17 Best Cafes in Hilo

“Paul's place is a cozy spot especially for brunch!

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by Mr. Paul himself with a bright smile and welcomed us into his place.

As we are in October, the place was decorated with fall decor.

The interior is set for 3 tables and a direct view as the chef cooks our meal right on the other side of the counter. It was a special experience as he explained each of his dishes on the menu and then interacted with us as he was preparing our meal.

We were there fairly early so was able to walk in but highly recommend to call in and set a reservation to ensure seating is available.

We ordered the smoked salmon eggs Benedict with his special aioli sauce instead of the traditional hollandaise sauce.

Also ordered the pasta de Marco which he stated was his signature dish for breakfast. It was a unique dish featuring noodles pan fried with eggs to create a light crispy base topped with salmon, bacon, tomatoes, capers, mixed greens. It was delicious and would definitely order it again.

There is limited parking so may have harder time to find parking.

Paul was a phenomenal host and highly recommend others to come visit and enjoy his delicious creations.“

“I’m a lover of hamburger steak and have tried the hamburger steak at every restaurant and drive-in in Hilo. The Liko Lehua hamburger steak is absolutely the best tasting. The secret to a good hamburger steak is the gravy and their gravy is rich, tasty and homemade. No instant or canned gravy here. It also helps that their hamburger patties are hand made. Kudos to the chef and staff at Liko Lehua.“

“Had the mushroom omelette and the tempeh Reuben & both were great. The meat eater with me loved his burger. The house made cashew milk was unexpectedly delicious. The spicy pickles and hot sauce were great. Anyone who doesn’t like this place is seriously disturbed.“

“Adorable place, friendly employees, cute hibiscus decorations, good vibe, reasonable prices. Only downside was the food wasn't that great :( Salad was supposed to come with grilled chicken strips and it was just cold shredded chicken. Dole whip was good!“

“I love all there different goodies and a good selection as well. They just opened at their new location and it’s now very easy and convenient to satisfy your sweet tooth😉“

“Ngon-hợp vệ sinh& tiếp đón khách nhiệt tình!“

“So yummy. My favorite is the honeydew smoothie with lychee jelly Boba. I get it every time! Looks like they have way more options and foods to choose from since they've moved to their new location

Vegetarian options: Most of the drinks would be considered vegetarian, which is primarily what they serve. I think they had a veggie panini sandwhich too

Dietary restrictions: They offer diary substitutions

Parking: New location is much easier to park in

Kid-friendliness: Lots of space in seating area“

“I got the unicorn ice cream in a cup. It is a mixture of their UBE ice cream and their dragonfruit “ice cream”. The UBE is delicious I am not a sherbet fan so the dragonfruit was okay compared to UBE. It was listed as non dairy so that is my fault. But for sherbet, very good. My wife got the Aloha Bowl. She said it was very good.

Parking: Street“

“It's literally the best coffee I've ever had...and consistently. I've been going since last year and it's blown me away every time. And I'm from Seattle...the coffee capital of the world. As well as went to coffee school when I became a barista in Seattle. I really think it has something to do with their like $25,000 machine because the actual coffere isn't specialty. It's really remarkable how crucial the machine is. Best coffee on Big Island, for sure. So much so that I felt I needed to write a review about it after a year of having it. ?❤️“

“They only have a few vegan options. I got the veggie sandwich and substituted vegan mayo. It is pretty simple, but it is done very well. I thought it was delicious. The staff is incredibly friendly and are happy to give recommendations for other places to visit.“

“Great little coffee shop in Hilo. Stopped in with my wife the other day and briefly chatted with the barista, who was a lovely person. I ordered the latte without any frills and it was excellent. There are other fun options for coffee with different syrups and some homemade food. This is a lovely little cafe!“

“Love all their smoothies !!“

“Oh my gosh…. Everything here was sooo good! We came in for brunch all had sandwiches. I got the Malibu… it was impressively delicious and bigger than expected. The sandwiches are a bit messy, but worth it! I grabbed a couple cookies on my way out; snickerdoodle and peanut butter. Both cookies were enormous and some of the best cookies I’ve had in a long time! Prices were reasonable, service was fast and friendly. There are maybe 10 tables inside and a few outside, and plenty of parking. I will definitely be back and I’ll surely bring all visiting friends and family here.“

“I had the Bibimbap which had some wonderful authentic ingredients. I also enjoyed the Bingsu too. Definitely, ,not a "fast food" type Korean cuisine. It's also a very cozy, small cafe with a friendly staff. Will definitely return again.“

“Had lunch here 2/3 days that we were in Hilo, everything was amazing. The Misoyaki Butterfish Salad was fresh and extremely flavorful without being heavy, and the fish melts like butter in your mouth. We also had a cold water scallop special, an eggplant /marinara/pesto/ricotta appetizer (forgot what it's called, oops!) and crab cakes. Everything was great, honestly one of the best places I've eaten at on the entire island. I like to sit at the bar, as I'm a former long time bartender. Sascha is one of the best around, cocktails were, again, among the best that I found on the island, including Kona. Service was top notch, no matter how busy he got, and he took extra time to modify one of the house cocktails so that an elderly gal with sensitive teeth sitting nearby could enjoy it. I would honestly make the drive from Waikoloa just for this, but Hilo has plenty of outdoor activities to offer as well.“

“Friendly customer service.“

“Large menu with something for everyone and everything was delicious.“