Awesome!! The location is no frills chill but the quality of what is offered is excellent. The drip…read morecoffee is pure Kona, and you can taste it. The employees are also chill, very informative after they warm up. Free 2nd cup of coffee for the drip. I hope I got that right they have two different types of coffee. One is the typical poor one is specially made for you. Excellent!!! I think I just had the best cup of coffee I've ever had in my life.

Fantastic avocado toast. The coffee was terrific. Atmosphere was very chill and was perfect for…read morehanging out

Hilo's best kept secret tho I can't keep it a secret any longer!…read more FIrst stumbled upon Baumkuchen Farms 16 months ago when I visited the Big Island from Oahu... scouting where I would like to bring my college reunion group. They were gathering from places like Taiwan , Canada, the continental USA so betcha I wanted to show them only the best! Finding anything outside of downtown Hilo can be a challenge as WIFI gets a little sketch. Baumkuchen Farms is easy to find as they are marked on most Hilo (paper) maps. From the phone calls I made to the first welcome from Danielle who was on site to greet us on our scouting trip we felt welcomed. Danielle met us in the parking lot and guided us to the meeting place of the tour. She gave us a brief overview and showed us the bakery, the bathroom, the gift shop, before escorting us to "the hale" the meeting place under shade. Marcus, proprietor of the Farm with wife Maria, further told us about the rich history of the Baumkuchen estate as well as the products they baked and sold. Loved the tour of the farm where we saw vanilla beans growing in greenhouse, jurassic looking fruit trees and beautiful royal palms. A year later returned with my college friends who were absolutely impressed with the operation. We purchased baumkuchen cake, flavored cooking rock salts, other treats and of course ICE COLD drinks (in fact grabbed a few of these before the tour and after). And we enjoyed the tasty samples. In fact, have since seen these delectable morsels of Baumkuchen at Neiman Marcus in Honolulu at much higher price..! Still, nice to know where I can get more when I run out. Or, will have to take another trip to Hilo and Baumkuchen Farms! Thank you Maria, Marcus, Danielle for your hospitality. Visiting Baumkuchen at the Farm or Hilo Farmers Market is always a highlight on my Hilo trips!

Such a special place! Baumkuchen Farm is more than just…read moredelicious cake (though the Japanese-style baumkuchen is incredible, so soft and flavorful!). The whole experience is peaceful and welcoming. The free farm tour was informative, and the owners were genuinely kind, & love what they do. What a beautiful place to share. Their handcrafted island salt and signature cake make the perfect souvenirs... truly a piece of Hawai'i to take home. Beautiful spot, great people, and totally worth the visit!

Absolutely a must stop! Malasadas made fresh while you wait. Light and crispy. The savory option…read morewas a nice choice to change up the palate. I think the good ol' cinnamon and sugar was the best! Friendly owners working together to create the fresh flavors and a sweet doodle named Olive will give you a smile and a tail wag.

I love malasadas and this place has the most unique ones I've ever had…read more My husband and I shared: - Mini Malasadas: Lilikoi Butter, Cream Cheese - Everything & Chive, Parmesan Truffle, Strawberry Shortcake, Ube Glaze, Haupia Glaze + Toasted Coconut - Ube Cream Soda Everything was fantastic. The Lilikoi Butter and the Parmesan Truffle were my favorites. I'd highly recommend checking this place out!

The decor looks great in there. The desserts look good too. Here we go now…read more.. Keep in mind I pay close attention to detail - The merchandise out in the front of the store needs to be taken better care of. Some of them aren't doing so good. - It honestly didn't smell pleasant in there. I'm not sure if it was just that day but it didn't smell nice that's for sure. - Walked in, only one other customer in there. Worker looks directly at me and stares like I'm an inconvenience. No greeting, no wave, not even a smile. We actually had to be the ones to smile and tell the employee "Hi!" - We walked up to the counter and still no hospitality of something like "how can I help you?" "First time here?" "How are you today?" Etc. - She uncomfortably stared at us as we looked at the menu. Not even looking at it for a solid 30 seconds and says "Let me know if you have questions" then walks away. -We did buy a single dessert because we were already there. After purchase there's no "Thank you" "Have a nice day" it seems like having business was a pain. - The utensils on the side aren't wrapped and all loosely in a container with the fork and spoons handle in first. To me that's unsanitary already, other people's hands are touching it. Dust will also definitely accumulate as old ones won't be switched out just keep getting more added in there. I'll give this place another chance but how our first trip went I'd really like to give it a 0/5. All in all we didn't feel welcomed in there.

Super cute and very comfortable coffee shop with yummy eats as well. Awesome barista, also the…read morecook, which is the only downside as it took a little while. She's excellent! Our cappuccinos were so good and the bagel was delicious. Worth the wait, but definitely would be great to have additional staff.

