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    Honokaa Cafe

    4.9 (14 reviews)
    Closed Closed
    Updated 2 months ago

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    Massam Curry and Beef Stew
    Jessica S.

    My friends were planning a trip up to Honoka'a to try the newly famous Wifey Waffles. We stumbled upon this cute little, newly renovated restaurant for a sit in service. It's located on the "strip" of Honoka'a with all the other stores and restaurants. It's located on the right side across of Malama Market if you're going into the town from Waimea/Hilo. There's limited street parking so if it's not a busy day, there will definitely be street parking in front or nearby. Upon entering, the place looked really nice. The couple who runs the restaurant told us that they just recently reopened this past July. They have a small but interesting menu that contained a fusion of Thai and American style foods. Apparently, the restaurant has been here since the 1920s, and they've been slowly changing over the years yet continuing the family recipes from previous generations. We ordered two orders of summer rolls (one shrimp, one chicken) with their peanut sauce and spicy Thai sauce. The summer rolls were smaller than we expected (not the traditional kinds) but the spicy Thai sauce made up for the size. It was really goooood. I ordered their lunch special of the day which was the Massam chicken curry (Thai peanut based curry) which came with their homemade sweet bread and a generous amount curry that contained chicken, potatoes, peanuts. This dish had good flavor, and the chicken fell off the bone easily. My friends got the beef stew which contained salad and the homemade sweet bread. It had a light taste that didn't really seem like the traditional beef stew we were used to. My friends thought this dish was just alright. The bread has an interesting smell and taste. I thought it smelled like red wine while my friend said vinegar, but we were both wrong. LOL. The strange thing was that the couple heated our food up in the microwave, indicating that they were all made previously. We thought that the food was just going to be mediocre due to that but surprisingly, it was not too bad! If you're ever in Honoka'a, do support local and try their food. The couple are really nice (allowed me to use their restroom even after I left MVPs) and the price isn't too bad for a quick eat!

    Marsha C.

    Came in for a quick lunch .. Delicious food amazing service and incredible people! Can't say enough It was great!

    Mrs V.

    This is hands down a fantastic place for lunch. I didn't know what to expect when ordering a sandwich because I thought a sandwich is just a sandwich . But what came to the table was a turkey sandwich in a pocket of Heaven. We also order the Chicken pesto and the pork sliders also in a pocket of Heaven. When I say Heaven it's served with traditional sweetbread which you can squish into place. We were hooked (shoot let's be real honest) We are addicted. The two folks who run this are adorably welcoming. Thank you for a great lunch and new addiction.

    Outside

    Best meal we had while at Big Island. The host is super friendly and takes care of all dietary restrictions and food allergies. Very fresh and absolutely delicious food. A must visit if you are visiting Honoka town. We had the fresh rolls and pesto sandwich- both modified for our vegetarian preferences. $ friendly as well.

    Beef Stew

    The summer rolls was yummy and fresh, peanut sauce was excellent. The beef stew and spareribs were tender and tasty. The sweet roll was soft and ono. The dressing on the salad was extra yummy. My son had the ham sandwich and it was huge and ono and he also enjoyed the boot beer! The brownie was warm and delicious with ice cream. The custard tarts are to die for!!! Yum!!!

    Amazing chicken pot pie!!

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    1 year ago

    Delicious coffee and amazing business owners. It was a pleasure enjoying coffee and a great conversation here

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    Review Highlights - Honokaa Cafe

    Peanut sauce, Thai summer rolls, turkey sandwich on fresh bread, chicken sandwich are all perfectly prepared.

