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    Wilson's By the Bay

    4.6 (80 reviews)
    InexpensiveShaved Ice, Desserts
    Open 12:00 pm - 5:00 PM

    Wilson's By the Bay Photos

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    a person holding a cone of food
    Lydia O.

    I ordered grape, lemon, and lilikoi. The lilikoi is like a passion fruit flavor and it was really good. Probably my favorite. All three were good together. The cup that it was in made it fairly difficult to eat and our little one had a really hard time with it. I tend to like softer ice better, and theirs was a bit hard. Customer service was good though! Very kind and friendly. Also good prices.

    Pineapple and lilikoi flavor with vanilla ice cream on the bottom!
    Lisa B.

    Old school kine shaved ice. Huge! Keiki (kid size), is bigger than some regular size ones elsewhere. Pretty cheap too! Lots of syrup (not organic), but plenty kine! Good w/ a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the bottom (only $1)-- do it! Also nice selection of crack seed for cheap. Needs a garbage to throw away after, but nice to have a few benches and visit with the locals and tourists. Met a nice older couple-- 3rd generation Hilo resident. That's what fun about these local places-- rubbing shoulders with the locals :)

    the regular size
    Avery J.

    perfect amount of syrup, large portions, good prices. my favorite shave ice on this side of the island!

    Wilson's is the real Hawaiian Shave Ice that you have dreamed about . it never disappoints. True Hawaiian Aloha and Inter gritty. Thanks so much Wilson's for keeping the real Hawaiian tradition of shave ice going when so many others do not. You will not be disappointed with your visit here. After Farmer's market or dinner at Pineapples come to Wilson's to make your day Big Island perfect

    Outside.
    Benjamin K.

    Doesn't look like super nice from the outside... but definitely check it out! $3 ice shave for keiki's. Sirups super good. Glad we visited! Super nice service.

    "Ice shave" hahahaa
    Krysten I.

    While on the big island, I had to get some ice shave. This is the same thing as shave ice, which is that the syrup flavored grated ice is called on all the other Hawaiian islands or snow cones, which is what mainland people call this local treat.... ice shave... haha! On Oahu, shave ice can cost $4-$10 depending on where you get it. On the big island, apparently it's normal for shave ice to cost $2!! TWO. Ok, well my shave ice ended up costing $4. No tax, just straight up $4 because I got a regular size (which is huge) and topped it with cream. Still, the $2 Keiki size is generous and there are 10 or so great flavors to choose from. The ice quality is great, not exactly as soft as wailoa, but it was fine with me:) no complaints. They even have a nice bench outside, perfect to take selfies on next to their window sign. In addition to shave ice, I mean "ice shave", they also sell a few lihing seeds and t shirts. The service was friendly, it is centrally located in downtown Hilo near the farmers market and there is lots of parking. Definitely a must-stop!

    Brenda S.

    Oh my gosh!!! I absolutely love this place for so many reasons!! First of all, the service was AMAZING!! I didn't catch her name, but I believe she's the owner; she was so patient, kind, and caring with her customers. Before helping me and my husband, she helped an older woman, and even helped her walk her shaved ice to her car! Who does that nowadays! Guys, and she did this with the sweetest smile! I can't help but talk kindly of her because she definitely left an impression on us! Second, the shaved ice was delicious! We got a large with ice cream! Definitely refreshing on a humid day in Hilo. Lastly, it's a total "mom and pops". I love supporting small businesses, they make me feel at home and welcomed. Go check it out today! That is, if you're in Hilo.

    Lemon lime with cream.
    Nigel B.

    This pina colada shaved ice is like heaven in a cup, and just up the block from the Hilo Market, and not busy at all.

    Regular sized rainbow with cream (condensed milk)

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    2 years ago

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    11 months ago

    Best shaved ice I've had and the staff was great. The smaller size was enough for two people. 10/10

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Wilsons by the bay has wonderful views, music, fries and piña colada's. The hostess and waiter were friendly and nice.

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Very good Shave Ice! The only drawback was there was only 1 young woman working on a Sunday with 12-15 customers waiting.

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    3 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Call before going there. The business hours listed is incorrect. Wasted a trip for shave ice

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    6 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    4 years ago

    This is our must-stop when we visit Hilo and the shave ice that all others are compared to. Big time ono.