After stopping by the Farmer's Market across the street, my wife and I walked over to Kula Shave…read moreIce for some shaved ice. As a disclaimer, I'm not the biggest fan of shaved ice because of how sweet the dessert tends to be, and because more often than not, there are a bunch of artificial colors used in the fruit juices. When we looked at the menu, I was impressed and excited to see the emphasis on quality of their ingredients: no artificial flavors or colors, no aspartame, no high fructose corn syrup, and no preservatives. I was sold. Although we were tempted to create our own shaved ice, we ultimately went with "The Local", a soursop and liliko'i combo topped with haupia cream. Between the two flavors, I enjoyed the sour sop side a bit more since it was the one that was less sweet. The cream on top was absolutely delicious, and reminded me of the light and airy frothed milk cream you find on many boba drinks these days. There's a generous amount ladled on top, ensuring you can have some in every bite without having to carefully ration out the cream. Overall, I'm a fan of Kula Shave Ice. Definitely a great dessert to enjoy on a hot day. Worth checking out if you're ever in Hilo.

Wow!!! This place serves awesome shaved ice! You order at the counter. They do not have an indoor…read morespace. You can sit outside on the various benches. We went on a Saturday afternoon after visiting the Hilo Saturday Market. We ordered the Kula Rainbow $12. 10/10 It was delicious. There are public restrooms next door and there is free parking nearby about one block south off on Ponahawai St and Punahoa St. You can also look for street parking. I would definitely return.

When a store is the only game in town for goods near a tourist entry point, one would expect/accept…read morehigh prices. Instead, Keaukaha General Store (within easy walking distance of the Port of Hilo) provided a great selection of sundries, some souvenirs of Hilo, and a small menu of Hawaiian favorite dishes at prices that were the lowest I've seen in Hawaii. My wife and I came here twice: first while walking into town, when we picked up souvenirs and an unexpected loco moco plate. It was a lot less crowded then, with us being the only ones there...allowing us to have a completely different experience. When we came back as we headed back towards the ship, other cruisers from the ship had discovered this place, and were stocking up on various things. It's a large modern space inside, with things organized displayed very neatly. There was no sense I needed to check for expiration dates. There was a portable ATM machine right by the door. A decent selection of alcohol at good prices were displayed (e.g. $8.81 for a bottle of Barefoot Cab or $18.99 for a 12 pack of Budweiser). I took the opportunity to get something I've not seen elsewhere: a bag of dried clams (aka Asari) for $4.19. Ended up finishing it that night...was really good. It has an all day menu, and was able to order a Loco Moco for breakfast. The all beef patty was very thick and dense, definitely from a frozen patty...good for Salisbury steak or Loco Moco, but wouldn't be great for a burger. The brown gravy was served hot and hadn't congealed, and the 1 egg had been cooked over easy, just as requested. It was obviously freshly made. It was packed to-go, with condiments and utensils available near the registers. There wasn't much space to eat inside, but because it wasn't too busy, found a space to sit in the back. I scarfed it down (probably too fast) while my wife finished her shopping. Also in the back, there are gourmet coffee machines and a chest freeze full of hand scoopable ice cream. There is a Pepsi self serve soda machine, along with various sizes of chips. My wife initially bought a couple of t-shirts as requested souvenirs for our travel mates ($25 a piece), and bought another one as we were heading back. On the 1st trip, she also liked a perfume body mist...the tester was the last one so the attendant sold it for half price ($14). For us, she bought a Hilo waterproof sticker for $2.75. And her favorite part of the store was the small portable Pokémon card machine, that dispensed random Japanese Pokémon cards for a quarter. She kept changing out dollars for quarters and ended up getting $5.75 of them...and a couple of them were hollos that we like. They do charge a 3.25% credit card fee, so cash is preferred when possible.

Located on the way to the Hilo beaches and in the industrial area. Here you'll find a small variety…read moreof hot foods, poke and tons of drinks and ice.

Stopped into Kava Republic on a whim and it was the perfect way to ease into the day after a hectic…read moremorning of travel. The environment inside was soothing and the employee helping us out was very accommodating. She offered us samples of the different kava available and ultimately I went with a combination of their fresh kava and kombucha. Their other kava option was too strong for me personally, tasting almost of tree bark? It caused my mouth to numb out more than I desired. I loved getting to chat with locals who came and went throughout the hour spent there.

There have been a number of Kava bars that have opened and closed in Hilo in recent years. I hope…read moreKava Republic stays for quite a while! It is easily the most professional looking of all the Kava bars to date, with pleasant, clean, comfortable surroundings and cool ambiance. And the Kava? It's great tasting and brings you the mellow feelings you look for from the drink! They have both locally grown product, and product from Polynesia. The employees are wonderful: knowledgeable, friendly, down-to-earth, and attentive to customer needs. They have live music on some nights, but are also open in the mornings, for a quiet experience. The bar is non-alcoholic, but they serve coffee and kombucha drinks, and seem to be experimenting with more offerings. Three cheers for Kava Republic! May they rule over Hilo's kava scene for a long time to come!