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    Tex Drive In - Loco moco

    Tex Drive In

    3.8(1.3k reviews)
    0.6 mi
    $$

    We came to Honokaa on a whim for some site seeing…read more Decided on a little treat for our drive back home. So we got a dozen original malasadas. They were made fresh, some of the best malasadas I've ever eaten. Their dough was light and fluffy. It wasn't greasy at all. And when we ate it a few hours later, it warmed up well! We will be coming back for these! (For those that are from Oahu, these are much different than Leonards. I'd say from my humble opinion, better)

    The very first malassada I ever had was many years ago at Tex Drive In. I just remembered how…read moredelicious these were, and if I ever came back to the Big Island, I'd have to come back to Tex. So it's been about 20 years, and the place is no longer the "hot spot" (maybe because we came on a weekday). There were a few locals having breakfast outside, but we were able to walk right up and order several different malassadas. We tried strawberry and guava filling, and they were quite good. It does make the malassada a bit overly sweet, though. I still prefer their plain malassadas. They are like sugar donuts without the hole. Now that I've had other malassadas to compare to, I find Tex's to be on a breadier side. I've had others in Oahu that were lighter and fluffier, which I now prefer. But no where have I found any malassadas as big as Tex's. So maybe Tex's has lost it's charm a bit, but they still serve up some pretty yummy malassadas.

    Photos
    Tex Drive In - Inside seating

    Inside seating

    Tex Drive In - Taco Salad

    Taco Salad

    Tex Drive In - Outside

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    Outside

    Fudge'n Coffee Cafe - Fudge sample pack.

    Fudge'n Coffee Cafe

    3.2(15 reviews)
    0.0 mi

    First of all, although Yelp has separate listings, this is the same business as Hamakua Fudge Shop…read more I stopped in based on the generally enthusiastic reviews about the fudge, both here and on other sites. Though it hadn't been my original plan, I ended up getting lunch here, since most other nearby restaurants were closed. This involved a bit of a wait, as when I first arrived the high school kid at the counter said he couldn't make sandwiches, but the owner would likely be in soon -- though he also said she was inconsistent and he couldn't say for sure when. Happily, she was there when I stopped back half an hour later, having confirmed that the only other available lunch options were a food truck whose fare didn't much fit my mood or takeout from the local market. I ordered a turkey sandwich on whole wheat and iced coffee. The coffee was good. The sandwich was barely okay. It was billed as coming with cranberry mayonnaise, and while the mayo had a bit of sweetness, cranberry flavor was not readily apparent. The turkey was weirdly dry and crumbly and the bread was beginning to get stale. All it all it was edible, but that's about it. It came with a small banana, which was a nicer and healthier touch than the chips or pickles you so often get with sandwiches. As I sat there eating, I noticed a sign on the bulletin board, apparently left over from the days when Hawaii had a COVID-19 mask mandate for indoor establishments. The sign used fake language from HIPAA (misspelled as HIPPA -- a dead giveaway) to say, essentially, that they'd just pretend anyone not wearing a mask had a medical reason to not wear one and ignore the public health rule. Why they felt compelled to announce they don't give a bleep about public health a year after any such mandates ended I can't say, but I'm suffering debilitating "Long COVID" symptoms because of the recklessness of idiots like this. So I didn't buy any fudge, tempting as it looked, and instead satisfied my sweet tooth at another business.

    Nice little cafe! I got an Americano with oat milk for hubby, a latte with oat milk for myself, and…read morefudge sample pack to go... I enjoyed every drop of my latte thank you very much! My family and I enjoyed the fudge samples as well, especially the Lili koi one with macnuts on top. Service was very responsive. I was in and out of there in about 5 min.

    Photos
    Fudge'n Coffee Cafe
    Fudge'n Coffee Cafe - Feature of the day, banana, you don't ask you don't know.

    Feature of the day, banana, you don't ask you don't know.

    Fudge'n Coffee Cafe - Menu for salads, sandwiches & wraps

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    Menu for salads, sandwiches & wraps

    Hawaiian Vanilla Company - Bread Pudding

    Hawaiian Vanilla Company

    4.7(445 reviews)
    5.2 mi
    $$

    My husband and I have visited the big island many times and I was looking for things we haven't…read morealready done. When I found this, it looked interesting. It turned out to be fantastic. The food was incredible. It was interesting to hear how they use vanilla. I almost never order a grilled chicken sandwich because they're usually dry and boring, but this one was not. It was one of the best meals I've had this year. The tour portion was incredibly interesting. I learned so much about vanilla. All in all, I highly recommend this!

