New Saigon Restaurant

There's a few options for Thai food in Hilo but my go-to is New Chiang Mai. Parking can be limited…read moreon a busy night, especially Friday nights during the downtown night market, but usually isn't an issue during the day. In spite of that, service is normally knowledgeable and friendly, extensive menu options, and served family style. I'm hooked on their steam dumplings, but I'm also a sucker for cilantro and onions, ask for it on the side or without if the people you're sharing with aren't fans lol. Recently got the summer rolls, pleasantly surprised by the portion size and the peanut sauce was so good we wiped the bowl clean; I like that it was on the thicker/chunkier side instead of too runny. You can never go wrong with the pad thai, perfectly coated and seasoned. Their red curry is perfect with a side of sticky rice (not included with curry order) and their eggplant stir fry was soft in a delectable sauce. Seriously can't go wrong with any options here. They also have alcoholic drinks, great sounding options but they have a heavy pour if you're into that.

A local tour guide recommended this Thai restaurant as one of his favorite spots. He raved about…read morethe eggplant dish and we were excited to eat here, but we're severely Our visit started with a rather long way to be seated. When we finally were addressed, we requested to sit by the window to which verse told that we could not because the table was dirty. It did not look dirty, but he sat elsewhere. Have to replace our order random extra empty plates, bowls and serving and soup arrived that we never ordered and had no use. When the food arrived, we noticed that they were large portions. However, I would've preferred small portions with a steer food.. The lrad-nar/gravynoodles dish while we requested a no heat dish, we did not expect a no spice dish which tasted overwhelmingly of vinegar. The "medium" (6/10) spiced pad kee mao was barely a 2/10 level. Both came with thin, dried, packaged noodles that were unappealing. The pad kee mao lacked real basil flavor and fresh elements and felt bland and bare-bones cafeteria style . The rad-nar was a salty, vinegary gravy and simply not edible. To top it off, locals began arguing and pulling other diners into the conflict, which made the atmosphere uncomfortable. The wait staff who were asked to interview ran off and ignored issues. I simply can not recommend this restaurant.

I'm a sucker for bathrooms while out to eat

Pad see ew beef

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Tiger Lily is a drink to remember. Liliko'i purée, Thai tea, ginger liqueur, and tequila. Ono and oh yes.

Naung Mai Thai Kitchen

3.8(451 reviews)

Amazing mom and pop type restaurant! Loved the restaurant and food was amazing - you can definitely…read moretell it is authentic! highkey recommend! Service was super friendly! Restaurant felt like a place where you would come for comfort Thai food!

We had dinner here today. We ordered shrimp tom yum, fried rice, and shrimp pad thai. The wait time…read morefor our food was about one hour. During that time, we did not receive any updates from the server, so it was unclear how much longer the wait would be. The restaurant does not have its own parking and there is no restroom available inside the building. The interior felt uncomfortable to me - the yellow walls and the music playlist did not match the theme of Thai cuisine, which affected the overall dining experience. I am a fan of Thai food and have visited Thailand multiple times. Based on my personal experience, the dishes served did not match what I am used to from traditional Thai cuisine. There was a large amount of onion and ingredients that, in my experience, are uncommon in classic Thai dishes. The front door remained open, and at times the smell of car exhaust from vehicles parked along the street entered the dining area, which made the environment less pleasant. Due to these factors, I finished my meal quickly and personally would not choose to return.

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Exterior

Nim’s Chiang Mai Thai Cuisine

4.5(59 reviews)

0.2 mi

YUM! We were a little confused when we first arrived at what…read morelooked like an office building but after walking around to the main side of the street we saw the cozy entrance to Nim's. The space is unique and eccentric- I just had a feeling the food would be bomb. It so was!! Great portions, huge flavor, great service!!

