Genuine Hawaiian food at its best. Don't let the term "Bento Box" fool you, this is not Japanese, in fact you have to ask for rice on the side if you want it. Be aware there is no sushi, at least not at lunchtime. Also, don't bring your vegetarian friends, this is a place which serves up hearty Hawaiian meat: shoyu pork and chicken, BBQ hot dogs, spare ribs, everything is delicious. There is only one table so expect to take your food to go. It's quick in and out - pick your items from the counter and go. Ignore the menu on the wall - what you see is what you get. And yes they do run out of things. Super cheap, less than a lunch at McDonalds (and they do take credit cards so ignore the cash only sign ). Support your locals! read more

Must its a must go before 10 am They work hard in preparation and delivery. They are straight up exhausted by 10 am and most of the products that you will desire will be gone.. Keel in mind at the end of ordering when you go to pay is there salad case.... yummy read more

Everything is ono! Love their nori chicken and all of their sushi and musubi is so good! Can't go wrong with anything there!

Get there early ! Great take out Hawaiian lunch for a picnic at the beach or falls. Good kids options.

The spam musubi, nori chicken, corned beef hash, tuna patty, and vegetable tempura was so yummy! And prices so responsible!

This place is great for picking up a quick to-go lunch. So many choices to choose from. If you're the indecisive type then just do what I do, while waiting in line listen to what other people are ordering and get the same thing. I did that and ended up with an ume musubi ($0.85), nori chicken ($1), vegetable tempura ($0.95), sweet potato tempura ($0.90), and long rice ($1.45). Total with tax, $5.36. Not bad for the amount of food (see picture). As you can see, you order everything a la cart. If you're not careful you can end up with a feast suitable for a small army, so try not to get carried away. But either way, everything I've tried there I liked. My favorite is probably the nori chicken. The vegetable tempura was also very good. I recommend starting off with those two and then just go from there. Have fun! read more

Hilo Lunch Shop - Ume musubi ($0.85), nori chicken ($1), vegetable tempura ($0.95), sweet potato tempura ($0.90), long rice ($1.45). Total, $5.36 - Japanese Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Affordable, insanely tasty, with so many choices, I just want to bring a huge trough and just have them throw their entire menu right into it so I can bury my face in it and die in happiness!!! Standard okazuya items, excellent flavors! See photos! I need to go back to Hilo just to get some more of this. read more

Hilo Lunch Shop - Japanese Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Always a winner. Kinda long wait sometimes but that warabi salad is so worth it. Staff works hard so be patient with them & tip them, they deserve it. read more

Don't know what happened but noticed the food isn't as flavorful as before years back. I used to come by often till couple years ago I switched to Asamis and Kawamotos. Family brought me Hilo Lunch Shop plate lunch recently and wasn't impressed at all. They bought for me so I didn't want to be ungrateful. Shoyu pork was dry and flavorless and soggy shrimp tempura I like oily greasy but this was not good and shoyu chicken was bland compared to Asamis shoyu chicken what's going on it's like church food for the old folks who have sale and flavorless restricted diets or Hilo Hawaiian expensive buffet even adding salt won't help them. The oily greasy crispy shrimp tempura at Kawamotos are night and day difference. Then something about their fried chicken is not to my liking either and prefer Asamis or Shell gas station fried chicken (or Lings on one of their better days you know what I mean they been having lots of not so good days in regards to food). Something changed and it was still good even when Alton took over but over the years did they change cooks afterwards? My relatives agreed about tasting like church food and bland not much flavor what they ordered for themselves. I stopped going years ago and my relatives found out for themselves why. Someone really has to open another bento box okazuya on Hilo that sells ALL GOOD FOOD because I have to go to both Asamis and Kawamotos to get almost a complete plate lunch to my own personal liking. I guess if you constantly eat foods with less flavor you get too used to it or hadn't tried anything better yet. Believe me there's better in Hilo but you have to cherry pick from different places. I'll go Hilo Lunch Shop again when I'm too old and need a less salt less flavorful diet. Or volunteer at the church to cook with the old folks. read more

