Post #421279 by Hibiscus on Fri, Nov 28, 2008 3:09 PM

Don the Beachcomber's in Kona had been closed for renovations, apparently, so how psyched were we to find it was open again in time for our trip! It's located in the swanky-looking Royal Kona Resort...

We actually went here twice - the first time was just to Don's Mai Tai Bar, which is an outdoor situation just outside the restaurant proper. Our waitress was awesome, and once I told her we were tiki bar aficionados, she gave us a menu and a stack of coasters, so yay for nice waitresses!

We had a Navy Grog and an original Mai Tai (not to be confused with Don's assorted mai tai spin-offs)

Barry in his nifty new Duke Kahanamoku shirt...

We timed our second arrival to the sunset. Kona is known as one of the best places on earth to view the elusive 'green flash', but because of the vog from erupting Kilauea, the air wasn't pristine enough for it. We did get some lovely sunsets, nonetheless...

The central pillar of the round restaurant was a cluster of moai, tikis and plants - pretty much tiki freak heaven...

A tiki overlooks a tank full of tropical fish...

Our table had a pretty nice view...

We started with the Mai Tai Sampler, a collection of their four most popular drinks - left to right, Mai Tai Quencher (we found it kind of weak, like a Mai Tai Lite), Pele's Volcanic Mai Tai (Yum! Potent and delicious), original Mai Tai, and the Green Flash, which, despite having a bit of melon liqueur in it (something I generally despise), was excellent...

After a terrific dinner, we had a nightcap at the bar, not quite willing to leave just yet. Another Green Flash and Pele's Volcanic, please!

Next up - the Place of Refuge and the erupting Kilauea volcano...

[ Edited by: Hibiscus 2008-11-28 15:11 ]

[ Edited by: Hibiscus 2008-11-28 15:12 ]