Fantastic plate lunch. Nothing fancy but the food was delicious and the owners were incredibly friendly. I would 100% go back if we were passing through again! read more

Sandy's Drive In - Chicken katsu plate and curry plate - Hawaiian Near Me - Kealakekua, Hawaii

After 50+ years, some things haven't changed, but other things have evolved over time... The original place used to be on the "makai" (ocean side) of the parking lot, a place to buy burgers, fries, "green river", few types of plate lunches, ice cream... things like that. Had a few arcade games in the back, and we sat in these formica booths. A perfect after-school place to go, or place to stop by after the beach on the weekends. Later, they relocated to the bigger and current location next to the roadside. At first there used to have a few arcade games, but now I noticed those have disappeared! :( The menu looks the same on those old style boards, and some items are what I used to remember. But Sandy (I'm told the original Sandy still works in the back kitchen sometimes) has tweaked the menu so that you can still buy the same burgers and plate lunches, but some new items have appearedin the New Items section of the menu! Had the teri (meat) burger deluxe and bulgogi fries, and they were thumbs up! Brother had the Loco Moco plate and was thumbs up as well. So I will definitely add this place to my list of Kona places to stop by, to help bring back some nostalgic memories growing up in Kona! read more

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Last couple of times I went there their Mac salad was different. It had a lot of black pepper and didn't taste the same at all. I was so disappointed. But the most disappointing is their hours!!! What kind of hours is that? I always pass by but bever during their business hours. And only few days a week too. So bummed. read more

Nice small place. The owner Sandy went to school with my late uncle. My cousin and I went for a visit, but next time will get some grub there. read more

I love their nishime and bulgogi fries! Only I wish that the nishime was on their daily menu. Sadly, it's a special.

Sadly, it is not good here. I so wanted it to be good. Old, overcooked, dry, flavorless fried chicken, bland mac, rice. Everything on the plate lacked flavor and just looked ugly. I don't know, maybe it was good by 1966 standards but I doubt that. read more

First of all, I disagree with the Yelp 3.5 stars. They surely deserve 4 or 4.5 stars. This place is hidden gem for local comfort food. My two picky kids loved their fried chicken and white rice. I really liked their chicken too. They didn't over cook like the Californian's. And their macaroni salad is so delicious, you won't stop licking the utensils. And they have the best Lilikoi soda float. I would totally bring my kids to this place again . Let me not forget, they have awesome customer service and plenty of parking. read more

Bulgogi fries are delicious! Friendly staff. Prices are reasonable. It feels as if you have stepped back into time love the ambiance.

We stopped for breakfast before starting our drive around the island. We ordered a bento breakfast box, omelet, hot cakes, and breakfast plate with eggs, bacon and toast. Everything was tasty and the staff was super friendly. Hot cakes were everyone's favorite- huge portion! While we waited for our food to go, the lady working the front gave my kids some paper cranes- and they loved them. read more

Solid local comfort food. Classic diner. Sweet potato tempura for $1.50? Oh yeah! Cops like it too, so you are always safe at Sandy's. Right next to the laundromat so you can clean your clothes while you grind. Also old-school video games. Bring quarters! read more

I grew up in Kona and remembered Sandy's as a traditional drive in with burgers, fries, chili and plate lunches. Nothing that really stood out, to be honest. Well, a few months ago (twenty plus years later), I have just happily 'rediscovered' them. Over the past few months, I have been able to order my parents all of their favorite comfort foods from the past- cone sushi, maki sushi, an amazing pupu platter (Halloween special filled with old school favorites like lumpia, spam musubi, boiled peanuts, wonton), nishime, Chinese chicken salad with won ton chips, somen salad, etc. In my opinion, no one else is producing this type of food in Kona, and at this quality. My parents have have been THRLLED, and so am I! Prices, taste, quality and portions are great, and it's a longtime locally-owned, family-run business...they take advance orders over the phone or via FB messenger...so what's not to love? If you want to feel nostalgia for the 'hanabata days,' this is the place to visit. Sandy's has reinvented itself and in my opinion- they are nailing it. We will be back...regularly! read more

their plate lunches are bomb..!! especially chicken katsu & hamburger steak.. oh..?bacon & egg sandwich too..! read more

We came here in a recommendation that the donuts are better than Leonard's (not so but still yummy for this island). The place is run down like in the country but the donuts were yummy hot and delicious. They were 60 cents each. We order two but we got three that was nice of them or maybe the pricing is 3 I don't know for sure. read more

