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.

FPO and I are holoholoing on Hawai'i Island (or the Big Island if you're of a certain generation)…read more We went to Ken's House of Pancakes because FPO was feeling nostalgic and wanted their pancakes. I had the regular size Won Ton Mein. I have to say, the portions are huge! The omelet and pancakes were everything FPO remembered. My Won Ton Mein was a little bland. The service was fantastic. The people very friendly.

we love Kens whenever we travel to Hilo this is our lunch spot…read morestaff super friendly wide range of menus options

The food is delicious - top notch actually....and the portions are huge…read more Service is a tad slow initially, but it's all with a smile.

There service is fair food is tasty and fulfilling. Relaxing for people who like being around…read moreothers.

Cute little bakery with lots of sweet treats. Went to Short n Sweet on a rainy Hilo day, so the…read moreshop was empty and there were lots of pastry options available. The shop keeper was friendly and patient as I browsed the pastry case. I've always been curious about the Dubai chocolate bar, so I decided to splurge and give it a try. Very pricey at $16 for a 4-5" bar, but it was worth it to try it once. The chocolate was smooth and high quality, the pistachio cream was sweet with a hint of pistachio flavor, and the kataifi was pleasantly crunchy. I would have loved more pistachio flavor, but it was a nice little chocolate treat. Looking forward to trying more things from Short n Sweet in the future. Will definitely be back when I want to treat myself to a gourmet dessert. :)

Right when you walk in, you're greeted by a beautiful display case of goods. To the left are…read moreshelves of refrigerated goods, followed shelves of non-refrigerated goods. The sweets are always really good. The crème brûlée is definitely our favorite dessert here! It's light and creamy and just overall delicious! We come here every time we visit and try to get something different but we always seem to revert back to the creme brulee. The staff there has always been really nice. We seem to always get the same lady every time we go and I feel terrible that I haven't gotten her name by now

Wonderful, friendly service. Didn't get her name, but our server went out of her way to fulfill our…read morerequests. The affogato was delicious, coffee is exceptionally good. We enjoyed the cool breeze sitting outside, watching the people go by.

i thought this was more of a cafe. But it is at the back of a retail store and more smoothies and a…read moresmall selection of cookies and treats. so , not for me today

Came here for a birthday dinner and it was such a great experience! I do wish we had come during…read morethe day because from where we were seated, there was a gorgeous ocean view. To start, we ordered the poke and the bone marrow. The bone marrow was incredibly flavorful and practically melted in your mouth, and the poke was super fresh. For our entrees, we had the misoyaki butterfish and the prime rib--both were absolutely amazing. To finish the night, we shared the brownie and the mango sherbet, which was the perfect sweet ending to a great meal. The service was quick, the atmosphere was very chill, and it's a great spot to celebrate a special occasion or just enjoy a really good dinner.

You can tell that this steakhouse used to be fancy back in the day. However, in 2026, it could use…read moresome major updating. The food is OK. It's edible and tasty but it's definitely not fine dining as it markets itself. The service is decent but not top-notch. My favorite part of this restaurant is the ambiance. If you can be seated near the water- the views are unmatched. The dining room feels somewhat like a cafeteria that's trying to be fancy in the 80s.

We stopped by the Booch Bar on our way into Hilo before a day of adventuring, and it was a great…read morelittle stop for breakfast. We tried the simple breakfast plate and a breakfast sandwich, and both were tasty and really hit the spot. Since we went on a weekday, it wasn't too busy inside, which made for pretty quick service. Overall, it was a solid breakfast stop and a nice place to grab a bite before heading out for the day.

We had an amazing vegan dish here for our little brunch we did in mid morning earlier today…read more We saw this restaurant yesterday when we were browsing Hilo a few nights ago. We didn't think of anything when we saw it the first time. By just looking at the name of it though, my immediate reaction was, "Is this a kombuchas bar??" Well, it is but it's not just kombuchas they serve; it's more than that. The breakfast/brunch dishes they serve (although they don't have a huge selection) are quite diverse. I do incorporate a lot of vegetarian/vegan diet into my daily meal routine so when I saw the Verdant Vegan I simply couldn't skip it. As my daughter and I usually split a plate when we dine together she agreed to this option of mine. Glad we did. This plate has all sorts of goodness included in it. Sautéed veggies, house-made lentil walnut chorizo, ginger beet kraut, fire-roasted jalapeno cashew crema, fire-roasted tomato salsa, and it's topped it off with sprouts. This whole thing comes with either purple sweet potato home fries or red rice (which we went with the purple sweet potato fries and ended up getting a side red rice. We also got the side kimchi and one egg sunny side up.) And we shared a 16oz Ceremonial Matcha latte as well. This vegan plate is way more than vegan. It's mighty as hell. For those who are still not sure about vegan options will definitely second guess it for something that isn't vegan/vegetarian. It's truly nutrition packed in so many different ways. If I lived close to this cafe, I would eat here once a week to enjoy this delightful meal. I am not kidding. I enjoyed the matcha latte very much although my daughter rated it as "okay". She likes her matcha in a very particular way so it unfortunately didn't impress her. This is not to say that she disliked it. She said it wasn't bad either. This place is a "walk in, order upfront, pick a table where you want to sit and one of the staff will bring your food to you" style cafe. Water is self-served. Once you are done with your meal you'll put your dirty dishes in the designated tub. I like this efficient style of serving food. This place has great vibes as well. A bit hippie-ish where bright dark colors such as purple and red are incorporated into the interior. There is even a stage where bands perform on certain days/times. Quite cool-looking. If you are visiting Hilo soon then put this place on your "must visit" restaurant list. Friendly staff, reasonable prices and quality food will entertain you for sure.

I had lunch with my sister and two nieces earlier today. The food was delicious, the service was…read moretop-notch, and the ambiance was decidedly casual, which is to be expected from IHOP. We always make a point to eat here at least once when we visit the Big Island, and I look forward to going to this location again! We ordered: Fisherman Platter with French Fries and an Oreo Milkshake (me), Chocolate Chip Pancakes (short stack - my older niece), a Quick 2-egg breakfast with hashed brown, bacon and scrambled eggs (my sister) and a Jr. Waffle with French Fries (my younger niece.)

Came in, party of four, ordered as usual. Waited 45 minutes, others that came in after us got their…read morefood, waiter comes by and says, "what was your order?" Ignorant negligent waiter. I should have posted her name here.

Cute little cafe. The taro sandwich was amazing with added…read moreextra hummus. The hummus was awesome. The bread was great too. The açaí bowl was standard made from frozen stuff you get in super market.

The food was great! We had pink waffles, an açaí bowl, a white chocolate toffee latte, and the egg…read morebreakfast. They had gluten free bread and the pink waffles were gf!

Came as a party of 2 at 3pm on a Saturday. There were some parking spots out front with some street…read moreparking that should cycle through pretty fast. Service was extremely quick -- we got seated right away, our orders were in and our food came out within minutes. The aesthetic was a mix between New Orleans French and tropical. Food: - Coconut calamari (8/10): This was a tasty appetizer! For two people, we wished there were more pieces. The coconut batter was light and crispy, and the squid was surprisingly not too chewy. The calamari paired well with the mango mustard sauce, which is really strong so a little goes a long way! - Seafood medley risotto (9.3/10): We thought this dish was absolutely delicious! The overall flavor was amazing; the scallop was tender, the risotto had perfect texture and level of oilyness, the shrimp was big and succulent, and the fish was pretty good but could be softer, but that's me being picky -- overall amazing dish! I would totally come back and order this again.

Excellent food service and freshness... One of a kind!…read moreAlways looking forward to the next visit!