Came here early on a road trip. Think it's the best poke we had this trip traveling from Kona to…read moreHito. Only criticism is the rice is a little too soft for my liking but otherwise great. The fish was great combination with the seaweed sides. Would come again when we are in Big Island again. Also the view was like off a studio ghibli scene

Straight off of our flight and we needed some Big Island poke. Even coming just from O'ahu, the…read morepoke here is so fresh and there's so many unique poke flavors and sides. The side that blew my mind was the Hō'i'o salad. That's really something we don't have on O'ahu and it added such a nice little crunch and umami to the poke bowl. Poke with a view? You really can't beat it.

What a great poke spot on Big Island! It is a small spot where you walk in, order at the counter,…read moreand take out. There are around 2 tables outside of the restaurant that you can eat at otherwise this is meant to be taken as a "to-go" order. There is a very small lot with just a few spaces that are 15 min parking spots. I got the poke bowl & was surprised at how filling and how much food you got! They are generous with their scoops. The fish was so fresh & absolutely amazing. My husband got the poke plate and couldn't finish it because it was so much food. Both of us were so delighted with our poke & side choices. It was definitely pricey but I do feel like for the amount of fresh fish you are getting it was justified!

I gave Da Poke Shack 2 stars. Poor quality, tourist trap!…read more I was really looking forward to trying this spot, but I left feeling pretty disappointed. The portions were quite small and felt very overpriced for what you actually get. ~$30 for a small takeout box. Worse yet, the fish itself was not that good, I found that many of the pieces were stringy and tough to chew, which is definitely not what I expect when getting fresh poke. The shop itself didn't look very clean inside, and the staff was not very nice or welcoming when taking our order. To top it all off, the parking situation was super horrible with no easy spots available anywhere nearby. Between the small, stringy portions, the high prices, and the hassle to even park, it fell way short of the hype for me.

Came for brunch on a Thursday. Only one person was waiting in line in front of us and we were…read moreseated within five minutes. Was like coming to my grandmas house. I ordered the Japanese breakfast that was so comforting. The pickled cucumbers were delicious and I usually skipped my grandmas pickled items. My husband ordered the Portuguese sausage two eggs breakfast that was delicious. The sausage was huge. Breakfast comes with coffee or tea. The smell and taste of green tea really brought me back to visiting my grandparents. I'll have to come back for lunch or dinner. I wanted to try everything on their menu.

Had a lovely experience here. Our servers were so…read morewelcoming, they checked in multiple times to make sure we were comfortable. The butterfish was sooo good. It was super tender and the slight sweetness of the preparation paired well with it. The miso soup which came with the plate was one of the best I've had!

Got 1/4 lb of a few different pokes to try. We got the salmon poke, southside sweety poke, shoyu…read morepoke, wasabi poke, slippery Hawaiian, and dhawaiian poke. The salmon and tuna were all very fresh and everything was very well seasoned. The names are very accurate in describing the poke flavor. Our favorites were the salmon poke and the slippery Hawaiian poke, saucy and great balance of savory, salty, umami, and a bit of sweetness. The wasabi poke had a very very strong wasabi flavor, so be warned! We also tried their ube lemonade and Mac salad. The ube lemonade was a nice purple color, but it didn't taste much like ube and the lemonade didn't taste fresh either. The Mac salad was a bit too creamy and dense in our opinion. So we'd skip these but definitely get the poke + rice bowl!

Don't miss the poke plate here. Aunty Lehua was the sweetest! Daughter and I shared the poke…read moreplate which comes with your choice of 4 poke and 4 scoops of rice. There. Is a condiment station loaded with all the goodies. Shoyu and furikake. There are so many choices and something for everyone. It was hard to pick just 4z

Oh Heck Yeah, still our favorite place on the Big Island. The menu tells you everything. We come…read morehere every time we visit and are doing our best to work our way through the menu. This is the roadside restaurant every foodie dreams of opening...but they always fall short. Rebel hits every mark including always having the best service.

Quaint spot with great service, but heavy-handed on the sauces…read more​We stopped by Rebel Kitchen during our trip to Kona. The seating is quaint and personal, and our server was very nice and attentive. The food definitely looked great when it arrived, but the execution missed the mark for us because the flavors were just too overwhelming. ​Cuban Egg Rolls: The presentation was lovely and they looked delicious. However, the mustard drizzled on top was so overpowering that you couldn't really taste anything else inside the roll. ​Pulled Pork Sandwich & Pepperoni Fries: My husband ordered this combo. He really enjoyed the pulled pork sandwich, but the fries were kind of sad. ​Jamaican Jerk Chicken Sandwich: I ordered this, but unfortunately, the jerk sauce was so intense that it completely drowned out the chicken, avocado, and tomato. ​Overall, the atmosphere and service were wonderful, but if the kitchen dialed back the sauces and mustard so you could actually taste the individual ingredients, the food would be fantastic!

