Before arriving to Hawaii, we found on Reddit post that most people recommended coming here for their Loco Moco. My boyfriend and I had finished a few small hikes at Hawaii Volcano National Park and decided to stop here for a late lunch before heading back towards the Kona side. We found that the restaurant was poorly ventilated as it was hot and the doors were just kept open, and the wait for the food was a long time. There were a few other people before us who had been waiting for their food as well, and by the time it was our turn it was already 45 minutes to 1 hour. The Loco Moco was not what I had expected, the hamburger patties were dry and there wasn't anything that stood out flavor-wise. The macaroni salad was okay, but we both agreed that L&L tasted better. We also got a spam musubi, but it did not taste as good as other musubis, there was just too much rice and the spam lacked seasoning and sauce. Overall, this was not worth the wait, they have other items on their menu that you could try, but expect to wait for a lot longer than usual just to get your food. read more

Kurtistown Cafe - Loco Moco - Hawaiian Near Me - Kurtistown, Hawaii

I really enjoy their garlic chicken. The mini plate is more than enough for me. I never finish it. The staff member (I told myself to remember her name but of course I forgot) was so friendly and attentive. There was a mildly rude customer there waiting for her food trying to speak with me about the wait and the staff just smiled and continued to be polite to everyone. I'm not sure how long the other customer waited but we called in our order and showed up before the time they said it would be ready and within a couple minutes of paying it was ready. The restaurant was clean and tidy. Will definitely be back. read more

Solid diner food for a quick bite or take-away. The healthy helping of the breakfast sandwich is very much appreciated. Take it to go as you explore or plan to spend the day at the Volcano. Prices are also reasonable and it's quick. Service is great. The ambience is ok. On the other hand, the air conditioning is heaven sent on a hot day. read more

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This is always our plate lunch go to, our favs are the chicken katsu, Teri beef, bbq chicken or the roast pork. Also they have the best fries. read more

Food was awesome and hot. Large potions and able to sit down for a break on the drive. Friendly service and quick.

Decent cafe by a gas station offering breakfast and lunch meals. Lunch is available all day. I had the seafood mix which includes fried shrimp, fried fish, grilled beef, rice and mac salad. It was very filling and pretty good. No bathroom though but there is a porta potty in the back. read more

Kurtistown Cafe - Seafood plate - Hawaiian Near Me - Kurtistown, Hawaii

bonus points for the huge portions! the fried rice and loco moco were pretty good, but the korean fried chicken and lau lau were alright. we also waited really long for our food read more

Kurtistown Cafe - korean fried chicken, loco moco, lau lau - Hawaiian Near Me - Kurtistown, Hawaii

Food is tasty and plentiful. Service is on the little slow side and forget getting an order in when the volcano is erupting. But the cashiers are alert friendly. For a little cafe it has a cute ambiance and it's always clean. read more

Food (5/5) We got a Grilled Ono plate lunch and Seafood Mix plate lunch. The Grilled Ono is definitely a healthier option lol and the fish is probably better fried rather than grilled since it was dry. The Seafood Mix plate lunch was delicious!! The BBQ beef was juicy and flavorful, and the fried seafood was perfectly fried too. The portion size was also huge. Price (4/5) It's definitely on the pricier side, as a meal will run you around $15 and up. However you get good bang for your buck. Wait Time (4/5) It did take a while for our food to come out, but it's probably due to "island time" and there being several orders ahead of us. You can tell they are freshly frying or grilling your order in the back :) Ambiance (4/5) It's a small grab and go place with five tables for seating - this is a no frills place. It's right by 7-11 which is convenient. I found it cute and interesting that they had some used books, mainly 80-90s romance novels haha. Service (5/5) Everyone was friendly and welcoming. No concerns. Parking/Access (5/5) Not a busy parking lot, plenty of spots available. Honestly I would be back if I was in the area! It's a great grab and go place. You could also eat here but it's not my ambiance. For the price, convenience, and taste, it's definitely worth a stop. Highly recommend getting the Seafood Mix plate or another combo plate lunch. read more