I'm really glad I checked, the day I had planned to visit the shop downtown, what time they closed,…read moreand I'm glad I checked at 2:45, since the answer is: 3. I'm also glad I happened to be a couple blocks away at that time, cause it would've stunk if I'd missed out! They have a whole range of great chocolates, from 55-90 percent that were all great, a fantastic matcha chocolate, great dried fruit chocolates, and one very good, *very* spicy dark chocolate (I loved it enough to buy a bar, but much more so than most pepper chocolates I've had, it does *not* play around.) Definitely also loved that they had samples of basically everything they sell. Also loved, we learned, it was actually the chocolatier himself running the shop when we were there, so all our questions were being answered directly from the source. It also worked out in that they didn't actually *have* any bars of the spicy chocolate out, as he'd just made a new batch and hadn't packaged them yet, so when he learned we were leaving the next day, he pressed one for me right then and there! How's that for great service?

So glad we stumbled upon this little gem during our travels! The owners were so friendly and all…read morethe samples were delicious. Since it was hot and we were traveling by car, we opted for the cacao nibs and THEY ARE INCREDIBLE. We had them on ice cream paired with molten lava cake and I'm still thinking (drooling) about it. Lots of options for gifts and the staff will make great recommendations.

Paul's was one of my favorite dining experiences I've ever had. Yelp only allows for five stars, I…read morewould give more if I could. If you are able to visit Hilo, make a reservation. And you need a reservation. The tiny restaurant only has three two person tables (the other party of four had two pushed together). And it is only open Wednesday thru Saturday, 7:30am- 2pm. I made the reservation for my friend's Birthday lunch by text. It is conveniently located by the farmers market, and there is plenty of free parking in the area. The space is airy, and on our visit, decorated for Easter. We were immediately greeted by Paul. The restaurant is staffed by him, and one other employee. The menu is short, and all the better for it. Paul explained the menu and gave us recommendations. I was already interested in the Pasta de Marco, which appears to be a part of a regular menu. Angel hair pasta, lightly fried, tossed with fresh veggies and pesto, and lightly toasted baguette on the side. We also had the tuna, two ways, and papaya salad. Both were perfect, incredibly fresh, all ingredients balanced, beautifully presented. Paul had us end with the Belgium waffle. I've had waffles in Belgium, and these were the best I've had. Crispy, soft, with berries, whip cream, and powdered sugar, it didn't even need the (warm!) syrup. This experience felt like being a guest in the chef's home. Paul treated all customers as a friend, he was funny, relaxed, and personable. I also personally appreciated it is the safest restaurant for me to eat at as he hates bell peppers as much as I do! The only disappointment when the meal ended. Mahalo!

The cafe is very small and cozy, we had to have reservations in advance to get in as Paul has very…read morelimited seating, about 3 tables. He is always busy and has a rule with no Togo orders as far as I know. The service is good, and the servers and Paul himself is very friendly, laidback, and easy to talk to. Be respectful of his rules, he's a nice guy and it felt like he really cares about the food he makes. Playing is very nice and simple in a good way, has a very clean aesthetic. The food itself is extremely fresh, every single thing felt very refreshing to the palette and not heavy. It was one of the pricier spots me and my partner went to in Hilo, but it is extremely popular and the quality of the food is nice, as I said, I think this is the place in Hilo so far that I've eaten at with the "freshest" tasting food. I had not yet tried his Belgian waffles, but I saw they were served to another customer and they looked fantastic. After our meal, Paul also highly reccomended them for next time. Definitely would like to come back next time we are in Hilo, it was one of my partner and her Uncle's favorite spots (they are local to Hilo, so it's gotta be good haha). They both vouch for the ingredient quality.

We tried coming around noon on a weekday but the line was long and we thought maybe we wouldn't be…read moreable to get the flavors we wanted so decided to call to place an order to pick up the following day. We came at 10:30am which was the pickup time we asked for and waited about 20 minutes in the phone order line before being called into the store and waited a few more minutes and left with our order around 11. They did give samples in line though, so that was nice. I did wish I knew about the additional daily fresh fruit flavors beforehand though so that I could order those when I called! I didn't see it until I came to pick up. The place is small and only enough room for a few people at a time. The strawberry mochi is amazing! Other flavors are good too, so soft and fresh. I think it's worth going if you like mochi and have the time!

We came to Two Ladies Kitchen based on the high reviews, but this ended up being one of the worst…read moreexperiences we had on the Big Island. We arrived 15 minutes before opening and were first in the walk-in line. Right before opening, an employee came out and split the lines into "walk-in" and "phone order." Totally fine--except once they opened, they let all phone orders go first... and then continued calling more phone orders again while the walk-in line just stood there. Despite being first in the walk-in line, we waited over 45 minutes before they even started letting walk-ins inside. Meanwhile, we watched people leave the walk-in line, place phone orders, and get served ahead of us. The system is extremely frustrating and poorly managed. A better system would be alternating one customer from each line ! So ridiculous they can't figure this out . Once inside, it took another 20 minutes to get our order. To make matters worse, the order was incorrect and nothing was labeled, so we had no idea what we were eating. The mochi itself was also disappointing. The texture was unusually thick and had a strange, almost metallic taste. The strawberry was very sour, and the strawberry cake mochi was overly large, soggy, and honestly inedible. Overall, we wasted over an hour and a half here for a very underwhelming experience. The staff also weren't particularly welcoming or helpful. The two stars are for Hawaii's aloha spirit....otherwise, this would be a zero!