Honestly surprise that this place doesn't have a hire rating! Me and my boyfriend had just gotten into Hilo after a long day of traveling and this was right by our hotel. We were seated right away next to the windows overlooking the koi pond and we got our food fast as well. I got the Crab Crusted Opakapaka and my boyfriend got the Braised Short Ribs. Everything was delicious and done beautifully well! The live music was also a really nice touch and not too loud. We loved enjoying the food and watching the kois swim and listening to the relaxing music. It was a wonderful experience and we definitely recommend to anyone in the area! read more

We decided to have our anniversary dinner here recommended by a highly, regarded local business owner we met in Honoka'a. We made reservations the previous night for 6PM and requested a corner seat by the window. The staff who seated us were very accommodating. We were seated in a corner table with a nice view of the koi and ice ponds. There was a live musician and he was very good. The reason for the 3 stars was the poor service we received from our main waiter, Ruben. He seemed to pay little to no attention to my husband and I, while he made sure to pay extra attention to the larger parties. I assume he was expecting a bigger tip from the larger parties and was selective of how much attention he gave. We were seated first but our dinner order was taken after he took the orders from the 2 parties that were seated after us. He made sure to ask if they had received their soup or salad but we he did not ask us and we wind up getting our main course before our soup and salad were served. He never came back to ask how our food was. The busboy was very good and provided good service. The food was excellent (we ordered the lobster special with pasta and the crab crusted opakapaka) except for the cold soup served. Dessert was delicious - creme brûlée and the housemade lilikoi cheesecake. I was very disappointed with the poor service from Ruben especially spending our hard earned money on our special night. Luckily for him, my husband is very nice and gave him a decent tip. Otherwise I would have left $0 tip. I would recommend this place but hopefully you're not in a small intimate group and Ruben is your waiter. read more

Great appetizers and drinks. Reasonable prices and great people. All in a very relaxed atmosphere and the BEST play lists of music

I flew into Hilo on a Sunday around 2:30pm and most restaurants are closed on Sundays in Hilo. I stumbled on this restaurant and I'm so happy I did. First of all, the restaurant sits in the edge of a pond, hence the name Ponds. The restaurant has open windows to let fresh air flow through. The waiter gave us a little cup of fish food to feed these huge Koi fish just outside the window below the restaurant. It's nice to observe people enjoying the pond from the restaurant. There's people swimming, canoeing, barbecuing etc on the other end of the pond. The location of this restaurant is pretty neat. The service was awesome. The waiters check in frequently to make sure my friends and I were taken care of. The drink were good as well. I ordered a spiked Strawberry lemonade (I drank most of it by the time I took the picture ). Would you believe they made the lemonade from scratch! Then continued to make the drink. I was wondering why it took the bartender so long to make the drink but now I know. It was delicious. The food.... no words.... it was so good! I had the bbq pork ribs which had like a guava bbq sauce. The meal was like $20 and I got a small chicken broccoli rice soup, 6 ribs and a side of pesto pasta. I was stuffed and had to take a to-go box. The leftovers were just as as good as when I ate there. Literally have nothing bad to say about this place. It's a gem. Highly. Highly recommend. read more

Ponds Hilo - This looks so yummy! - Hawaiian Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Great location, excellent service. Enjoyed the prime rib sandwich-escargot is always on point. Bread pudding is winners-served with whiskey sauce. read more

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The food is delicious and the fish is fresh. If you want a quieter meal, I suggest you go earlier in the evening.

Food was good & delicious. Location was nice, I liked that it was open & you could breathe fresh air & enjoy the sights of families enjoying themselves in the ice ponds below. The service was good at first but then my husband & I felt ignored towards the end. Wasn't sure who was really our waiter & had to just guess so we could get our check. We would visit again, but hoping the service will be good from beginning to end. read more

Excellent food, affordable and tasty. Every time we have an opportunity to dine at the Ponds, it never disappoints. The ambiance is perfect and views are stunning. read more

We were looking forward to a nice meal for Thanksgiving. This was our second time back in 2 weeks. The first time we weren't very hungry so we ordered appies and drinks. Our waiter seemed very disappointed that we didn't order entrees so we thought we'd try again for Thanksgiving. We ended up having the same waiter who seemed uninterested in even being there. Frankly, his attitude set the tone for the whole meal. My husband ordered the prime rib and I ordered the Cornish game hen special. We no sooner ate our salads when the meal showed up. It was so quick. The food was awful. I felt like it was made in an assembly line cafeteria and wasn't even hot. Lukewarm at best. The waiter never came back to our table to even ask how the meal was. We felt rushed and unwelcome. Our whole dining experience took less than an hour. We couldn't wait to leave. This is the first time in my life I have never left a tip. I would not recommend Ponds for its overpriced and underwhelming food quality. We did not feel the Aloha. read more

