Lani R.

Everything about Lehua is welcoming and inviting. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly. The food is perfectly curated and so fresh. This is one of our favorite restaurants to eat at. Also the chilli pepper water is top knotch.

Mang Y.

Dinner at Le Hua was charming yet unpretentious. Gentle Hawaiian music by a guitarist decorated the air with warmth. Calamansi Margarita (Camarena with calamansi sour) was a potent mix, rimmed with black lava salt. Fried Kalo very irresistible: Crisp taro cubes with chili oil, topped with herbs and pickled onion, all beautifully presented. Our favorite of the evening. Crab Dynamite (Garlic rice, yuzu sweet chili, unagi) almost overflowing in its small skillet: was rather sweet but fabulous when enveloped by saltiness of nori sheets. We found crudo with ahi very fresh-tasting and the best ahi dish we had on this trip. Strawberry puff pastry was the lone letdown: the pastry seemed to have been made in advanced and missing the typical dessert's freshness and cohesiveness.

Mike S.

For the money, I felt the experience could have been a notch better across the board. Our waitress was great but as we dined at 5pm there wasn't much going on either. By 6, the place was filled and a nice guy was playing single guitar Hawaiian songs without being intrusive with volume. As noted by others, finding this place was a challenge. There definitely needs to be more street signage directing to the location and appropriate parking. I had to loop around several times before just guessing where to park legally. A small drink menu, we tried the Ali'i Mai Tai. The description promised a special experience but turned out not to be particularly tasteful or potent. Changed over to wine; again not much of a list. Had the New Zealand mussels and they were great! Each shell opened and the meats were good sized. Went then to the chef's special entree of Mahi Mahi with a great mixture of sauces and vegetables. Very tasty. Look forward to visiting again!

sharon t.

The food and service were great. I ordered a Mai Tai. It was very different from what I'm used to... it was less sweet but still potent and tasty. I would order it again. Just don't expect it to taste like a sweet Mai Tai. For lunch we ordered the fried kalo. It was delish!! It was served in chunks. Coated and deep fried then had a garlic chili oil and fresh herbs! I didn't know if I would like it, because I'm not a fan of poi. But this appetizer was great!! I had a hard time not scarfing it all down. It really tasted like fried potato chunks with the oil and herbs. Then we got a hamburger which we shared. It was perfectly cooked and very yummy. Served with French fries and ketchup. Then we ordered the salted carmel Mac pie which we requested to go since we were both full from the meal. Overall a great lunch!

Leona T.

Sat at the bar with my beautiful niece on a Monday night. They didn't answer the phone earlier for reservations but they took us right away. The service from the Hostess and Bartender was just amazing. No high makamaka attitude here! Super friendly and helpful. They had really good live music from a solo artist, playlist on point. Food was beyond my expectations as well! The calamari and pork appetizer are a MUST!

Haley F.

Our fave place to go for a more upscale date night dinner! Located at Imiloa, Lehua's provides a lovely atmosphere filled with warm ambience and local music with live performance. Menu is on the smaller side but they're all hits! Their specials are also always creative, the staff do a great job at describing the dishes and give great recommendations as well. If you're stuck on deciding a starter, highly recommend the tinono and crab dynamite skillet. Large party? Can't go wrong with the whole fish, we loved the fresh watercress. Finally tried the lamb recently, melt in your mouth goodness.

Gordon C.

The staff were excellent and attentive. music in the background, clean environment. the food was great, we liked the fried taro and kimchi hamburger very much, tried the mai tai it was very pineapple forward or yummy.

Superb local food in a relaxed and beautiful environment. We had the day's soup - Portuguese pork and bean - and the day's fish. Portion sizes were perfect for a healthy meal, and everything tasted extremely fresh and good. Service is fast and attentive too. I'd recommend this as a must-visit in Hilo

Melody D.

Lehua is a nice option for dining in Hilo. The location is a little away from the main part of town, but really easy to get to with plenty of parking. The service is polite and attentive and the staff is friendly. The food is good, and some of the dishes could use a little refining. I recommend whatever the fish special is. I have never been disappointed when I have ordered this. I like to order both their Gyoza Ravioli and Calamari appetizers when I dine here. The calamari can sometimes be overdressed, but I just scrape off the excess sauce when needed. The pasta is my least favorite dish. It does not have much flavor and was oily when I ordered it. This dish could be improved. I appreciate that they have live music after 6:00pm and it's always been tasteful and beautiful. It really is a nice experience and I recommend trying it out.

