Cancel

    Open app

    Search

    The Temple Kitchen + Bar

    4.5 (220 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 11:00 pm

    The Temple Kitchen + Bar Photos

    THE TEMPLE KITCHEN + BAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

    More like The Temple Kitchen + Bar

    Recommended Reviews - The Temple Kitchen + Bar

    Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
    Yelp app icon
    Browse more easily on the app
    Review Feed Illustration

    Reviews With Photos

    Friends, cocktails, and sports on TV!
    S G.

    The drinks and food were superb and flavorful! Excellent service as well. Loved the elegant decor, ambiance of the seating and high ceiling. Fun alternative to your typical sports bar vibe.

    Smoked flat bread - lady not included
    Mae'ole Hoku P.

    Patty our server was very kind. Attentive and brought refills without asking. Food was delicious and fresh. Very chill ambiance. Will come back!

    Morris A.

    The Temple Bar is a very pleasant craft food cafe & bar with old Hilo ambiance tastefully renovated to feel like you're in an upscale bar in a larger city. The staff are very friendly & knowledgeable about the food & drink options. The service was reasonably quick & the food & drink presentation was impressive. The Temple Baba Ganush was our epicurean highlight & possibly the best baba ganush I've ever had. It had hints of tahini & black sesame, dollops of macnut cheese, & accented with farm tomatoes & shaved radish & cucumbers. It was an amazing dance of flavors when swiped with slivers of toasted naan bread. The Clams de Spana was delicious with a unique slightly citrusy & spicy white wine & butter sauce with chorizo bits. The Seared Ahi nicely balanced out the other wonderfully distinct tastes. Their crafted drink selection displayed inspired mixology creativity & their Through the Looking Glass, a gin based lilikoʻi cocktail with egg white foam, sprinkled with lavender petals is awesome! The Temple is definitely a repeat must do establishment to thoroughly explore their entire menu.

    Bourbon bread pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream cream
    Cherilyn D.

    Food was delicious and nice sized servings - great for sharing if you want to try a number of items. Juliet, our server (our everything - she was the only one working the floor), was amazing. My water was always filled and she stopped at the right time to check on us. Kudos to her for her recommendations also. Ambiance was nice - smaller, intimate space with lots of fresh air. They also have 3 large screens, which had a game on and movie playing.

    Seasonal Oysters* - Half Dozen, Roasted Pumpkin, Through the Looking Glass
    Sophie F.

    One of my favorite bars in Hilo. Not to mention the food/pupus/tapas are incredible. I actually crave their pumpkin side dish whenever I'm back on Oahu because I can't seem to find anything like it on that island! Their cocktails are excellent. When they first opened, I spoke at great lengths with the creator of the cocktail menu - I am not sure if that mixologist is still at the restaurant but they have kept many of the drinks he designed and I'm obsessed with them. My favorite is their Through the Looking Glass - it's a gin cocktail with lilikoi/passionfruit. It definitely gives the feel of a lemon drop with much more tart and sweet flavors. If the gin wasn't so strong, I would drink them all night long. Their oysters are also excellent. Locally grown and the ponzu/yuzu is delicious, not to mention the solid kick you get from the jalapeños on top! I can't wait to go back! Not pictured but another excellent choice is their goat cheese flat bread. It's surprisingly savory with a slight sweet taste to them. Delicious!

    "Dill with it" martini
    Michelle R.

    I just want to say Zack the bartender is a gem. We literally just left The Temple a few minutes ago and had such a lovely time. Zach not only made fantastic drinks but gave helpful tips on visiting the Volcano and best of all how to make the fantastic Martini concoction "Dill with it"! We cant wait to go back next time in Hilo. Thank you Zach. Mahalo!

    Street tacos
    Arielle G.

    We came on a Tuesday evening and it wasn't very busy at all. The place was spacious, the music choice was on point (I'm a sucker for 90s jams), and our server was really nice and welcoming. The only con I could even think of is that we had to wait a while for our order; there was only one server at the time, not sure how many cooks, but she was very apologetic. I can't say how the drinks are since I'm expecting, but the food was pretty good! We had the Backyard Pumpkin Salad (one of the best salads I've ever had), Pork Belly Poke (since we're eating tapas, I was not expecting a big serving of pork belly... such a pleasant surprise), and Carnitas Street Tacos. Definitely recommend this spot for chill vibes and good eats.

    Pumpkin with goat cheese and honey
    Melissa H.