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For an inexpensive plate lunch, Sandy's is a pretty good choice off the Mamalahoa highway south. We went with the 2 specials of the day, the beef stew & the sweet & sour pork ribs. Both come with chunks of vegetables and scoops of white rice & potato-mac salad. My son went with the Bento Box lunch with Teriyaki Beef, Chicken Wings & a Fried Ahi Filet over rice. It was a pretty quiet lunch with not a spoken word as we stuffed our faces. And what evil genius created the Bulgogi Fries?! It's an unholy union like a Reese's peanut butter cup or Penn & Teller. Start with nothing-to-write-home-about crinkle-cut french fries, but then jazz it up with pieces of beef bulgogi drizzled with spicy mayonnaise and scallions. It's diabolical, I tell ya!! It could be a meal unto itself or a means to take over the world! read more

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On the road again........and this time my adventures find me in the Kailua-Kona & Kealakekua area today. I was hoping to drop by at one of my favorite restaurants (Sam Choys) in the Keauhou shopping center for lunch today, but sometimes things don't go the way you wish, so you just gotta go wid' da flow..........sigh. So I ended up just hangin' around in the Kealakekua area. It was 12:30 PM already, and I hadn't had anything to eat since I got up at 4:30 AM. Thank goodness for the free coffee in the Hawaiian Airlines lounge, otherwise I guess I would just be eating air! I was so hungry, yet I was kinda disappointed because I knew I couldn't make it to Sams. So driving around in the Kealakekua area, and I found myself at Sandy's Drive In. Sandy's is a local style plate lunch place. They have a very small menu, and I noticed a lot of the items were of the "fried" nature. Hey man...........if you're looking for something healthy, then don't bother to step into this place, cuz when you throw down a "fried" plate lunch of something........you know you'll be pickin' up some calories! I don't know about you folks, but when you are so hungry..........when you finally get to eat, normally no matter how crappy the food is, it taste GREAT!!!! But in my case............it was kinda bleh! :( For my lunch today, I ordered a two item combo plate ($9.32 with tax), and my two item combo plate consisted of the following item - 1. Fried Chicken 2. Teri Beef 3. Brown Rice 4. Toss Salad. Yes, they serve regular white rice, but I like brown rice. And yes, they do serve mac salad, but you know me..........I just hate mayonnaise, so toss salad is a given for me. About the grub..........well, the fried chicken was little wing & drumettes. The fried chicken was very dry & over cooked, meat was kinda on the hard side, and it was kinda bland tasting. But of course since they are serving little wings & drumettes, I guess it could be easily over cooked. The teri beef was just okay.........but I've tasted way better marinades, and softer meat. This is a small mom & pop local plate lunch kinda place, so you walk in and order, then find a place to sit. They call you when your food is ready, then you pick it up, and sit down. There is no wait service here............ What I did find interesting about this place, was that they served some very unique items on their small menu. A few items I found interesting was the - 1. Bulgogi Fries 2. Luau Fries 3. Orange Whip 4. Lilikoi Soda Well, maybe I just picked the wrong items to eat today.........maybe if there's a next time for this place, I will pick a few items that is more suitable to my taste? Lots of free parking in the private parking lot, but the lot is shared with other businesses. read more

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We walked in to see the menu, as there is nothing outside or on the window. We didn't see anything we wanted, and the air was filled with the smell of rancid oil. We politely turned and started to walk out while an angry voice came from the other side of the counter. "Thanks a lot! Enjoy the rest of your trip". Wow! Very Scary. read more

Delicious little local spot! Food came out quick and fresh. Donuts were nice and warm. Would definitely take time again to stop here while site seeing! read more

Classic drive in style diner for 53 years, friendly and efficient staff. Cheap good food, a few vegetarian options. Plenty local Hawaiian favorites for savory dishes as well. Popular on the menu is the orange whip and fresh donuts. They also offer other sweets, maki sushi, sweet potato tempura. Next to a laundromat for those who want to eat while they do laundry. read more

Sandy's Drive In - Menu - Hawaiian Near Me - Kealakekua, Hawaii

Great hand pattied burgers. Try the Laua Fries and Lilikoi shake for local unique and delicious grindz. Prices are super low for here. Don't let the 1950s look deter you and your ohana. read more

