This was such a great experience for me and my friends. I am a huge kava enthusiast and was so…read moreexcited to show my friends who've never had, the traditional way. They've only ever tried it in chocolate or tea. This place was better than I was expecting. The feel of it was just like many kava bars I've been to in tropical areas and also has an outdoor area. The guy who served us our kava was very knowledgeable about kava and its history and showed us the way they take it on the island! I've always known the other way where you say bula, the Fiji way. He was great to talk to and have us some good stories about the island and the bar. I highly recommend trying this place whether you have been curious about kava or already a a kava lover. Located in a cute town with lots to give. I will visit again if I'm on the island!

always a happy experience. super nice people. relaxing, cozy , creative and curious environment…read more(with great lighting). lots of seating indoor and outdoor. options to draw with lots of blank paper and markers. really great and unique selection of kombucha, kava items and more :) i have social anxiety but always feel comfortable and welcomed here :)

On our last few trips to Hilo, we stayed at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and haven't been disappointed…read more For convenience, the hotel has two restaurants in the lobby. Wai Oli is also two businesses in one - it serves as a morning/brunch cafe for coffee and pastries, then transforms into a casual evening restaurant for dinner as well as live music and a bar space. On our first night we were too tired to go out in the rain, so we tried the Red Rice with Chamorro spices and sauces, and a Club sandwich with fries. The food is excellent, prices about what you'd expect in a hotel. The tap list is also pretty good with macro lagers and locally brewed selections from Big Island Brewhaus and Hilo Brewing Co among others. Service is good, with friendly servers. The view is also excellent with clear views of Hilo Bay right outside. They also have outdoor tables on the lanai.

Great restaurant bar to grab a bite and a beer at. They now have live music everyday.read more

What a great find. Located inside the KMC in Hawaii Volcano National Park. Friendly low key vibe…read more Friendly service and good strong AND inexpensive drinks. They have live entertainment. I haven't tried the food yet but it looks really good. Very close to my house so I can expect to be visiting more. A mix of locals and tourists staying at the Military Camp. The Good: Nice, clean and friendly bar with strong drinks and light on the wallet. The Bad: Might be a bit hard to find but worth the hunt Chances I'll be back: YES! close to home and it's inside the park which is an added bonus.

The food was okay. Perfect salad and sandwich to grab before a day full of hiking. Services was…read moregreat!

The Bartender Gregory all round great personality…read more Himself is ideal customer service attitude

Fun place to let loose and meet locals! Sang karaoke while sitting at the bar--everyone friendly…read moreand talking together

Awesome vibe, i went there with a few friends and there was an event happening there at the time we…read morewas attending. small lil area, had a few booths as well, & we got to sing karaoke. Service was awesome, i got to meet the owner, sweet old lady, very friendly too. staff was also friendly! definitely did go back and they remembered us!

Best homemade local food in Hilo!!! It is truly exceptional and filled with heart, soul, and LOVE!…read moreNo matter what I order, the food is absolutely amazing. Sarrah's talent in combining ingredients will leave you in awe, making your dining experience truly unforgettable. They also have the best free Karaoke in Hilo on Thursday and Sunday night! The best sound system in Hilo! Come for the food, get an amazing cocktail, and sing your heart out.

Great views of the volcano…read more The taste of Hawaii menu is loaded with food and is great to share amongst a small family. Friendly staff, good food, but the view is what I'll be writing home about.

DISHONEST PEOPLE! Unfortunately there's not much as for choices for eating when visiting the…read moreVolcano. Unfortunately this restaurant decides to be dishonest with its customers in not only providing mini portions at high prices, which I consciously decided to accept, but the menu clearly states for 8+ people there is a 20% mandatory tip. Our party of 7 was charged their fee and when paying amd decoding on a tip my wife saw the fee already on the receipt (which they didn't even tell us, asking for a tip as well) I asked why and they just said "because you have more people". I don't mind paying a tip, but don't eat here if you dont want to support dishonest people.

