Hottest staff, bar none. The absolute BEST people; period. This place is a hidden gem. The people…read morethere are the epitome of Aloha. They are the absolute BEST.

Local dive bar for regular Pau Hana's!…read more This place was made for the local aunties and uncles. We came here after work on a Friday Night. Right away Aunty Joy greeted us with her pretty smile! Got us our drinks and gave us pupus! She made her rounds regularly and talked story with us between rounds. So sweet. Had live music playing and had the most fun time with the later waitresses that came in for their night shift. This is a mom and pop dive bar. Less Michelin star and more homey feel. Defs go back and talk story with aunty!

Fabulous View, fantastic bartender, Luscious Drinks, Great Vibes Thumbs Up Thanks for Everything…read moreSee Ya Soon:)!

I have been wanting to visit this bar for a long time. At first I was a little intimidated. It…read moreseemed very local and not welcoming. This couldn't be farther from the truth. It's a great local dive bar. The staff and customers are very very friendly. It is situated right on a little Lagoon. Lots of ducks on the grass. There was a fun crowd, singing karaoke. The views are great if you get a table out on the patio, I think I found my new favorite hangout. I almost don't want word to get out so it gets overrun by tourists. Again, this is a very, very friendly place. The Good: just about everything. The staff the customers the view. The Bad: nothing really. But it is a little hard to find so do your homework. Chances I'll be Back: For sure! what a great vibe what a great place

Yelp 365 Challenge 2015 #68/365…read more This is only the second bar I've been to in Hilo (since I moved to Oahu before I was of legal drinking age) and although it's inside an old building, it just feels like home to me. Not literally my house, but the comfort and relaxed feeling of Hilo. Aunty Yong's Place is located right next to Nori's Saimin & Snacks, and since Bamboo Garden has closed, my friends that still live here have migrated over. It was pretty much exactly what I expected from a Korean dive bar. Booths, karaoke, two dart boards, music playing, it's a fun time. They also have a bunch of drink specials, ranging from $5-$8, and they have Kona Longboards and Big Wave on special for $4. No drafts here though, just bottles and aluminum bottles of Bud Light. Gosh, free pupus. WHY DONT WE HAVE FREE PUPUS IN HONOLULU?! Crazy. When I met my friends who were already there, there were plates of smoked meat, tofu, kim chee, veggies... What the hell, Oahu. WHAT. THE. HELL. Get with it!! I think they have food to order too, but I didn't see a menu or order anything, cause never need!! Their karaoke selection is pretty impressive for an old-ish bar. They have some recent (2013ish) additions to go along with the classics, and it's $1 per song. They have two dart boards, new ones with cameras! So if you have one of those cards with your ranking or whatever, you can use those dart boards to play (I guess, I actually have no idea how those cards work). We saw a fatty roach scurry across the floor while we were playing darts, but it comes to no surprise, as the building is super old. It's a great dive bar and made me feel right at home on my first night back. Cheers!

Terrible place it was like a ghost town. Don't go Here if…read moreyou have vibes that are ecstatic. They lie about their machine working for karaoke

We enjoyed an evening eating and drinking outside listening to a live band. Older crowd, great…read moremusic, had to be careful as it was pouring rain and the tarps didn't all cover the eating area. Large selection of beers, including a very nicely priced beer tower. Equally wide selection of foods, their moco loco was great. The real highlight was the attentive service. Our server went above and beyond to ensure we wanted for nothing. She was wonderful.

Came here on a night where they had live Hawaiian music. The speakers were super loud, but the…read moremusic was fantastic. It took a while for the waitress to take our orders. One waitress said that she was going to come back and then didn't return for over 15 minutes plus. My friend got the Loco Loco over tater tots, which was very filling and delicious. I got the ribs. Initially the only rib that was hot was the end piece and as soon as I cut it, the remainder was ice cold. I told the waitress who took it back to the kitchen, and they reheated it. The ribs overall were tasty, though not the most tender ribs I've ever ever had. I did like the French fries though it was cold after they reheated my ribs.

Great service. Great food. Nice people. Easy to get to and friendly staff. Menu has a great…read morevariety. Drinks are the best

I wish I could update this in a good way, but they haven't improved since they lost one of their…read morechefs. Took my sister and brother in-law this time. They were highly disappointed, as their second visit, and first was dismal as well. I wish I could report a better experience, but this was the last time, and our family is not going back again. What a shame, as the servers are So nice! I wonder how many people say nothing, because the servers are very nice, but they just won't be back.

