Hurricane Lala did not deter Chef Tim! The rental home had a backup generator and propane stove. He…read morecarried out the planned Appetizer demonstration lessons and served without a hitch to our group of 8. His food was 5-star and the experience was 5-star! Throughout the planning and weather uncertainty he was professional, flexible, communicative and engaging. He found clever ways to acknowledge the anniversary being celebrated. We highly recommend him for his expertise in all facets. Mahalo!

Let's start with dessert. A molten lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream. It had birthday candles…read moreon it. Ok back to the front of the meal. My kids hired Chef Tim to prepare a fantastic dinner for my 70th year on earth. Seared ahi, mochi rice crab cake, mini laulau were progressive appetizers that eased the flow of wine and conversation into just the right pace. A cold soup made from fresh green herbs served as a palate cleanser for the entree: a luscious chunk of opah (moon fish) drizzled with a white sauce along with jasmine rice and zucchini cubes. The fish melted like buttah in your mouth. Just when you thought there was no room for more, Chef Tim presented dessert. It was so good my son went back for seconds. Mahalo Chef Tim and his assistant April for preparing and serving a fabulous meal!

Chef Louie and her team delivered another unforgettable evening! From the curated menu we planned…read moretogether to the beautiful table settings and drinks, every detail felt personal. She easily accommodated a dietary restriction, and her upfront communication - menu, itemized costs, and contract confirmed by email - made everything stress-free. The food was exceptional: fresh produce from her own garden (the garnish on the chicken shooters was amazing!), tropical fruits she introduced us to and wove into the meal, and dishes I'm still thinking about days later. She even snapped photos of us during the event without being asked. Chef Louie embodies the warmth of Aloha, and she just keeps getting better - even after her Iron Chef win!

Katherine organized and provided an amazing dinner experience for our large family at our beautiful…read moreBig Island rental house, in celebration of some notable birthdays. Not only was the food outstanding, but she also arranged for outdoor seating, flowers, leis, a musician, a photographer and an after-dinner fire show. All were great. She is a friendly and likable person, with great culinary and organizational skills. She easily accommodated various dietary restrictions and preferences among our large group, and everything was delicious. Our family will never forget this memorable evening.

From the initial contact, all the way to the days leading up to the wedding, the catering team at…read moreUmeke's was extremely responsive and accommodating. We had struggled to get responses from other catering options that we had been contemplating for our wedding. The team at Umeke's was not only incredibly responsive, they also made sure to check in with me through the entire process. Unfortunately I can't speak for how the food tasted, as our guest managed to eat everything before me and my husband had a chance to, which can only mean that the food was incredibly good and well received. We did have some Poke Bombs left over which my husband enjoyed the night after the wedding as well as the next day. We have discussed going to the restaurant and ordering the items we ordered for the wedding just so we could try them! So expect to see us there soon ordering possibly too much food, so we can finally enjoy what our guests were raving about. The team on-site was was super polite, accommodating, and left the area cleaner than how we got it! I will most certainly be recommending the catering services from Umeke's to anyone who asks.

We called on Dec 30th for a catered NYE meal. Tina was so accommodating! She gave a great…read morerecommendation for our group size. We had the Kalua pork, garlic butter shrimp (which were HUGE), rice and a salad with a creamy Asian dressing. We also had spicy ahi poke and sweet ahi poke for an appetizer. Mmmmmm. I was feeding my adult kids and they had nothing but praises for the meal. Highly recommend when you are here renting a vacation home and want to bring in a great meal for your group. She was VERY reasonably priced for the amount of food.

This was definitely one of the better stops in Big Island for sure. Unfortunately when we went the…read morefridge was not working so they didn't have cold drinks to offer, which we were thankful the cashier let us know before buying.. they also didn't have ice. 10/10 service for the honestly. They also didn't have desserts! Was looking forward to trying some.. maybe next time ^_^ The inside is fine but seating goes pretty fast so if you want to eat there you have to wait for a table to open up. My cousin and I shared the 3 plate combo: Pork fat adobo: 5/10 good flavor but the pork was really dry and tough, the sauce and fat were fine Kimchi rice: 8/10, delicious! Would be amazing with a fried egg on top but great taste! Mac salad: 8/10 solid, no complaints Spicy garlic shrimp: 9/10, I'd get this by itself, if the shrimp was breaded a tiny bit more it'd be slamming, that red sauce is amazing Spicy Furikake chicken: 10/10, delicious and juicy, nice umami flavor and crisp. Chilli pepper water: 10/10 addictive, would have loved to bring this back with me and make it a staple in my house hold I see you Broke Da Mouth, y'all did that. Mahalo :3

