Ice Cream 5/5 Not usually what I go for but it was delicious and different! I ordered the Unicorn which is the ube & dragonfruit combo. They're more on the icier side than creamy. Service 5/5 Standard, nothing special. Ambiance 5/5 Indoor seating. We were the only customers so it was a nice peaceful treat for us. It was raining that day and humid so my ice cream was melting faster than I could eat lol. read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Ice cream was great as expected which this place is known for. I prefer the ube one. The staff was really nice and she helped adjust a coffee that we ordered. I'd recommend getting coffee elsewhere- the cold brew is a bit watered down. Small seating inside but super close to other stores so a great stop after a meal! read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Unicorn ice cream in a cup - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

I came around 1pm on a Wednesday and there was a very short line. The restaurant is pretty big, so we were able to get a table. We tried the passion bomb smoothie and it was very refreshing and not too sweet. It was a nice way to cool off, but it was a little expensive. read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - passion bomb - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

OMGEEEEE!! This UBE smoothie was to die for!! It was everything I wanted! My bf got the crazy monster cookie açaí bowl and that thing had him locked in for a min! He was completely lost in it! The shop was fun we played on the human size connect four while we waited (which wasn't long?!) only managed to squeeze in one quick game! We loved the fun interior and appreciated the aloha vibe the min you walked in! This is def a must when visiting Hilo! read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Legendary UBE Smoothie (no whip) - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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I recommend the ice cream and the açai bowl, the smoothie and coffee probably aren't the best choice for here. read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Ube smoothie - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Absolutely loved the absence of dairy in so many menu items, although the carb count must be through the roof! I ordered an aloha bowl loaded with fruit, sprinkled with coconut, and decorated with a cute, little umbrella. A bit more sugar than I would normally consume, but definitely delicious. This is a wonderful, relaxing place for a cool treat on a humid Hilo day (pretty much every day)! The inside is decorated local-style, with tribal tattoo and kapa patterns, and murals with bright colors. There is seating both inside and out, although outdoor seating is very limited, and it rains! Service was pretty good - there were only two people working, so a 5-10 minute wait for our bowls wasn't a problem. We managed to get there when there wasn't a line (midafternoon). Pricier than ordering at Jamba, but supporting local independents is worth the trade off. read more

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Street parking only but found parking no problem. Inside is cutely decorated. Service was fast & friendly. I got the unicorn which was the dragon fruit & ube soft serve with sprinkles. So tasty! read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Unicorn - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Super instagrammable spot whose frozen treat lives up to the hype! I love the unicorn combination of soft serve. It swirls both the ube and dragon fruit flavours. Dragon fruit isn't the most bold natural flavour, but in this sorbet, it is bright and tart. The ube itself has enough flavour and a creamier texture. The contrast between the two makes it an unlikely pairing, but fun to eat The kid size is way generous and more than enough for an adult There was only one lady working there, and in between taking our orders, making them, and answering the phone, it was a little chaotic and slow. She wasn't sure whether all the toppings were available and had to run back and forth multiple times to check on it read more

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Delicious Ube and Dragonfruit soft serve! Had it in a pineapple cup which we then picked at after finishing the soft serve. So tasty! Some sprinkles for the aesthetic :) read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Unicorn soft serve in a pineapple cup with sprinkles - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Amazing!!!!! The dragonfruit soft serve was soooooo good, light, and fresh!!! Def recommend if you're in the area read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Dragon fruit soft serve - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Açai Bowl in Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii... Between meals, sometimes you just want a snack or something to drink. My friend and I searched for a cute place on our Yelp apps and found Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack. Yes, the decor was colorful and kawaii! We found easy, free street parking on a Monday afternoon and walked into the cozy shop. It was a bit warm since the doors were left open. We did appreciate the convenient restroom! I got a small açai bowl, and my friend got the most popular smoothie: Hawaiian Heaven, which had added ginger and turmeric for $1 more. She really wanted me to taste it, but it was a definite pass for me. Those are not my favorite flavors! She seemed to like it... LOL! My Aloha Bowl açai bowl was just right! I wasn't stuffed, and it wasn't hungry anymore. It felt healthy with the fresh fruits! I'd return if I was in the area again! read more