A friend that used to go to college in Hilo recommended this place as it was across the street from…read morethe Edith Kanakaole venue where we were attending a benefit concert later in the evening. ATMOSPHERE: It reminded me of a mix between a Korean and country bar with squeezed-in, button-studded booth seating, and dim lighting. It looked shady but was the total opposite, and was very clean. Truly a local watering hole. MENU: App-sized fare of sashimi, chicken wings, fries, steak, calamari, and shrimp. BEVERAGE: My Bud aluminum bottles were $3.50 a pop and were ice cold. Good deal! We all did shots of lemon drop that were refreshing and not too strong. FOOD: Sashimi - $12. The small plate of ahi were fresh and came with the usual shoyu-mustard sauce for dipping. Steak - $15. Though the menu didn't state "sizzling", another table's one was but ours was not. No biggie as the bone-in New York was perfectly seasoned and cooked exactly to our medium request, and sliced. Highly recommend. Wing Dings - $12. I'm not sure how many came in the basket but the one I tried, definitely frozen, was crispy with a savory seasoning. Because we ordered more than 2 beers, we were treated to a generous spread of complimentary apps. What the? You'd NEVER get that anywhere else!? I was told that's what Hilo bars are known for. We received 3 pieces of chicken wings that were seasoned differently from the wing dings, a plate of kau yuk (Chinese pork), kalua pig & cabbage, karaage chicken though the batter was a bit undercooked, and a green salad. Thanks for that, Peggy's! SERVICE: 2 younger female servers helped us, one friendlier than the other, but we're both good. The elderly male dish washer employee was very friendly and pointed bme in the right direction to the restrooms when he saw I was lost. OVERALL: Quaint vibe, cheap beer, good food, great deals, friendly service. Definitely was not on my list of to try's but will be recommended to others!

Extremely disappointed with our experience here. My family and I came in expecting to enjoy our…read morenight, but it ended up being one of the worst bar experiences we've had. We went up to the bar multiple times and were refused water 3 separate times. We also tried placing a food order, but the bartender told us food orders had to go through the server -- the issue was that no server came to our table for almost 2 hours. We were basically left sitting there unable to order. To make things worse, when it was time to close our tab, it took around 30 minutes just to get our cards back. The bar also felt extremely overcrowded to the point there was barely room to move around safely or comfortably. I understand places get busy, but being ignored, unable to order food, and waiting excessive amounts of time for basic service is unacceptable. Overall, the bartender experience and service completely ruined the night for us. We won't be returning.

TLDR: Lounge area…read morenear the "lobby" of the Fairmont Orchid resort. Since it overlooks the rest of the resort, it's the perfect place to rest and relax during the day. They start serving Japanese-inspired foods starting 5 pm and they have nightly live music starting around 6 pm. Food was fine, nothing special, but the ambiance was wonderful and the nightly torch lighting + conch shell blowing at sunset happens on this balcony. ------ FOOD: * Smash Burger (4/5): Came with two patties and a slight skirt on the meat. Was a little simple though (i.e. no lettuce or tomatoes, though did come with one deep-fried onion ring and cheese). Fries were pretty good! * Luana Roll (4/5): This is their signature roll and I thought it was good but wasn't anything special. Probably not worth $30. * Double Crunch Roll (4/5): Again, good roll but nothing special and didn't particularly love it. ------ SERVICE: * Fine service, though the waiter took a long time to check in on our table. We weren't in a rush so it wasn't a problem, but it was strange. * Note that their kitchen is not located nearby and so the waiter has to go to a kitchen downstairs before bringing the food up. That means that service can be a little slower at times. ------ ENVIRONMENT / AMBIANCE: * Really nice ambiance. It's a balcony right off the main lobby where you check-in, and there are lots of comfy lounge chairs and small tables to match. The lobby and the lounge are both technically on the 3rd floor of the resort, so you can overlook the rest of the resort including the pool, beach, and ocean. * The live music at night is nice, both if you're dining at the lounge or just returning to the lobby area after a long day out. * There's also an indoor bar area next-door to the lounge with a pool table. The pool accessories are in rough shape (only 1 usable pool stick) but anyone is able to set up the table and begin playing. Despite being here during the holidays, this table was surprisingly available for most of our stay. * Every night there's a traditional Hawaiian ceremony where torches are lit at sunset and someone blows a conch in all directions. The conch blowing happens on this balcony, so if you're seated at the lounge around 5 pm, you'll have great seats of the short ceremony.

The lounge is conveniently towards the center of the resort, close to check in. The staff are…read moredifficult to get ahold of, and service was rather lackluster. We came on a windier day, and the tiki torch kept getting blown out. The one closest to us was gushing out gas without a flame, and left an extremely heavy gas smell. We asked if they could relight it, and the first person said they'd get maintenance over right away. 20 minutes later, and getting lightheaded from the gas, I asked if they could turn it off if they couldn't relight it. The staff started getting defensive which I didn't understand, and told us that we were being unreasonable since the area wouldn't be lit up if there was no torch. I kept explaining to her that the torch was out, so we don't get the light anyways, but she wasn't listening to our concerns. Eventually another staff member came by, immediately understood, and finally turned off the gas for us so we weren't getting smothered by the odor. We ordered two cocktails and a spicy Kanpachi roll. The cocktails were mediocre, and one of them was not what we ordered. My wife asked for a blended cocktail and ended up with a drink on ice. The kanpachi roll was below average, with soggy seaweed and loosely rolled where it was falling apart while eating. I would skip on this lounge if you're looking for a place to eat and maybe even for skip and go elsewhere for drinks. We only tried one sushi roll, but after our experience we didn't intend on ordering anything else.

