The place is nice with a pleasant atmosphere. The food is good, but not amazing. Overall, it’s a decent spot for a relaxed meal by the bay.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Dave Fosbrook
The view of the bay from the outside seating is priceless. The service was good. The decor is upscale. The food was flavorful. I can only image the night views from the restaurant spectacular. The views and location are worth the price.
We came in for lunch on a Wednesday and we had to wait for about 30 minutes to be seated. We order a tiger sushi roll and a soft-shell crab po boy. The sushi was very good, and the po boy was interesting and good. However, the fries were horrible, saggy and cold. But the service was the worst. It took a long time to get the food, and we were sharing everything so we needed an additional plate, which took too long and we decided to eat from the same plate, which was not ideal. They never picked up the used plates from the sushi, when the po boy arrived. Also, we ordered more drinks from the bar, half way out meal, and had to wait like 8 minutes for a bottle of beer, because the bar ‘was backed up’. The place has a nice location and view, but not sure we would like to come back, the food was not that special and unique to go through the painful service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 1
Lauren Barrett
Amazing locally sourced food and great service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brion C
If you are looking for a nice comfortable restaurant with great food and with great views of Hilo Bay and Mauna Kea, Hilo Bay Cafe is your place. Six or seven beers on tap, great wine list and delicious ono fish tacos with pickled onions plus jicama, passion fruit slaw. Great friendly service and a nice quiet comfortable modern space.
Verna Badua
Good featured on triple D with guy fieri.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Ash
I’m so glad we decided to check this place out. Best food I’ve had on this side of the island, if not the whole island. Everything from the tea to the apps to the soup all the way to main course was amazing. Unfortunately we didn’t get any dessert we were stuffed but I guarantee it’s good too. I recommend the pot pie!!! And as a vegetarian I was happy to see that option 😊 Also our server was awesome too! I can’t remember his name unfortunately but he was great. I definitely recommend this place and if we weren’t leaving, I would definitely have been back. And I’m picky lol
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jill Hall
The food was great. Large portions. The service was great. Very friendly. Best to make a reservation, even for lunch.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
las51
Despite some negative reviews I read recently, I've always had good service at the Hilo Bay Cafe and never had any problems. Food was always good.
Fabulous dinner with a lot of options for different dietary preferences. Portions were generous and the food quality was high. The bartending staff are super good at their craft too, we had one of the best mocktails I’ve ever had!
I’d recommend this for a nice meal with friends or family.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amy Knott
You can't get a better view of the bay. The food was spectacular!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
janelle honer
Second try! First time I had French onion soup. Just don't bother. Not executed well. I had seen a sandwich on line and it sounded good. No luck. Old menu. So stupidly I ordered the chicken and hummus sandwich. Horrible dry chicken. The hummus disappeared into a very large hunk of bread. The veggies on top where great. So was the jicama salad. My friend had the mushroom grilled cheese. HUGE. Tons of cheese. And big slices of thick bread. I ate a few bites. Very good 👍 I prefer not to have that much cheese, but my choice. My friends were all good with what they ordered. We shared the fried zucchini appetizer and it was good. Again the Arugula stole the show. I will probably go back again with friends. If I don't feel like doing anything but enjoy the view, I'll order a side of the salad. Drinks are redicously expensive so it is a good time to drink more water 💦 Our service was decent. We sat around for a while before she got around to the to go box ( My dog ate the chicken and the bread for the chickens) I did eat all the veggies! We sat around for another few minutes. I finally went to pay the bill. Our waitress was chatting with someone at the bar. The receptionist was too busy with the two employees that were blocking me from paying. OK I'm over 70. I'm small and I am ez to ignore. Hey gang, I am not ignoring you and I totally understand the business. I have been a private chef and have even been published in a few cookbooks. On was with Random House. I learned a long time ago not to assume that anyone is poor, uneducated, or stupid.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
henryw390
We last visited HBC in 2013 when they had just opened and were in a strip mall. They now reside in a very nice facility above Hilo Bay. The food and the service are still amazing. Many of the dishes that made them famous in 2013 are still on the menu. What used to be called "Black and White Fries" is a large plate of freshly cut French fries with a black truffle and white truffle aoli dip. Amazing. The burgers are fantastic and we had a dessert called "Gooey Cake" which is to die for. I am glad to see them being so successful. Reservations are not required, but recommended. We did not have a lunch reservation at around noon, but we only had to wait about ten minutes.
Arden Matzke
Soo good!! Highly recommend the fried chicken!! Sushi is also amazing!
