What Are the Vegan Options at Kona Grill?

Kona Grill is a sushi and American-grill chain. If you are vegan, the first thing worth knowing about it is not what is on the menu — it is what the company does and does not publish about that menu.

Answer: nothing at Kona Grill can be confirmed vegan from an official source. Kona Grill publishes no allergen information at all, and no vegan or vegetarian designation on any item. It does publish a Kona-branded nutrition table — including per-item cholesterol, which is the one figure that can rule an item out — but the document is dated 2022 and is not linked from any page on the site. The button on Kona Grill’s own nutrition page, labelled “View food nutritional information”, serves a PDF belonging to a different restaurant chain.

A correction to an earlier version of this page: it described that Kona-branded document as a “calories-only sheet.” It is not. It carries Calories, Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium, Carbs, Fiber, Sugars and Protein for every item — and the cholesterol column does real work for a vegan reader, which the earlier version never used. That data is now set out below.

That is an unusual finding, so the evidence for it is set out first. Everything below was checked against Kona Grill’s own website on 31 July 2026.

What Kona Grill Actually Publishes

Its nutrition page links another brand’s document

konagrill.com/nutrition/ says, verbatim:

“Click below to view or download the most up-to-date nutritional info for Kona Grill. Our PDF includes full nutrition breakdowns.”

The button beneath that sentence links to benihana.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/c114d5a3-benihana-food-nutritional-info-1.2025_d.pdf. We downloaded and read it. It carries a BENIHANA masthead, is headed “Nutritional Information – U.S.”, is dated January 2025 in the top-right corner, and its last page footers read benihana.com. Its contents are Benihana’s menu — Edamame, Tuna Tartare, Pork Gyoza Dumplings, Hibachi Chicken Rice, Benihana Onion Soup, Benihana Salad. The word “Kona” appears zero times in the entire eight-page document.

It also has no allergen data of any kind, for either brand. Its only columns are Serving Size, Calories, Calories from Fat, Total Fat, Saturated Fat, Trans Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium, Total Carbohydrates, Dietary Fiber, Sugars and Protein. The words “allergen”, “vegan” and “vegetarian” appear zero times.

There is a Kona-branded PDF, but it is four years old and unlinked

Kona Grill’s own media library does hold a Kona-branded nutrition sheet: konagrill.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kona-Grill-2022-Nutritional-Menu.pdf. Its embedded title is “Kona Grill Menu Nutritional Information 2022” and its creation date is 28 April 2022; the 2025 date in the path is only when the file was re-uploaded. It is not linked from the nutrition page, not linked from the menu, and appears in no sitemap — we found it only through the site’s own media API.

We rendered and read it. It is headed “Nutritionals” and its columns are Calories, Fat, Cholesterol, Sodium, Carbs, Fiber, Sugars and Protein. The only symbol in the document is a black square, and its legend reads “Under 400 calories”. There is no allergen column, no vegan mark and no vegetarian mark.

So the honest summary is not “Kona Grill publishes nothing”. It is: Kona Grill publishes a full nutrition table from 2022 that is unlinked from every page on its site, and its current nutrition button serves another brand’s document.

What the cholesterol column can and cannot settle

This is the one part of that document that is useful here, so it is worth being precise about how far it goes.

Cholesterol above zero means an animal ingredient is present. That direction is reliable, and it rules several things out below that the earlier version of this page left open.

Zero cholesterol does not mean vegan. Egg white is effectively cholesterol-free. So is honey. So are most refined animal-derived additives. An item can read 0 mg and still contain something a vegan would not eat, and Kona Grill publishes no ingredient list to check against. This page will not call anything vegan on the strength of a zero. It is a filter that removes candidates, not one that confirms them.

Kona Grill’s own figures for the items on this page

All from the 2022 Kona-branded document, read on 31 July 2026.