Friendly vibe. Convenient for guests…read more A couple of Mai Tais and or house wine and or domestic beer is included as part of the daily resort fee that Hilton charges for a stay at this property. Relaxed vibe in the lobby with low key and pleasant entertainment on the Friday evening that I was there. Service was fast, friendly and efficient.

If youre staying at the Hilton, dont pass up the opportunity to enjoy the many offerings here…read more Open air windows and pleasant music greet you in the am for strong complimentary coffee and breakfast offerings. Try the spam musubi, especially if you have that resort credit. Evenings great local Hawaiian music and hula dancers entertain you while you enjoy their special island breeze cocktail. Our party of 4 finally decided to just eat dinner there on a Friday night .. place was packed, but food came out pretty quick. We were all surprised how good it was (Im sober so can't blame that). Prices reasonable service friendly. Margherita flat bread, Kailua pork w cabbage and the pulled pork were scarfed quickly. Entertainment was fabulous on Friday. I recommend this place for casual meal and drinks.

A solid neighborhood spot with a few standouts and some room to grow…read more We've been to Kaleo's a few times now, and we'll definitely keep coming back. It's close, there's always parking, and it's got that laid-back, local energy where you can laugh loud and no one's going to shoot you a look. It does get loud inside, but in that kind of way that makes it feel like everybody's having a good time, not like you're in a cafeteria. Just don't expect a quiet dinner conversation, unless you're reading lips. The service? Always sweet, always kind. Lily (I think that's the correct spelling!) has taken care of us more than once and she's a gem... warm, attentive, and easy to chat with. She's the kind of person who remembers what you ordered last time and tells you honestly what's good. As for the food... Bacon Blue Burger: My husband had this last time and it was yum. Juicy, flavorful, hits all the right rich notes without being greasy. That one's a solid order. Ribs: The barbecue sauce was really good... but the ribs themselves were dry and overdone. Not terrible, but not what I'd call a win either. If they could just dial in the texture, that sauce would carry it home. Kalbi Short Ribs: Best thing on the menu so far. Tender, rich, and full of flavor. Get those. Mashed Potatoes: "All mash" is the move. They're creamy and comforting... total comfort food. Hamburger Steak: Another standout. Probably one of the best in the area. Classic done right. Thai Chicken Pasta: Watch out... it's got some serious heat! Spicy, but good. Not for the faint of tongue, but worth it if you're into that kind of kick. Lilikoi Fizz: Really tasty but heavy on the lilikoi. If they eased up and added a little more club soda, it would be more balanced. Desserts: * Lava Cake was good... warm and classic. * Chocolate Decadent Cake was just okay. It comes fridge-cold (probably so it doesn't melt), but I feel like if they let it sit out for ten minutes before serving, it would be way better. * Brownie Sundae was yum, according to my husband... and I trust his dessert radar. All in all, Kaleo's is the kind of place you root for. You want them to keep getting better, and they mostly are. The hits are worth coming back for, and even the misses aren't deal-breakers. We'll be back, and we're excited to keep trying more of the menu.

Big birthday for me & hungry husband treated me to a trip to "Moku O Keawe" to visit our na…read moremo'opuna @ their new home! Eldest son suggested this nice bar & grill. Food choices were plentiful, lots of fancy drinks to choose from. This is an open restaurant where it's open air backyard kind of feeling. Feels like an old fashioned Lu'au!!! Acoustics are a bit loud because everyone is out talking each other. Parking is in the lot in the back. It's free if u no mind da "coqui " frogs!!! Would love to return & try other dishes! Ka ono! Our nine year old grandson ordered "Coconut shrimp & fries "-- no not from keiki menu--braddah can mop it up !!! I ordered a steak plate (4 got da name) . Son ordered a sautéed fish platter & hungry husband had a fancy kine,thick burger & we were all jealous! The wait for everything was a bit long; to wait for someone to take our order, bring back the drinks & very long before we got our food. Waitress was apologetic & sincere. We didn't mind. Extra points if you're like dat!!! On the cash wrap counter some Hawai'ian arts & crafts were displayed.....oh sistah! I gotta go lookie!!! He he he !!! Clay/foam like tropical flowers for your hair,laser cut wooden earrings,stationary & more! My dashing men (husband,son & grandson) let me oogle because they all know I support local artisans. Because I'm an "artsy-fartsy " myself!!! (I create all kine art) A few days lataz....was talking story wit my cousin & found out he was the fish cutter there a few years ago ! Loved dis place!!! Hope it does well!!!