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    3 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Da best shave ice in town! Excellent service and great location. Consistently great flavor, portions and texture.

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    11 years ago

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Wilson's By the Bay

    Review Highlights - Wilson's By the Bay

    Old fashioned ice shave, that takes one back to small kid time memories and you can't forget all their homemade syrups.

    Mentioned in 9 reviews

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    Kula Shave Ice - The Kula Rainbow

    Kula Shave Ice

    4.8(432 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $$

    After stopping by the Farmer's Market across the street, my wife and I walked over to Kula Shave…read moreIce for some shaved ice. As a disclaimer, I'm not the biggest fan of shaved ice because of how sweet the dessert tends to be, and because more often than not, there are a bunch of artificial colors used in the fruit juices. When we looked at the menu, I was impressed and excited to see the emphasis on quality of their ingredients: no artificial flavors or colors, no aspartame, no high fructose corn syrup, and no preservatives. I was sold. Although we were tempted to create our own shaved ice, we ultimately went with "The Local", a soursop and liliko'i combo topped with haupia cream. Between the two flavors, I enjoyed the sour sop side a bit more since it was the one that was less sweet. The cream on top was absolutely delicious, and reminded me of the light and airy frothed milk cream you find on many boba drinks these days. There's a generous amount ladled on top, ensuring you can have some in every bite without having to carefully ration out the cream. Overall, I'm a fan of Kula Shave Ice. Definitely a great dessert to enjoy on a hot day. Worth checking out if you're ever in Hilo.

    Wow!!! This place serves awesome shaved ice! You order at the counter. They do not have an indoor…read morespace. You can sit outside on the various benches. We went on a Saturday afternoon after visiting the Hilo Saturday Market. We ordered the Kula Rainbow $12. 10/10 It was delicious. There are public restrooms next door and there is free parking nearby about one block south off on Ponahawai St and Punahoa St. You can also look for street parking. I would definitely return.

    Photos
    Kula Shave Ice - Half orange and half blueberry

    Half orange and half blueberry

    Kula Shave Ice - The Hapa (choc, coconut flakes, haupia ice cream) & The Local (love the local - lilikoi, soursop w ice cream

    The Hapa (choc, coconut flakes, haupia ice cream) & The Local (love the local - lilikoi, soursop w ice cream

    Kula Shave Ice - Açaí bowls

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    Açaí bowls

    Pineapples Island Fresh Cuisine - Dynamite fish bowl

    Pineapples Island Fresh Cuisine

    4.3(2.6k reviews)
    0.0 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

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    Dr. Pepper

    Kula Shave Ice - Sign

    Kula Shave Ice

    4.8(27 reviews)
    10.4 mi

    so delicious! we have been to two out of the three locations and both were quick and the staff were…read moreso nice. get the poi bowl you won't regret it

    Let me set the scene: it was raining, around 3 PM, and I was craving shaved ice. I'd been on the…read moreisland for three days and hadn't had the chance yet, so when our tour guide recommended Kula Shave Ice, we decided to give it a try. I was a little disappointed that there weren't many flavor options, but I did appreciate the portion sizes--and they do have condensed milk, which is always a plus. I ordered coconut and strawberry, and my sister went with strawberry. The presentation was beautiful, but I noticed the syrup was very light. I think I'm used to the thicker, sweeter syrups some places use, which makes the flavors more vibrant. This felt more like a lighter, juice-style shaved ice. That's not a bad thing at all--it just wasn't what I was craving, and it didn't quite hit the spot for either of us. That said, this review isn't meant to knock the business at all. I definitely recommend trying it for yourself and ordering what you like. I may have ordered the wrong flavors and probably should've gone with one of their specials (the lava flow sounds like the move). The staff was fantastic, the location was extremely clean, and they even have a small shop, which was a nice touch. Overall, it was a good experience--just not quite my personal preference flavor-wise. I wish this business nothing but continued success

    Photos
    Kula Shave Ice - Very clean inside

    Very clean inside

    Kula Shave Ice - Items on sale

    Items on sale

    Kula Shave Ice

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    Wilson's By the Bay - shavedice - Updated May 2026

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