• Edamame splits in two, and the menu does not tell you that. “Edamame (Soybeans), Original” is 250 cal and 0 mg cholesterol. “Edamame (Soybeans), Angry” is 380 cal and 35 mg cholesterol. The Angry version carries an animal ingredient; the original does not register one. The menu offers them as one item with two preparations and says nothing about the difference. If you order edamame here, the preparation is the whole question.
• The roll named “Vegetarian” — 220 cal, 0 mg. Consistent with plant-only, and still not an ingredient or allergen statement. The name remains vegetarian, not vegan.
• The salads carry cholesterol. “House Salad Side” is 30 mg and “Asian Salad Side” is 20 mg — both as served, dressing included, since the document states it “accounts for everything on the plate; including sauces, dressings, & sides.” The full-size House Field Salad is 60 mg and the full-size Asian Salad 40 mg. These are not plant-only orders as they come.
• Turmeric Rice is not a safe default — 65 mg. Nor is Fried Rice, at 25 mg, or Miso Whipped Potatoes at 22 mg, or Broccolini at 30 mg.
• Fries and sweet potato register zero. Kids/Side French Fries and Kids/Side Sweet Potato Fries are both 0 mg; the adult Sweet Potato side is 2 mg. The KG sauce they are served with is not in the document at all, and Kona Grill’s shared-fryer statement still applies.
• Two items this page never mentioned read zero: Nori Salad (100 cal, 0 mg) and Miso Soup (60 cal, 0 mg). Miso soup conventionally uses a fish-based dashi, which cholesterol would not necessarily reveal — so this is a question to ask, not a recommendation. Crispy Soy Brussels Sprouts and Cucumber Salad are both 1 mg.
• No meatless build of the Kona Stir-Fry or the Pad Thai is published. The document lists Kona Stir Fry as Chicken (105 mg), Shrimp (100 mg) and Combo (225 mg), and Pad Thai Noodles as Chicken (705 mg), Shrimp (855 mg) and Combo (945 mg). The menu offers “sub: tofu” on both; the nutrition document contains no tofu version of either, so there is no published figure for what you would actually be served.

The menu carries no dietary marks either

On Kona Grill’s full menu page, the word “vegan” appears zero times, “allergen” zero times, “gluten” zero times and “dietary” zero times. The single occurrence of “Vegetarian” is the name of a sushi roll — “Vegetarian — asparagus, avocado, yamagobo, cucumber, sprouts” — not a dietary flag. A roll named Vegetarian is not a vegan mark, and Kona Grill does not claim it is one.

Kona Grill’s own FAQ says “Allergen icons and notes appear on local menu pages.” We found no allergen icons and no legend anywhere on the national menu. The only marks used are an asterisk, a double asterisk and inline “(shellfish)” notes — and no legend defining the asterisks appears anywhere in the page. An undefined symbol is not allergen information. We did not check every individual location’s menu, so if a local page does carry icons, that would change the picture; we can only report what the chain publishes centrally.

What Kona Grill Says About Shared Equipment

This is on the nutrition page and it is the most useful thing the brand does publish. Verbatim:

“Not all ingredients are listed in the menu. Before placing your order, please contact the restaurant if a person in your party has a food allergy or other food sensitivities. Please be aware that kona grill is not a gluten-free environment. Our menu items are handcrafted in our kitchens, often times using shared equipment (including common fryers) and variations in vendor-supplied ingredients may occur.”

“Shared equipment (including common fryers)” applies directly to both fried items below.

What Is on the Current Menu and Worth Asking About

None of these is confirmed vegan. They are the plant-forward items Kona Grill currently lists, with the specific question to ask about each one. All descriptions are Kona Grill’s own wording.

• Edamame — “Traditional / Angry”. No ingredients published, but Kona Grill’s own nutrition figures separate them: the original is 0 mg cholesterol and the “Angry” version is 35 mg, so the Angry preparation contains an animal ingredient. Kona Grill uses “angry butter” as a named component elsewhere on its menu. Order the original, and it is still worth asking what is on it.
• The roll named “Vegetarian” — “asparagus, avocado, yamagobo, cucumber, sprouts”. The name is vegetarian, not vegan, and Kona Grill publishes nothing about the sushi rice, the yamagobo cure or the sauce served alongside. Ask about all three.
• Kona Stir-Fry — “chicken, carrot, cabbage, cilantro, shiitake, chili-garlic sauce, broccoli, sesame, jasmine rice”, and the menu itself offers “sub: tofu”. The tofu substitution is genuinely on the brand’s menu. The chili-garlic sauce has no published ingredients — that is the thing to ask about.
• Pad Thai Noodles — “chicken, rice noodles, egg, bean sprouts, peanuts, cilantro”, with “sub: tofu” offered. Egg is in the base recipe as published, and Kona Grill offers to swap the protein, not to remove the egg. It publishes nothing about the pad thai sauce. Ask about both.
• Seasonal Vegetables — listed under Sides with no description at all, literally just the name. Nothing published about butter or cooking method.
• Sweet Potato Fries and French Fries — both are listed as served with “KG sauce”, for which no ingredients are published. Kona Grill’s shared-fryer statement above applies.
• Turmeric Rice — a listed side with no published description, and 65 mg cholesterol in Kona Grill’s own figures. That is an animal ingredient. It is not a plain rice side, whatever the name suggests.