KTA Express, you're a lifesaver!…read more I came to the KTA Express store twice in recent weeks, and this store/supermarket totally saved me from having to drive back in town (Kailua-Kona) to buy something I sorely needed. I was working at a local bank next door doing some lock work when I realized I needed a few 9-volt batteries to fix something. Being that I was traveling, and did not have access to all my normal gear, I asked the bank people where was the nearest store? Originally I was worried that I might have to drive all the way back to Kailua-Kona to get what I needed, but luckily KTA had a store in Kealakekua. Walked over to the KTA store, as it was just a hop, skip, & jump away from the local bank (where I was working). Got what I needed, and time & resources were saved that day! Last week Thursday I found myself back in Kealakekua working at a credit union this time. No, I didn't need anything in particular for the credit union this time, but after finishing the job at the credit union, the KTA store was very convenient for me to get some drinks & some grub. Apparently the KTA Express has a vendor - L&L Drive-In that does pre-made - ready to eat bentos. Some of the items looked pretty good, so I decided to give it a shot & picked up a mini BBQ Chicken & Noodle Bento. The mini bento was pretty tasty, and best part of it all is that I didn't have to go far to get my lunch grub. KTA Express in Kealakekua, you're a lifesaver! Lol!

DAY 5 of Vacation - This local market was located down the street from a restaurant we just dined…read moreat. We needed more hygiene products and travel items. Parking: They have a small parking lot. Very easy to find. Free parking. This was a large market. It had everything a grocery store provided, but products were a bit more expensive than usual. I walked around and noticed there were fresh fruits in their grocery section. They also had fun snacks in the freezer section. We found everything we needed to restock for the rest of our trip.

The Theatery is a lovely restaurant for a nice dinner with a beautiful view. Even better if you are…read morecatching a show next door at the theater. We definitely saw plenty of couples who seemed to be enjoying date night. With the beautiful ambiance, views, and great service, I can see why. The food was delicious and satisfying. We got the bone marrow, lamb shank, and short rib. Don't ask questions, just get them. You will thank me later. For dessert, we had the Bananas Foster prepared tableside. Watching it come together was part of the fun, and it was the perfect finish to an excellent dinner. Our server Jade was superb and made the entire experience even more enjoyable. Come for dinner, stay for the view, and absolutely save room for the tableside Bananas Foster. Date night done right.

Dropped by with a friend this past Thursday. Service was great, Hannah was super friendly and…read moreattentive, and provided us with good suggestions. My friend didn't really enjoy her lychee martini as it was too strong. I had an espresso martini (the alpha) made virgin and it was alright. The food was good, not great. The flatbread appeared burnt, didn't really have much depth to it. However, the frites were good. Short rib was good and I enjoyed the salmon as well. They do offer kamaaina discounts on Wednesdays so we might return then but otherwise for the price point probably not. Side note, if you're easily bitten by mosquitoes, come prepared! We got bit even sitting indoors (but we're mosquito magnets). It's open air indoors so it can get a little warm inside as well.

Side of the road. In the mountains. Awesome staff. Just watch out for people having driving issues…read morein the parking lot. This is another one of my YELP Bucket List places. 2 down 348 to go. We were heading to Captain Cook and then Volcano Village. On the way to a place to eat that after arrival, didn't look as good as we had hoped but I did notice a sign for Lau Lau. After pulling in and getting out of the car, the smell of home hits you. The whole place, inside and out isn't touristy at all but dang do they know where good food is. There are benches to sit on outside but not really outside seating. Although for this food I would eat next to the road with traffic driving by. I wouldn't care as long as the food was available. There are 2 big live edg tables inside. You have to sit like family. We met a couple from Utah. My Wife had the pork and cabbage. I chose the Lau Lau with 2 sides of Mac salad. The Auntie that brought out our food was exactly like my Auntie, just smaller. She was sweet to let me know about my food. She asked if I had it before. I said yes and she welcomed me back. Everything was amazing. I may have had a tear in my eye when I smelled my food. I immediately thought of my Grandma White. She was a great cook. We are already planning on coming back. The bill was 35.00. I bought a Poke plate a couple days ago that was 50 bucks so this was a great deal. We tipped $15.00 on 35. They tried to say it was too much and take some drinks to go. We said no, it was worth it.

Coming here, you have to realize the menu is small and specialized. I tried the lau lau, the pork…read moreand cabbage, and the chicken lau lau. For the sides tried the pineapple coleslaw and the salmon lomi. Maybe I'm just a fat dude, but i needed two entrees for myself, i thought the portions were a bit small. Other than that, it's super homey and I recommend the lau lau and both of those sides. Very casual and clearly run by a local family. It's so local that the chairs you sit on look like it's random chairs they found at a garage sale, there was no theme or matching.

Whether you are a local, a native or visiting Randys Huli…read moreBBQ IS A MUST... Randy himself is a champ and knows what hes doing. Grubbing on their MacNCheese, Brisket, Huli Chicken, etc. It was definitely one my highlights while I lived in Kona... only downside is that he isnt open everyday over at Kealakekua.

Food was awesome, including the barbecue sauce. Chatted…read morewith Randy. Great guy. A must stop.