Yet another lunch counter place; you'd better figure out fast what you want because the ladies industriously slinging food into styrofoam containers are moving at warp speed -- in fact, so quickly that they took my boyfriend's order and forgot about me (it was quickly rectified, at least). Everyone on yelp seemed to recommend the nori chicken, which I sense is one of those things that's probably at its best when it's fresh out of the fryer; ours had a little age on it. Still, the outside was flavorful and the inside retained moisture. It just would have been better warm. Thin circles of Portuguese sausage tasted like smoky kielbasa (greasy and good). I got a giant wad of tempura veggies, which were light and crisp on the outside, but somewhat underdone on the inside (this could have been rectified by making a smaller wad --) Massive onigiri and fat sushi rolls will fulfill your starch quotient for the day. Again, the incomplete board menu is somewhat impenetrable to newcomers, and none of the trays are labeled. Basically you can dive in, point to something and see what you think. Chances are it'll be pretty good. read more

A good place to grab okazu on your way to anywhere in Hilo. We were a little limited on our selection because we would be out most of the day and didn't have a cooler with us but we still ate good! Food is ono and the selection is big. Worth the stop. read more

Hilo Lunch Shop - Social distancing at Hilo Lunch Shop - Japanese Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Really fun and affordable way to try a bunch of different items I was able to get Kalua pork, Pork Adobo, long rice and poke - enough for two people - for about $18. Perfect way to try poke if you're not a huge fish fan! read more

Hilo Lunch Shop was our first stop when we got to Hilo from our hotel in Waikoloa. It is kind of hidden about a block away from the main highway, but it was easy to find with GPS. We got there a little before lunch time, but the line was 8 or 9 deep already. Luckily, all of the food is prepared already, and they have 3 or 4 people helping you at the same time. Our wait time was only about 5 minutes in line. We ordered: 2 Shrimp tempura: not bad, but by the time we got to our picnic area, it was a little cold and soggy 2 Spam musubi: good, and pretty large-sized 2 Fishcakes: not bad (a little too much cake part: wish it had more fish) 4 chicken nori: this was really good. Although the pieces of chicken (thigh meat?) were small, I liked the addition of the nori wrap around it. 1 beansprout salad: good (got to have some veggies, right?) All this food was boxed up for only $13, which is a pretty good deal. We were going to stop by before heading to the airport the next day, but we thought we were running a little late and decided to head straight to the airport (bad decision: we didn't realize how easy it would be to refurn the car and go through security at Hilo Airport). If you are in Hilo, definitely stop by here for breakfast (I believe that they open at 5 AM) or lunch for some good and cheap food. read more

Hilo Lunch Shop - The line moves fast - Japanese Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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One of my favorite places in Hilo. We made a stop here right before our road trip south. Luckily, there was only one person ahead of us in line. By the time we were done with our order, the line was literally out the door. The vegetable tempura was a delicious huge mound of fried veggies...Nori chicken and Korean chicken were both good. We also enjoyed the cone sushi and fish cake. For a medium sized box full of goodies, we spent around $17. For the variety and amount of food we got, I think I got my money's worth. Any of the fried food is definitely best when consumed right away. Otherwise, don't be surprised if it's a little soggy after a little while. Nonetheless, I enjoyed my food and I will definitely make another stop here on my next vacation. The only downside is they close pretty early. read more

Hilo Lunch Shop - Japanese Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Haoles don't screw this up. I'm a white dude from SoCal and this is great. Read the reviews and just be prepared. My favorite is the mustard cabbage sushi. The Nori chicken is great for fried chicken. It was like $1.05 a chunk. You're not going to eat here, just get things to take with you for the day. Just ask for a box (white, not pink donut box) and point and go. Great for the long drive in the rental car over to Kona. On the ordering, think if you were standing in line at a McDonald's when someone in front of you asks the guy "what's in the Big Mac". They were very nice to this haole, and it's in my definite "do again" read more

Local okazuya joint near the airport. They open super early (5:30am). Perfect place to grab a quick breakfast after landing in Hilo. My favorites are: fried chicken with nori inari (cone sushi) chicken long rice shrimp tempura Service is fast and friendly :) read more

Everything was delicious!! Captains platter was awesome. Smoked mozzarella balls were unreal. and great beer too!

