I came during a Friday lunch rush and they were turning out orders pretty fast here. It's counter…read moreservice where you order, wait for your food, and either take it home or eat it in the food court (it's not about the ambiance, it's about the flavors). I got the pork bento which came with miso soup and an iced tea and it was $32 with tax and tip. Kind of on the expensive side for lunch but it was a lot of food and it tasted flavorful and fresh. Pros Fast fresh Japanese food Cons Food court or take-away (not a major con but worth noting)

A another local boutique Owner recommended this place to us, and we decided to come check it out…read more Sadly, we were full at the time and have not walked off our lunch yet. Lol. We were able to order an iced Matcha tea and it was really good, but a little light in flavor. Lol. I was really excited to try their Ube smoothie, but it was pre-mixed with cow, milk, and since I'm lactose intolerant, I wouldn't be able to have it comfortably. Lol. The lady that helped us was incredibly friendly, sweet and nice, and she knew everything about the food and drinks. She was very apologetic about the cow milk and the smoothie being premixed. Hee. They also had a little Ready To Go take out counter area with some delicious looking items. I took a picture of that as I took a picture of the drink. I will have to go back for lunch and write update my review. Hee

My husband surprised me with a dinner at Merriman's around the holidays for my birthday…read morecelebration. Needless to say, around the holidays reservations are highly recommended, if not already required. The restaurant was packed, but it didn't feel too overwhelming. There were a lot of large groups and families, and we were one of the few tables with just a couple of people. It was a great experience from entry to exit. The service was excellent- attentive and friendly - and the food was delicious, with what felt like a fresh mix of local favorites and items with a more modern approach. The birthday treat was also a nice touch! We really enjoyed our experience here and would definitely consider returning (or visiting another Merriman's location) in the future.

I want to preface my 3-star rating by saying we did enjoy most of what we ordered, and the service…read morewas honestly amazing. However, as a vegetarian, I felt like we really just had one option for our entrée. We ended up getting full off starters and sides. The only main we could really do was the mushroom pot pie. It was good and comforting, just not anything super memorable. Lastly, I don't mind spending on a nice meal, but a few things felt a little pricey for what they were. For example, the tomato and blue cheese salad with capers was $25, which felt a little steep for essentially five slices of tomato. That being said, everything tasted very fresh and the quality of ingredients was definitely there. Overall, still a good experience, especially because of the service.

We stopped by while they were remodeling so they had a little pop-up stand outside offering rice…read morebowl with short ribs or garlic shrimp. I had the shrimp which were fresh grilled and delicious. Great service. And the outside find a bench along the street ambience seems to symbolize the laid back ambience of Honokaa!!

Stopped in for a little lunch on our way to Hilo, cute spot . Everything was delicious large…read moreportions. Wife got the short rib bowl, I got the chicken karrage bao , both were yummy. Order at counter, all was fresh and hot !! Would be back !!

We ordered the cha siu ramen and shrimp tempera, both are good! The cha siu is cooked to…read moreperfection! Family owned business with generous portion, give it a try!

Tonkatsu ramen broth is very creamy and tasty. Noodles are…read morechewy and bouncy Pork is a little salty Price is great

My gf food coma right after. Service was fast and excellent. Ambiance decent. We ate everything…read morebecause it was so good. And she went to sleep not even an hour after

We went with a friend for dinner a month ago and the food was excellent. Started with some gyoza,…read moreand tempura, chicken karaage and then sushi which was fresh and beautiful, and black garlic ramen was superb. We had leftovers that were great the next day for lunch as well. This is a popular place so be prepared. We ate inside not having a reservation but I'd suggest calling for a reservation outside. Also keep in mind that rents are high in Kona, it's a challenge to find people that can afford it and work in our restaurants, so be kind to them. Parking is also a challenge but patience and determination will get you there. Currently if you are a Costco member you can purchase gift cards for $80 that will get you $100 at the restaurant, so effectively a 20% discount. Those discount cards seem to rotate in and out at Costco so that will probably change. We've gotten two takeout dinners since then and it's a definite favorite of ours. Mahalo.

50% of on Sundays and Mondays for early dine? Say lesssss!…read moreWe enjoyed 4 sushi rolls, ravioli, poke, and cucumbers all for under 70 with tip. That's INSANE. The rolls were delicious l, I forget the name of the one I liked but it had spicy crab in it. Also, the ravioli with the mushroom Madeira sauce was heavenly. I could've ate 12 more of those (it's a small portion). Service was great, they have the system down. Waters at every table before early dine and the server gives you a good run down of what the special is and checks back with you before it ends. I highly recommend checking out sansei

I'm giving 3 stars only because of the service that night…read more We never received part of our order, in a very long period of time They were severely understaffed for the amount of people being seated. The manager was very nice and comped what we did get. In future if understaffed- limit seating to match staffing. The crab ramen with truffle was very delicious. Wish we could have tried more.

