Privateer's Cove

Always a lot of fun to hang/ eat here. Great staff and wonderful food.

Great experience, good food for the price and helps a great cause. Make sure you talk with everyone :)

Privateers Cove has such a fun atmosphere run by passionate people who not only care about your experience, but also about the community. I highly recommend it.

Support our military, support our First Responders! The owner has recently moved into a converted theater which is awesome for all the programs he intends on starting. Great food, great cause.

The gentlemen worked very hard to make us feel at home. The conversation was lively and highly informal, and I can honestly say that the staff seemed to put fun first. We enjoyed our meal, but the best part was the party like atmosphere. The alcohol is strong, delicious and expensive, and Nick made us feel like family while we were there. If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind experience - complete with swords and personal conversations with everyone who works there - this is the place for you!

Great place by great people. A hidden gem well worth seeking out

Epic food as always. Theseguysknow how to source the best ingredients available. Thanks Nick n Crew

At first I thought it was really hokey but....
A really nice experience.
Food was great as was the service.
A little off beat but a meal in Hawaii for less than $100 and a byob is amazing
These guys deserve your business

I am not sure whether to recommend Privateer's Cove or not. I understand the concept and I like it. Making it like someone's home shows ingenuity but I don't know if they are going at it the wrong way.
The server did not submit our order. The chef came out to chat with us because he said he was on a break. I think he knew that we had ordered but he hadn't received our selections. The mac-n-cheese was trumped for having truffle oil to set it apart but it was a bit lacking. My wife loved her steak but it was quite big, option for a smaller size?

I would be interested in giving it another try in a year to see if it was running a little more smoothly.

Very interesting place, good food and conversation with owner.

These guys take the pirate theme seriously!

Daily changing menu and very personalized service. BYOB or grab a drink next door and bring it over.

Love the duck and the venison bolognese on our recent visit.

No frills. No pretension. And NO CELL PHONES Allowed.

Small place so reservations are a good idea.

We enjoyed our dining experience. The service was incredible, the food was fabulous and the atmosphere was fun. I look forward to returning to this restaurant again for dinner.

Wonderful quirky place with great food. BYOB, and happens easily. There is even convenient purchasing next door. Quirky because of some of the unusual ingredients (elk, alligator...depends on what is available from the distributor). Owner is very friendly and down to earth. We also like that veterans and active military get special recognition and donations.

They are really warm and friendly. The portions could be a bit larger. The main courses seem to be a bit small. Mac and cheese is OUTSTANDING! On the rack of lamb, four asparagus would be better than three. More polenta does not cost much, but would be filling. Lamb itself is adequate. I prefer better quality paper napkins. Skip the creme brulee till they sweeten the recipe. Remember to bring your own wine. We will return without a doubt.

Elegant, good food in a casual, relaxed and unusual atmosphere. Highly recommended.

We had:
Appetizer - gorgonzola bread
Main courses - duck, and elk cannelloni
Desserts - creme brulee and cannoli.
All excellent. Portions nicely sized, not too large or too small. Textures were just right. Flavors were bright and spot-on. Neither the CB nor the cannoli were over sweetened - many places mistake sweetness and saltiness for flavor. This place doesn't.

Ambiance: Reminds me of some places we went to at the Jersey shore when I was a kid - glass floats and netting, etc. The room is "live" in an acoustic sense and so might seem louder than the number of people would suggest. Not a bad thing, just something to note.

Expect that you will wind up talking with the folks who make your supper when you go here. The kitchen isn't manned by faceless denizens behind a wall, they're right there and they will talk with you like real human beings. It's a very refreshing change from the normal run of the mill.

Also, the house has four rules, nicely summarized by another reviewer so I won't go over them here. They're serious, so if you don't agree with them (or simply can't go without your cell phone for an hour) I gently suggest you dine elsewhere - both you and the restaurant will be happier. Again this is not a bad thing, but rather the owners standing for things they believe in.

My wife and I are here on vacation, but if we were locals we'd become regulars in short order. Our only regret from this meal is we found them on the last night of our stay on the Big Island, and so could only go there once this trip.

We will be back.

The staff are friendly and very much involved in preparing the appetizers and six main dinner selections. I had the duck, which was flavorful but had a bit too much gristle. My wife's steak proved the better selection. The calamari appetizer was outstanding as was the mac & cheese. The prices are quite reasonable. The location is tucked away in a small shopping center. You'll need GPS to find it. We went based on the Open Table reviews we read and highly recommend the restaurant based on our experience.

BEST RESTAURANT ON KONA!!!! I could leave the review at that, but it's worth talking about. this restaurant is run by Nick, as a non-profit venture that gives him the opportunity to cook what he likes, meet new people, pay a good living wage to his help, and support various small charities on the Big Island. It has only about 40 seats, is pretty much "reservation required," is amazingly friendly and has no liquor license (but no corkage fee either). This isn't a high-brow restaurant, and Nick has a few rules for diners: 1) no cell phones - talk to your neighbors instead, 2) red meat is served rare or medium-rare ONLY, 3) Be nice and understand that we support the men and women in our local police and our military and 4) if you expected fancy ambience or are snooty about your restaurants you should eat elsewhere. This place is all about friendliness, interaction, and GREAT food!
Now the specifics: My husband told the waiter/sous-chef, Mike, that he is totally lactose intolerant. His response was to have Nick the owner/chef come over to our table, introduce himself, sit down with us, and ask "what would you like to eat?" He pulled together a delicious meal for everyone at our table in record time, and the bill was well less than our previous restaurant dinners on the island. Before we had desert, we had already booked our dinner there the next day. Yes, it IS that GOOD, and we had a really unique, fun, and excellent dining experience! Plus we made two more friends on the Island - Mike and Nick.

Great Fun...irreverence mixed with fabulous food. Fun date night...expect to meet other diners...we'll bring another couple next time OR possibly sit at one of the community tables. BYOB (although you can go to their place next door and get wine or beer).

This restaurant is very unique. Owner/ chef Nick and Mike are very funny and entertaining. The food is delicious

We were the only ones inside, staff made it very personal. Shout out to Nick, Mike and Josh. Hell of a dinner. The Mac n cheese dish was unbelievable!!!! If you're in kona, you need to go!

Quirky and interesting. Owner/chef is very outgoing. Food was good, not great.

Nick and Mike are awesome! Each feeds off the other and it works. Have a severe allergy to garlic and Nick fixed a lovely duck and vegetable risotto sans any Garlic. It was so so good and true to his word had no problems. Husband’s favorite spot to eat. Always a special. Need to bring your own libations.