While exploring Hilo we stopped at Hilo Iced Coffee, which operates out of a mobile truck and feels…read morevery much like a local staple. It is casual and no frills, but that is part of the charm. I ordered the ube iced latte and it was easily one of the prettiest drinks I had on the trip. The purple color is vibrant and eye catching without feeling gimmicky. More importantly, it tastes as good as it looks. It was lightly sweet, well balanced, and still very much coffee forward, not overly sugary like some flavored lattes can be. Service was quick and friendly, and it is the kind of spot that makes you slow down for a minute and just enjoy your drink. If you are on the Hilo side and want something a little different from your standard iced coffee order, the ube latte is absolutely worth trying.

The gals working were so sweet and professional! I asked if they could custom-make me an Ube Ice…read moreCoffee and they made it happen-- ONO!!!

Hilo's best kept secret tho I can't keep it a secret any longer!…read more FIrst stumbled upon Baumkuchen Farms 16 months ago when I visited the Big Island from Oahu... scouting where I would like to bring my college reunion group. They were gathering from places like Taiwan , Canada, the continental USA so betcha I wanted to show them only the best! Finding anything outside of downtown Hilo can be a challenge as WIFI gets a little sketch. Baumkuchen Farms is easy to find as they are marked on most Hilo (paper) maps. From the phone calls I made to the first welcome from Danielle who was on site to greet us on our scouting trip we felt welcomed. Danielle met us in the parking lot and guided us to the meeting place of the tour. She gave us a brief overview and showed us the bakery, the bathroom, the gift shop, before escorting us to "the hale" the meeting place under shade. Marcus, proprietor of the Farm with wife Maria, further told us about the rich history of the Baumkuchen estate as well as the products they baked and sold. Loved the tour of the farm where we saw vanilla beans growing in greenhouse, jurassic looking fruit trees and beautiful royal palms. A year later returned with my college friends who were absolutely impressed with the operation. We purchased baumkuchen cake, flavored cooking rock salts, other treats and of course ICE COLD drinks (in fact grabbed a few of these before the tour and after). And we enjoyed the tasty samples. In fact, have since seen these delectable morsels of Baumkuchen at Neiman Marcus in Honolulu at much higher price..! Still, nice to know where I can get more when I run out. Or, will have to take another trip to Hilo and Baumkuchen Farms! Thank you Maria, Marcus, Danielle for your hospitality. Visiting Baumkuchen at the Farm or Hilo Farmers Market is always a highlight on my Hilo trips!

Such a special place! Baumkuchen Farm is more than just…read moredelicious cake (though the Japanese-style baumkuchen is incredible, so soft and flavorful!). The whole experience is peaceful and welcoming. The free farm tour was informative, and the owners were genuinely kind, & love what they do. What a beautiful place to share. Their handcrafted island salt and signature cake make the perfect souvenirs... truly a piece of Hawai'i to take home. Beautiful spot, great people, and totally worth the visit!

I love malasadas and this place has the most unique ones I've ever had…read more My husband and I shared: - Mini Malasadas: Lilikoi Butter, Cream Cheese - Everything & Chive, Parmesan Truffle, Strawberry Shortcake, Ube Glaze, Haupia Glaze + Toasted Coconut - Ube Cream Soda Everything was fantastic. The Lilikoi Butter and the Parmesan Truffle were my favorites. I'd highly recommend checking this place out!

Parking around the building or in front of Kai store. Cute little food truck. We ordered 2 mini…read moremalasadas for $4 cash. The couple running it was kind.

I Stopped by Anuenue for a bagel and coffee and had a really nice experience. The atmosphere was…read morecalm and comfortable, making it a great spot to slow down for a bit. My coffee was fresh and tasted great, and the bagel hit the spot. I had the "Country Club" bagel. The staff were friendly and welcoming without being overbearing, which added to the laid-back vibe. It's the kind of place where you can enjoy a quiet morning, catch up on some work, or just relax for a few minutes before getting on with your day. Definitely a nice local café to stop into when you're looking for a good cup of coffee and a peaceful place to unwind

The decor looks great in there. The desserts look good too. Here we go now…read more.. Keep in mind I pay close attention to detail - The merchandise out in the front of the store needs to be taken better care of. Some of them aren't doing so good. - It honestly didn't smell pleasant in there. I'm not sure if it was just that day but it didn't smell nice that's for sure. - Walked in, only one other customer in there. Worker looks directly at me and stares like I'm an inconvenience. No greeting, no wave, not even a smile. We actually had to be the ones to smile and tell the employee "Hi!" - We walked up to the counter and still no hospitality of something like "how can I help you?" "First time here?" "How are you today?" Etc. - She uncomfortably stared at us as we looked at the menu. Not even looking at it for a solid 30 seconds and says "Let me know if you have questions" then walks away. -We did buy a single dessert because we were already there. After purchase there's no "Thank you" "Have a nice day" it seems like having business was a pain. - The utensils on the side aren't wrapped and all loosely in a container with the fork and spoons handle in first. To me that's unsanitary already, other people's hands are touching it. Dust will also definitely accumulate as old ones won't be switched out just keep getting more added in there. I'll give this place another chance but how our first trip went I'd really like to give it a 0/5. All in all we didn't feel welcomed in there.