Kailah, the cashier, was super helpful when ordering. Definitely knows how to mix and match what I…read morewanted to order. I got to Garlic Furikake Chicken (mini size plate) with a free side of Kimchee Cucumbers and Pork Belly Adobo Fries. The Garlic Furikake Chicken was super delicious! I'm so glad I got the sauce on the side, if I had it on, it'll be too much. The furikake really is so good with the chicken. The Pork Belly Adobo Fries is good but a bit too salty for me. The Pork Belly Adobo was the one that is really salty to me. The fries were really good and is crispy and soft on the inside. I'm glad I didn't order a whole order for that. Definitely need rice or something to balance the flavor of it. Plenty of indoor seating. Plenty of free parking. Water is tap water if you bring your own bottle.

Mona is incredible to work with. She is so kind, considerate, and caring. She really cares about…read moremaking sure all the details meet your needs. She's responsive and is willing to work with you closely to get the right menu set. I really enjoyed working with her and wish all vendors were as kind as she is! Unfortunately, we had some major venue issues (they canceled on us!) and with the new venue we were not allowed to bring in outside caterers so we never got to see Mona's final product. However, I know it would have been amazing. During that entire stressful process, Mona helped us out a lot! She connected us with other venues and really helped us feel calmer in a terrible situation. She went above and beyond to help us even though it ended with us having to cancel in the end. She is just such a genuine and amazing person. Work with her if you can!

Strongly recommend Mona and her team at Mon Ami catering…read more Mona catered our backyard wedding of 30, and did a fantastic job. The food was exceptionally good, both tasty and gorgeously presented. They were highly professional throughout the entire evening, and accommodated a few guests with dietary restrictions with ease. The food really is as good as the photos look.

Ladies weekend in Kailua Kona. We hired Patrick and Cherie for tapas and a full dinner…read more Let me start with the service, Cherie is absolutely the most gracious host. She took care of our every need. There was 7 ladies with various quirks. Trust me we had a lot of demands,lol. Cherie did not skip a beat, she meant each request with style and poise. Presentation, better than a 5 -Star Hotel. The table setting and flower arrangements is unsurpassable. I am so impressed. The food- I am completely speechless. Patrick is a culinary genius. The first night he took us on a gastronomic adventure of Japanese Cuisine. Then the next night had indulged in a plated 5 course meal. What comes to mind mouth-watering, delectable, savory. Thank you for making our ladies weekend memorable.

Patrick and his food were a pleasure. Used absolutely the best ingredients to knock it out of the…read morepark. He cooked, served, cleaned and made the night perfect!!! Finished off by the absolute best crème brûlée I have had in my entire life. This is the way to go. You will not be disappointed.

Top priorities for a wedding are location and food. Though we always thought to have our wedding…read morein Chicago with the famous skyline as our backdrop, we weren't disappointed when we decided to trade in the skyline for a stunning ocean view. Paradise Gourmet Catering has a good reputation on the Big Island and with plenty of positive reviews on Yelp and other wedding websites, it wasn't difficult to feel comfortable with our decision. Lava Lava Beach Club works exclusively with PGC for events on their site, so technically, if we wanted to have our wedding at LLBC, we would HAVE to work with PGC. EXPERIENCE: For the most part, we are satisfied with our experience and they made outstanding food for our wedding. We requested the food to be served buffet style and we also requested for passed pupus of handmade ice pops and a late night snack of mini sliders paired with string fries and chocolate milk shakes. The salad with papaya seed dressing, thai green papaya salad with grilled shrimp, layered potatoes (just a lil too salty), green beans with pancetta and pine nuts, flame broiled beef tenderloin with huli huli onions, and fresh island fish with red miso butter infused with ginger were all soo GOOD-- served perfectly and beautifully. ISSUES: The only issues I had was on communication. Working with the staff from Honolulu was a bit of a challenge and within PGC I had to communicate with 3 staff members, who were not always on the same page. Although PGC offered to organize vendors for other services (i.e., tent, band, florist), their services come with a cost higher than if I found them on my own. If you're looking for convenience, PGC is great because they offer this service, but if you want to save a few hundred dollars, you'll have to work a little harder to find your own vendors and compare prices. COMPLIMENTS: I do compliment them on their job well done for thinking on their toes on the day of our wedding when we were blessed with unexpected pre-wedding showers. They worked quickly to think of other options and then wipe the ceremony seats dry when the rain stopped just minutes before the ceremony began. They also adjusted well with our schedule as the night was moving faster than scheduled. Kudos to the wait staff and bartender that helped out that night too--the mai tais, and signature cocktails were YUM! BOTTOMLINE Food: ***** Service: **** Flexibility: *** Value: ***

My husband and I found Paradise Gourmet on the web as we were preparing for our wedding in Kona and…read moreI have to say that they lived up to everything they said about themselves and more. The food was incredible and the staff was extremely delightful in how they handled all of the details in our event. If I ever had reason to host another party on the Big Island, these people would be the first to be contacted.

