Naupaka Beach Grill
Casual open-air resort grill at The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort with ocean views, a bar program, and lunch-to-dinner service. The menu leans toward American resort fare with Hawaiian touches, including poke, burgers, sandwiches, and fish tacos.
- Open-air poolside setting
- Ocean views
- Bar with craft beer and cocktails
- Lunch and dinner service
Naupaka Beach Grill is the kind of resort restaurant that earns its place through setting as much as menu. Perched at The Westin Hapuna Beach Resort on the Big Island’s Kohala Coast, it delivers the easygoing mix travelers want after a beach day: open-air seating, ocean views, a bar with cocktails and beer, and a menu that moves comfortably from lunch into dinner. It is not trying to be a destination fine-dining room. Its appeal is more practical and immediate: casual, scenic, and reliably broad enough to suit a range of appetites.
What it does best
The menu lives in a familiar resort-grill lane, but with enough Hawaiian character to keep it from feeling generic. Expect poke, fish tacos, burgers, sandwiches, salads, and a few richer entrées, with local ingredients and island flavors woven through the lineup. That makes Naupaka especially useful for groups, since it can satisfy both the person looking for seafood and the one who just wants a good burger.
A few dishes stand out as recurring favorites and likely safe bets. Hapunachos — the loaded nacho-style starter — has a signature feel, while the poke dishes, fish tacos, coconut shrimp, and burgers fit the restaurant’s sweet spot. The dinner menu also reaches into heartier territory with items like loco moco, ribs, skirt steak, and fresh catch plates, so the kitchen is not limited to light poolside fare. For travelers who want a meal that feels distinctly Hawaiian without becoming precious or formal, this is a strong middle ground.
The experience and the setting
The real draw here is the atmosphere around the meal. Naupaka is open-air and poolside, with the beach and ocean shaping the entire experience. It is the sort of place that works for a lingering lunch, an unhurried sunset dinner, or a convenient on-property meal when the priority is a view and a low-friction night out. Casual resort attire fits the room, and the setting keeps the mood relaxed rather than polished.
That resort context also gives the restaurant its personality. Naupaka functions as the casual grill in the Westin Hapuna dining lineup, which means it is designed to be approachable and flexible rather than highly specialized. The result is a place that feels integrated into the rhythm of a beach resort: families, couples, and travelers moving between pool, sand, and dinner all fit naturally here. For many visitors, that combination is the point.
Tradeoffs to keep in mind
The upside of scenery and convenience comes with a familiar resort-restaurant tradeoff: pricing is not casual-local, even if the setting is casual in feel. This is a “$$” meal, not a budget stop. Menu prices run well above neighborhood-grill levels, and the value proposition depends partly on whether the view, location, and convenience matter to the trip.
Consistency is the other caution. The food can be satisfying, but the strongest patterns in traveler feedback are about the setting first and the kitchen second. Some diners leave pleased with the meal and service; others find the execution merely okay for the price. That does not make Naupaka a bad choice, but it does mean expectations matter. It is best approached as a scenic resort meal that happens to serve solid crowd-pleasers, not as a place where the food alone carries the entire experience.
Who it’s best for
Naupaka Beach Grill is a smart pick for travelers staying on or near the Kohala Coast who want an easy, attractive place to eat without leaving the resort zone. It suits families, mixed groups, and beach-day diners especially well, since the menu covers a wide range of tastes and includes vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free markers. Seafood seekers will find plenty to work with, but so will anyone who just wants a straightforward, well-situated lunch or dinner.
It is less compelling for visitors chasing high-value local food, a deeply distinctive chef-driven concept, or a quiet, intimate dinner. Those travelers may be happier elsewhere. But for a relaxed meal with ocean views, familiar comforts, and enough Hawaiian inflection to feel rooted in place, Naupaka Beach Grill is exactly the sort of resort restaurant that makes a stay on this coast easier.
