Quick answer: For the best poke in Kona, go to Umeke’s, Da Poke Shack, or the poke counter at KTA. Order shoyu or spicy ahi by the pound, buy it the day you eat it, and take it back to your lanai or down to the water. If you are staying up the hill in Kealakekua, pick it up on your way home from Kailua-Kona and eat it on the lanai.
Poke is not a special occasion here. It is what you pick up on the way back from the water, eaten out of the container with a plastic fork before you have quite made it home. So if you are hunting for the best poke in Kona, the first thing worth knowing is that most of the good stuff is not sold in a restaurant with a host stand. It is sold by the pound, over a counter, by people who have been cutting fish since early that morning.
We host guests up and down this coast and this is the question we get most after coffee. Here is how we actually think about it, including the parts nobody puts in a roundup.
Where you sleep changes how the poke run works, so it is worth saying plainly. Casa Aloha is in Kailua-Kona, a few minutes from every counter on this page, which makes it the easy one for a last minute pound of ahi. Casa Grateful and Casa Gratitude are up the hill in Kealakekua, about twenty five minutes south, so poke there is something you buy in town and bring home rather than something you pop out for. All three are on our homes and booking page.
Where we go for the best poke in Kona
Umeke’s. This is our pick, and it has been for years. Best poke on this side of the island, and the one we name when a guest asks us to just tell them where to go. Get the shoyu ahi if you want the benchmark. It is also a proper sit down meal if you want one, which makes it the easy answer when half your group wants a bowl and the other half wants lunch. There are two of them in Kailua-Kona, a smaller counter and a larger sit down fish market and grill, so check which one you are heading for before you drive.
Da Poke Shack. The one visitors have usually heard of, and it earns the reputation. Small operation, big portions, and a line at midday that moves faster than it looks. Go before noon if you can.
The KTA counter. This is the local answer and it surprises people. The poke counter inside KTA Super Stores is real poke, cut fresh, priced like groceries rather than like a meal, and available while you are already buying the rest of the week’s food. If you are staying in a house with a kitchen, this is the efficient move, and our guide to buying groceries in Kona covers the rest of that shop.
Hours on this side of the island move around more than you would expect, especially on Sundays and holidays. A quick call before you drive is never wasted. Our wider list of Kona restaurants we actually send guests to has more of the same kind of note, and our Kailua-Kona eat and drink page is the shorter version. For the nights you want a table and a view instead of a container, see our special occasion dining page.
The honest part about staying in South Kona
Two of our homes are up the hill in Kealakekua, and we will say plainly what that means for poke. The counters are in town. Down here you have wonderful food, including the most authentic Hawaiian plate around at Ka’aloa’s Super J’s, which closes when it sells out and is really a lunch stop rather than a dinner one. What you do not have is a fish counter five minutes away. If you are weighing up the two towns before you book, our guide to where to stay near Kealakekua Bay and our comparison of Kealakekua lodging against Kona hotels both lay out that tradeoff honestly.
So the way it works for our guests is simple. You are already going into Kailua-Kona for something, a snorkel, an errand, the airport run at the start or end of a trip. You will have a car, because you need one here. You buy poke while you are there, you drive it home in a cooler bag, and you eat it on the lanai at the end of the afternoon. Honestly, that is the better version anyway. The full picture of what is close to us is on our South Kona eat and drink guide.
What to order when you get to the counter
Most counters have eight or ten things in the case and no explanation of any of them. The short version:
Shoyu ahi. Soy sauce, sesame oil, green onion, sweet onion. This is the baseline and the one to judge a place by. If the shoyu is good, everything else will be.
Spicy ahi. Usually mayonnaise based, often with sriracha or chili flake. Rich, popular with kids and with anyone unsure about raw fish, because it tastes more like a salad than a statement.
Limu. Made with limu, the seaweed, and often inamona, which is roasted and crushed kukui nut. This is the oldest style and the most local. If you want to taste what poke was before it became a menu category anywhere else, order this one.
Avocado, tako, or whatever is written on tape. The handwritten labels are a good sign. Tako is octopus, chewier than ahi and worth trying once. Anything labeled in pen rather than printed usually means it was made this morning.
