The Honu

Okay: the Honu is a tiki bar, not a beach bar. What's the difference? They both have thatching and the occasional carved idol, right? Yeah, but the drinks are qualitatively different. Beach bars serve boat drinks: frozen daiquiris, pina coladas, Coronas with lime wedges. Tampa Bay has a lot of beach bars. Tiki bars serve complicated alcohol fantasies. Take the Honu Punch pictured: the menu description reads "Planteray Pineapple, 3 Star White & Dark, JDT Velvet Falernum, Lime, Lemon, Guava, Lilikoi, Pineapple, Orange, Agave Cinnamon Syrup, Angostura Bitters". Tampa Bay has very, very few tiki bars.Fortunately, the Honu is a *great* tiki bar. Their original drinks are good. Their classic drinks are good. And, their ambiance is uniquely Floridian, in the good way: the tiki bar is fully outside. (Most classic tiki bars tend to be dimly lit and fully enclosed; if you want that experience in Tampa, go to Morgan's Cove. But that's a different review.) The service is quick and attentive, and the bartenders are fun to talk to. Do be aware of one downside of an outside bar full of syrups: you may be visited by bees. They probably won't bother you, but don't let them have any mai tais.The Honu is *also* a great restaurant, though. On various visits I've had their Spam musubi (IYKYK), their take on a kalua pork plate lunch, the spicy peanut chicken rice bowl, and the Huli Huli chicken "stack" (a rice and greens bowl). It's all been good, fresh, and flavorful.There's only a small amount of parking right at the Honu, but finding free parking in downtown Dunedin within a short distance is always pretty easy--and it's one of the nicest and most walkable downtowns in Tampa Bay.

Have been waiting to try Honu, and dined on a Thursday night. Live music was very nice in the back dining area. Our group enjoyed their Mai Tais, and my designated driver water was outstanding. Our server was terrific.I ordered the Mixed Plate and the chicken was hot and had a bit if zing to it. The pork left something to be desired. I felt it was a bit on the dry side.I'd go again and try something else.It's great that they have a private parking area in busy downtown Dundein.

I've been wanting to try this place for a while. They have some parking in the side of the place for convenience but tons of parking near by. The inside eating area is small with 4 tables but they have plenty of outside seating. In the back they have a tiki bar and I wish we would've sat there because they had a live band and was very lively but we weren't told about it until the end of our meal. The food is very good, we got down musubi which could've had more of a sauce on it to make it a little less dry but still good. I ordered the pork plate and it wasn't dry and very good. The chicken peanut curry bowl was always delicious and the best meal at our table. Super friendly with our server answering all our questions and the drink recommendations were excellent choices. The bathrooms are clean and overall a nice Polynesian - Hawaiian experience

The Honu Is delicious! There is a reason this place has rest reviews because the food is delicious. I ordered the Hawaiian pulled pork sandwich and I didn't leave one crumb. Outside there is a tiki bar with other seating and inside there is a quaint dining area for those who prefer less action. Only minus is I stood outside waiting to be seated for about 8-10 minutes.

Went with a friend on a chilly night so didn't get to enjoy outdoor tiki bar as expected but had some fun appetizers inside. We shared the edamame and pupu platter. Drink menu is extensive and some great flavors. The edamame had way too much seasame oil but pupu platter variety was good

Cool chill spot.Wife and I have passed this location many many times so tonight we decided to stop in for dinner. You have tithe option to sit outside, inside and tikibar seating area. We opted to sit inside due to potential rain. Inside was quiet with lots of Hawaiian decor from floor to ceiling. According to our server they have 500 rum drinks to choose from. We are not much of a drinker so we passed on that. They have a small menu that is dedicated to Hawaiian flavors. We ordered PuPu platter and mixed plate. Both were full of flavor and the Pupu platter comes with a little grill to reheat you protein in case it gets cold because you're chitchatting. Service was friendly and quick. Definitely an experience we didn't expect with the mini grill. We will be back to try other items on the menu.

Friends brought us for our first visit to The Honu. It had just finished pouring down rain, and we had planned to sit outside at the Tiki bar. The tables outside the hut were sopped and the bar full, but when two people got up, staff quickly cleaned up the area and made us welcome, as did the other patrons (regulars?) at the bar. The decor was tropical and had a super fun, Hawaii vibe which was very inviting and really made us feel comfortable. We were just there for drinks, but boy were the fantastic. We had the Mai Tai, Jungle Bird, and Zombie, all of which not only were visually beautiful, but were delicious. Toward the end, our friend ordered a tasting of 4 Rums. The bartender was particularly knowledgeable about all the rums and explained the flavor profiles and reason for her selections for us. Afterwards, she had us sniff test a couple of other rums and explained the background of them. All the staff was super friendly and really knew their drinks. Several people at the bars had ordered food, and it looked truly amazing. We can't wait to go back and try more drinks and their yummy food!

So disappointed on the 3rd visit here.Saturday night, around 7:15, with a party of 4. Was told there is a 20-minute wait ... but I pointed out there were plenty of empty bar seats and we were fine with that. Make that make sense.

We had high expectations for the Honu. We have a love for Hawaiian food. Overall things went well at the Honu. The service was great. It was a bit chilly outside but they have a few outdoor heaters. The drinks were good, specifically the Rum Punch. The other drinks looked good as well and weren't badly priced. The food initially seemed great. The prices weren't bad. We ordered the Mixed plate (ie traditional Hawaiian plate) and the Poke (appetizer). The poke was some great quality, finally diced tuna and was pretty good. The mixed plate was ok and met expectations. The chicken was a bit sweeter than expected, the Kalua Pork was a bit dry but overall flavorful. The rice and Mac salad were smaller portions than expected for the price and were nothing special. I expected slightly better portion sizes for the overall price and a bit higher quality given what we heard from others and what we expect from Hawaiian Food. . Would we go back? Possibly. Are we running to go back? No.

Great vibes at this place. The staff is always kind and attentive. My husband loves the moco loco.