Roy’s Waikoloa Bar & Grill

We loved Roy’s in Waikiki and Maui, so we thought we would try the one here on the Big Island in spite of the mixed reviews. Big mistake! We ordered the canoe for two and it was super disappointing. The ribs were full of gross bony bits; the spring rolls and boar were greasy and unappetizing; and the shrimp and tuna roll were very mediocre. My husband asked me which one I liked best, and in the end we could only settle on which one we liked least! Seems like Roy’s does not have consistent quality from one location to another. Too bad.

What a disappointment ! Felt like I was dining at Denny’s. No white table cloths and the food was horrible. The once famous macadamia nut plate was soggy and fishy. The scallops were tasteless and swimming in olive oil.
It’s time for Roy to either close the chain or completely change the quality of the restaurants.
My advice? Skip this Roy’s

One of my favorites, we just do the pupu menu and sit at the bar, the staff is great, the food never disappoints. Arnie is a gem of manager, sucha great host. If you dont know him, say hi if you go, great conversator!

Disappointing meal. Our other reservations got messed up so we came as a last resort. Server was very nice but we paid a lot for a very forgettable meal. So-​so ahi starter and nothing much potstickers. The smell of red meat tempted us to order the rib-​eye and it was bland with no char.

Wow. It’s laughable how bad our experience was at Roys.
We were seated about 10 minutes after our reservation — no problem, except that our server was MIA (though we did keep getting water) until the manager happened to come by to see how everything was going… we told him we were pretty hungry and wanted to order. Ten minutes later our server appeared and viola!
In hindsight, we should have taken this as a bad sign. But as they say, hindsight is ²⁰⁄₂₀ :)
The Food
— Crab cakes. I’d like to say they may have been frozen, but I’ve had way better frozen crab cakes.
— Entrée 1: Hawaiian Style Misoyaki Butterfish. The sizzling soy vinaigrette was so sweet that it overpowered the fish. I think it came with carrots… hard to tell as they were slightly orange on the inside but mostly gray on the outside. It cost $ 46.
— Entrée 2: Roy’s Trio (Macadamia Nut Mahimahi, Steamed Mekajiki, Hibachi Salmon). The salmon was actually pretty good, but the steamed mekajiki and mahimahi were both overcooked and rubbery. And it was $ 49. Yikes.
This and the Lava Lava Beach Club were honestly the worst meals on our week-​long holiday. Roys is in a strip mall, so there’s no view to make up for the terrible food and service. But it did make for some good laughs and became a running joke on our trip :)

My wife and I had an early dinner here on a Friday night. We started by sharing the appetizer «canoe for two» and it was worthy of 4.5 stars. We also shared the baby romaine salad and it was also very good. My wife had the seared sea scallops and they were worthy of a 5 star review. Unfortunately, I had the fresh Mahi Mahi, which was one of the specials of the evening. It was well prepared in that it was not over cooked and it was a generous serving but it was essentially tasteless. It was advertised as being served with a macadamia nut crust. If I were to order this entrée again I would ask that it be served with a mango relish or something to compliment the dry and neutral flavor of the fish with the Mac nut flour.
We finished the meal by sharing a heavenly pineapple upside down cake with vanilla ice cream. Since I ate only a few bites of the Mahi-​Mahi I had plenty of appetite left to really appreciate this exceptional dessert.
The service as usual was very good and the dinner as a whole was worth a 4 star rating.

This place seems to offer a pretty authentic Hawaiian menu, but for the quality of the food it is over priced. My wife and I shared the sharing plate for two– which featured a delicious king shrimp and an excellent bit of wild boar, as well as a very poor sushi roll, that was on par with what you get in a grocery store.
For the main course we shared the trio of fish– all three were good, but none were great. At the price /​size you’d expect a lot better. Finally we finished with the chocolate soufflé, which was a chocolate lava cake with ice cream. It was better than the food in the Marriott next door but not as good as it should be for the price.