This place is a must! Perfect for a trip to the park, beach, or just any day really. Everything is always on point. Brings me right back to my childhood. read more

Hilo Lunch Shop - Japanese Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Everything is delicious! I love the warabi salad . The workers are very friendly. read more

Ok, where have I been? When did HLC become so meh? My Fried chicken was over fried and bland. Hamburger patty...local staple for Okazuya folks....cold, hard. I grew up on HLS and I just remember a much better quality product. Seems like HLS has gotten complacent in being one of the must stops in Hilo. Although the other okazuya places in Hilo offer less choices than HLS, I think their taste and quality is much better. The older staff working in front is still angry and not so friendly. But we all kinda live with it because.....the nori chicken brah!!!! I can let Aunty be mean to me if the nori chicken is hot and fresh. Unfortunately for today, even the Nori Chicken, which is the star of the show, was above average at best. Maybe I caught them on a wrong day, but I feel that they fell off of their game a bit. read more

Brings back memories of the box lunches I ate as a child on field trips. I had everything here, taste were all on point. Took food to go planning to take it to our destination National volcano park in Hilo. I ate it all on my way there. The wife and kids enjoyed there lunches also, I could probably eat here everyday without getting tired of the food. Its that good. Also saw Bj Penn there, that was cool. read more

The food was good...it is sold by the piece rather than the serving, so just keep that in mind, your total will add up fast! More importantly though, if good, let alone decent customer service is a valuable expectation for yourself, this is not the place to come. While ordering food today, the lady taking my order insisted on having a very loud conversations with a person in the back of me, while I was trying to 1) ask her questions about their food and 2) while I was actually trying to order my food. All of this resulted in me having to repeat myself very often on everything that I wanted. Throughout the span of my order, this employee continued to hold conversations with the other customer behind me. In addition, she also got the order wrong, and when I asked for a large drink with little ice, she filled the large cup up to the top with ice. Ordering here, was a one time deal. Save yourself the time and look else where, Hilo has many other options with way better customer service. read more

I always loved stopping here while attending UH Hilo for their Mochiko chicken and fish cake. Haven't been here in 10+ years until today. It is exactly as I remember it and the workers are still as nice and helpful. They were out of fish cake by the time we got there but it's okay cause we filled our box with other yummies. We got mochiko chicken, fried chicken, tofu patties, corned beef hash patties, spam Musubi, hotdog maki, shoyu pork, pipinola salad, and shrimp tempura. All were DELISH but my fave this trip was the pipinola salad which was pipinola ferns, tomatoes, onion, and kamaboko in an oriental style dressing. A must try if you stop by Hilo Lunch Shop! I'll definitely be back my next trip home. read more

Hilo Lunch Shop - Pipinola salad - Japanese Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Hilo Lunch Shop is one of those okazuya's that take you to a bygone era where you purchase those tasty noshes to go with your rice and let's just say...a lot of things are fried. Or not... When we asked people what to get from Hilo Lunch Shop, one thing kept coming up over and over: the Mustard Cabbage Maki Sushi. It definitely was different and something to try out, but was it that much better than a traditional maki sushi roll? No, but definitely worth trying and I have to say better than their maki sushi roll. Eggplant is supposed to be healthy right? Well, what if you add a piece of spam, tempura batter it, and then fry it? Not so healthy anymore. It definitely was different and very filling. Flavor is definitely something acquired and on the heavier side. The fried chicken was good, but check out their nori chicken. It was different and added a nice briny flavor to the traditional saltiness you would expect. The tempura is definitely respectable and nothing to sneer at. Service is generally quick and the line moved pretty quickly even though there were certain people buying up a storm. Prices are very reasonable (by Honolulu standards, never really tried to compare it in Hilo though) and you can definitely get your bang for your buck here. Word of advice: Go early, things can sell out pretty quickly and you definitely do not want to be the one to not get some tasty goodness! read more

Our flight got in at a crazy early time--think 6am, and the first thing on my mind was food! I was on the hunt to get my hands on some warabi salad, but it was a little too early in the morning, and the warabi wasn't out yet. All good though, since we were already there, how could I say no to all the other okazuya goodies to choose from?! Talk about goodies--there are so many delectable looking items out on the okazuya line that it's easy to go overboard while ordering. My parents picked up a bento to share between the two of them for $5. Me and the BF however, went a little nuts and got a ton of food for $15! My favorites include the nori chicken, nishime, corn beef hash patties, and the spam musubi! Nori chicken is now easily one of my favorite foods! Super easy to eat, simple and tasty. Easily one of my new favorites! I loved the light texture of the corn beef hash patties too, even though I'm not typically a huge fan of corned beef! I loved how light it was, and easy it was to eat in patty form. The spam musubis are absolutely heavenly, and I loved how fluffy and light the rice was. Pass on the cucumber kimchi though, this was just OK compared to the amazingness of everything else. Even at a super early hour, the line here was real! I always get nervous at okazuya joints, and this was no exception. With so many hungry people behind me, and so many goodies laid out before me, oh mannnnnn. The ladies here are super efficient though, and get through with orders quick! Definitely a must visit if in Hilo! read more