I love Thai food and while visiting Hilo to see my son and his family they took me to Nims. It's a…read moresmall quaint restaurant and it wasn't crowded when we arrived, First orders that came out were the Thai chicken with a delicious sauce and the vegetable spring rolls. Both were very delicious but the spring rolls tasted better with the chicken sauce. My son's chow fun type noodle dish came out too spicy, his fault for ordering it hot. It is his favorite go to dish at Nim"s. I had the beef salad. It was OK but I didn't care for the beef. I felt that it was overcooked and was a little disappointed. Forgot what my DIL ordered but they come here regularly and have favorite go to dishes. I would come back again and explore the menu more.

Dinning Room

Pad see ew beef

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Moon & Turtle

4.6(856 reviews)

Fantastic service and attention from the whole staff! Cozy atmosphere with great music. Every dish…read morewas meticulously crafted with unique flavors, perfectly cooked. We loved the sizzlin tepanyaki poke with Ono and the desserts. Chef Mark and the staff do a wonderful job of showing off the flavors of Hilo...miso infused caramel on a fluffy cheesecake...I'm gonna be thinking about that dinner for a long time!

My wife and I stopped by Moon & Turtle for dinner during our brief visit to Hilo and we had a…read morefantastic meal. We showed up right when they opened at 5:30 p.m. without reservations on a Wednesday evening and was luckily able to get seated at the bar. Between the two of us, we ordered a bunch of items off the "small" section of the menu, including the smokey sashimi, sizzling tetsuyaki poke, smoked tonnato caesar, crispy rice, and their special of the day -- agedashi wontons. Of the items we ordered, the crispy rice and the agedashi wontons were my favorite items. The crispy rice is priced per piece, and you'll certainly want to order at least two per person, because one is simply not enough. The rice block is fried a beautiful golden brown -- similar to a hash brown. The crispy rice pairs perfectly with the ono mixture on top of it. With the agedashi wontons, I initially thought the filling was a bit under-seasoned at first, but when enjoyed with the broth, the wonton comes out tasting perfectly seasoned. The broth had so much umami to it and the wonton had the perfect crunch to it I always love a good Caesar salad and the one here is spectacular. With anchovy croutons, shaved cured egg yolk, and smoked ahi dressing, you're getting some creative, premium ingredients in this salad and everything works so well together. Even if you're not a salad person, I would definitely recommend giving this dish a try. On top of delicious food, the service at Moon & Turtle was spectacular. Food was promptly brought out after we placed our order, pacing didn't ever feel rushed, our water cups were never empty, and our server checked on us regularly to make sure we had everything we needed without being overbearing. I would definitely stop by Moon & Turtle again if I'm in Hilo.

Limited seating so it fills fast - so make a reservation

Market Fish - steamed mahi with garlic, ginger, scallion and soy in roasted bone congee with chili oil and wild rice

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Smokey Sashimi

Tina's Garden Cafe

4.4(357 reviews)

Fantastic food service, great taste and family friendly environment. Waiter was attentive and…read morehelpful. Red Curry Chicken and large Shrimp were very tasty. The spiciness was spot on for me as I asked for spicy but not the top. If you like spicy this is a definite. Definitely would go back and family owned which makes it great.

Do you know how excited I was to finally try this place? Olympic-level excited. I know good Thai…read more I've eaten Thai in places where the menu doesn't apologize to you in English. The reviews sold me. And then... reality arrived. The server was lovely but clearly trapped in a one-person reenactment of Kitchen Nightmares. Two of us ordered dinner at the same time. My partner received their entrée. Then their sides. Then time to reflect on life. I received... nothing. Not even "sorry"' from the kitchen. Only the server had the decency to acknowledge the mess. About 40 minutes later--after my partner had fully completed dinner, digestion, and emotional closure--they brought my entrée. I asked for extra veggies and "Thai hot." What I got was Mild Regret of neither with a garnish of panic: two heaping tablespoons of raw hot peppers dumped on top like a dare. That's not "Thai hot," that's "we forgot and now we're improvising." At this point, I asked for it to go, because I wasn't about to sit there eating solo like I missed the memo that dinner was a relay race. Also: summer rolls require basil. Basil. Not iceberg lettuce. Iceberg lettuce belongs in a 1994 suburban salad bar, not in Thai cuisine. There was zero concept of food arriving together, or being cooked to order, or basic culinary logic. That said--I'm a generous soul. They need a chance to redeem what was, without exaggeration, a masterclass in how not to run dinner service.