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Really good and fast! We enjoyed our breakfast we were really hungry and we all would go back!! I recommend if you're in the mood for some delicious breakfast. I had the pancakes they had cinnamon in them different from what I'm used to but I enjoyed it. read more

Kurtistown Cafe - Pancake breakfast with ham - Hawaiian Near Me - Kurtistown, Hawaii

This is a nice little lunch stop traveling between Hilo and Volcano National Park. The menu is extensive so you're sure to find something you like. I had the teri beef burger that was loaded with meat, mostly tender with just a few tough parts. My wife really enjoyed their garlic ahi special, and my daughter devoured their cheeseburger and fries. My dad had the mini plate of garlic chicken, but it was honestly a huge portion that he barely was able to finish. There's a good number of tables to sit at, and it seemed most people took out and ate in the cars. read more

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We got the breakfast plate 2 eggs. I got the rice and toast with spam. Came with 4 grilled pieces. Wife got the 4 sausage link and 2 hash brown patties. Both were filling and tasty. Great value compared to other spots. read more

The service and food tend to not be as good at night and it's more crowded. But it is a nice place to come for lunch.

I only tried the loco moco here. First time trying this dish as well. Wow it was gigantic! Given the prices on this island I didn't expect it to be so big. The gravy was the star of the show. And they put so much that every bit of rice would have enough gravy. The hamburger steaks were okay. A bit on the salty side. I prefer the japanese hamburg more which has more panko and onion so the patty is soft and juicy. Their mac salad here is pretty good and this is only the third time I've had it here. read more

Kurtistown Cafe - Loco moco - Hawaiian Near Me - Kurtistown, Hawaii

We absolutely love this place we order all the time, staff is friendly and nice, and the food is great We normally get the loco moco and the katsu loco. 100% recommended read more

We came at night and there was no wait. Ordered the garlic chicken. It did take about 10-15 minutes, but it came out super fresh and delicious. read more

Went to the Kīlauea Summit and Volcano. By the time we finished a few lookout points, it was 2pm. We wanted something close and found Kurtistown Cafe on Yelp. It is right next to a gas station and a 7/11 with plenty of parking. The staff recommended the roast pork and boy are we glad we listened. Because it was late lunch, there were only two roast pork meals left. 1. Roast Pork- HUGE portions and choice of macaroni or toss salad. Plenty of gravy over everything. It really is their signature best. 2. Grilled Ono- very good flavor 3. Garlic Ahi- if you're a garlic lover then it's perfect otherwise it's a little too much. 4. Loco moco- same delicious gravy and huge portion. 5. Shaved Ice- to be honest, it's really a snow cone NOT shaved ice. Both cherry and pina colada were good. Very limited flavors though. read more

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Four of us went in for lunch after visiting the park. The food is OK but what left a bad taste in our mouth was this older tattooed up man that seemed to be setting up shop in the place who wanted to pick a fight with us. He chastised us for being on our phones and then approached our table and said something about "why because I'm a brown man". Then he said "I'll make more money than you today". We did not want to engage with him at all and tried to ignore him, but he kept on engaging with us. It made us feel very uncomfortable so even though we had planned to eat there, we took our food to go and ate at a nearby park bench. We also saw him doing some kind of business with a guy that came in with a hoodie sat down briefly they had some sort of exchange. A drug deal? read more

Excellent local Hawaiian food. Kalua pork & cabbage, bbq chicken tasty and moist. Mac salad so good. Large portions and reasonably priced. We'd return next time! read more

My big group I'll ordered separately and we were all starving so I ended up not getting any pictures, but I still wanted to leave this place a good review because they deserve it. My daughter mentioned that it was her birthday when I was ordering, and they gave her a free little pink Jell-O cup, which was really cute. They also wished her a happy birthday and asked for her name and gave her a parting remark as well. The spam fried rice and orange chicken as well as some breakfast items and chicken Katsu and I say it was all very delicious. Pancakes were some of the best I've ever had. They were very thick and scrumptious. No one left any leftovers and we were all very grateful to have found such an affordable place to stop by for brunch. read more