    Before meeting up with friends in Hilo, we asked them to recommend their favorite spots. This one made the list, and after perusing the menu, we were in! It's a small space with high ceilings and good sound-proofing. The chef greeted us and let us choose where to sit. There's the bar, which faces the kitchen, a large sofa area that easily sits half a dozen or more, and the high-top tables. We chose a four-seater table in the middle of the restaurant on a drizzly evening. To start, we had some cocktails including non-A bloody Marys, which were a hit. Then we got straight to ordering anything that the chef recommended including steak carpaccio (very good!), pork belly poke, the pickle sampler, shrimp ceviche, chicken tacos, and the goat-cheese and honey pumpkin. Everything was delish and the service was terrific. Highly recommend coming on a weeknight, when it's not as busy.

    Pan Fried Kalo and Cassava
    Jacqueline C.

    The skinny: This place is solid. Good cocktails and drinks in a great location. The overview: We came here while visiting Hilo looking for some good food and craft cocktails - and The Temple Bar hits the nail on the head. We tried a few different things on the menu. The seared ribeye was delicious - a perfectly cooked medium rare, tender, and paired with a yummy Chimichurri sauce that we kept and dipped everything else in. Other highlights were the seared oyster mushrooms and the pan fried kalo cassava (light in flavors but we were really into it). The garlic shrimp itself was yummy, but a little less garlicky than we wanted (we were hoping for the super garlicly shrimp that you can get in honolulu) and on the smaller side (doesn't come with rice). Overall everything we had was solid. Would I come back: Yes! We almost came back again in our short time in Hilo.

    Tasty -- Pickled platter sampler at The Temple (which included pickled jalapenos as well as kimchi)
    Marc P.

    4.5 stars Very beach town feel to it given its small size and it's wide open windows, but the view isn't much to look at (just a parking lot on the other side of the road). I tried one of their specialty cocktails, which was good, as well as their pickle sampler plate (which included pickled jalapenos and kimchi) and their bread & butter plate. All of it was really good, and this is a place that I would definitely make my way back to if I find myself in Hilo again.

    Luau Pork Stew

    Serendipitously, the spot that our group planned to eat at had a lengthy wait so we ended up walking down the street to Temple Bar where our group of six was seated right away (this was Sunday afternoon last week of the year). The whole staff was helpful when needed and unobtrusive when not. I sampled the sourdough bread which was fairly mild in flavor, had a slightly open crumb, and crust with some color and more chew than crunch; however, it was the (cultured?) butter that caught my attention. The roasted pumpkin side was superb. It's tough to say what I enjoyed most about it but the heady cinnamon cloud that accompanied that first bite was special. Now when I'm enjoying roasted squash at my local spot, I'll be thinking about this dish an ocean away. The chef's special was luau pork stew with chili ahi poke, white rice, and poi. Let's do this. The pork stew seemed to consist of seasoned, slightly spicy, finely minced taro leaves and pieces of lean pork. It reminded me of Filipino liang. The ahi though! Cooked and lightly seasoned with a fragrant chili oil and aromatics- A+.

    Street Tacos (1 extra) with the two housemade salsas
    Matt C.

    Thanks to yelp, we found this AMAZING Place! according to their website they are, "The Temple is a high-end but casual modern craft beer and wine bar located in Hilo Hawaii with roughly 30 max capacity." We walked in and were quickly greeted and seated, by the window. There are several different areas to sit including tables, bar height tables and a quaint little area with a sofa and a table in the middle. The atmosphere in the restaurant was electric. High energy, people talking and laughing and enjoying the delicious food and beverages. After we were seated we were quickly greeted by an affable young man by the name of Zachary. We started off with a beverage, Wifey had the Viognier. it was a very nice wine - this one from France. Being a fan of the Hazy Beers, I opted for the Neon Rainbow - which was very good as well. So we started off with an order of the "Scratch Made Sourdough" bread with smoked salt flakes. Apparently this bread is made by a Local woman and delivered fresh regularly. Served with the bread is that butter with smoked salt flakes and I have to say it was truly AMAZING! We often share a meal so we ordered the Caesar Salad and The Street Taco Plate with Tri-Tip and an extra Taco. The salad was AWESOME. They make their own dressing which was very flavorful with anchovy in it. The salad was fresh romaine and tomatoes with croutons made of that AMAZING Sourdough Bread. There was even a couple pieces of anchovy in the salad and I love that! The Street tacos were very good. The trip tip was flavorful. The tortillas were slightly crunchy and delicious. Cilantro and onions were sprinkled on top of the meat. The accompanying salsas (red and green) are made in-house. I put both of them on my tacos and was very pleased with the plate. Zachary was an incredible waiter. Very attentive without being intrusive. The two waiters helped one another to make sure all the guests were properly taken care of. Every single facet of this experience was EXCELLENT. The food, atmosphere and the service was; in my humble opinion, flawless. If there was a SIXTH star available, they would get it!!! Thank you