The place is nice with a pleasant atmosphere. The food is good, but not amazing. Overall, it’s a decent spot for a relaxed meal by the bay.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
The view of the bay from the outside seating is priceless. The service was good. The decor is upscale. The food was flavorful. I can only image the night views from the restaurant spectacular. The views and location are worth the price.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tasty dishes expertly prepared, locally sourced. Friendly staff, lovely views, relaxing atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We came in for lunch on a Wednesday and we had to wait for about 30 minutes to be seated.
We order a tiger sushi roll and a soft-shell crab po boy. The sushi was very good, and the po boy was interesting and good. However, the fries were horrible, saggy and cold.
But the service was the worst. It took a long time to get the food, and we were sharing everything so we needed an additional plate, which took too long and we decided to eat from the same plate, which was not ideal. They never picked up the used plates from the sushi, when the po boy arrived. Also, we ordered more drinks from the bar, half way out meal, and had to wait like 8 minutes for a bottle of beer, because the bar ‘was backed up’.
The place has a nice location and view, but not sure we would like to come back, the food was not that special and unique to go through the painful service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 1
Amazing locally sourced food and great service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
If you are looking for a nice comfortable restaurant with great food and with great views of Hilo Bay and Mauna Kea, Hilo Bay Cafe is your place. Six or seven beers on tap, great wine list and delicious ono fish tacos with pickled onions plus jicama, passion fruit slaw. Great friendly service and a nice quiet comfortable modern space.
Good featured on triple D with guy fieri.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
I’m so glad we decided to check this place out. Best food I’ve had on this side of the island,
if not the whole island. Everything from the tea to the apps to the soup all the way to main course was amazing. Unfortunately we didn’t get any dessert we were stuffed but I guarantee it’s good too. I recommend the pot pie!!! And as a vegetarian I was happy to see that option 😊 Also our server was awesome too! I can’t remember his name unfortunately but he was great. I definitely recommend this place and if we weren’t leaving, I would definitely have been back. And I’m picky lol
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was great. Large portions. The service was great. Very friendly. Best to make a reservation, even for lunch.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Despite some negative reviews I read recently, I've always had good service at the Hilo Bay Cafe and never had any problems. Food was always good.
Restaurantji Recommends
Fabulous dinner with a lot of options for different dietary preferences. Portions were generous and the food quality was high. The bartending staff are super good at their craft too, we had one of the best mocktails I’ve ever had!
I’d recommend this for a nice meal with friends or family.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
You can't get a better view of the bay. The food was spectacular!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Second try! First time I had French onion soup. Just don't bother. Not executed well.
I had seen a sandwich on line and it sounded good. No luck. Old menu.
So stupidly I ordered the chicken and hummus sandwich. Horrible dry chicken. The hummus disappeared into a very large hunk of bread. The veggies on top where great. So was the jicama salad.
My friend had the mushroom grilled cheese. HUGE. Tons of cheese. And big slices of thick bread. I ate a few bites. Very good 👍 I prefer not to have that much cheese, but my choice.
My friends were all good with what they ordered. We shared the fried zucchini appetizer and it was good. Again the Arugula stole the show.
I will probably go back again with friends. If I don't feel like doing anything but enjoy the view, I'll order a side of the salad.
Drinks are redicously expensive so it is a good time to drink more water 💦
Our service was decent. We sat around for a while before she got around to the to go box
( My dog ate the chicken and the bread for the chickens) I did eat all the veggies!
We sat around for another few minutes. I finally went to pay the bill. Our waitress was chatting with someone at the bar. The receptionist was too busy with the two employees that were blocking me from paying.
OK I'm over 70. I'm small and I am ez to ignore. Hey gang, I am not ignoring you and I totally understand the business. I have been a private chef and have even been published in a few cookbooks. On was with Random House.
I learned a long time ago not to assume that anyone is poor, uneducated, or stupid.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
We last visited HBC in 2013 when they had just opened and were in a strip mall. They now reside in a very nice facility above Hilo Bay. The food and the service are still amazing. Many of the dishes that made them famous in 2013 are still on the menu. What used to be called "Black and White Fries" is a large plate of freshly cut French fries with a black truffle and white truffle aoli dip. Amazing. The burgers are fantastic and we had a dessert called "Gooey Cake" which is to die for. I am glad to see them being so successful. Reservations are not required, but recommended. We did not have a lunch reservation at around noon, but we only had to wait about ten minutes.
Soo good!! Highly recommend the fried chicken!! Sushi is also amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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