Panang curry with chicken

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Summer mixed fruit salad. A little spicy but most excellent.

Ratana's

4.6(161 reviews)

1.5 mi

Food and friendly staff was great. Knocking down to 3 stars for three reasons: (1) food was very…read moreslow to order; 5 entrees took about 40min to come out and came out one at a time over that time person; (2) no bathroom (walk 2 blocks to grocery store doe that), and (3) dining area is a bit stuffy (sweating). With that said, the owners are amazing people and the food is good. Had the pad see ewe, yellow curry, panang curry, and Thai iced teas.

I enjoyed my takeout last week. Enjoyed it even more dining in at Ratana's in Hilo…read more Last time, I got green papaya salad. Portion was so big, I couldn't finish. So this time, I got a green salad. It was huge too. I just barely finished. N Thank you Oy. Delicious!

Mango sticky rice.

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Fresh passion fruit juice.

Bangkok Villa Hilo

4.5(74 reviews)

My partner and I both ordered that pad thai, only I ordered mine with shrimp. Hers, chicken, was…read morefine. I spent the entire night with severe food poisoning. Once I felt the symptoms come on, the ordeal lasted nearly twelve hours. We joked about getting poisoned by the looks of the place, but I felt confident once we were served. It's tasted alright. Pretty good. Never again. Do not recommend. Zero stars.

The food is fresh and delicious I recommend summer roll and pudding . The price is very goodread more

Front door, street hang. Not raining.... Yet! It's Hilo

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Red curry loaded with veggies

Hilo Siam Thai Restaurant

4.2(105 reviews)

1.5 mi

Their Thai curry is very good along with other food on the menu. Great service and fastread more

Not bad! The place we were planning on eating at was closed…read morewhen we came by so we came here instead. The seating area was very small, only a couple tables and it was empty when we went. It was very hot inside without AC, which was unfortunate, but otherwise it was not bad. The noodle soup had great flavor, good comfort food. The chicken was a bit tough and dry though. The green curry had excellent flavor. The prices are pretty low (plates around or under $15)! Service was excellent, they were very quick and attentive. Overall not bad, but 4 stars for not the most comfortable atmosphere and dry chicken

Interior

Eggplant w/ Sweet Basil & Pork.

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Located on Furneaux Lane in historic Downtown Hilo. Serving lunch and dinner, dine-in or takeout.

Ning's Thai Cuisine

4.3(354 reviews)

17.6 mi

Every time we are in town eat at least 2-3 times. This has got to be my favorite Thai restaurant,…read moreidk about ever, but one of my tops for sure. All their curries are amazing, but my favorite is the green one! Crab fried rice is insanely delicious! The staff is friendly, ingredients fresh, everything is flavorful and cooked to perfection. I am left satisfied each time. The restaurant is always packed, it's colorful and full of people enjoying their meals. The place feels authentic and on a strip with shops and bars. Going back tonight after having dinner there just yesterday, haha! Yes, it's that good! Enjoy xx

So yummy! I'm obsessed with the food here. It's a little pricey, but the quality and flavor are…read moredefinitely there. Very family-oriented business, and their food is to die for!

Very inviting and vibrant interior.

Fresh shrimp spring roll

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Avocado Spring Roll

Puka Puka Kitchen

4.4(517 reviews)

1.5 mi

That garlic rice! Get the garlic rice. Ahi don with the garlic rice is my go-to. Even the bentos…read morethey make are great if you're in a bit of a hurry.

I ordered the Katsu and it was fantastic, with tender meat and a crunchy crust. The garlic rice is…read moretasty with a hint of curry flavor. The salad was fresh and the sesame vinaigrette was well balanced. Highly recommend!