My parents love this truck, but it can be hard to track down. They're only open on weekends. Check…read moretheir Instagram to see where they are. I got the Spicy Ahi Poke Nachos and they were delicious. I wish they had more poke/fish options on the menu because it was really good.

They did a catering event which had poke bomb and nachos (poke not fresh) rice on it was missing…read moreits sushi flavor. Chicken was dry, beef was tough and the ribs sauce was too sweet. Guacamole was just an avocado mashed. Fresh salad was good and potato salad also. Fish was good too. Pasta dish was bland Egg rolls we're oily

The BEST dinner experience we had during our 1 week stay. So grateful we found this jewel. The food…read morewas wonderful, everyone was super friendly. Added bonus was an astronomer with telescope and viewed Saturn. Took home a wood burned plaque. Wanted to stay all night to spend with these true hawaiian souls. Learned all about the hawaiian rancher. Can't say enough good things. Don't miss this.

Paniolo BBQ - A Must-Do on the Big Island!…read more Come hungry and bring your stretchy pants! What an amazing evening! Between the delicious food, fantastic entertainment, and all the activities, Paniolo BBQ is an incredible value for the price! Dave does a wonderful job sharing the fascinating history of Hawaii's cattle industry and the paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy) heritage. It's entertaining, educational, and adds something truly special to the experience. This is an event for the whole family! There's two-stepping, cornhole, horseshoes, s'mores, stargazing, and plenty of good old-fashioned fun. Whether you're dancing, playing games, or simply soaking up the atmosphere, there's something for everyone. The food is plentiful, the hospitality is wonderful, and the entire evening feels like a genuine Hawaiian ranch experience. Don't just visit Hawaii's beaches--experience its cowboy country! We had a fantastic time and would absolutely recommend Paniolo BBQ to anyone visiting the Big Island. Come hungry, stay for the fun, and make some wonderful memories!

It has been over a year since Bob and Clare catered our wedding in Kona and I am finally writing a…read morereview. It is still important to me to share how great these guys were though! We got married and had the reception at a house on the water that we rented and stayed at. Our wedding was small and intimate with just around 35 guests. The first thing that was so helpful was Clare's advice on what we would need from a caterer for our wedding. I was looking for a simple catering service because we were having a small and simple wedding AND I was hoping to save some $$. She was so helpful because she was very honest (but in a very sweet way) what we could cut corners on and what we couldn't. She also offered several things with their service that other companies I'm sure would have itemized and charged for (like tiki torches, punch bowl, cake cutting knife, decorative plants for the food table, etc). The food was amazing, and they were so willing to create a menu that fit our needs. My husband is vegetarian so they made him a few meat-free dishes although the main dishes had meat. The food was excellent! Bob is a wonderful chef who uses all local foods, which made up a simple, yet delicious menu for our guests to enjoy. Everyone raved about how good the food was. We couldn't believe how attentive Clare and the woman helping her were. They helped make our reception experience just what we wanted because we didn't have to worry about anything. They even added flowers to our very plain wedding cake making it beautiful and then served the cake for us, none of which was discussed ahead of time. There are several examples of this where they just stepped in and stepped up at the right times which, again, meant we didn't have to worry about a thing. They left the kitchen cleaner than when we arrived at the house on the first day of our vacation. Just icing on the cake! And finally, what Bob and Clare charge for the amazing catering experience that I just described is so reasonable compared to any other company I talked to on the island. Especially since they don't nickel and dime you for every detail. These guys were great and I would HIGHLY recommend them!!!!!

Very much recommend Island Thyme Gourmet! We ordered meals for home delivery to our vacation rental…read morefor our family because we wanted to eat well but avoid restaurants and get a break from cooking ourselves. The food was delicious and arrived with clear instructions on how to easily assemble or warm up. Exactly what you want to take your mind off of meal prep while on vacation. They have a variety of options on their rotating menu, generous portions and nice sides to order in addition to the main menu items. We liked stocking up on some salads. Fresh ingredients and some healthy/balanced meals. They were also so easy to communicate with and place orders. We will definitely use their service on a future trip to the Big Island.