My husband and I stopped by Koana after a recommendation from a friend while we were on our way to…read moreVolcano. I mean this with all kindness, but I think my friend undersold the place! At first glance, it may look like other small, local shops, with locally made products and a few interesting goods to browse. (I ended up buying the last 'I'iwi bird pin they had on display, which I loved!) After reading some other reviews, I realized we may have just gotten lucky because the owner happened to be in that day. Let me say this upfront: they advertise slow black coffee and they mean it! The owner (Brian?) takes his time with each customer, chatting with you to understand what you're looking for and making some suggestions. It's clear he enjoys both his craft and engaging with customers. It was not very busy while we were there, which added to that relaxed, Hawaiian vacation vibe. We really enjoyed the conversation with him and even walked away having learned a few new things. We took our coffee and other purchases to enjoy on the bench outside, along with some stone cookies from nearby. (There were also additional tables and chairs available on a side patio.) Overall, we loved both the experience and the coffee, and we will definitely plan to stop by again the next time we are in the area!

Service was incredible, very personable and educational. Atmosphere was very homey. 10/10 would…read morerecommend. Will definitely be back. The mocha was really good.

Big Island Bakehouse is a can't miss when visiting Big Island! We made it over to this place on our…read moresecond to last day and we were greeted with so much cheer and the friendly staff gave recommendations and helped guide our choices. We tried the Bomboloni and Nutella Coconut croissant during our initial visit. The Bomboloni reminds me of a malasada but I enjoyed the creamy filling of this so much more. We ended up going back on our last day and tried some of the savory options - the goat cheese pesto croissant and then sausage roll were standouts for us. Enjoyed this place so much we hardly took pictures, but everyone should add this as a stop especially if visiting Volcano National Park!

Open only 3 days a week, this has become one of my favorite stops on the way to Volcano (from…read moreHilo). In fact, except Madam Pele does NOT necessarily keep to the same schedule as the bakery, would try to time my Volcano drives to coincide with Friday, Saturday, or Sunday! Hahah. Today got a sampling of Mediterranean scones (savory with olives and delicious seasonings), croissants, danish, and my favorite... the ube cruffin. Holy Moly Batman... that one item was worth the drive alone! Since there really wasn't any real estate in our tummies, we split everything 3 ways... over the course of the next few hours. Two weeks later, still thinking about that ube cruffin! Would definitely do a repeat on that as well as the Medeterranean scones while trying other items. And as the nice couple infront of us in line mentioned, will have to return for the sister deli across the parking lot. Heard it was featured in Guy Hagi's food vlog. And if its good enough for Guy Hagi its where I want to be my next mealtime!

When traveling to the neighbor islands, I always look forward to trying good eats at local…read morebusinesses. Found this cute little bake shop with great reviews on Yelp and had to check it out. Cardamom coffee cake was moist and full of sweet spicy goodness with chocolate chips sprinkled in. The cinnamon raisin walnut swirl was large, dense and heavy. I opted for the one without sugar icing on top. The sweet cinnamon goo rolled in the middle was so good and made me feel less guilty than when eating a Cinnabon. The guy at the counter told me he wanted to work at the bakery after eating the ginger molasses cookies, so of course I had to try them! They were big, soft but with density and tasted like fall. Not life changing for us, but good for those who appreciate that size. Because they close on Sundays and I was only there for the weekend, I went a little nuts. Also had to try the Lilikoi pie. It was different from those I've had on Kauai. This one had more of the consistency of a keylime pie which they also offer. It was tart abd good. Portions and sizes here are generous. Their style is more rustic and homey. So glad Hilo has another good bakery for me to visit ! Next time I'll go earlier when they're not sold out of their best sellers! (Oops! Forgot to let my camera eat first so photos show half eaten bags.)

My partner and I finally had the opportunity to try out this bakery, and we were very impressed…read morewith their mini cinnamon rolls. Their mini cinnamon rolls are not overly doughy, have the right amount of cinnamon, are not overly sweet, and are enjoyably soft. We will definitely be ordering these again. I also got their cardamom coffee cake, which was excellent as well. It was very moist and, like the mini cinnamon rolls, had the perfect amount of sweetness. We will be back to try their other offerings in the future. So, if you're looking for a solid bakery in Hilo, be sure to check them out!