Review N.

It was follow the map and see where we end up! Let's just say we thought we was lost at first, but follow the road and you'll end up at the cutest little restaurant! As soon as you walk in your greeted, the place is beautiful with some live music going! We order the poke hoard to start!! 10/10 It had spicy poke, fresh poke!!! Kim chi crab, super juicy, and the pipikaula so yummy!!! Ribeye- 10/10 cooked perfectly to temperature, served on a bed of mash potatoes and asparagus.. We also got the fried fish!! It was huge, served so pretty with veggies. 10/10 there was absolutely nothing left of that fishy!! From. Walking in, to being seated, to taking our orders, to serving us EVERYTHING and EVERYONE was just AWESOME!! We are definitely coming back!

Jake N.

Walking away from the meal at Lehua, the main descriptor of the meal would be too expensive for the quality of food. The food ranged from delicious to terrible to just bizarre. Firstly they are playing live music which is lovely except when it's too loud so you can't hear anybody you're talking to at the table. The most bizarre things we are were the appetizers. We had the gyoza ravioli which is bizarre as a starter because it is just one ravioli. Why would you make an appetizer one ravioli? Sure it's big enough to cut and share but that's a terrible item to share because now you have to cut it up and divvy it out. The ravioli was good but it was such a pain to serve it fell apart as I was eating it. Next up was the mussels cataplana which had such a delicious sauce it rested it. Too bad there aren't enough mussels to supplement eating the stew. And it's way too hard to serve the stew when you just have a plate. The best way to eat it is with some bread as our waitress told us which I agree but it isn't served with bread. We had to ask our waitress for another round of bread for this. The dish should just be served with bread and maybe some harder bread as well. We shared the ohana style fresh whole fish fried and it was pretty good. The fish tasted fairly good but the highlight was the Hawaiian water they offered with the meal. It was a spicy sauce that definitely helped improve the fish's flavor. The worst was the fresh catch we got which was some ono. This fish was the most overcooked and dry fish I have ever been served. The severe lack of sauce made this a dry, unflavored, mess of a dish. Desserts were adventurous and delicious. The kulolo lumpia wasn't something I'd ever had before but the mix of the hot kalo and the ice cream was delicious. The look of the dish was much less appetizing as it looks like just some goo. The macnut chess pie was much more approachable and also good. Had this been a meal costing about $20-30 a person I wouldn't be so outrageous but the worst fish I've ever had was $38. The meal came closer to $40-50 a person and for that price you expect great food. I see the vision in some of the dishes but some of the failures are too much to recommend this place.

Armond H.

One of the better restaurants in the Big Island located in Hilo. Nice ambiance semi formal with Hawaiian vibe live music very modern. Best Mai Tai ! The food was very good the service as well. The ribs were delicious. They offer crispy fried whole fish.

Helen H.

TLDR: A quick search told us Lehua might be one of the best restaurants in Hilo right now and we were pleasantly surprised by our experience. Dishes were unique, food was tasty, and portion sizes were reasonable. Highly recommend the fresh whole fish and the tinono. ------ FOOD: 1. Fresh whole fish (5/5): We got one of the snappers, deep-fried (just using oil, no breading). Came with a large, well-dressed salad and 3 banchan on the side (tasty, though very small servings). Fish was delicious (beware of bones) and the whole thing could easily feed 2-4. 2. Tinono (5/5): Really liked the acidity of this dish. Overall was packed with flavor and went very well with rice. Pork was ever-so-slightly chewy but I kind of liked the texture of the charbroiled meat. 3. Short Ribs (4/5): Meat was tender, rice was soft, flavor was good. Felt like an upscale loco moco, though felt like the rice to meat / egg ratio was a little off. 4. Macadamia Nut Chess Pie (4/5): Tasted just like a pecan pie but with a slight macadamia nut flavor. Was delicious but was too sweet for me and wish the crust was a little more buttery and less grainy. Whipped cream was light and wonderful. ------ SERVICE: * Really liked our server! Overall had great and efficient service. * Easy reservations online through Resy. Lots of availability so was able to reserve day of. ------ ENVIRONMENT / AMBIANCE: * Nice ambiance but I wouldn't call it "upscale". Live music added to the atmosphere but made everything feel more casual. * Cool that this was in an astronomy center but you wouldn't know it inside the restaurant. Felt pretty standalone, which is totally fine. * No views from the panoramic windows, but they decorated the restaurant to feel more festive.