The best shaved ice I've ever had…read more Food 5/5 The Lava Flow is absolutely to die for. The haupia cream and lilikoi butter at the top with the strawberry infused ice was like heaven. The textures were all there. Service 5/5 Standard, nothing special. Ambiance 3/5 Outdoor seating area for all of the restaurants in the area. It was pretty crowded and the area isn't that clean. There's also lots of horseflies.

We were visiting the farmers market, and we decided to do a smoothie bowl here. At first, I wanted…read moreto do the shaved ice, but the call of a smoothie bowl was too much to ignore. They have an amazing menu for shaved ice! They also have a great selection for smoothie bowls. I was honestly impressed for a shaved ice place to have so many options for smoothie bowls. Anyway, the employee who took our order was very nice and efficient. We even had substitutions we requested, and she was super cool and nice about it all. The tables allow you to people watch since the tables are right in front of the café and next to the farmers market. Also, little birds were very interested in the area and potential snacks, so that was cute to watch! Our smoothie bowls were excellent! Honestly, now that I'm back across the pond, I'm seriously craving another! Wonderful flavor combinations and very fresh. I wish I would've tried their other creations, but that just means something to look forward to for next time!

When a store is the only game in town for goods near a tourist entry point, one would expect/accept…read morehigh prices. Instead, Keaukaha General Store (within easy walking distance of the Port of Hilo) provided a great selection of sundries, some souvenirs of Hilo, and a small menu of Hawaiian favorite dishes at prices that were the lowest I've seen in Hawaii. My wife and I came here twice: first while walking into town, when we picked up souvenirs and an unexpected loco moco plate. It was a lot less crowded then, with us being the only ones there...allowing us to have a completely different experience. When we came back as we headed back towards the ship, other cruisers from the ship had discovered this place, and were stocking up on various things. It's a large modern space inside, with things organized displayed very neatly. There was no sense I needed to check for expiration dates. There was a portable ATM machine right by the door. A decent selection of alcohol at good prices were displayed (e.g. $8.81 for a bottle of Barefoot Cab or $18.99 for a 12 pack of Budweiser). I took the opportunity to get something I've not seen elsewhere: a bag of dried clams (aka Asari) for $4.19. Ended up finishing it that night...was really good. It has an all day menu, and was able to order a Loco Moco for breakfast. The all beef patty was very thick and dense, definitely from a frozen patty...good for Salisbury steak or Loco Moco, but wouldn't be great for a burger. The brown gravy was served hot and hadn't congealed, and the 1 egg had been cooked over easy, just as requested. It was obviously freshly made. It was packed to-go, with condiments and utensils available near the registers. There wasn't much space to eat inside, but because it wasn't too busy, found a space to sit in the back. I scarfed it down (probably too fast) while my wife finished her shopping. Also in the back, there are gourmet coffee machines and a chest freeze full of hand scoopable ice cream. There is a Pepsi self serve soda machine, along with various sizes of chips. My wife initially bought a couple of t-shirts as requested souvenirs for our travel mates ($25 a piece), and bought another one as we were heading back. On the 1st trip, she also liked a perfume body mist...the tester was the last one so the attendant sold it for half price ($14). For us, she bought a Hilo waterproof sticker for $2.75. And her favorite part of the store was the small portable Pokémon card machine, that dispensed random Japanese Pokémon cards for a quarter. She kept changing out dollars for quarters and ended up getting $5.75 of them...and a couple of them were hollos that we like. They do charge a 3.25% credit card fee, so cash is preferred when possible.

Located on the way to the Hilo beaches and in the industrial area. Here you'll find a small variety…read moreof hot foods, poke and tons of drinks and ice.

Came here for the first time today, was pleasantly surprised by the warmness of the kava tender…read moreSierrah , she does tarrot readings also! Was very impressed by the accuracy of the reading! Highly recomended if your in hilo with some time to kill

Stopped into Kava Republic on a whim and it was the perfect way to ease into the day after a hectic…read moremorning of travel. The environment inside was soothing and the employee helping us out was very accommodating. She offered us samples of the different kava available and ultimately I went with a combination of their fresh kava and kombucha. Their other kava option was too strong for me personally, tasting almost of tree bark? It caused my mouth to numb out more than I desired. I loved getting to chat with locals who came and went throughout the hour spent there.

I'm really glad I checked, the day I had planned to visit the shop downtown, what time they closed,…read moreand I'm glad I checked at 2:45, since the answer is: 3. I'm also glad I happened to be a couple blocks away at that time, cause it would've stunk if I'd missed out! They have a whole range of great chocolates, from 55-90 percent that were all great, a fantastic matcha chocolate, great dried fruit chocolates, and one very good, *very* spicy dark chocolate (I loved it enough to buy a bar, but much more so than most pepper chocolates I've had, it does *not* play around.) Definitely also loved that they had samples of basically everything they sell. Also loved, we learned, it was actually the chocolatier himself running the shop when we were there, so all our questions were being answered directly from the source. It also worked out in that they didn't actually *have* any bars of the spicy chocolate out, as he'd just made a new batch and hadn't packaged them yet, so when he learned we were leaving the next day, he pressed one for me right then and there! How's that for great service?

So glad we stumbled upon this little gem during our travels! The owners were so friendly and all…read morethe samples were delicious. Since it was hot and we were traveling by car, we opted for the cacao nibs and THEY ARE INCREDIBLE. We had them on ice cream paired with molten lava cake and I'm still thinking (drooling) about it. Lots of options for gifts and the staff will make great recommendations.