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    Tina's Garden Cafe

    4.4 (355 reviews)
    ModerateThai, New American
    Closed 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

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    TINA'S GARDEN CAFE ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Recommended Reviews - Tina's Garden Cafe

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    One of the beautiful and delicious sticky mango and rice!
    Mae I.

    This place is locally owned and authentic Thai food made by Thai cook. The place is super cute and clean, food presentation was beautiful and the flavor was delicious. Our server was so cute and friendly. Even my Aunt who lives locally (Hilo) will definitely come back to this place.

    Summer Rolls with Shrimp
    Kalena Z.

    I cannot believe I've passed this place so many times and have only managed to eat here now! Located in downtown Hilo facing Bayfront, Tina's Garden Cafe is a cute hole-in-the-wall restaurant filled with little trinkets and homey decor. My aunty chose this place for lunch because she was craving their tom kha and I am so happy I tagged along! We ordered summer rolls with shrimp, pad kee mao with chicken (they had it on special), and the tom kha with shrimp. My favorite thing about all of the dishes we had was the vegetables; they were good quality and they used a lot of vegetables in every dish. The summer rolls came with a peanut sauce and it was tasty and fresh. We ordered it with shrimp and it came with six pieces. I was excited to see pad kee mao was on special and ordered it but it was sadly lacking flavor; I wouldn't order this next time. However, the real star of the show was the tom kha. We ordered it with shrimp and it also included carrot, spinach, heart of palm, pumpkin, and celery. The soup was SO delicious and has a perfect balance of sweet and sour while still having that thick consistency. I would 100% come back several times for this soup and wish I took a photo but was too excited for it. Service was great! The servers are genuine, nice people and were also very attentive. Just a heads up that if you need takeout containers, they do charge $1 for a container. There's a parking lot outside the restaurant but you're competing with patrons of other businesses downtown so be prepared to walk a few minutes from your car if it's a busy time.

    Thai pizza
    Nandini H.

    Stopped by for a late lunch and it was good. Portion sizes are pretty huge and feels clean and healthy. They have vegan options.I wasn't the biggest fan of the Thai pizza but loved the soup and Mango sticky rice. Service is friendly and ambience is casual and warm with interesting figurines and charts about Hawaii produce which I found very informative.

    Panang curry with chicken
    Daniel M.

    This spot has quick and friendly service and huge portions and vegan options. I tried the garden rolls with tofu which was alright. The tofu burrito is much better (and huge)! The chicken panang was good and flavorful with a nice mix of veggies. Wish I got more rice with the curry.

    Menu
    Joanne J.

    Beautiful menu, literally a beautiful menu. It's so helpful to have pictures. Quiet little place. Nic waited on us, very knowledgeable of the local ingredients and where they come from. I ordered the Tom Kah Soup with the fresh local mushrooms (medium spice) and.......this place gets 5 BIG GIANT GOLDEN STARS WITH SPRINKLES AND some SHAZAM!!! I've never had anything like this before, I never want this dinner to end. I can't believe what is going on in my mouth (Keep it clean, now)! My husband ordered yellow curry with mushroom, very good but not as good as mine. Someone at another table ordered the pizza and I would like to sink my teeth into that!!!! This is the best meal we've had in the island. By the way, I am very stingy with my 5 stars and this place gets them!

    Cheyenne G.

    I ate the spicy tuna summer roll a total of 6 times during my 3 week trip to Hilo. I can't recommend it enough! The flavor of the tuna is incredible, and the heat it packs is the perfect amount. I would eat this everyday if I could! Beyond that, the staff is so incredibly kind! Definetly check this place out if you're ever in Hilo!

    My first plate with all the goodies including good vegetables and lots of chicken
    Mark F.

    Glad we found Tina's. Excellent menu and the food was very high quality. Very relaxed atmosphere soft music playing in the background nice cool gentle breeze made for a wonderful lunch. I ordered the panaang curry with chicken and a side of rice and it did not disappoint. Panaang Curry was very very mild, would have liked a little bit more heat but it was great. My husband ordered the Summer mixed fruit salad which includes lychee, mango, watermelon, shredded carrots, cucumber, fresh lilikoi, roasted peanuts, garlic, Thai seasoning sauce, brown sugar, lime. A little spicy but most excellent. A very good experience at Tina's garden Cafe!

    Papaya salad and tumeric chicken roll

    Quite tasty and really sweet employees! We liked it so much the first night we came right back for dinner the second night Tried the papaya salad, tumeric chicken roll, red curry, and yellow curry. All were delicious!

    Kyle R.

    I was in a rush and really really hungry and needed some good food. I was in this area and decided to get something from here. I needed fast takeout and the restaurant said they could do something. They were super friendly and helpful and the food was absolutely delicious!! Fresh, healthy, and really flavorful. I'll definitely be back.

    Niks I.

    TL:DR vegetarians can skip this restaurant. Below Average food, no ambience, inattentive staff. As vegetarians we ordered Thai burrito and Pad Thai noodles. Thai burrito was missing tofu even after requesting to add tofu. Coconut curry was not good. Some veggies on top were grilled but cabbage was raw. And it had a lot of cabbage. Pad Thai tasted super sweet. They charged $5 extra to add tofu in pad thai. Quantity was enough for 1-2 person.

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    2 months ago

    Excellent food, small place right on Bay Front area. They can get a little busy but worth the wait.

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    6 months ago

    Delicious healthy food prepared to order. Seriously one of my favorite places in Hilo.

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    3 months ago

    Consistently excellent quality, good service and price. Very nice homey ambience. Authentic flavors, fresh ingredients.

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    6 months ago

    Delicious food! Quality ingredients, enjoyed the twists on traditional dishes, and overall impressed. Will be eating here again!

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    8 months ago

    All aspects of Tina's were positive from serving size, quality and a staff. You could not complain about anything!

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    Page 1 of 9

    Tina's Garden Cafe Reviews in Other Languages

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    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.

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