Any recent recommendations for restaurants in and near Kona?

Here is a site with restaurant reviews for all of the islands. There are some listed for Kona area. Also good maps including detailed map of Kona.

www.driveguidemagazines.com

Hands down,
the Kona Inn is my choice. Great food, atmosphere, waterfront and nice drinks. Good luck.

Kona Inn is a very good choice. Also, we enjoyed the Kona Beach Club Bar & Grill.....waterfront location in Kona and great Ahi (tuna) steak sandwiches. If you like sushi, try Hayashi's....a very small place in the back of a shopping mall in downtown Kona. Limited selection of fish (tuna, eel, salmon, crab & shrimp) but they will make sushi rolls to customer's order. Large sushi rolls in the $3 - $5 range. We picked up several "to go" orders and went to a nice beach park to eat.

Bubba Gump was great - good food & excellent location. We had a wonderful table on the water & the 30 minute wait was worth it. The food took unusually long & the waiter kept apologizing though we were having a good time & had not complained. When our dinner arrived, the manager came to our table, apologized for the delay & said he would take something off our entrees. We were shocked (pleasantly) when we got the bill & saw that it was 50 % off. We actually told them that was not necessary but they said that was the least they could do to make up for the delay! Now that's service!

Bubba Gumps, also in Lahaina Maui.
YUM!

If you're into Asian food try Sibu Cafe in Kailua. It's small, family run and closes early, but the food is really good. Also, Kona Brewing Company is usually a safe bet for a great meal.

By the way, if you go to the Kona Inn, try the Thai Lemongrass soup. Super spicy but with a sweet finish. Excellent stuff!