Venue Review - Kona Cafe

"Lapu Lapu" at Kona Cafe

When is a specialty beer not special? When you can get it everywhere!

Alright, I have very divided thoughts on Kona Cafe. From a food and availability window, I am pro. From a cocktail window, I am thumbs up. But from a beer window, and this is Between Pints, it’s complicated for me. Kona Cafe offers craft beers that fit the theme of a Polynesian resort, but many that you can find in pretty much any American market.

Kona Cafe in Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are also a large number of famed cocktails on the menu and “Hawaiian Sourced or Inspired” beers. And I think that phrase is key as we dig in.

The awesome thing I have found about Kona is that I can generally get a reservation without much warning, and enjoy cult Poly treats. For example, at breakfast, you can order Tonga Toast if you don’t want to just quick service it at Captain Cook’s. Lunch and dinner have a variety of sushi rolls and poke bowls which can fulfill the typical Midwesterner's desire to try something exotic without being overly dangerous and adventurous. That’s the same with other items I have enjoyed here, like Pork Belly Noodle Bowl, which is rich and filling but again not overly scary to the typical vacationer pallet. 

Pork Belly Noodle Bowl

The two cult cocktails on the menu are rum-heavy. The “Backscratcher” is a combination of rums, tropic fruit juice, and Jack Daniels. It comes with a wooden backscratcher, which is currently sitting on my desk and is now an essential work tool. But I admit the “Oriental Trading Company” stamp on it instead of Disney branding takes away in the moment. It is juicy and rum-forward, with the whiskey not scaring off the non-whiskey drinker who ordered it. The “Lapu Lapu” is a combination of rum, orgeat, and tropic fruit juices served in a pineapple. The cocktail is sweet and refreshing, but the hollowed-out pineapple puts you perfectly in the mood. When at the Polynesian, there’s a vibe, this is how you match the vibe in a glass.

Soooooo, “Hawaiian Sourced or Inspired” beers is how the menu lists them. Two breweries really serve as the cornerstone of this beer menu. Kona Brewing Co. offers ”Longboard Island Lager,” “Big Wave Golden Ale,” and “Hanalei Island IPA”, which I feel you can find pretty much anywhere in U.S. markets. In fact, in many places, I feel they are pushed up against the macro beers instead of the craft due to their heavy distribution. But despite that wide distribution, they are still a craft brewery, in 2024 listed as the 32nd largest craft brewery by size and 42nd largest producer including macro beers. Part of the reason it could be found nearly everywhere is they were using Anheuser-Busch distribution through the Craft Brew Alliance, which Bud owned. Craft Brew Alliance breweries not in Hawaii but on the mainland were brewing Kona beers for all locations that were not in Hawaii. Anheuser-Busch has been leaving the craft beer business and sold off Craft Beer Alliance. And Kona became the property of PV Brewing Partners of…Kansas City! So all this history shows that while Kona is a craft brand, it’s also honesty more inspired by Hawaii than a product of Hawaii if you are drinking it in Florida. If you want Hawaiian-brewed Kona, you need to visit the tap room in Hawaii to increase the probability of Hawaiian brewed not just Hawaiian recipes. 

"Pineapple Mana Wheat"

Oh, yeah, there are two major breweries on this sourced and inspired list. Maui Brewing Co. is Hawaii’s largest craft brewery and the one that has traditionally had less distribution on the mainland. In 2024, it was the #26 producing craft brewery and #36 overall. They offer, “Coconut Hiwa Porter” and “Pineapple Mana Wheat” on the sourced and inspired menu. In 2022, they were only distributing to 26 states. But they are also a growing concern too with purchasing Modern Times in California. They have also been known to contract brew on the mainland to get product closer to drinkers. I had the “Pineapple Mana Wheat” which is a 5.5%, 18 IBU fruited wheat beer. It has a light wheaty beer flavor with some dry not as sweet pineapple. It was easy to drink, but maybe not as juicy as I had hoped thinking it would contend with a cocktail. I’ve also had the “Coconut Hiwa” which my data tells me from 6 years ago that I liked! What am I doing that I’ve not had this more? It’s likely the beer I grab next time at Kona Cafe if I skip a cocktail.

A Georgia beer, Terrapin’s “Luau Krunkles Passionfruit-Orange-Gauva IPA”, sounds like POG juice to me, finishes out the inspired selections. There is also a list of additional beers on draft that include the usual suspects like Yuengling’s “Amber Lager” and Cigar City’s “Jai Alai.” So if you want more of the usual suspects than inspired, you have options.

Pineapple-Coconut Bread Pudding

Who Drinks Here? For those who want to find good food fast, book reservations here. Maybe Ohana never had spots open up. While dining, you will have to wait till the end to get my personal must-have, Pineapple-Coconut Bread Pudding. If you order a beer, you likely are not in a cocktail mood. But you still want to match the vibe so you grab a Maui Brewing Co. beer for the fruit flavors that help you stay in that Polynesian mood while on your vacation. Sit back, enjoy your cocktail and beer and forget for an hour the craziness of a Disney vacation.