Great view, excellent food and excellent service! Nice variety on the menu and fairly priced. Decor seemed original which made the environment fun and low key. read more

The food was amazing. We have the seafood gumbo and I would highly recommend it. It was so filling me and my husband shared it and it was just right. 11/10 would recommend. Also the staff was very kind and welcoming. read more

We ate here twice. Loved the Alfredo with chicken and the salmon salad. Both delicious and made with love. Staff is friendly and attentive. It is pricy but worth it. I would definitely come back to eat here again. read more

Great portions and the food was delicious. The waiters are nice and they offered to let us try the soup of the day before we ordered. We got the calamari, lobster, salmon. Ahí salad was by far the best I've ever had. The complimentary bread is soft and delicious!! read more

Me and my family ate here tonight and it was wonderful. The service was beyond spot on and even brought us "tastes" of their soup. My kids loved feeding the koi out the windows and were given jello at the end. Food was delicious. My cocktail was good but my husbands iced tea cocktail was out of this world. They make so many things in the restaurant like house made blue cheese, crab cakes, lemonade, meatloaf etc the way it should be. Def would recommend!!! And music was a great touch! read more

I wanted to love this place because the location is great and the service was friendly BUT the food was mediocre. The Cesar salad had wet lettuce and watery dressing. The fish burger was ok but nothing to return for. I guess they shoot for one time tourist biz. Sad. read more

What a shame...first and last time getting food from here. Seafood gumbo has good flavor but for $35 I should post this on big island thieves. ONE piece of sausage, TWO SHRIMP, ONE piece of calamari cut into two pieces, few pieces of fish, and six clams (would be okay with that if there was actual other seafood). I know business is hard these days and I hate to rip on a local restaurant but come on! They sure make bank on the dish lol read more

Ponds Hilo - Gumbo minus the seafood lol what a shame - Hawaiian Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Delicious. Will be back. Kinda pricey for Hilo but I love the ambiance and the food. Adults and kids enjoyed everything. Waiter messed up on a few things throughout the night but hey, no one is perfect. Food was yummy. 2 thumbs up, Pond's, thank you! read more

Hanging out at Reed Park I noticed a green building hanging over the inlet. I was seated promptly with an amazing view of the ocean and Koi fish. The Samoan was very tasting and refreshing with mint leaves and the crab cake salad suggested by the waiter was delicious. The speciality drink menu was quite extensive and very reasonable. Prices are in the mid range for food. read more

Ponds Hilo - Crab cake salad with The Samoan - Hawaiian Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Food was delicious! The leek soup was fantastic. The kids were excited to feed the Koi fish.

Nice ambiance, saw turtles swimming by and the koi pond was a nice touch. Got the fish and Chips, for a lunch menu it's a but pricey

This place was great. Thr lake is a nice sight and they let kids give the coi food, there are lots of them. Now onto the food. They gave us a free sample of tahitian crab soup and it was delicious. I got it with my antre, which were ribs that were good, but I am still giving it 5 stars because of the great service and atmosphere, they had a guy playing guitar! read more

Been a few times. I'd say it's shocking how awful the food is. If you order the "right" item it will be acceptable. The lobster tasted like it wasn't thawed before cooking and the lame ass Mac nut crab breading is worse than jack in the box's best item. If you're there for atmosphere order fish and chips those are ok If you haven't traveled. read more

Our family usually comes here every time when we leave Oahu and visit the Big Island, when we stay in Hilo. It's been a must to come here. I always ordered the prime rib, when we ordered I was a little bit taken back than my order came within 5 minutes. The prime rib was warm, the mashed potatoes where not all soft but looks like someone scooped it out with a ice cream scooper. Fast forward to about 4-5 hours and was in our hotel bathroom hugging the porcelain with extreme stomach cramps, it was nice that our last nite of our short trip was spent vomiting and having diarrhea. So disappointed, as this was our place to go every time. I never gotten sick this bad after eating at a restaurant. Perhaps them rolling out the food so soon after ordering it was a warning sign. read more