Made reservations twice using open table, both times cancelled when reservations were made a couple days in advance. Should call the customer at that point as a courtesy. Roy’s on the mainland (SF location) does a courtesy phone call when needing to cancel now that’s customer service and aloha spirit. Trying this location a 3^rd time let’s see if my reservation is kept this time. This is the only place I’ve had issues with using open table.

Really spectacular. This is the third Roy’s I have been to and this one did not disappoint. The food was amazing but what really sets Roy’s apart is the service which really is five star. I wish they still offered more sushi options but everything is good. I would have to say I suggest the trio as the main because you get to try a bit of everything, if you have already had it get the butterfish main, if you’ve had them at get the salmon!

Frying dragon roll.
Potstickers
Kids meals– all three options.
Fantastic cocktails– cucumber gimlet
Steamer
Filet
Unbelievable–
Tons of food for a kids meal and was exceptional!!! Can’t see where in his island we can get this much food for under 13 $ per kid. 4 course meal for each kid!
The service was impeccable. Our waiter, Ryan even made a custom drink for my daughter, who is not a soda fan. Dubbed the O’Ryan, it was ingenious and simply delicious.
Chocolate soufflé was AMAZING!

Another amazing experience at Roy’s. This was our first visit to the Waikoloa location, after previously visiting the location in Ko Olina. We initially were sat near a screaming toddler, but the hostess happily moved us to another table. Food was all amazing– we started with a spicy Ahi roll, and had entrees of butterfish and seared Ahi. Butterfish and the maki were particular standouts. And the chocolate soufflé was phenomenal.
Staff was knowledgeable about allergens in each dish and made great recommendations. All in all just a fantastic experience

Exceptional food service and drinks. I’m a huge foodie and known to be over critical in dining experiences after having worked in restaraunts for many years myself.
Our server was as good as I have ever experienced and our food was absolutely perfect. I have been to Roys in Vegas and although a great experience, this was leaps and bounds above expectations.
Will recommend this to anyone as my most favorite restaurant and dinner experience.
There were three in our group and we had a variety of dishes and all were of superior flavor and presentation.
We did mention in our reservation that 2 of the 3 were celebrating birthdays, in which Roys is known for making the experience that much more special and there was no mention of this throughout our dinner.
This miniscule complaint is far overshadowed by our server and the food. Thanks and I can’t wait to return, which will probably be once more before my flight home.

Everything was fantastic! We loved our meal from start to finish, and the service was spot-​on.
We started with the happy hour appetizer crab cakes which were delish, very fresh and you can definitely taste the sweetness of the crab. The dipping sauce went well with it though I could have eaten the cakes just the way they were!
For our entrees we had the Butterfish (yum — 5 stars) and the grilled salmon (also 5 stars). You can’t go wrong with either of these choices!
Even though we had absolutely no room for dessert… we managed to finish the chocolate lava cake (which was free with Unilocal check-​in at the time).
We’ll definitely be back to Roy’s and wish them well after their renovation! It was just our luck that the night we dined there was their last eve before the renovation. Can’t wait to be back and check it out!

I can not wait to see the remodel! This is already one of our favorite Roy’s because the manager and staff are awesome. J and I dine early, so we usually just sit at the bar and share some small plates. We order the ribs, Butterfish, Opakapaka and on this visit we tried the Crab Cakes.
Everything fantastic with the exception of the Crab Cakes. They were just okay, and not really heated through.
Still, a must in Waikoloa

