most blaring problem of the dishes containing rice was the rice itself. Sushi rice should be plump, shiny, sticky, fluffy but with a firm bite. However, it was glaringly obvious in our meals that the ratio of water to rice was not well measured (by cup or by knuckle). It was even questionable as to if the rice was rinsed well prior to cooking. This step is key to rinse off the extra starch that would affect the texture of the rice. This major error of technique or basic knowledge greatly detracted from the experience, making it hard to get past it to fully enjoy the flavors of the rest of the dish. For dessert the kids split the Kona coffee brownie while my husband and I split the pineapple upside down cake. The brownie was a good brownie and although the kids were happy, I expected to have more coffee flavor than it did given its name. The pineapple upside down cake had a cake that was dense: so dense in fact that there was no flavor of the pineapple juice seeping into the cake. Additionally, although I forgot to take pictures of dessert, I will say the caramelization that is key to this particular cake was lacking. Only a little of the caramelization could be found at the edge of the cake (so I would say we were lucky to get an edge slice of the cake, otherwise I would not have been able to taste it at all.) The flavor of the cake, though I would say far from exemplifies a pineapple upside down cake, was ok, but parts of the cake were warm around the edges while the middle of the slice was cold. This is likely due to the pound-cake-like density of the cake making it difficult to properly warm the cake. Reworking of the recipe could make this cake far more enjoyable and pleasing to the palate. Overall my rating for the meal would have been 2.3/5 but because of the service and company at the table, I would give it a 3/5.

I did not eat but went with a group. The service was terribly slow and although I asked 3 times for a glass of water, another guest at the table asked a manager who happened by so getting a glass of water took 30 minutes. They did have a Rumhaven event going on so we got to try a Rumhaven drink and took home a gift each. Others had food and said it was good and OK for different dishes.

Such a fun place to visit. Great bar out back. The cocktails are amazing! The tiki bar vibe is fun. Their bartender makes the drinks balanced and delicious. The outdoor patio is dog friendly.

Amazing place. Friends told us about this restaurant and it was a treat. We each bought a different drink and meal then sample each one. Every dish/drink was unique & flavorful. Highly recommend. Some drinks’ glasses were gorgeous & fun.

This place was fantastic! The service was great and the decor is so cute!! My husband is a fan of Polynesian food and said it was great!! The salad was a bit small for a dinner salad. We will definitely come back!