Ive been going here since they opened and the staff and service is great. Admittedly I almost always order a fried fish burger deluxe with bacon. Its consistently amazing and very affordable. Today I ordered the BLT with cheese and onions and its just as good. Totally worth stopping here, they have a large local style menu and simple seating to enjoy your food. Call in order ahead to avoid the wait. read more

Kurtistown Cafe - BLT with cheese and onions. - Hawaiian Near Me - Kurtistown, Hawaii

Convieniently located at a gas station with a famous convenience store we pick up musubis at regularly. This cafe was pretty good with generous plate lunches. Ordered a pancake plate with generous slices of portuguese sausage and overeasy eggs and a nice big pancake at the bottom. Also ordered a korean chicken plate with side of mac salad. Korean chicken was really good. Usually order this at Zippy's but this is its own kind. The pancake plate was also good. Also ordered coffee and hot chocolate. The wait was a bit long as we came in as first customers in a while. 4 other groups came in after. About 20 to 25 minutes but felt shorter as we had some locals scrapping in the parking lot and getting cracks in that didn't escalate thankfully. We'll be back again to try your moco plate lunches! read more

Kurtistown cafe pleasantly surprised me!! I came here as I was trying to find food nearby Volcano in the afternoon. I saw it the night before when I went to 7 eleven, and didn't think much of it - but wow, the food was so good! My partner and I shared the Korean chicken with a side of rice & Mac salad. Everything was delicious! The chicken was flavorful and just the right texture. The Mac salad had a different flavor to it - perhaps a little more garlic? But we both loved it!! This isn't one of those inflated ratings based off a place's limited / convenient location either; we're from SoCal where there's plenty of options & Kurtistown food was still drool worthy. read more

Kurtistown Cafe - Korean chicken with rice & Mac salad - Hawaiian Near Me - Kurtistown, Hawaii

Drove down here after visiting the park. Heard about this sushi spot.. little did we know that they have separate hours from the rest of the cafe. So if you headed here for the sushi or poke... be aware of their separate hours read more

Kurtistown Cafe - Hawaiian Near Me - Kurtistown, Hawaii

What kind of Hawaiian food place runs out of rice? Haven't tried the food yet, and once I do, might update, but the wait here and the excuses given are lame. And so is the consolation prize... blue "jello" for waiting! Believe the reviews! The wait is AT LEAST 30 minutes. read more

Awesome local food. I'm picky with my loco moco, hamburger steak etc. Was so ono. Had breakfast also and pancakes fluffy and delicious. Everything was excellent!!! read more

Food was really good, young girl at the cash register was unpleasant, rude, and was not accommodating whatsoever. Kind of left a sour taste in my mouth, but luckily was recovered by the garlic chicken, good place, would check on that cashier though. read more

Ate the Ono plate in one visit and the. Smoke meat and mochiko chicken from the steam table on another visit. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. Even the jello dream was surprisingly light and sweet. If I lived in the Kurtistown, Mountain View or Volcano areas I would eat here every day. Amazing selections, tasty food and great service - for a good price. Go check them out! read more

We stopped here after visiting the volcanoes for much of the day. I had the mini BBQ chicken and hubby had the loco moco. Even with the mini, it was SO MUCH FOOD!! Hubby's regular loco moco had 2 full burgers! Lots of food for the money, and it was great too! Felt like a local place, and that's what we look for on vacation. Friendly staff. read more

We went to Kurtistown cafe on the way to the National Park and to be honest i didn't know what to expect since there a gas station right there.. didn't seem promising at all tbh. BUT I can definitely say this is by far the best poke experience we've had on the island so far, this first day we git the spicy ahi poke and the second day (yup we had to come back the very next day) we got the garlic shoyu and both were absolutely delicious! Customer services was great they were super nice and smiling, a great experience overall. Not gonna lie this deserve a lot more stars than other places we've tried around the island so far and seriously didnt have any flavor to the poke nor the rice, some 4-5 stars places gave us even hard rice. WILL DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE IF YOU'RE AROUND ! Thank you guys! read more

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A perfect stop for lunch either to or from between Hilo and Volcano National Park. The dishes are simple and simply delicious. The shoyu garlic chicken and the garlic ahi were excellent, and I'm sure I can safely assume that the rest of the menu items would be delicious as well. read more

Food too salty. Tastes like the ocean I ate there once and will never go back. Getting a bento from 7-11 was a whole lot better.