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I was so excited to come here but hmm I guess it didn't match my expecations. I got the unicorn swirl but unfortunately the machine was broken so it wasn't swirly. I was warned about ti and it didn't really affect the flavor. But as for the flavor, it was okay. read more

New owners just took over and they are the best! So kind and friendly! One of the best Açaí bowls I've had! So fresh and delicious!!! Highly, highly recommend!!! You will not be disappointed!!! read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Sitting area!!! So clean and fun! - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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The cutest Açai & Soft Serve Spot in Hilo with SO many dairy free options. We ordered the dragonfruit soft serve in a pineapple with fruit as a topping and it completely lived up to the hype! This thing came out huge and was so delicious & refreshing. The staff was friendly and the line was long, but worth the wait. There are several seating options inside and out front. So glad that we stopped by! read more

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Yummy, cold and refreshing treats in downtown Hilo. We easily found free street parking in front however there is also a for fee parking lot directly across the street. Reason for 4 stars is the service. A group of 4 was waiting ahead of us to order. The two employees were talking to each other clearly about something that was not business related. We all waited so long that the group of 4 became impatient and left. read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Sign hanging in front. - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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we got the aloha acai bowl ($15) topped with the unicorn ube/dragonfruit swirl soft serve ($4) and it was delicious. definitely one to share because it's pretty sweet and hefty read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - aloha bowl with unicorn soft serve - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Shoutout to the only girl working when my group of 20+ people came in to order! She was super friendly and working hard to get our orders made quickly. I love Makani's magic, and the unicorn flavor in a kids cup was the perfect refreshing treat for a hot Hilo day. The ube flavor is pretty strong, but I like how it uses a pineapple base. There's not many places to sit inside, but I love the very local pineapple shack vibes the place gives. read more

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Very yummy açaí bowls here! Love the coastal, Hawaiian atmosphere! Very quickly made and delivered by the staff. Very well done.

Hands down, great experience with amazing food, friendly service and energetic/fun ambiance. A must stop if ever in Hilo town. Not the cheapest place, but definitely worth the splurge. read more

"Ice Ice Baby" - song by Vanilla Ice We were here 3 years ago. I wanted to skip this place but my son INSISTED. We walked through the deserted Hilo town on Friday the 13th around 11 AM from the Farmer's Market area to Makani's to make the short trek, which was not totally uneventful, except for the fact there was a shady man eyeing my purse and started to pursue me and my son, presumably looking to rob us. We sped up our pace and so did he. We got so spooked we walked into a Japanese fabric shop to drop the guy, which we did. The shop owner did not greet us, he must be used to tourists like us doing this all the time to dodge would-be robbers. We made it to Makani's. The guy inside didn't greet us either, kind of waited on us to order but it was OK because he was pretty nice. I was here 3 years ago and the girl on the phone hung up on me after I said "thank you" but remember, you are here for the FOOD, not the SERVICE. UNICORN "Keiki" Cone: $6.00 I asked for a small keiki, or child's cone because I didn't think I could eat a large one, I was right for the wrong reasons. The cone was sour, not sweet and creamy, more like a sorbet than an ice cream. I was actually glad because I'd rather do sour than too sweet. COOKIE MONSTER ACAI BOWL: $14.00 I was rather large, glad we got the small size. My son couldn't finish it because it was a lot, but we did just get here after eating at Ken's House of Pancakes for breakfast. RETURN FACTOR: Not if we have to dodge shady people to get here. Maybe we will drive up directly in front next time. read more

On our search for the best açaí bowl in Hilo, we stopped in to Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack. We got both the acai soft serve and an acai bowl. The soft serve is creamy, which takes away a little from the tang of the berries, but a nice twist on the basic acai bowl. It was a little disappointing, however, that the actual acai bowl tasted exactly the same as the soft serve -- the only difference is that it was topped with fruits. We were expecting two different things that we could share, but ended up with essentially two of the same things. It is also more expensive than other places around, so I'm not entirely sure it was worth it. read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Acai soft serve - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

