Cool menu, tasty food, but not as big of portions from the fish sandwich and pasta. Can't speak for…read moreother food portions. Ended up going nextdoor to get more snacks.

What drawn me to this cafe other than be close by is that the smell of bbq/grilling smoke. Small…read moreand local eatablishment attached to a general store. Great local food. We had the mac pesto pizza: delicious, crispy crust and fragrant bread. Loco moco medium rare. Made with sunny side egg and amazing gravy Kalua pork special so smoky and fall apart pork. Love the side potato egg salad. There doesn't seem to have air conditioning though, however the food is amazing

The night of the 42nd volcano eruption, we enjoyed a front window seat to the massive lava…read morefountains! Created a great backdrop to a great meal. The restaurant is inside the very old classic Volcano Lodge; complete with wood fireplace. Staying in the lodge made it simple to have meals; we ate at the Rim two nights, one night at the more casual Lodge restaurant Uncle Georges Lounge. All meals were prepared very well. For the first meal, we ordered a couple of Mai Tais that were nicely flavorful. For appetizers, I can recommend the Furikake Seared Ahi; gently seared with very flavorful colorful condiments. Plus, the portion was relatively generous as well. The chef's entree special was an amazing local fish prepared attractively and tasting marvelous. For our second night, the volcano was no longer erupting and the crowds of watchers had left so the meal was far less hectic. Did a less extravagant meal of Big Island Stuffed Chicken (great stuffing of Feta cheese and greens!) and it was a great choice. (I had the Seared Ahi again!) Straying from fish my partner went with the perfectly grilled 12 oz Hawaiian beef ribeye. Finished up with a fun crème brûlée with lots of burnt sugar!. Not a restaurant to drive 1-2 hours to, but if you find yourself on the mountain, well-worth stopping for a great meal here. but try to get there when the volcano isn't erupting or you'll be trampled, pushed, and find nowhere to park.

So I haven't wrote a review in a while and I should get better at sharing my experiences. I had to…read morewrite this, know before you go your paying for the view of the volcano. Also know you can get the similar view from the other restaurant they have literally in the room right next to this one. Well there is a sitting room in between but the same view. No pretty table clothes but the same view and the food comes from the same kitchen. Our waiter was nice and pretty timely, the food was horrible. We were a party of three and all of us had the ribeye. First off they were out of asparagus so we had wilted spinach and fennel. So overly salted and the mash potatoes, they had to come from a box!!! The bread was good but the butter was excellent, the only reason this is getting two starts was our waiter and the butter!!! Our meal for three people nothing to drink but water the three ribeyes and one dessert for our 13 year old was 229.00. I don't mind paying for dinner when it's edible but we left almost all our steak on the plates and the waiter didn't even ask why. My recommendation is have dinner at the other restaurant get the view and pay way less. If you look at my review for tonight's dinner you will see I don't leave reviews just when it's bad. We had dinner in Kona tonight at fish hopper and it was excellent service and food with an amazing view as well.

Excellent environment, specially with Harry performance. Anthony with his service made our dining…read moreexperience a very special one. Food was great, diferent and very tasty, we'll certainly be coming back

The staff here are absolutely amazing. Above and beyond with beautiful customer service and a…read moredelicious menu to boot! Worth stopping in for lunch or dinner. Food is consistent and yummy.

There were several food trucks at an event but when I saw the title and smelled the smoke, I made a…read morebee-line for this truck. I really wanted to try the brisket and ribs, but that wasn't possible unless I bought two plates. Chef suggested the brisket, so I got that with two sides of corn. Would the rather flimsy fork and no knife be enough? Oh yeah! The brisket just about fell apart. It was moist, which is hard to achieve; usually it's dried out. It was lightly sauced, enough to complement the meat, not drown it. The corn ears were juicy, also not dried out. I'll be looking for this truck next time I'm on the Hilo side! Gotta try those ribs.

I love the spicy coleslaw, I love the moist beans but more of, the best ribs on the island…read more Brisket? You don't even need a knife. Dave and Mannilyn, keep up the great work. Mahalo, Don

First of all... just go! Happy hour in the bar is highly…read morerecommended! Hubs enjoyed a Lava Burger (5/5) and a mango margarita 4/5 I had nachos with pork (4.5/5) and a watermelon margarita (5/5).

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.

Great views of the volcano…read more The taste of Hawaii menu is loaded with food and is great to share amongst a small family. Friendly staff, good food, but the view is what I'll be writing home about.

DISHONEST PEOPLE! Unfortunately there's not much as for choices for eating when visiting the…read moreVolcano. Unfortunately this restaurant decides to be dishonest with its customers in not only providing mini portions at high prices, which I consciously decided to accept, but the menu clearly states for 8+ people there is a 20% mandatory tip. Our party of 7 was charged their fee and when paying amd decoding on a tip my wife saw the fee already on the receipt (which they didn't even tell us, asking for a tip as well) I asked why and they just said "because you have more people". I don't mind paying a tip, but don't eat here if you dont want to support dishonest people.

We were staying in the Volcano area and decided to try several restaurants in the area during our…read morevisit. Service started off friendly and attentive, but after large parties arrived, the staff seemed overwhelmed and probably was not on their A-game. The burger and fish and chips were both good. However, the "local" dishes like the saimin and kalua pork were disappointing and didn't quite meet our expectations. The restaurant has a casual, chill vibe with lots of free and convenient parking, which made it an easy stop while exploring the area. Overall, a decent option, especially if you're in the mood for burgers and fries but we would probably skip the local favorites next time.

I'd say this a solid place to go. This place has a lot of charm. Friendly staff. A cool view of a…read morerad dog and cat on the patio. The waitress was attentive without hovering... Food was solid, good portions, I don't eat a ton so I had half a burger to share and half my fries (I saved room for a tart!!). I would say upscale diner food. Get here early for dessert tho, cause they were out of most of it once we were here on the later side!! NOTE: 18% Gratuity for parties of 6 or more... but unlike a previous review, the staff here actually works for that so I am less resistant to that charge...

We got a reservation for Tuesday night at 8 pm. We were seated immediately, next to window and we…read morecould see lava glow from our seats. That was first for us and we were very excited. We had soup of the day and stuffed chicken for dinner. Soup came with fresh bread and butter and was very tasty. Stuffed chicken was also tasty and flavor full. We liked it. Staff is very nice and ambience is ok . Best part is volcano viewing and that tops overall experience.

Volcano House and this isn't just a place you stay--it's an experience the second you step out of…read morethe car. Sitting right on the edge of Kīlauea, the views alone will stop you in your tracks. You're literally looking out over the caldera while sipping your coffee like it's no big deal. The building has that old-school, historic feel, but it works... it adds to the whole "you're somewhere special" vibe. The restaurant carries that same laid-back but memorable energy, and the gift shop is worth stepping into too--solid mix of local items and keepsakes without feeling overdone. Whether you're eating, browsing, or just posted up with the view, this place makes you slow down and really take it all in.