Heavenly Island Lifestyle Hawaii Kai sits dock-front inside Koko Marina Center at 7192 Kalanianaole Highway, built around what its owners call a Moani and Lana concept, breeze and veranda, and until recently Tuesday wasn't even a night you could get dinner there. That changed not long ago. Heavenly announced that Tuesday happy hour and dinner service are back, meaning the restaurant now runs happy hour and dinner seven days a week. A new breakfast menu followed, adding a Mini Fresh Juice and Acai Set that can now be paired with any main dish instead of just the burgers.
Kona Brewing's Hawai'i Kai pub, set on the docks of Koko Marina, has been pouring beer since 2003. It is the more established name on this stretch of water, and it has published a Spring 2026 menu of its own.
Heavenly is still widening its hours and menu, while Kona Brewing is 23 years into its run on the same shoreline. Each restaurant at Koko Marina Center is working out how to keep a waterfront seat busy in its own way, and the details differ from one door to the next.
Fifty Years, Three Different Rhythms
Koko Marina Center describes itself as having served this part of Hawaii Kai for 50 years, and the mix on any given night still bears that out: a brewpub open since 2003, a newer marina-front concept that has been expanding its hours, and a handful of steady mid-tier tenants that haven't made news in either direction. The most visible recent change is Heavenly's move to seven-day dinner service.
The Pub That's Been Pouring Since 2003
Kona Brewing's Hawai'i Kai location is an approximately 7,000-square-foot space set on the docks, with seating for 275 and a 24-tap delivery system, designed to look like a Hawaiian canoe house with ohia posts and copper light fixtures shaped like beer logos. Its listing also invites guests to watch football on Sunday mornings, ahead of the 10:15 a.m. kickoff.
Diner feedback is mixed, as it is for any busy restaurant. OpenTable's summary of recent guest reviews praises the service, the food, and the marina views, and it also mentions reduced menu choices while noting that the beer and setting remain popular. One reviewer who posted within the last month was more critical:
"This place has sadly lost its luster."
That reviewer cited a reduced menu and changes to the loyalty program. It is one diner's view, and Kona Brewing's own site shows a current Spring 2026 menu, so the pub continues to refresh what it serves.
What Roy's Hasn't Changed
Roy's Hawaii Kai offers a useful contrast, because it's the other restaurant on this corridor with real tenure. Per its own description, it has been serving Roy Yamaguchi's Hawaiian-inspired Euro-Asian menu here for more than 35 years, built around fresh seafood elevated with Asian spices and European sauces. Nothing in the current reviews or its own updates points to a scaled-back menu or reduced hours. Roy's and Kona Brewing each run their own course along the same shoreline.
The Room That Closed So the Counter Could Stay Open
As the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported, the clearest example of a restaurant actually shrinking at Koko Marina happened at Zippy's. The location opened in 1987, and its dine-in room closed for good in February 2023, while the takeout counter and bakery kept running seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. FCH Enterprises president Paul Yokota said at the time that staffing the dine-in section had been a long-standing challenge, and that closing it let the company keep "the vast majority of your Zippy's favorites," including the chili, the Zip Pac, and Korean fried chicken, available at the counter. The physical dine-in space reverted to Koko Marina Center's own management once the restaurant gave it up.
Zippy's cited staffing as the reason, noting the dine-in room had historically been difficult to staff fully. That history sets the backdrop for Heavenly, which is currently adding days and menu items to its own marina-front dining room.
The Middle of the Dock Hasn't Moved
Not every restaurant here is in motion. Assaggio Hawaii Kai has held its spot as the center's sit-down Italian option without the churn seen elsewhere on the block. Greek Marina, at the same 7192 Kalanianaole Highway address, and Tropics Hawaii Kai, a waterfront spot known for weekend brunch, sports on the flatscreens, and live music, round out a middle tier that's been neither expanding nor contracting in any way the recent record shows.
If you're mapping the current lineup at Koko Marina Center, it looks roughly like this:
- Expanding right now: Heavenly Island Lifestyle Hawaii Kai, now open seven days a week for dinner with a new breakfast menu recently added
- Open since 2003: Kona Brewing's Hawai'i Kai pub, with a Spring 2026 menu posted on its site
- Reduced but not gone: Zippy's Koko Marina, dine-in closed since 2023, takeout counter and bakery still running daily
- Holding position: Assaggio Hawaii Kai, Greek Marina, and Tropics Hawaii Kai
What This Actually Means for a Weeknight Here
Each restaurant here answers the same question on its own terms, which is how to keep a waterfront seat busy on a weeknight. Heavenly answers with more hours and a bigger menu. Kona Brewing answers with a canoe-house pub, 24 taps, and Sunday football. Nearby, Roy's answers with a seafood-focused menu that has held for more than 35 years. Zippy's answered in 2023 by keeping the takeout counter and closing the dine-in room.
For a Tuesday dinner with a marina view, Heavenly now serves happy hour from 2 to 4 p.m. and dinner after 4 p.m., with last orders at 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
If you've noticed the same shifts on your own walks down to the marina and you're curious what else is changing in this corner of East Oahu, Francein Hansen keeps a close eye on the small operational details, dining included, that tell you more about a place than its listing photos ever will.