    See all

    3 months ago

    Had a really nice meal and cocktails, excellent and very friendly service from Soleil! Shout out!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Jimie R.
    96
    138
    44

    10 days ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Mary V.
    1721
    578
    13629

    1 year ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 4
    Love this 10
    Oh no 1
    Photo of S G.
    91
    16
    65

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    22 days ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Artie P.
    26
    87
    20

    4 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 months ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 2
    Love this 2
    Oh no 0

    9 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    11 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    6 months ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Cai F.
    1
    89
    60

    1 year ago

    Helpful 2
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    10 months ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 2
    Photo of Matt C.
    1364
    585
    1071

    2 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 2
    Love this 4
    Oh no 1
    Photo of Alana S.
    6
    109
    20

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    4 years ago

    Helpful 5
    Thanks 0
    Love this 4
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    7 months ago

    Food is great. Service is excellent. Location is super convenient! Love this place!! My go to for every first date.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of KC C.
    246
    542
    1938

    3 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Sanae T.
    0
    122
    96

    2 years ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Feb W.
    188
    642
    9193

    4 years ago

    Helpful 6
    Thanks 0
    Love this 4
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 1
    Thanks 1
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 1
    Oh no 0
    Photo of Chris K.
    17
    71
    47

    1 year ago

    super wine beer cocktail bar. love the topas. the ribeye our patio is wonderful. Really nice Vibe and staff.

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    3 years ago

    Helpful 4
    Thanks 0
    Love this 3
    Oh no 0

    9 months ago

    Actually serves good food and much of it is grown locally. Small but mighty! Definitely recommend!

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    1 year ago

    Helpful 0
    Thanks 0
    Love this 0
    Oh no 0

    Page 1 of 6

    Ask the Community - The Temple Kitchen + Bar

    Review Highlights - The Temple Kitchen + Bar

    As an NKOTB, I had no clue where to go, so Braddah Sly was like a guru guide and we ended up at The Temple Bar.

    Mentioned in 20 reviews

    Read more highlights

    The Hidden Nene

    The Hidden Nene

    4.6(130 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $$

    Jessica would give 10 stars!! Food, drinks, ambiance,…read moreservice all excellent! Check it out!

    I had The Hidden Nene bookmarked when I was planning out my trip to Hilo and I couldn't be happier…read morewith my experience at the speakeasy. My wife and I stopped by for pre-dinner drinks and we absolutely loved the drinks that we were able to try out. I started out with a cocktail called the "Spam Dram", a crispy Spam fat-washed barrel-proof bourbon, combined with seared Spam and nori syrup and topped off with a spam musubi garnish. As one might guess, this drink was presented in a spam musubi tin, and atop the bed of crushed ice was an *entire* spam musubi. The drink was a perfect representation of spam musubi in a glass -- sweet, savory, and full of umami. Props to whichever bartender put together this creative drink. The next drink I ordered was the "Smoky Bear", another bourbon based cocktail. This one had bird's eye chili essence in it, and was much closer than your traditional Old Fashioned, except it had an incredible amount of smokiness and a punch of heat to it as well. If you enjoy stiff drinks with complexity, look no further than this cocktail. While we were seated at the bar, we overheard somebody close to us mentioning a password special that had been posted on the Instagram page of The Hidden Nene. We checked their latest story posted two hours earlier and the password special for the day was a "fizz me baby one more time", a strawberry and yuzu gin fizz. My wife ordered this cocktail as her second drink and loved how refreshing the drink tasted. Overall, if you consider yourself a cocktail connoisseur, you owe it to yourself to check out The Hidden Nene if you're in Hilo.