Ask what came in. The answer is the real menu. If the person behind the counter tells you the ahi landed that morning, order the ahi, whatever you were planning.
How to buy it well
Poke is sold by the pound. A pound is a generous lunch for two people with rice, and the rice is usually a separate small charge, which catches people out at the register. Go at lunchtime rather than at five in the afternoon, because the case is fullest in the middle of the day and the best styles sell out first.
And eat it the day you buy it. This is the part visitors get wrong. Poke is not leftovers. It is dressed raw fish and it is at its best within a few hours of being cut, so buy what you will finish rather than stocking the fridge.
Bring a cooler bag if you are driving it anywhere. Every rental car on this island has a hot trunk and a twenty minute drive up the hill in the afternoon sun is not kind to a pound of ahi. Casa Grateful and Casa Aloha both come with a cooler, along with beach chairs, an umbrella and snorkel gear. Casa Gratitude does not, so pick up a cheap foam cooler with your poke if you are staying there.
Where to eat it
Our honest favorite is the lanai, late afternoon, after a morning in the water at Kealakekua Bay or anywhere else on our ocean activities page. Second favorite is a beach with actual shade, which narrows the field on this coast considerably. Our notes on the beaches near Kona say which ones have somewhere to sit and which are beautiful lava rock with nowhere to put a towel.
If you are building a day around it, the pattern that works is water in the morning, poke and a cold drink in the early afternoon, then nothing much. Our guide to things to do in Kona and our seven day itinerary both leave room for exactly that. It is also the right dinner for your first day off the plane, when cooking is beyond you and sitting down in a restaurant at eight at night is a long way off. Start the next morning with coffee and breakfast somewhere worth the drive.
Frequently asked questions
What is poke?
Raw fish, usually ahi, cut into cubes and dressed simply. The word means to cut or to slice. It is an everyday local food in Hawaii rather than a delicacy, traditionally seasoned with sea salt, limu and inamona, and more often now with soy sauce and sesame oil.
Where is the best poke in Kona?
Umeke’s is our pick and the one we send guests to first. Da Poke Shack is the visitor favorite and deserves it. The poke counter at KTA Super Stores is the quiet local answer and the best value of the three.
Is it safe to eat raw fish poke?
Yes, when it is fresh and handled properly, which at a busy counter that sells out daily it generally is. Buy from somewhere with turnover, eat it the same day, and keep it cold in between. If you are pregnant or immunocompromised, the usual raw fish advice applies and the cooked options on the same menu are good.
Can you buy poke at the grocery store in Kona?
Yes, and you should. KTA Super Stores has a poke counter that many locals prefer to the restaurants. It is cut fresh, sold by the pound, and priced like food rather than like a plated meal.
How much poke should I buy per person?
Half a pound per person is a full lunch with rice. A pound feeds two comfortably. Buy less than you think and go back tomorrow, since it does not keep well overnight.
Which of your homes is best for a poke run?
Casa Aloha in Kailua-Kona, because every counter on this page is a few minutes away and you can walk to dinner on the nights you would rather not drive. Casa Grateful and Casa Gratitude in Kealakekua are about twenty five minutes south of the counters, which is a fair trade for the quiet and the ocean view, but it means buying poke on the way home rather than on impulse.
Do your homes have a cooler for carrying poke home?
Casa Grateful and Casa Aloha do, along with beach chairs, an umbrella and snorkel gear. Casa Gratitude does not. All three have full kitchens, so rice, a knife and somewhere to sit down with it are covered either way. Our FAQ page has the rest of the house details.
Do you need a car to get poke in Kona?
If you are staying in Kealakekua, yes. If you are staying in Kailua-Kona you could manage on foot for a day or two, but you will want a car for the rest of the trip anyway, and our rental car guide explains why.
If you would rather eat it somewhere with a view and a kitchen to come home to, Casa Grateful suits a couple, Casa Gratitude suits a family or a group, and Casa Aloha is the one for anyone who wants to walk to town. All three are on our homes page, or just ask us what is good this week.