I ordered the bbq special. It was ono. Tender chicken with great sauce. And met the chef who gave me advice on steaks purchases. Mahalo braddah!!! read more

Stopped by after visiting Volcanoes National Park and it was the perfect spot to rest and eat. Portions of the food were great, I got a mini plate which was perfect for 1 serving and my husband got a kalua pig plate which tasted awesome. Nice seating areas and next to the gas station and 7-11. Highly recommend! read more

There is some new lady that is a complete jerk. They need to fire that new older lady that is completely rude to everyone. Why did they hire suck a jerk! The old staff was so nice and friendly. We wind go there anymore. Driving right by to L&L. Kurtistown was the local friendly spot. Now that new lady has ruined the place. She is a jerk she is rude. She does not belong. I miss the old Kurtistown Cafe. New staff sucks. Bring back the old crew. read more

The ahi handrolls are some of the best foods I've ever had on the entire island. The crunch from the cucumbers and onions, the freshness of the ahi, the umami from the sauce and creaminess of the avocado took me away to heaven. Their plate lunches are HUGE, affordable and delicious. I love how their mac salad isnt tooooo mayo-ee.. it's just right. Their garlic chicken is BOMB. I always get the mini sizes and I get supaaaa full, could barely finish. Top 5 favorite restaurants on big island easy read more

I was getting gas and saw this place with a decent amount of people inside so I parked. Luckily next to the lady who just got her to go order. I hurried trying to get out of my car to ask for suggestions. She said Koresn Chicken. Okay, I was sold. I went inside and asked if people to the left of the counter had already ordered. No. By count, there were 3-4 waiting to order. The counter dude looked overwhelmed. In fact, he was. He said of always happens to him where he's left alone and it gets busy. Anyways. I ordered mini Korean Chicken (1 scoop each of rice and mac salad) and Spam musubi. I was hungry; I came from the crater. I ate the musubi on my way back to Kona. It was dark and I don't know how it looked like or how thick the Spam was. It was good. There was nothing to complain about. I got to my hotel 2.5 hrs later and finally able to dig into my chicken. Picture first. It had the right amount of sweetness and spice. Just enough. It wasn't crunchy nor crispy anymore and it was all due to me. If I had eaten it right away, I was sure it would have been way better. I'd still order it again if given a chance. Mini was just the right amount of carbs. Both their mac salad and rice were good too. Counter dude was cool and his service, although seemingly frantic was attentive. read more

Kurtistown Cafe - Korean chicken - Hawaiian Near Me - Kurtistown, Hawaii

Typical Greasy Spoon best left to ordering something you're just wanting to fill your belly. Very simple meals. Straightforward - nothing fancy. The atmosphere is a basic small box with 5 tables. No real atmosphere. You just would go here when you have run out of options, yet not worry about food poisoning. If you are looking for atmosphere, go to Dimple Cheek just 10 minutes up the hill. Prices are reasonable here. The breakfast is like a small diner type place. Not bad. 4/5 read more

A bit of a greasy spoon. A local place staff was friendly place was ok looking but a bit dirty. Food was greasy and heavy so if you like that well then you will be in heaven. read more

Counterperson had a great demeanor and calmness about her especially handling customers waiting for their food while the kitchen was behind on their orders. I waited more than 15 minutes for my Hawaiian Plate. The portions were gigantic and everything tastes spot on for local food. I will have a meal for dinner tonight and probably breakfast tomorrow morning. Please note that if you like your Kalua Pork and laualau salty, make sure get extra salt. It is properly seasoned, but I always need a more salt. read more