Overview
Johnny’s Restaurant is a casual, all-day spot at Waikoloa Village Golf Club on the Big Island. The core identity is fairly clear: the Google Places record and the restaurant’s own site match on name, address, phone, website, and daily 9 a.m.–8 p.m. hours, with the business currently marked operational. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
For a traveler, this is the kind of place that matters less as a destination dining room and more as a practical, comfortable stop with broad appeal: breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, and golf-course seating. The appeal is strongest if you want an easier, more relaxed meal in Waikoloa Village rather than a resort-facing splurge. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
Cuisine & Specialties
Johnny’s leans into American casual dining with a local-Hawaii streak. The breakfast menu is built around familiar plates, but it also includes Hawaii-appropriate comfort food like loco moco and an “Island Classic” with Spam, rice, eggs, and toast. The published menu suggests a straightforward, hearty lane rather than chef-driven experimentation. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
- Overall menu style: American breakfast-and-grill food, with burgers, pub-style fare, and local comfort dishes; secondary listings describe it as American/bar/pub and note breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
- Notable items with support: Steak & Eggs, Country Fried Steak, Ricotta Eggs, Breakfast Patty Melt, Loco Moco, Island Classic (Spam, rice, eggs), blueberry pancakes, and cinnamon swirl pancakes. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
- Traveler-favorite dinner signals: Review snippets point to burgers, fish and chips, prime rib nights, shrimp tempura, a spicy chicken sandwich, chopped cheese, and a fish-of-the-day Caesar salad as recurring positives. Some of those are from review summaries rather than the official menu, so they should be treated as supported but not definitive for every visit. (restaurantji.com)
- Drink expectations: Secondary sources repeatedly mention a full bar, cocktails, and a coconut mai tai; Tripadvisor also notes beer served in frosted mugs. (restaurantji.com)
- Price range / spend: Google lists it at price level 2, and review language consistently frames it as reasonably priced for Hawaiʻi rather than cheap. In traveler terms, expect moderate casual-dining pricing, not bargain-fast-food pricing. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
- Dietary usefulness / limits: There is at least one vegetarian omelet on the breakfast menu, and a gluten-free listing exists on a third-party site, but the official menu itself is not especially broad for vegetarians or diners with strict dietary needs. Because the menu is built around eggs, meat, gravy, burgers, and Spam, the fit is probably better for mixed groups than for highly restrictive diets. This is an inference from the menu, not an explicit claim by the restaurant. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
Notable Features & Ambiance
The setting is one of the main reasons people remember the place: it sits at the Waikoloa Village Golf Club with indoor and patio seating looking toward the course/driving range. That gives it a relaxed, open, somewhat local feel rather than a resort-restaurant polish. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
- Service model and seating: Table service, with dine-in and takeout noted by secondary sources; the restaurant also promotes reservations by phone. (restaurantji.com)
- Atmosphere and decor: Casual, golf-course-adjacent, with patio seating and a sports-bar edge. Review summaries mention a lively Wednesday/Friday night scene and live music, especially around prime rib night. (tripadvisor.com)
- Amenities / practical features: Full bar, cocktails, parking, and private dining room are all supported by review-platform listings. (tripadvisor.com)
- Best fit: Breakfast before exploring the Kohala side, an easy family meal, a golf-course lunch, or a relaxed dinner where the scenery and comfort food matter more than culinary novelty. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
- Weaker fit: Travelers looking for destination-level island cuisine, highly refined service, or a dining room that feels especially intimate or quiet may find it too casual and too bar-adjacent. This is an inference from the published descriptions and review patterns. (restaurantji.com)
History & Background
Publicly available background is limited. The restaurant’s site frames it simply as “Johnny’s Waikoloa” at Waikoloa Village Golf Club, with no detailed founder story, chef biography, or ownership timeline on the pages reviewed. There is enough to confirm the place is established and locally rooted in Waikoloa Village, but not enough to build a richer origin story from the sources found. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
Review Sentiment Snapshot
What People Love
Review patterns are consistently positive on value, friendly service, and the setting. People repeatedly call out the golf-course view, the patio, the full bar, and comfort-food dishes that are either generous or satisfying for the price. Specific recurring favorites include burgers, country fried steak, loco moco, fish and chips, prime rib nights, and cocktails like the coconut mai tai. Overall sentiment looks solidly favorable rather than trendy-hyped. (restaurantji.com)
Common Gripes
The main recurring caution is that service can be slow at times. That complaint appears alongside praise for friendliness and attentiveness, so it reads as a moderate operational tradeoff rather than a severe red flag. The other implied limitation is menu breadth: several reviews note the menu is not huge, which may be a plus for some travelers and a downside for others. (restaurantji.com)
Practical Visitor Tips
- The restaurant’s own site and Google both show daily hours of 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.; this is the clearest hours signal available and is current as of the latest fetch. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
- Reservations are accepted by phone at (808) 238-0004; the site also lists a separate text line for private events. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
- If you want the most distinctive experience, aim for patio seating overlooking the course or go during a livelier evening service window; review summaries mention Wednesday and Friday nights as especially active. (tripadvisor.com)
- Expect a casual, moderate-price meal rather than a high-end resort dinner. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
- If you’re sensitive to slower service, plan for a relaxed meal and avoid visiting when you are in a hurry. That caution is supported by multiple review summaries. (restaurantji.com)
- The location is straightforward: 68-1790 Melia St, Waikoloa Village, HI 96738, at Waikoloa Village Golf Club. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
Verification Notes
- Official site, Google Places, and third-party listings all agree on the core identity: Johnny’s Restaurant / Johnny’s Waikoloa, 68-1790 Melia St, Waikoloa Village, HI 96738, (808) 238-0004, website johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
- Business status appears operational on Google and “We’re Open” on the official site. (johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com)
- No major verification issues found.
Sources
- Johnny’s Restaurants official site —
https://www.johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com/— retrieved 2026-04-01 — Best source for identity confirmation, hours, reservations, and the golf-club setting. - Johnny’s Waikoloa breakfast menu page —
https://www.johnnysrestaurantshawaii.com/johnnys-waikoloa— retrieved 2026-04-01 — Best source for menu structure, specific breakfast dishes, and price points. - Google Places record for Johnny’s Restaurant —
https://maps.google.com/?cid=13948213655313143991— retrieved 2026-04-01 — Baseline identity anchor for address, phone, website, rating, price level, and operational status. - Restaurantji listing for Johnny’s Restaurant —
https://www.restaurantji.com/hi/waikoloa-village/johnny-s-restaurant-/— retrieved 2026-04-01 — Useful for review-pattern synthesis, atmosphere cues, and recurring mentions of slow service, golf-course views, cocktails, and lively nights. - Tripadvisor listing for Johnnys-Waikoloa —
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60608-d15607990-Reviews-Johnnys_Waikoloa-Waikoloa_Kohala_Coast_Island_of_Hawaii_Hawaii.html— retrieved 2026-04-01 — Useful for third-party confirmation of cuisine category, meal types, price band, patio/golf-course seating, and recurring praise for prime rib and value.