Went there for lunch on a weekend and it was pretty slow, a lot of tables open, so we were able to get a seat real quick. Views are really nice, overlooking the ocean. Food was really good, but overpriced. I ordered a gumbo and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Granted, it is not New Orleans gumbo, but still really good and all the seafood was cooked well. Great flavor. My biggest issue was the poor service. We had a waiter who came by only 3 times while we were there; he came by to take our order, then came by to bring our food, then came by to give our check. Others stopped by to grab our plates when we finished our food, but didn't say anything. Not once did he stop by to see if we needed anything, not once did he come by to refill our drinks. Being that the place was pretty empty, my expectation was that we'd be provided with more service. If we're going to pay for overpriced food, at least give us good service to justify the bill. Because of this, we most likely will never be going there again. read more

Went to the Ponds Hilo while visiting friends on Hawaii Island. I started with a glass of Willamette Valley whole Cluster Pinot Noir $11. We had the Crab & Spinach Dip with green crostini bread $14 for an appetizer. This appetizer was very tasty and the bread was wonderful. I ordered the Crab Opakapaka $27. I love me some crab and opaks, so ordering this was a no brainer for me. The fish was a little over cooked for my liking and had an interesting orange sauce. I didn't care much for the sauce, but the fish was fresh enough. The sides were brown rice and broccoli. Very healthy and plain. The atmosphere was really nice and rustic. We had a table right next to the pond and watched the turtles and fish frolicking in the water. The service was excellent and parking was readily available and free. I'm heading back to Hilo in November, so I'd probably go back and try another dish. read more

Ponds Hilo - Hawaiian Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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First meal in Hilo and were lucky to find this place! We were looking for food starting at around 3.30 and many restaurants were closed so we were beyond happy to find this place by the water and it was open. They opened all the windows so it felt a bit safer with covid. When we entered at 4 only a few tables were seated but the hostess took about 5-10 minutes to check if they could seat us since our party of 2 didn't have a reservation... she also told us that our limit was one hour and we had to be out by 5. we didn't plan on sitting there forever but it seemed rude given they had about 25 tables free and by the time we left (around 5) most tables were still empty and it was not like hoards of people were rolling in. there were various groups even with kids that came after us that were larger and also didn't have reservations where she didn't say anything and didn't give them a time limit. Anyhow, onto the food: I had a fish wrap which was ok. It was missing some type of sauce and the lettuce was so wet that the tortilla wrap around it got completely soaked by the time I ate the first half. Had a huge puddle of water on my plate Garlic fries were really good though! Super crispy and garlicky. My friend had the pork sliders that she enjoyed! Their Mai Tai was also yummy! I'd come back but definitely would try some other food. read more

Ponds Hilo - Fish wrap - Hawaiian Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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ponds I do not give 5 stars often a lot of 4 stars, saving Stars for places like this. Food great, service great and last and the first ambience. Cozy indoor outdoor feel you know "like being in paradise " View of Reeds Bay pending your seat watch kids jumping off the bridge you just drove over. Koi pond, ocean breeze. Go on check it out. read more

Stopped here after a long day visiting the Volcano National Park. We were famished and found this place on the way back to our hotel. The gumbo was fantastic. You have to try it. It's different from traditional gumbo but definitely worth trying. So much flavor. And finish your meal with the bread pudding. So very good!! You may not want to share. And the view of the koi pond made the even better. read more

Walking in, it's a small dining space in an older building on the water at Reed's Bay. One of Hilo's traditional establishments. A group of 4 had reservations so we did not need to wait. Our server was prompt, attentive, but not overly so. He advised us that there was a group of 20 that was about to order so he asked us if we would like to order more quickly since he would like to have our order in before theirs. I thought that was a nice touch. We had appetizers of the calamari (it was OK 5/10, average, tasted like it could have come from a freezer bag, but was also acceptable), escargot (8/10 - delicious) and sesame crusted ahi (9/10, near perfect). Entree's were the Panko Salmon special (at $37 seemed very steep for the portion), and several iterations of surf and turf (prime rib and shrimp for one and sirloin and shrimp for another). Overall, the dining experience was pleasant and I would recommend it. Just know, if you get the salmon, you're going to pay about 2x as much as you would in most places. But it was GOOD...so there is that. The live musician about 3 feet away from us was very talented and did not drown out our conversation. I'll be back. :-) Oh, and the parking lot is horribly small and not street parking in front of the establishment. Just so you know. read more