I have been to Roy’s on the big island. But, this was a special occasion since we were celebrating our honeymoon. I had made reservations and we were seated right away by our hostess. She brought us to a table by the window facing the water. Menus were then given to us before our waiter introduced himself. He welcomed us to Roy’s and took our drink orders. I started out with a Mai tai and I have to admit it was very strong. A couple of those I might be sleeping at the table lol.
For starters the canoe appetizer for two which was one of Roy’s recommended was ordered. I liked the fact that I was able to view the open kitchen, and see how the cooks and chefs interact with one another. In a matter of minutes our starters were placed on our table. I started firstly with the kulana wild boar ragoon. It was very tasty and smokey at the same time. Then I worked down the plate. Our favorite would be the Scezhuan ribs. The sauce was ridiculously addicting. The spring rolls, ahi rolls and wasabi shrimp cocktail were on point as well. It was very filling.
For dinner I ordered the charbroiled beef short ribs which came with au gratin potatoes. My hubby ordered Elu’s «Hale» meatloaf which came with beer battered onion rings and Ali I mushroom pan gravy. Both dishes were remarkable. My short ribs were so tender that it melted in my mouth. There was some fat that I had to push aside on my plate. I did have a few bites of the meatloaf. Holy moly I need that recipe! It was superb and dangerous to my thighs lol.
Lastly for dessert we ordered the upside down pineapple cake with vanilla ice cream. It takes about 40 minutes for the cake to be prepared since they make it by order. By then we had consumed drinks, appetizer and entrees. I checked in on Unilocal and we were given a free hot chocolate soufflé! To our surprise and delight our pineapple cake was on the house! It was Roy’s way of sending their congrats which was also displayed on the chocolate soufflé plate! The only con I would say was that on both deserts the bottoms were both burnt. There was a not so great after taste. Our waiter was attentive and accommodating and the general manger that day checked in to see how we were doing. It was a lovely dining experience. Great customer service!!!

We try to avoid eating at chains when on travel but in Waikoloa there is not a plethora of choices available. My wife and I made a reservation on Open Table the day of for dinner, showed up on time and were promptly seated near the water by the bank of windows. There was a good size crowd there for just after 6pm and though lively discussions were taking place the noise level was not bad at all.
We were warmly welcomed by our server who took a few minutes to go over the menu with us. There are many good choices on there but in the end we both opted for their prix fixe menu paired with a glass of wine for each of the three courses.
Our first course was a trio of appetizers paired with a glass of prosecco. The spicy ahi roll was my favorite of the three with just the right amount of heat to make it interesting. The other two items were a Szechuan baby back rib and a chicken spring roll. The meat just fell off the bone of the rib and was quite flavorful while the fried roll was a little on the heavy side for me but I enjoyed the pineapple sauce that came along with it.
For the main course, I selected the short rib while my wife picked the monchong. The beef short rib was very tender and stringy just like Mom used to make. The portion though was huge and I was unable to finish it all despite how good it was. Along side the beef was a rectangle of au gratin potatoes that were not as runny and messy as I usually experience them and I appreciated that. The meat sat on a bed of pureed carrots that was surprisingly delicious. My wife’s fish was equally as enjoyable. Her fish was light and well prepared medium as she requested and she especially liked the lobster sauce that accompanied it. A glass of pinot noir for my beef and a chardonnay for her fish were paired.
For our final course we each chose one of the two desserts available: chocolate soufflé and a nut tart. Paired with these we both selected a glass of port. The soufflé was the better of the two but not by much. It was super rich and chocolatey with a scoop of ice cream to help wash it down. The tart was a strong second for both of us.
Service was impeccable for the whole evening. In particular the bus boy did an awesome job of keeping our water glasses full and clearing spent dishes. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening at Roy’s even though it is a chain. Don’t let that stop you from joining them for dinner.