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

My husband and I shared: - Turkey, Cranberry, and Cream…read moreCheese Popover Sandwich - Pastrami Popover Sandwich - Ube Donut - Lilikoi Butter Mochi Both sandwiches were fantastic. I love popovers and it's such a great idea to turn them into a sandwich. I think I had a slight preference for the turkey one, but you can't go wrong with either. The desserts were a little disappointing. The donut was dry and the butter mochi was just ok. If you're in Hilo, come here for lunch!

Wow! So good! Something interesting about Hawaii is they don't care for too much about the…read moreaesthetic and interior design. Upon walking in, you see a mom and pops with a weird table layout of their baked goods. But actually eating it is such a different story! Great value for lots of yummy breakfast

Pane Nudo opened two years ago in Downtown Hilo, taking place of another favorite bakery location…read more My friend told me about this place and said it was a must try here. Their store is only open on Wed and Sat, so you should definitely plan ahead to visit this store on those days in the morning to have a better selection of bread choices. I tried their Asian Pear foccacia and it was absolutely amazing; pear, honey, and manchego cheese was a perfect harmony of sweet and savory flavors akin to well-balanced charcuterie board. Pane Nudo is a must try in Hilo. Highly recommend their foccacia bread!!!

Over the years I've been on the island I haven't found anyone who can deal with flour with the same…read morelevel of crafts(wo)manship and sense of taste. From breads to desserts - everything is perfect. Thank you for your impeccable work, Barbara, and for keeping this truly Italian place of art available to us.

We tried coming around noon on a weekday but the line was long and we thought maybe we wouldn't be…read moreable to get the flavors we wanted so decided to call to place an order to pick up the following day. We came at 10:30am which was the pickup time we asked for and waited about 20 minutes in the phone order line before being called into the store and waited a few more minutes and left with our order around 11. They did give samples in line though, so that was nice. I did wish I knew about the additional daily fresh fruit flavors beforehand though so that I could order those when I called! I didn't see it until I came to pick up. The place is small and only enough room for a few people at a time. The strawberry mochi is amazing! Other flavors are good too, so soft and fresh. I think it's worth going if you like mochi and have the time!

We came to Two Ladies Kitchen based on the high reviews, but this ended up being one of the worst…read moreexperiences we had on the Big Island. We arrived 15 minutes before opening and were first in the walk-in line. Right before opening, an employee came out and split the lines into "walk-in" and "phone order." Totally fine--except once they opened, they let all phone orders go first... and then continued calling more phone orders again while the walk-in line just stood there. Despite being first in the walk-in line, we waited over 45 minutes before they even started letting walk-ins inside. Meanwhile, we watched people leave the walk-in line, place phone orders, and get served ahead of us. The system is extremely frustrating and poorly managed. A better system would be alternating one customer from each line ! So ridiculous they can't figure this out . Once inside, it took another 20 minutes to get our order. To make matters worse, the order was incorrect and nothing was labeled, so we had no idea what we were eating. The mochi itself was also disappointing. The texture was unusually thick and had a strange, almost metallic taste. The strawberry was very sour, and the strawberry cake mochi was overly large, soggy, and honestly inedible. Overall, we wasted over an hour and a half here for a very underwhelming experience. The staff also weren't particularly welcoming or helpful. The two stars are for Hawaii's aloha spirit....otherwise, this would be a zero!

Love all her pies and cakes.....especially her Haupia Chocolate pie and the Flourless Chocolate…read morecake! The Cappuccino pie is always a must! I can definitely tell she uses quality ingredients! Would definitely come back for more! Owner was really nice and friendly as well!

Absolutely the best place for baked items, cakes, cupcakes, and scrumptious sweets. We ordered the…read moreespresso bars, the berry cupcakes, and the dolce de Leche cupcakes. Holy cow! This succeeds anything we've ever seen in a bakery.

