Is Original Thai Still Open? Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Update
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Season 28 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Current status
As of October 2026, Original Thai is open — confirmed via Yelp, June 2026.
What the source shows: A Yelp listing updated June 2026 shows an active, well-reviewed business, and the restaurant's own website, checked September 8, 2026, still lists current hours under the same name. How we decide a status →
- Episode Season 28, Episode 18
- Aired
- Address 75-5629 Kuakini Hwy, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
- Website originalthai.co
- Show map
© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
What happened after Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives?
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives visited Original Thai in the episode "Far East Flavorfest," aired August 31, 2018, for its family-style Thai home cooking. The restaurant is family owned and operated by Saing and her two daughters, according to its own website, and sits along Kuakini Highway in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. A Yelp listing for Original Thai Cuisine, updated June 2026, shows an active base of more than 500 reviews, and Tripadvisor's 2026 ranking of Kailua-Kona restaurants rates the business 4.3 of 5 across 262 reviews. The restaurant's own website, checked September 8, 2026, still lists current hours and an online ordering option under the Original Thai Cuisine name, matching the Kuakini Highway address in Google's Places listing, which likewise shows the restaurant as operational.
The episode
Also in Season 28
Season 28: 38 of 57 still open · 6 renamed, moved or under new owners
-
Ep 17Kanaka Kava
Open - Open
- Renamed
-
Ep 18Bok a Bok
Closed -
Ep 18Del Seoul
Open -
Ep 19Blue Toba
Open - Open
-
Ep 19MFK
New owners
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Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources we checked
- Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/original-thai-cuisine-kailua-kona
- originalthai.co http://originalthai.co/
We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.
Record ddd-1060 · checked by Cal Marchetti.