We tried out this legendary Japanese Hawaiian diner near the end of our trip. It is literally like…read morea slice out of history! Not to be missed! They have a TV showing historical clips of the Japanese immigrants who moved to Hawaii. We learned so much just dining there! The servers were very nice and friendly. They even offer free, hot green tea. It wasn't crowded when we went there for lunch. The server said we could order from the dinner menu too. The restaurant is decorated with a bunch of old family photos. It's not a fancy food location, but a place that is in the locals' hearts. Also, it's not standard Japanese American food, so don't come in looking for rolls and such! Instead, they serve fresh, perfectly prepared Japanese food with a Hawaiian twist, favorites like saimin and shrimp tempura. The large saimin ($16.17) was delicious and really hit the spot. Toppings were Spam, eggs, and veggies. Simple, but tasty! Shrimp tempura appetizer ($14.85) was a pretty large sized dish. The pieces have a lot of crunchy batter and the kids loved it. It was a bit greasy, but that's to be expected. DH got a Oyako Donburi with sashimi ($21.93). Wow, the sashimi was truly amazing! So tender, it just melts in your mouth. The eggs were cooked with bamboo pieces which kinda threw DH off. I liked them, but DH would've preferred it without. The flavor is sweet/salty and pretty mild. It came with miso soup and some pickles. Parking is right in the front and backs into the main road. It can be spicy getting out if traffic is heavy. They don't have a lot of bathrooms, so there might be a wait. Those are the downsides. Otherwise, a wonderful local place to eat!

After reading about the extensive history of this long-standing Japanese/Hawaiian family…read morerestaurant, we had to come check it out. I got the No. 3 Teishoko which comes with Miso Soup, Sashimi, Sukiyaki, Shrimp Tempura, Sunomono, Tsukenomo, and Rice. The tuna was so smooth and melts in your mouth. And I loved the flavor of the pairing of pickled vegetables with the sukiyaki (flavorful and tender). I do wish the shrimp tempura had a little more shrimp and less tempura batter though. Also, we didn't realize that our waitress was the great granddaughter of Grandma Teshima herself. She was so nice to us during our visit! I would recommend checking out this restaurant. Looking forward to trying out their breakfast the next time we come back!

OMG the pancakes!! It comes with whipped cream & haupia sauce and holy cow it's the BEST!…read more The pancake is ginormous and normally comes with two but I didn't want to waste so asked for just one. Volcano omelet and crispy hash browns hit the spot Mahalo Mahalo Mahalo

after 6 years we finally made it back for my much improved breakfast experience. And redemption for…read moremy terrible ordering the first time...after a 30 minute wait ( normal for here it's always busy and worth it ) only open until1pm ... a typical hawaiin meal ... after deliberating the many combinations available, and a little valuable help from our waitress, I ordered the 2 egg , hash browns, with a choice of side i got the yummy sweet french toast (2 pieces) and bacon! a feast fit for a very hungry me . it did not disappoint!! The eggs medium over were perfectly prepared, as were the french toast and hash browns. Erv ordered the same with pancakes( 2 ginormous) and ham... we shared. i don't know which i liked better... french toast or pancakes... scott got pork hawaian mac and rice. which he enjoyed! steph had the pancakes with coconut cream and whipped cream cream ... we had several doggy bags for breakfast tomorrow!!!

