Kona Grill - Denver

I've come to Kona grill for 5+ years because it's an easy yes when you're in the mall and this past year it has completely fallen off. Let's start with the basics. We were seated on a high top and quickly realized that almost half of the high top chairs in the main dining area are broken and without a foot rest. We did what we could to swap our broken chairs with working ones from other tables and the staff didn't intervene as I imagine this is something that happens often. When we finally sat down (at the high top table near the kitchen entrance) we noticed a very strange smell coming from the kitchen. It was hard to put a finger on but it smelled like body odor (someone in the kitchen not wearing deodorant) and old wet rags. It wasn't atrocious at first so we didn't request to move, partially because we realized that would involve moving all the chairs again, but it came in waves and by the end of the meal it was intolerable. Now lets get to the meal. We asked for the happy hour menu because it wasn't on the paper menu and the server told us to use the touch interface on the table but it turned out that it wasn't working and she had to replace it. We ordered white wine as we knew that was on the happy hour menu and ~5 minutes later the server returned to tell us that they were out of the white wine they use for the happy hour. We could order white wine but it was going to now be full price. You'd think that any restaurant advertising a happy hour for something as basic as white wine would just pour the other wine as this is their mistake but nope. Pure bait and switch and it would be hard to believe but this exact thing happened to us the last time we were here a few months ago. We then ordered sushi from the happy hour and two mains which we asked to be spaced so that the sushi comes out first. We waited for our dishes as waves of BO hit us from the kitchen and we watched other customers enter, realize the chairs are mostly broken and then try to find somewhere else to sit. And of course, after a while, our mains were not spaced and arrived before the appetizers. The food was ok. Something tasted a little off in the pad thai (there was a weird sand like texture) and the glazed salmon was a small sliver plated next to a dump of fried rice (see photo). Each dish cost more than ~$35 and, by all standards, was not worth it. One of the only reasons we were there and ordered mains vs sticking to the happy hour was that we had a deal to get buy one get one mains. We mentioned this to our server (who provided fine service the entire night) and she said cool and then took the book to her manager who then told her this deal doesn't work on holidays. The coupon itself doesn't say this but it's in the fine print of the passbook and the deal was denied. At this point, we just wanted to get out of there to escape the smell so we paid the bill and left. I'm writing such a long review because this place used to be good! and I have no idea what happened to it but it's a mess on so many levels. The servers also look stressed which makes me think this is just poorly managed. I was also shocked to see that Kona had such a high rating until you check the reviews (16,000+ reviews with new ones comes coming in every hour) and click on any of the 5 star reviews complimenting random servers and you realize that these are all fake or farmed. This is shady stuff and I hope this place improves.

I’ve been coming to Kona Grill at Cherry Creek Mall for years. It is one of my favorite places to eat for a quick bite. I’ve even had a birthday party here many moons ago. Great staff and I love the happy hour. It has the most reasonable prices and the food tastes delicious. Saoirse the server and Zander the GM are incredibly kind and hospitable. They both hooked me up with a comp shot when I was having a very bad day. Wonderful team. See for yourselves

Great happy hour menu! Really enjoyed the large Sapporo and saki for $6. Upscale vibe. You’ll forget you’re in Denver! Nicely adjoins the mall so you can do some shopping afterwards. They validate parking too. Overall a nice experience and I’d be happy to return.

Date lunch at Kona Grill while celebrating a post-Valentine’s with my boyfriend, and it was perfect! Our server, Hector, was the best—very attentive and always with a smile on his face. He truly made our experience extra special. The food was absolutely delicious! We didn’t even get a chance to take a picture of our avocado egg roll because we devoured it so quickly—it was that good! Everything was amazing from start to finish. Highly recommend! 💕