A simple shop in town, with smoothies and açaí bowls. Repeatedly, this trip taught me that: 1. Non-English white people do not tip, and are extremely rude. 2. Cruise ship passengers expect the world to revolve around them. Seriously, how are you going to rush food orders? If you don't have time, don't make the order. The dude was plenty fast for us, cranking out a smoothie and my açaí bowl. It was delicious, and just what my cranky ass needed. read more

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I got lured in by the photos, and I wasn't disappointed. We street parked across from it, and quickly ran in. The long line went pretty quickly. We ordered the unicone, which is ube and dragonfruit softserve swirl in a waffle cone with sprinkles on top. The ube flavor is delicious, but it was easily overpowered by the dragonfruit soft serve. At first glance, I was expecting it to be really sweet, especially with all the sprinkles. Surprisingly, the dragonfruit was very tart, so I loved it, but I could hardly taste the ube. I think the ube alone would have been delicious too. read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Unicone - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Fun place in Hilo! so many options and all great flavors. prices were good and service was very friendly read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Such a fun place! - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

I guess you can say from my the different times I went in there my experience has always been different. Saturday was something else though! There was a girl FaceTiming outside on one of the tables and when I walked in there was no one to help me. The girl FaceTiming came in, never once stopped her FaceTime & begrudgingly asked me what I wanted. She told whoever she was FaceTiming with that she just had to make a coffee. She walked out before I was even done paying. Back to the table outside and back to her FaceTime. Idk why I tipped her. That was a horrible experience. The coffee was not even worth it and the floors were so dirty! read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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The açaí was very good and fruit was so fresh and sweet! The portion sizes were enough for two people. It was quick service.

Had to make a quick stop here for some delicious Island smoothies & Pineapple Dole Whip! #hawaiilife #dolewhip read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Delicious Dole Pineapple Whip! - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Amazing soft serve. Uber and Acai were delicious. Highly recommend for dessert. Zzzzz

This place is not what I expected...the saddest acia bowl, soft serve and smoothie place in all of Hawaii...sorry it's not worth the money nor the time. Spent $14 on the "aloha bowl" with whiling adding Peanut Butter for an additional $1...this bowl was not so "Aloha" it was more of a let down...trying to support local Hawaiian business and this is a sad sad let down! I would have rather have gone to a franchise and spent a few more dollars then go here! Besides serving the saddest "aloha bowl" The place is dirty, unkept, walls have old writing on them covered up by extra large photos of items you think you're ordering, flooring looks like it hasn't been mopped with disinfectant since opening...gross! Now look at my pictures and look at the ones on the wall...owners need to do some revamping and cleanup read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Sad sad Aloha bowl with peanut butter dressing... - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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I got an aloha bowl and the presentation was really cute. I know it's Hawaii but it had a little too much pineapple that my mouth was weird. It was good overall though. read more

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I'm so glad that we made time to stop by Makani's when we briefly visited Hilo. I loved my dairyfree dragonfruit ice cream. Refreshing and flavorful. And very eye-catching, too! Service was friendly and patient. Seating: They have a few tables and stools along the wall facing out to the street. There are also a few tables on the sidewalk. I think this business has been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives before. Any media coverage is well deserved. Quality offerings and pleasant staff are a winning combo. read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Dragonfruit ice cream - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

What a cute little gem we stumbled upon as we explored downtown Hilo. For first timers trying to escape the humidity, all we wanted was a nice pineapple dole whip and that's when we saw this pineapple shack, so we had to stop by! They just opened their doors so everything was still starting up and things were still prepping, so we waited quite a bit for our pineapple soft serve. I was sad that the unicorn flavor wasn't working so I opted for the açaí! Definitely hit the spot, a little more icy than what I am use too. It could have been an off day, but as always... I will be back haha :) read more

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We loved all of our yummy frozen treats, the inside was a cool vibe. Very clean! We would definitely go again. read more