We arrived shortly before closing, but the staff were very kind and took our order for our late,…read morelight lunch. We enjoyed the mushroom ginger soup, which was flavorful and and a soup and fresh green salad combo. Everything was delicious, flavorful, and just right. And the pricing was affordable. Woo hoo! Seated amidst the interesting and unique art of the gallery, with views outside to the gardens, it was a calm and peaceful dining experience.

After what felt like a long half day at Volcanoes National Park nearby, my husband and I were…read morelooking for a little pick-me-up before heading back to the park after dark. We found Cafe Ono online, but realized it was closing soon. We decided to stop by anyway to check out Volcano Garden Arts, if anything, and we are so glad we did. The staff working at the cafe were so kind and still hooked us up with some caffeine, even though they were technically already closed - we really appreciated that. We got our coffee (good but nothing extraordinary tbh) and a snack, chatted a bit with the owner, and then decided to explore the grounds instead of sitting indoors the entire time. It was so fun to wander through the little shop (with their "please touch" policy) and gallery, check out the outdoor dining areas, meet one of the famous NZ bunnies (I think there were supposed to be 2 though..?), and walk through their forest and gardens. Even on a slightly rainy and damp day, the outdoor walk was enjoyable. The space is whimsically decorated with art, sculptures, and local products for sale, and at times it gave off an Alice in Wonderland vibe. We're not sure when we'll be back in this area or on Big Island in general, but if/when we are I'd love to return and explore again.

In other places, this would be a four stars but on Hawaii and near Volcanoes National Park this is…read morea 5. The woman behind the counter was very friendly and kind which can be difficult to find in this busy tourist town. Thank you so much! We were there Nov 10. The ambiance is casual. The seating area is outside underneath an awning. There are world maps outside so you can pin the location you're from. The food is very good value especially for Hawaii. I paid about $12 each for a sandwich that was packed with fresh ingredients. It can be hard to find good value meals around Volcano. This sandwich came with packets of mayo and mustard on the side. I appreciated they didn't add this to the sandwich beforehand. Honestly, if you're on the Big Island, you probably know by now how expensive fresh veggies are. These veggies were delicious and good quality. I've had trouble finding such good quality veggies even at higher price points. I hope they never change their selection because I thought the fresh veggie sandwich was great for the value. It was big and very filling. Again, I wish I had caught the name of the young 5'2ish woman serving me. Someone on the Big Island offered me a job because they said it was hard to find someone reliable to show up for a job at a gas station. They thought I was a local. Well, this woman was very helpful and friendly despite the long line of customers. Hope someone gives her a raise if she's an employee, because it sounds like good employees are tough to come by and she was definitely great.

So the Eagles Lighthouse Cafe is no more. Let this be a eulogy then. For starters, let's go with…read morethe praise. The food was great. Nice down home cookin', reasonably priced. Now for this. The place was festooned with Bible quotes, Biblical vignettes in the windows, and the three flags of Christian Nationalism garishly out front - the US flag, the Israeli flag, and the nationalist "Plea To Heaven" flag. All paradoxically in tatters and never taken in for good keeping. It did not give off a welcome Biblical vibe though - just one of "agree with us or take it down the road." The kitchen and counter personnel were usually fairly nice people who gave great service. The owners, when they were present, gave off something entirely different. Like you were inconveniencing them by being there. Short tempered and terse if they took your order. If you read the earlier comments, you will hear of them coming unhinged and screaming at some customer about something either overblown, or imagined. They refused to pay their employees properly, with something even close to a living wage. When the Hawaii legislature finally hiked the minimum wage, they stuck out an alarmist notice written in childish green marker that they were sooooo sorry but they "had to" raise their prices a bit because the mean old Hawaii house raised the wage. And of course taxes under Biden, yada yada. In the end, the ELC was a victim of the owners' disposition. It's a very bad business model indeed, when politics, religion and greed actually get in the way of doing business. My best wishes to the employees, I really hope they can find something decent to replace this experience. For the self righteous, sanctimonious greed of the owners and operators - as Jesus said, "Yeah verily, you have your reward."