Three words: Sweet Potato Tempura! So damn good! My wife was born and raised in Hilo, and she took me here one day on our first visit. We picked up a box of various food, and went to the beach. Everything was good. Musabi, fried chicken, mac salad, the above tempura... it was probably the best picnic lunch of my life, chowing down on this amazing, cold home cooked food, watching the sparkling blue waters in the background... If you are in Hilo for any reason, I highly recommend you stop and make yourself a plate for the day. Get there early, as the best stuff goes fast. Then, hit the beach, volcano, or whatever, and enjoy your tasty lunch (or, as they say locally, your ono grindz.) I love the relaxed, chill vibe of Hilo (God, I hope I can retire there someday) and the same goes for Hilo Lunch Shop! read more

Local Okazuya at its best. Hilo Lunch Shop IS a local staple each and everyday. Don't forget to step up and be prepared! There is a reason for the long lines and frantic ordering. It is the best on the island and the Okazuya selections sell out everyday. You don't want the person in front (or in back) of you to take the last Nori chicken before you get yours. Hahaha, it happens! Everyone has their favorites, so go early and order/eat a lot. If you want a real experience in local style Japanese Okazuya, there is no reason to go anywhere else. Best of the Best! DO NOT pay any attention to any of the lower Yelp ratings. IMHO, those individuals most likely were late to the lunch shop (selections sold out),less experienced in Okazuya(took to long to decide/order) and probably lost out on the last order of Nori chicken. read more

Good okazuya food. Order ahead so you don't have to wait in line. My daughter and I love the ogo salad. My friend from Oahu loves the warabi salad and fish cake. My son always gets the spam musubi and nori chicken. They have a wide variety of food to please all kinds of people. Great place to get a picnic meal. Go early! The food sells out quickly. read more

Good bento-ya for lunch. Quite busy with long lines but worth the wait. The cone sushi, nori chicken, and tempura are well made. The chicken and tempura are not oily or greasy. Cone sushi is well packed with a good su. Surprisingly the warabi salad is crisp and fresh with good flavor without having that mass produced blandness. The okinawan sweet potato tempura is well cooked, if slightly over-battered, with great taste. One of the better bento-ya places in HIlo for take out. read more

Logistically, it was difficult for us foreigners to order our breakfast, since nothing in the case is labeled. I had to ask a lot of questions, and with a long line behind me I felt pressured and rushed :( As for taste, a few things were really good, and a few just ok. FYI, "Plain musubi" is plain triangle of rice. "Musubi" is ume musubi, which is a plain musubi with a single sour plum inside.The spam musubi has a plain slice spam that's not seared or marinated, so it was underwhelming. The tastiest things we got were the fried fish (ono), nori chicken and vegetable tempura. Oh, and the fried sweet potato cake, which had a really good texture and was more a dessert/donut. TLDR, some tasty things, but hard to order for newbies. Cash only. read more

Hilo lunch shop provides delicious bentos that can withstand the punishment of the work day. Fair prices, quick service and food that is both easy on the palette and strong enough for man's work. The Food: I've accidentally left my bento in the sun, direct sun for over 7 hours and it was still fine. I also rarely have the luxury of a microwave to heat up my food and its still pleasantly edible at room temperature. I also purchase lunch at around 5:45 am and don't eat until at least 11:30am. One thing though, make sure you get the styrofoam clamshell bento if you don't plan on having your bento in a cooler. Those plastic ones are not good in the heat or moisture. The Price. The bentos are custom made and you can pick out what musubis and meats you would like off the hot bar. If you go in there starving you will probably spend more than you planned. I have a habit of buying two of everything i pick and end up eating only one of each. The price is fair if you are fair in your bento creation. If you are a big eater or like to load your bento you will probably spend about 8-9 dollars. I can usually get away with 6-7. The service. Hilo Lunch Shop is open at 5:30am. From what I understand is they are closed early like 1 or 2 pm. They are also not open on on Holidays or Monday. Monday is a day that I would prefer them be open. Once Sunday night comes along, I am often to lazy to pack a lunch for work the following day. But meh, minor inconvenience. Even if they have a long line the service is quick. They have a good system of serving customers and all the food is already made (unless you order breakfast or a plate lunch which is made at time of order). They have a large staff and at least 3 people up front to cycle the morning rush. The serving line is much like Subway local food style but you don't leave the shop smelling like bread. read more

My Most Favorite Place To Get My Husbands Lunch For Him To Take To Work. Very Friendly Staff. Delicious Food Ever. Best Warabi Salad.