The BBQ is not too shabby by Hawaii standards, but overall, it's okay…read more The brisket plate was a massive portion, but it lacked that BBQ flavor. What I mean by that is that it was under-seasoned and didn't have any smoky flavor you're probably used to or crave when wanting BBQ. Some parts were a tad dry, but what saved it was their spicy BBQ sauce. It's very flavorful with a good kick. The coleslaw was bland and watery, but I don't necessarily gravitate towards the side dishes, so this doesn't sway my opinions on the rating very much. My focus is the meats. Look, if you're looking to satisfy that BBQ craving here in Hilo this will get the job done. Give them a try out!

I decided to give this place a try. I ordered the Pipikaula Short Rib special with rice and Mac…read moresalad. The ribs were very bland. I'm from Louisiana and flavor is everything. The bbq sauce they offer is fantastic and it helped but I wasn't a fan.

An Unforgettable Hilo Dining Experience!…read more We had an incredible meal at Ponds and it easily earned every one of its five stars. From the moment we walked in, the atmosphere was uniquely charming--dining right alongside their gorgeous koi ponds while taking in the serene views made for such a relaxing backdrop. The food was fantastic from start to finish. We shared a spread of delicious comfort favorites, including their mouthwatering pulled pork sliders paired with crispy golden fries, and a wonderfully fried seafood basket packed with fresh fish and shrimp. Everything was piping hot, flavorful, and cooked to perfection. The service was warm and welcoming, adding to the easygoing, local island vibe. Whether you are looking for great food, a stunning setting, or just a wonderful place to unwind in Hilo, Ponds is a must-visit. We can't wait to come back!

A nice place on the water. We visited on Saturday so there was lots of activity, including some…read moreyoung guys who blasted their music (?) right at us. Thankfully our waiter walked over and asked them to stop and they obliged. Drinks were good and food was fantastic!

Solid burger and vibes! Can be a little dim in there for older people or people with bad eyesight…read morebut the ambiance was nice and there's an outside dining area. I got the bleu cheese burger medium rare, a solid choice that I was satisfied with and the crispy fries and sweet potato fries were yummy too! They offered a free birthday burger so that was such a lovely addition to my night, and the selection of beer was solid as well. Shout out to the bartender working on 6/18 when a drunken patron bothered our group. We were close to leaving anyways and I made sure to speak my mind to him, but the situation was handled well by the bartender and the staff was apologetic despite it not being their fault so hopefully the rest of their night went well! I will be back to try out more appetizers and other burgers as well

We're going to start by taking a star off right from the beginning. Why? If you log on to the…read morewebsite they have an immediate prompt about ordering online via the Toast platform, except t's never currently enabled. Whatever. We're staying close by so I drive over and make the takeout order in person. Super easy and a member of staff is there to take my order as soon as I walk in the door. After taking my order and payment, I'm told to hang outside at a red bench in their courtyard which I guess you could also eat at but also serves as their de facto holding pen as another guy is also out there doing the same thing I'm doing. After 15 or so minutes everything is brought out to me. Caprese Burger - California Burger - Bacon Cheese Burger Let me start with what's good. The burgers were all cooked to their requested temperatures. The fries were also decent as well and many packets of ketchup and mayo were put in the bag if needed. What's not good. The buns are not toasted so in a takeout environment they become straight up wet diaper soggy and it's also disconcerting when you ask for the bacon to be cooked crispy and it's served white/soggy/limp and barely cooked. Everything seemed nice enough inside and if ever back on the Big Island I would probably try HBJ again, but if you're taking online orders, please enable the platform and if not, remove the website prompt that you do and cook the bacon dammit, wet noodle is never fun. (3.5 rounding down)

Matt was amazing from our cocktails, ( we had Japanese whiskey sours), to our food, (Chinese…read morechicken salad, Ono fish and chips wi tator tots) and to our service. Very knowledgeable Great recommendations Super friendly and engaging We will be back!

Delicious Food and Great Flavor, but Shockingly Overpriced…read more ​I'm giving Cronies three stars purely because the food itself was good--the flavors were definitely there, and everything tasted great. However, the pricing felt like highway robbery. ​We paid $50 for pulled pork wonton nachos, but the portion size was roughly the size of a small soup bowl. On top of that, we paid $24 for just six chicken wings--that's over $4 per wing, and they were very small. ​I understand that being in a tourist area comes with higher price points, but the portion-to-price ratio here was really tough to justify. The food quality is solid, but be prepared to pay a serious premium for small portions!

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.