My wife and I got last minute reservations to Canoe House on a Sunday evening at 8:00 p.m. Despite…read morehaving missed the sunset, we still had a very lovely dinner. We saw from Yelp photos that Canoe House offered a tasting menu at some point in time, but during our visit, it was more of an impromptu tasting menu of sorts -- created by our server, rather than an official one with a set beverage pairing. In any case, we still had a wonderful experience ordering items a la carte. Before diving into the food, I wanted to call out the outstanding service at Canoe House. My wife and I were celebrating our anniversary and our server started and ended the meal with a round of congratulations. Throughout our meal, our server was super attentive and there was never a moment when our water cups were empty. Empty plates were promptly cleared, cutlery was refreshed when it was needed, and whenever a dish was brought over, he would carefully slide things around on the table so dishes were accessible and not overcrowding. Friendly, professional service of this level is honestly hard to find these days outside of Michelin dining establishments. My wife and I started our meal off with the large loaf of pull-apart milk bread ($18). The milk bread was incredibly fluffy and the outside was finished with some honey and sea salt. The sweet cream butter was rich and had the perfect spreadable consistency. As tempting as it is to want to finish the loaf, you'll definitely want to safe your stomach for the rest of the meal. The next items that we ordered were two chilled oysters ($7/piece), and a hamachi + uni citrus salad ($14). Since we were dining as a couple, our server informed us that we could actually order half-portions of some of the dishes. This was a perfect way to not fill-up before our mains arrived, so we did that for both the salad and the gyozas. The uni in the salad was melt in your mouth tender and had a delicious sweetness to it. I thought the hamachi in the salad was a bit unremarkable: it was certainly fresh and there were two generously sized pieces in the dish, but the fish definitely needed a bit more salt to it. Our next and last appetizer to arrive was the beef and foie gras gyoza ($7/piece). The chili garlic ponzu sauce the gyoza is resting leans towards the sour side, but that's my personal preference when it comes to dumpling sauces so I really enjoyed it. The filling inside the gyoza was on the leaner side compared to your typical pork and cabbage dumpling, but I didn't mind this too much since there was so much sauce in the bowl to accommodate the dumpling. The next four items we ordered all arrived together: the garlic fried rice ($32), the Kona kanpachi ($67), the Iberico char siu pork ($65), and the side of sugar snap peas ($22). Of these items, my favorite bites were the Iberico pork followed closely by the garlic fried rice and the sugar snap peas. If we could've ordered one fewer dish, it definitely would have been the Kona kanpachi. While the fish was flakey tender and the the skin was cooked to be perfectly crunchy, the portion size was far too large for two, and I thought the coconut ginger sauce felt a bit diluted and not as flavorful as advertised. I wish our server warned us that we had ordered way too much food, because we brought 85% of this dish home as leftovers. While I don't necessarily mind having leftovers, having leftovers on vacation -- with less than ideal heating methods available (i.e. hotel microwave), is not great. Overall, I couldn't help but feel this dish was somewhat a waste of money for the two of us. On the other hand, the Iberico char siu is a dish I'd order again and again if I were to come back. The pork was lean and grilled to perfection. The charred end pieces were some of my favorite bites of the night. I didn't miss the fatty bits that are typically present on a piece of char siu pork, and the mustard that accompanied the dish was not over the top spicy like some of the mustards you find at dim sum restaurants. The garlic fried rice was packed with so much garlic flavor. One criticism I had with the dish though is I wish the hot sizzling plate the dish was served on was even hotter. The rice that was in contact with the plate didn't crisp up in the same way that it would with a Korean bibimbap served in a hot stone bowl, or the socarrat at the bottom of a Spanish paella. Nonetheless, the dish was well-seasoned. If you want to save a bit on carbs and not fill up, you might want to skip this dish. Overall, the dining under the stars experience at Canoe House is hard to beat. The service is incredible, the included validated valet parking experience is seamless, the ambience of the hotel where the restaurant is located is breathtaking, and Chef Rhoda has really done an wonderful job with the vast majority of the items we tried. I would not hesitate to recommend Canoe House for celebrating a special occasion if you're visiting Hawaiʻi.

Holy cow... the flavors were so unique and I've never had something like this before. You'd think…read moreyou tasted similar things since it's all the same sauce bases but they pair it so perfectly together to make a delicious dish. The red cabbage salad had a yuzu/soy dressing and came with dates. So. Good. I assumed it was overpriced for a salad with so little but honestly it shined. The pull apart bread was good and warm but nothing special. Filling! The garlic fried rice? Idk how they make it so good it sounds so basic but it was the perfect seasonings where you don't feel the icky garlic breath but each bite was so savory and yum! Mahi mahi dish - the roasted carrots were my absolute favorite. How do they carmelize them that well idk, The pork dish was also killer. I loved the yuzu mustard sauce and the pork was super tender and juicy. Again, not usually a pork fan but this one nailed it!! Friendly staff - they were very attentive and helped clean up a spill that we accidentally made within a matter of seconds :-) thanks!

Love this place! We visited this local favorite on a trip to Hilo. We went for an early weekday…read morelunch, so it wasn't busy. There was parking in the shared lot, but spaces are tiny. Booth seating was perfect for us. The wait staff were super nice and patient with us. Their menu is huge and has a lot of options for customizing. Fortunately, there are diagrams on the wall to help you decide. I got a Miso Standard ramen ($20 with an Ajitama (seasoned soft boiled egg), hard texture, fried garlic, extra noodles. It was fabulous! Really hit the spot. Loved the chewier noodles and the rich, flavorful broth. DH got THE Garlic ramen ($26.50) also with an Ajitama, pork belly, and extra noodles, regular firmness. The kids wanted extra Naruto (fish cakes), 75 cents for 2 small pieces. One of our kids is under age 5, so we got a Miso mini ramen ($9.50 value) for free! Wow! Little one said he did not like the flavor of the seasoned egg. Noodles were very soft, but stayed together, and soaked up a ton of broth so they were flavorful. He said the Miso Mini comes with corn instead of fish cake. We loved all of the toppings. The pork belly was excellent! Portion sizes are great. We had some leftovers to take back. Overall, a fantastic place to satisfy those ramen cravings!

Everything about this place is awesome! Our server was so attentive and friendly. We came on a…read moreTuesday night and only waited a few minutes, but I can tell this place gets busy. The food seems like authentic Japanese cuisine and everything was super delicious. My dad loved his tantan ramen - nutty but not heavy. I really liked the chicken katsudon, which was on the saltier side but still so filling and hearty! This was an awesome find and I'm so glad we stopped here for dinner :-)