Pros: The salads and boiled peanuts. Eh: The vegetarian fried things were a little lack luster and at some point I didn't know exactly what I was eating. I will definitely go back for the salads though! Apple maps also doesn't have its correct location. read more

Quiet unassuming lunch shop in Hilo. Stopped by later in the day, around 12:30 and was quite lucky they weren't sold out. The items don't have the best visual appeal, but they are guaranteed tasty and packed with flavor! I ordered a couple pieces of the fried chicken and tempura ono, as well as the corned beef hash and an entire roll of mustard maki. The chicken was cooked just right, with the skin very crisp and delicate and the meat tender. The ono looks bland but it's amazing. definitely worth a try though a little on the oily side. The mustard maki was great too, but quite sour so I wouldn't recommend it for people who don't enjoy a sour kick in their food. The only item that didn't impress (but was still solid) was the hash. Would definitely stop by again next time I'm in Hilo! read more

Hilo Lunch Shop - Tempura ono, mustard maki whole cut, fried chicken, corned beef hash - Japanese Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

My favorite spot to stop in at for breakfast/lunch! I wake up early just to come here, haha! Which FYI, if you don't want to miss out on all the yummy, get here early! Most times they run out =[ Suuuper ono! Affordable! & Great to-go! This is the place to stop for snacks for a group on the go. They have a big selection of different things and will everything being so ono and cheap, try one of everything! Guarantee, you're going to like something if not everything. ;] Oh maang, just writing this review has me itching to fly home to stop here. I definitely recommend everyone trying this place. Its my favorite! read more

I'm a fan of their food but lately they haven't gotten their act together since Covid when I used to go in the morning their food was already now all my favorites aren't ready til after 8:00 or 9:00 am I went yesterday on12-16 and I ordered 2 cone sushi 4 shrimp tempura 2 tuna patti and a scoop of Mac salad it was ok used to be better my cone sushi hardly had rice was sloppily made least to say I'd lost my appetite read more

This place was good! Here's my overall experience: Positives (+) (+) nori chicken was really good (+) they have this Teri beef sushi type roll which was really good (+) corn beef hash was good (+) affordable prices (+) fast service (+) good variety of food (+) chicken was really good I'd definitely come here again. Great for a quick bite. read more

Easily my favorite place to get okazu in Hilo. Make sure you get here before 11:30am, because there's a good chance they'll run out of food. My favorite things here are the fishcake, tuna-tofu patty, nori chicken and pork hash, but there are so many other great things to try. If you're visiting Hilo and looking to take a lunch with you (to the volcano, for example), I recommend stopping here and picking something up. You won't be disappointed. read more

delicious and cheap local food. opens early and closes at 1pm. i especially liked musubi, the seaweed salad, the tuna tofu salad, and the fried eggplant with spam. plus of course that korean chicken everyone here is talking about. read more

This Okazu-ya brought back so many nostalgic memories... One bite of their nishime had me back in the kitchen of my small kid days...making trouble to my aunty as she stirred the enormous pot of Japanese pork, chicken, and vegetable stew. Their corned beef hash patties had the same effect. I also had their cone sushi, nori chicken, fried cod (katsu style), fried ono (tempura style) with tartar sauce and takuan. Hubby had the Portuguese Sausage Breakfast which came with a small coffee. Everything in their display case looked sooo good, but there was a line of hungry customers behind me, so I had to order real fast (not my usual style of umm....ahhh...I don't know what I want????). I was very pleased with the quality and taste of the food and there was a park nearby with covered picnic tables to eat at and ducks to watch swimming in the large ponds. Don't worry, I didn't eat all that okazu-ya food by myself. I had a little, hungry six year old breakfast monster to feed! And we ate every last bite of it! read more