    Photos
    The Hidden Nene - A full bar

    A full bar

    The Hidden Nene - Mai thai

    Mai thai

    The Hidden Nene - Spam Dram and Advice

    See all

    Spam Dram and Advice

    Pineapples Island Fresh Cuisine - Dynamite fish bowl

    Pineapples Island Fresh Cuisine

    4.3(2.6k reviews)
    0.3 mi
    $$

    Came as a party of 2 at noon on a Sunday, and we were seated right away! The ambiance definitely…read moregives a nice island sports bar vibe. Only street parking is available. There was also live music with a lady playing guitar solo and singing! Service was amazing! We never had to wait long to order/get the bill. We were most impressed by the fact that the waitress made sure to split our Hilo local plate into two plates to make it much easier to share! We almost thought we had received two orders because of how well-plated they were. - Poke tower (8/10): Solid choice for an appetizer! There were ample portions of poke, and the flavors were nice. Not a super stand out dish though. - Hilo local plate (9.5/10): If you want to taste a wide range of Hawaiian cuisine in one dish, I would highly recommend getting this one! The Kalbi ribs were sooo good! They were juicy, tender, and bursting with flavor. The Kalua pork was pretty good, and both meats paired well with the rice which had an interesting savory haupia sauce drizzled on it. The mango chili slaw and pineapple salsa added a nice tang to balance everything out. - Triple lilikoi pie (5/10): Wayyy too sweet and sugary for our liking, and you can barely taste the lilikoi flavor. We ended up just picking at the graham cracker crust and couldn't finish the rest. It seemed like one of those desserts that are premade unfortunately, and we wish we hadn't ordered this dessert.

    We chose Pineapples Island Fresh Cuisine because it's one of the highest-rated sit-down spots in…read moreHilo, but it ended up being just okayyyy. The menu felt very "meh"...nothing particularly exciting or memorable. The cocktails looked great in photos, so we ordered the piña colada flight, but it tasted like there was little to no rum in it. Pretty presentation, but very mediocre overall. Food was just okay. The burger wasn't bad, but definitely not anything special. The fried shrimp dish was disappointing and lacked flavor. The big letdown was the ambiance. We were seated facing the street and parking lot the entire time ...no view...., just sad street. Overall, it didn't live up to the hype. Not terrible, but definitely not worth going out of your way for. The staff were all very nice though. Service friendly.

    Photos
    Pineapples Island Fresh Cuisine - Bar with loads of fresh pineapples

    Bar with loads of fresh pineapples

    Pineapples Island Fresh Cuisine - Ahi poke tower

    Ahi poke tower

    Pineapples Island Fresh Cuisine - Dr. Pepper

    See all

    Dr. Pepper

    Puna Chocolate Company - Chocotini and old fashion

    Puna Chocolate Company

    4.5(125 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $$

    Puna Chocolate Company is one of my favorite local chocolate artisan shops, conveniently located in…read moreDowntown Hilo. Since my time away, they have beautifully renovated the interior to have a sit-down booth area. I love the abundance of nene decor honoring our state bird, along with high quality chocolates made in Hawaii. The store clerk was very knowledgeable and described how each cultivars of chocolate differ in their taste profiles. We had the horchata 50% milk chocolate bar, and I don't have a picture because we devoured it in one sitting! Overall, Puna Chocolate Co. is an elegant, delightful, and elevated experience that rivals big names like Big Island Candies and Dandelion Chocolates in San Francisco. Highly recommend in stopping by!

    I stopped by Puna Chocolate Company for an afternoon coffee and ordered an espresso. It wasn't…read moreterribly busy in the store so my drink was prepared in minutes. The espresso was strong, not overwhelmingly bitter, and had a good consistency to it. While sitting at the bar, I noticed that they had a Day Drink menu with a bunch of coffee and chocolate cocktails, including an espresso martini and a cacao old fashioned. For $14 and $13 respectively, these seemed like very reasonable prices. Definitely something I'll check out on my next visit. On the right side of the store is a gift shop, while the left side has a bunch of seating for patrons. I noticed there were a few people here with their laptops out, so I can only assume it's also a good place to work as well. The store seemed pretty quiet, street parking outside was easy, and the staff I interacted with here was friendly. Puna Chocolate Company is a good rest spot to stop by to escape from the busyness of Downtown Hilo.

    Photos
    Puna Chocolate Company - Entry to Puna Chocolate Company & Cafe

    Entry to Puna Chocolate Company & Cafe

    Puna Chocolate Company - Inside Puna Chocolate Company & Cafe

    Inside Puna Chocolate Company & Cafe

    Puna Chocolate Company - Storefront for Puna Chocolate Company & Cafe

    See all

    Storefront for Puna Chocolate Company & Cafe

    Moon & Turtle - Market fish (Ono)

    Moon & Turtle

    4.6(854 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $$

    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.

    Photos
    Moon & Turtle - Limited seating so it fills fast - so make a reservation

    Limited seating so it fills fast - so make a reservation

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

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

    Moon & Turtle - Smokey Sashimi

    See all

    Smokey Sashimi

    The Temple Kitchen + Bar - beerbar - Updated May 2026

    Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...