We’ve been to several Roy’s now both in the islands and back in CA. His restaurants never fail to deliver. We came here «late» at 8:00p. Yes, I know for those of you giving that confused look you need to understand that pretty much everything shuts down at around 9p on Big Island including Roy’s. Makes sense as it helps lend to the quiet reserved feeling of the island unlike Waikiki’s Vegas-​like atmosphere.
It was our last night on Big Island and we wanted something special. We purposely skipped dinner though simply because we didn’t think it would be cost efficient with our kids coming along. However, Roy’s has always impressed when it came to sweets.
We were seated immediately and before we knew it water had been filled and napkins had been laid across our laps. A steaming bowl of complimentary edamame was even brought even though we had expressed our plans.
Desserts:
YOU HAVE TO ORDER THE CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE! WHY AM I YELLING? BECAUSE IT’S THAT EXCITING! Okay, sorry. I cry to when people start capitalizing at me. Anywho, Roy’s signature dessert is 10 stars out of 5. Yes it takes at least 20 minutes to come out (hint: pre-​order with your meal if you visit a Roy’s for the first time) but it is worth it. When it came out it was all I could do to keep the natives, I mean my kids, from tearing it apart before picture time. An oh so crisp exterior holding in a soft moist center with just enough melted decadent chocolate to make you want to light a cigarette afterwards. It is paired with vanilla ice cream (local brand of course). The waiter also had the plate decorated for our anniversary.
Coconut-​Haupia Brownie: Giant brownie layered with haupia (a coconut type mix) then covered with coconut shavings. Excellent pairing of flavors with neither overwhelming the other.
Crème Brulee. This was a surprise hit. I wanted just one more dessert for the four of us and literally shouted this one out last second. Great creamy custard flavored with passionfruit and a sugary torched crust. Loved it. Even my daughter who is allergic to eggs risked several spoonfuls because it was so good. Claritin on standby.
Drinks:
I ordered Roy’s Signature Mai Tai. Ahhhh… just thinking about it makes me feel like I’m kicking back on the beach under a coconut tree watching the sea turtles poke their heads out from the surf. This thing packed some kick. I’m glad we had to wait for dessert because it gave me some time to nurse this thing. The lovely Mrs. R ordered a lovely Sangria. She doesn’t drink much but she did like this concoction.
All in all, a fabulous gastronomic end (NO I DO NOT COUNT THE AIRPORT FOOD WE HAD TO BUY THE NEXT DAY… sorry yelling again) our stay. Thank you Roy’s! Mele Aloha!

People on Unilocal crack me up. Somehow someone finds something to complain about. And, how anyone could find anything to criticize about this Roy’s baffles me. Roy’s is one of the best restaurants on the Big Island, by far. Meanwhile, it’s important to remember entrees here are going to cost more than across the street at the food court, so if you aren’t prepared to spend money on what most would consider a pricey meal, please don’t come here and use Unilocal to vent your frustrations. This restaurant goes above and beyond to deliver an exceptional experience.
Roy’s is a high end restaurant. Fortunately, you can come wearing shorts, t-​shirts and sandals. This is Hawaii. Not Beverly Hills. Expect phenomenal service. You’re going to get it. In fact, someone may be secretly watching over your shoulder to refill your drink before you take another sip. The staff here aims to deliver your best experience of the trip and doesn’t fall short. If you want to dress up, you can do that, too.
Another thing to consider: you’re in resort county, expect to pay more than you would on the mainland. And, take this into account: the meals here aren’t much more than you’d pay at Tropics Ale House, Macaroni Grill and Sansei, the other restaurants nearby. On the other hand, the quality from Roy’s is unmatched, locally. Do yourself a favor and spend an extra $ 10 – 20 a person and enjoy it. You’re in Hawaii for vacation. In fact, the complimentary edamame is better than any other meal you’ll get nearby.
While Roy’s has plenty on the menu, if you like fish, order the fish here. In fact, stick with the butterfish, mahi mahi, ono or opah. These are local fish, caught locally and taste incredible. The chef does a wonderful job pairing them with seasonings/​sauces that excel and bringing out there flavor and enhancing it. You’ll enjoy every bite. The beef here is great, too, but the local fish is hard to beat.
I don’t order dessert often, but doing so here is a good idea. The upside-​down pineapple cake and chocolate soufflé are so tasty you’ll find room for it in your belly. However, everything here tastes so good most clean their plates. It’s simple: Roy’s will be your best meal on the island, by far.

Reservierung war notwendig. Wir erwarteten bei der angekündigten Preisklasse auch eine adäquate Leistung. Die Lautstärke war schlimmer als im Bierzelt. Die Vorspeiseplatten waren lecker. Allerdings war der Teller schneller abgeräumt als aufgegessen. Wir danken dem schnellen Service das wir wieder das Restaurant verlassen konnten.

Not like it used to be.
I’ve been coming here for ten years now. Brought friends and not the same. Good but very little food and poor service and rushed us out. Plate was very small and high prices. Dinner of four was 300 bucks and we all complained. Sorry Roy won’t be back.