Desserts

Kona Grill publishes no allergen flags for desserts either, but its own descriptions name dairy outright on several: Carrot Cake (“cream cheese frosting”), Double-Stack Brownie (“vanilla & caramel cream”, “vanilla bean ice cream”) and Original Butter Cake (“vanilla bean ice cream”). There is no dessert on the current menu that Kona Grill describes without dairy.

Corrections We Made to This Page

This article previously carried a number of claims that Kona Grill’s own site does not support. Rather than quietly delete them, here is what was wrong and why:

• “Is Kona Grill vegan-approved? Yes.” Removed. Kona Grill publishes no vegan designation and no allergen data for any item, so no item on its menu can be confirmed vegan from the brand.
• “Many times, vegan items are marked for you — you can expect a ‘V’ mark.” Removed. There is no V mark, no vegan mark and no allergen icon anywhere on Kona Grill’s menu.
• “The nutritional information may also be accessed through the official website.” Corrected. It can, and what you get is Benihana’s calorie sheet, as documented above.
• Eight recommended items no longer appear on Kona Grill’s published menu and have been removed: Cucumber Roll, Avocado roll, Roasted Asparagus Salad, standalone Seaweed Salad, Linguine & Marinara Sauce, Udon Noodles, Stir-Fried Bok Choi and Ciabatta Rolls as a side. The current traditional rolls are California, Shrimp Tempura, Philadelphia, Spicy Tuna, Vegetarian and Sushi & Salad.
• White Rice was listed here as gone. That was wrong and it has been reinstated. Kona Grill still publishes it, as “Kids/Side – White Rice” — 110 cal, 0 mg cholesterol. It is on the kids’ side list rather than the adult sides, which is why an earlier check missed it. As with everything else here, zero cholesterol is not a vegan confirmation, and no ingredient statement exists for it.
• “House Salad (please instruct not to add any cheese).” Removed. The item is the House Field Salad and Kona Grill’s own description reads “field greens, grape tomatoes, carrots, garlic croutons, cucumber, bleu cheese, onion-soy vinaigrette”. The old advice removed the cheese but not the croutons, and never mentioned that the dressing has no published ingredients.
• “Oriental Salad” — removed. The current item is the Asian Salad, which contains “almond ramen crunch” and a sweet-soy dressing with no published ingredients. The old page listed it under both names in different sections and contradicted itself.
• “Three vegan salad dressings: Oil & Vinegar, Onion Soy, Sweet Soy.” Removed. Kona Grill publishes no standalone dressing list and no ingredients for any dressing; “onion-soy vinaigrette” and “sweet-soy dressing” appear only as components of named salads.
• Founding history and location counts — “founded September 1998”, “Scottsdale Fashion Square”, “Sushi on Shea”, the named founder, “40 restaurants in 23 states”, “three international outlets”. All removed. None appears anywhere on Kona Grill’s own site, including its own story page.
• A block of generic ordering advice that told readers to look for vegan marks and check the nutritional information has been removed, because on this specific chain both of those steps lead nowhere. What replaces it is the list of specific questions above.
• A paragraph of undated “in 2025” filler about vegan lifestyles gaining popularity has been deleted. It asserted nothing checkable.
• Kona Grill’s shared-equipment and shared-fryer statement was missing from the page entirely and has been added, verbatim.

Wrapping Up

Kona Grill is not a chain where you can look something up and be sure. It publishes no allergen data, marks no item vegan or vegetarian, and signposts a nutrition document that belongs to another restaurant. That is a real answer, and it is more useful than a list of items presented as safe on no evidence.

If you eat there, the practical approach is to order from the short list above and ask the specific question attached to each item — the butter in “Angry” edamame, the sauce on the stir-fry, the egg and the sauce in the pad thai, the KG sauce with the fries, and how the seasonal vegetables are cooked. And bear in mind Kona Grill’s own words: shared equipment, including common fryers.