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Extremely magical place! The ambiance is relaxed Hawaiian with the opportunity for small groups. Could use some updates but it gives well still. Plenty of options on the menu. Went with the Ube Swirl plus Boba - just amazing. Couldn't eat it fast enough with all the flavor bursts and complementary sweetness! Very fun desserts - great for kids or smoothie stop post exercise! read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Ube + Boba - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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My wife had been bugging me to go every time we visit Hilo; it seemed it was either closed or too crowded. We happened by here mid afternoon after golfing at the muni and finally got to try it. I had the Legendary UBE, nui shake. Ube is purple yam, and makes desserts pop. And it did - had to resist sucking the whole thing down in a minute. My son, ever the adventurer, got the Nui Cookie Monster - and it was monstrous! And delicious. Wife enjoyed her Passion Bomb Li'Ili'i, it was pretty tart and beautiful. The place is cramped, we were lucky to get to sit at the surfboard table. Cute island decor. Its expensive. After tax/generous tip I was near $50. The drawback - all served in earth-killing plastic. So that loses a star. read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Wall menu - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

I saw this place on TikTok and decided to go here. My boyfriend and I, we ordered the house-made soft serve ice cream with unicorn flavor and in a pineapple bowl. The pineapple bowl was just for decoration, unless you want to scrap the freeze pineapple at the bottom. So, I do not think it's worth adding the $3. However, it was really good! The ube part was so good! We got it with the fruits topping. Fruits were so fresh. The service was quick and she was nice. The inside was so vibey. We came when it was almost close, everything was so clean. I would totally come back here if I went back. read more

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I visited Makani's during vacation on Big Island. I was primarily drawn in by online photos from customers of the delicious smoothie bowls. As soon as I entered, the beautiful wall art and decor immediately caught my attention. I was immediately greeted and offered help by the owner. The selection of items is listed very clearly on the wall next to the ordering register. The menu offers a great variety of smoothies, açaí bowls, soft serve, and cold brew. I originally planned on an açaí bowl, but the Ube Soft Serve had me sold. The owner informed me that any of the açaí bowls could have the bases changed to soft serve or pitaya. I opted in for the Aloha Açaí Bowl, but subbed the açaí for the ube soft serve. I really enjoyed the ube soft serve base more than I had anticipated. The toppings added nice texture contrast and complemented the ube flavor very well. Each element of the dessert was clearly fresh and very high quality. Makani's is an excellent choice for a sweet treat in Hilo; my only regret is not being able to try more of the menu. read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Aloha Bowl with Ube Soft Serve base - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Cute ice cream, smoothie, and açaí bowl shack. Appears to be locally owned per the written info I saw in the store. They offer pineapples to put your ice cream in which is neat. However, I think they should offer more sweet toppings for the ice cream. The sprinkles are an extra $1 and as you can see from my photo, there isn't much. I asked the guy if I could buy some chocolate chip cookie dough to put on my ice cream since this comes with the açaí bowls, but he said I'd have to buy an entire bowl which ranges from $14-19. No thanks. I'd rather have more options for toppings. My friends got the açaí bowls- both flavors. They seemed decently stacked with toppings. Unsure if the pricing is appropriate because I don't know the competitors pricing for the same bowl. There is a decent amount of seating, as well as street parking. However, this seems to be a busy road so prepare to possibly make a few circles to park. Also, they have a bathroom. Overall cleanliness 3/5, flavors 4/5, customer service 3/5. read more

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Açaí bowl comes from a soft serve machine so it's creamy. The fruit that it was topped with was ripe and sweet. Granola was good and just the perfect amount. Just a heads up, the pineapple bowls are frozen solid and aren't edible. One star removed because it's in the sketchiest area. Parking is street parking, but there was plenty when I went on a Saturday afternoon. read more

Makani's Magic Pineapple Shack - Large Açaí - Juice Bars & Smoothies Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Visited this place again a few years since I last was in Hawaii (before the pandemic). Happy to see this place still in business and very popular. It does appear that they have downsized on their menu considerably. It used to be a huge selection of different acai bowl creations, smoothies and drinks, and ice cream sandwiches. But it seems to have been reduced to a few select options of items. They were out of the toppings for the acai bowl (it was 4:00pm) so I got the unicone, and it was amazing like I remembered. The dragonfruit soft serve has real dragonfruit in it (as evidenced by the seeds) and the flavor is fantastic. The ube soft serve was also tasty and paired so well with the dragonfruit. Hope to come back and try the acai bowl sometime! read more