We had a 7 pm reservation and were seated in the most conspicuous table in the restaurant. Ordered drinks and our meal right away. Drinks were delivered immediately as was our soup. Then we waited. And waited. My wife noticed that someone seated after us was served. Then I noticed that a table seated WAAY after us was served. At that point, I asked an employee to check. Our dinners were delivered shortly afterwards, but they were cold! I picked up the plates and demanded they re-do our dinners!!! The recooked meals were brought out shortly, but our server never offered an apology. Not acceptable! The food was delicious, but we should have received an immediate apology plus comped drinks and a free dessert. Mistakes happen, but the server should have apologized immediately. read more

Hubby and I hopped over to the Big Island for a weekend getaway. This restaurant is close to where we are staying. We went without a reservation and were seated in the bar area (okay by us). The wait was not too long to be seated or to get our food. Everything we ordered was AMAZING! Try the steamed clams appetizer with the ginger broth, the soup of the day was crab and spinach with LOADS of flavor. Definitely recommend. read more

We decided to try Ponds after finding our favorites all closed on Monday for lunch, and we found a real treasure. The food was excellent, the portions generous, and the service friendly. We all had various salads. The salads were fresh and appeared to consist of all local ingredients. The ahi, crab cakes, and shrimp also delighted us. Wish someone would have tried the fish & chips, it looked fantastic as it was delivered to several other tables. We will definitely be back. read more

It was Valentine's Day early dinner and was disappointed with their celebration of the day. They did have a Valentine's Day special but it was not what we were looking for. Food was good but not delicious and the staff was very nice and very attentive to our needs. Just think they could've done something a little more. Will have to think about coming back again, maybe not. read more

Excellent menu, excellent service, and the waitstaff was very nice, professional and accommodating.

We used to love Ponds. We normally go during Sundat brunch. One time we went to dinner about 3 months ago and was very disappointed with the food! The service was also not we are used to at Ponds. In fairness, my husband and I are willing to give it another chance. Hence I am putting 4 stars instead of a 3 for those times my husband and I enjoyed our brunch. read more

The place smelled bad, it was very run down, didn't look anything like the pictures online.The fish and chips tasted like whatever was cooked last in oil which was not good. Our waiter Rueben was rude, never came to check on us or ask us how our food was. There was garbage in the koi pond that no one bothered to retrieve. Would not recommend this place and will not go back. read more

Went there to celebrate my husband's birthday w friends. We decided to just "go for it!" We ordered appetizers - Tempura Mushrooms & Escargot. We've had the mushrooms many times. This time however we didn't expect a "new" sauce - tartar sauce! Nope it didn't fly. The escargot - hardly had any flavor - let alone a piece large enough to taste. Nope this didn't fly. Our waiter gave us a cute sample of clam chowder. Pretty nice flavor - so looked forward when we could have our choice of soup or salad. Soup was lukewarm & what made it worse was in my 2nd spoonful I tasted a lump of thickning! Also this was the 1st time I ever ate chowder w No Potatoes. Nope this didn't fly. I ordered the lobster tail w prime rib w garlic mashed potatoes. One friend ordered the steak w lobster tail & garlic mashed. Lobsters were over cooked - tough & dry. My prime rib was cold & so was her steak. Nope this didn't fly. My husband's steak tasted burnt on the outside but was medium on the inside. Nope this didn't fly. Friend's husband ordered Chicken Alfredo. Noodles were lukewarm & stuck - not enough sauce. Nope this didn't fly. We had to ask for drink refills - server refilled only 1 - 3 of us wanted refills. Didn't fly again. I told our friends the bread pudding for dessert was really good. Sorry to say the sauce poured over it was blah. Luckily we split w our spouses & ate only 1/3 to 1/2 of the piece! Nope again this too didn't fly. All the while we were there - the "visitors" didn't tip your musician - we locals did. We noticed "visitors" getting dinner rolls - not us? Hmmmm... We didn't want to complain as our friends paid for the meal. Later it came out that ALL of us weren't very happy w our meals. Owners - we are locals & after this - I don't think we'll return. I think you might want to concentrate on this place more than your other restaurant!! read more

OMG. So good. Just had dinner here it was fantastic. Wife ordered the lamb shop and shrimp salad. I had the fish & chips and they were both super delicious! Would recommend! read more

This restaurant is awesome! The food and the servers are great. I took my mother and sister here right after a terrible experience we had at another restaurant and Pond's definitely made my day. We also got some free appetizers too!! I would highly recommend their crab cake salad and their teriyaki steak appetizer. Overall, I'd take my family here again. read more

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That is so delicious and will come back again! Fried Calamari and beautiful view and beautiful fish koi ponds but little raining and still beautiful! First time! read more