    This is my second time doing this tour that includes a lovely meal. The last time it was about 8…read moreyears ago when it was family run and a smaller operation. Now that the family's owner's kids have grown up and moved away. They have lucked out by hiring an incredible do- everything- tour guy named Zach, who is just so filled with knowledge about the history of vanilla and the botany and post harvest detail details of the vanilla. He gives a fabulous tour that is very engaging for everybody. Zach is also incredibly jazzed up about cooking with vanilla and he and his family live on the property and he has been on board with the Hawaiian Vanilla Company since 2023. The have just become so immersed in the vanilla. He shares his recipes and findings with you via email after the tour if you're interested. He also serves up the luncheon which for us included either a vanilla black tea, unsweetened, or a vanilla lemonade or an on Palmer of the two and a starter of a vanilla, gee infused popcorn, followed by a Kristine with vanilla Gar masala and some other vanilla spices with the shrimp and then the main courseteriyaki chicken thigh, marinated in a vanilla a brioche bond made with vanilla and a holy, made with vanilla a salad topped with a balsamic vanilla dressing and a bunch of candied vanilla pecans. After you do the vanilla tour return to the main building and enjoy coffee with vanilla and Kareem and vanilla ice cream for dessert. I had been using the other sauce of the vanilla starter kit that I purchased the last time I talked about 10 years ago and I was very happy to get more beans and some tips on starting a new batch. They have a huge variety of extract made with different types of alcohol that you can smell and they also sell of course they are double strength extract, which is the bomb, but I prefer to make my own cause then I gotta tell everybody I made my own from their beans. It did rain when we were there but they provide umbrellas and if you don't feel like walking about 3rd mile on the hill too the vanilla growing area you can't get a ride in that six seater gator back-and-forth. I highly I recommend this tour!!!

    Photos
    Hawaiian Vanilla Company - Bread Pudding

    Bread Pudding

    Hawaiian Vanilla Company - The vanilla plants

    The vanilla plants

    Hawaiian Vanilla Company - Lunch appetizer

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    Lunch appetizer

    Cafe il Mondo - Pastrami sandwich is the best sandwich I've ever ate!

    Cafe il Mondo

    4.3(214 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $$

    What an absolute Gem of a restaurant! In the heart of Honokaa…read more Glad we found this wonderful Italian restaurant! We were walking and decided to try it out. We got a 12" pepperoni pizza and a special pastrami sandwich. The pepperoni pizza was so delicious. It has so much flavor in every bite! The crust tastes garlic, the cheese tasted so good! Definitely try it! Oh my goodness! The pastrami sandwich is one of the best sandwich I've ever eaten! The pastrami was crunchy on the sides and so much flavor. You can tell the sandwiches bread is fresh! The lettuce and tomatoes are so fresh too.

    First time back since new owners. What a great surprise to see the same staff! Chef Jeff and Isa…read morewere what made Cafe il Mondo so good before, and no surprise, it is still a delicious experience. Today was a crispy cold Maui Big Swell, can't beat it if you like a good local IPA. We shared a house salad which was generous, fresh, and flavorful. Next up we split an Italian sausage calzone. This is one of my very favorites that Jeff cooks up in the brick oven. Fresh out, it is glistening and wonderful. Such a delicious blend of flavors. Because leftover pizza is always a treat, we ordered up the large Mondo, 1/2 pesto, 1/2 tomato sauce. Fresh and tasty, not much made the to go box. Cudos to the new owners as the food remains fabulous and the service friendly. Will we go back? Of course, and bring friends when we can.

    Photos
    Cafe il Mondo - Dining Area

    Dining Area

    Cafe il Mondo - Pepperoni pizza SO DELICIOUS

    Pepperoni pizza SO DELICIOUS

    Cafe il Mondo - A perfect stop in our journey!

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    A perfect stop in our journey!

    Honokaa Cafe - bakeries - Updated May 2026

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