Health nuts stay away from this place. I promise you will NOT have a good time. Do us all a favor and just keep driving if you're on the Kona side. Sandy's IS NOT for those who want to diet, unless that diet is a diet soda. This is a place for those who want a classic taste of Hawai'i's hometown comfort foods and aren't counting carbs or calories because THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT GOOD! This local dive is an excellent example of the result of the melting and blending of Hawai'i's cultures and a smorgasbord of "comforting" eats. Sandy's is a blend of the old and new Hawai'i. It's menu, while common across the island chain, showcases the best (and worst, depending how you look at it) of what "Hawaiian" comfort food is and will continue to be. It's famous teriyaki beef and shrimp tempura combo is awesome. As is Sandy's Bulgogi Fries. Yes. Bulgogi. Korean style beef (which is actually their teriyaki meat), placed atop a mound of extra extra crispy crinkle-cut fries, sprinkled with green onions, and finished with a drizzle of their spicy mayonnaise-based sauce. Which brings me to my next point. The food is for comfort. COMFORT. It's also for if you're going to work the fields maintaining/picking/processing coffee. It is not, in any way that healthy for you. While that sounds like a bad thing, IT'S NOT! We have enough "healthy" options for dining don't you think yelp? If you need an example of what I mean...look above. Bulgogi fries. Beef Teriyaki. Shrimp Tempura. Katsu. Curry. Fried anything. That's pretty much what you will have to expect when you dine here. Don't expect anything more. Lastly, I am happy that a place Sandy's exists at least somewhere on the Hawaiian Island chain. We NEED these places to stay open! So what if they don't promote health. Scratch that. Sandy's does promote health. It keeps the SOUL healthy. The SOUL. We need that sometimes. read more

This place rocks! And they open early too! I wanted to have a good plate lunch for breakfast and drove up to try this place. My logic was you can't go wrong with a local drive-inn which opens early, right?! And right I was! Large parking lot located off of Mamalahoa Avenue in Kealakekua, first impressions counted, definitely! Brought me back to the hanabata days when we would run from school, under the freeway to Jumbo's and order a Chicken Katsu plate lunch for our school field trips! The menu here was similar, in fact, and yes, they had Chicken Katsu! The friendly counter girl was quick to take my order and patient with me when I couldn't decide (because my one stomach always wants to eat 3 meals at a new place)! Of course I landed on the Chicken Katsu plate, and of course you gotta get the extra Katsu sauce, just in case the portion is beeg! And it was! And the Katsu sauce was home made, or at least tasted like it was! And I had to try the chili bowl, cause the perfect tasting bowl of home made chili is on my bucket list. Not perfect, but this one wasn't bad. As I waited for my order, I noticed they served donuts also. Didn't see any, but saw "donut" on the menu and it was only 45 cents! Gotta be more like a donut hole, right? For the price? WRONG! Although I only ordered 2 donuts, since this was my first time here, I wish I ordered 2 dozen! The donut was perfect...not too greasy and definitely tasty, especially since they were still warm! Man, if I weren't in a rush to get to a meeting, I would've ordered more! Next time for sure! Prices here are very good too, better than many other places in West Hawaii, and if you like local food, this is "must eat here" place. Trust me, my opu knows! read more

Sandy's Drive-In is my favorite place to eat while visiting the Big Island. The Luau fries are SO ONO! (I always crave them when I'm back on the mainland.) I took my husband there for his first time and we ordered eggs, spam, Portuguese sausage and rice for breakfast and he loved it! We could easily eat breakfast, lunch AND dinner there! The staff is friendly and helpful. The cooks know how to make all of their dishes the right way, the ONO way! The atmosphere is casual, clean and has a very local feel to it. Food is served on styrofoam plates, with plastic ware, drinks in plastic cups. We appreciate the way things are simple at Sandy's and their prices are extremely reasonable. read more

Sandy's Drive In - Breakfast plates of Scrambled Eggs, Portuguese Sausage and Rice. - Hawaiian Near Me - Kealakekua, Hawaii

This place is A-freakin-Mazing. Anything less than 5 stars would be criminal. We ate here 3 times during our trip. We stopped by here on a lark as we were heading to Greenwell Coffee for a tour one morning. We passed by and decided to turn around as we didn't have breakfast yet. Everything is so good. I love the Spam Musubi and Beef Lumpia. The Loco Moco plate will fill you up for hours. On our last night we decided to get the specials and eat back at the hotel. The specials were the kiawe smoked pork with onions and the kalva pig and cabbage. Both dishes were flavorful and came with the rice and killa macaroni salad. They have different daily specials. This place has been in business since 1966 and is a local gem with great food at a great price. read more

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You may not get the best service here but the food is good. Nostalgic local comfort food. Their macaroni salad is soooo ono.

Bulgogi fries!!! That's all!! I love fries but who doesn't! Sandy's drive inn is a cute diner that everyone knows your name!!! This is a great family-run business and has awesome Hawaii comfort food. read more

Sandy's Drive In - Bulgogi ! - Hawaiian Near Me - Kealakekua, Hawaii

We stopped here after finding out Super Js ran out of lau lau. What a downer! Anyway menu sounded good I had the lunch plate of mahi mahi and chili and the other half had the hamburger steak and chili. Usually local style restaurants have pretty hefty portions but not here. Just one piece of mahi mahi and small portion of chili and the craziness thing was the tiny hamburger "steak" it was literally maybe 2 ounces. For over $10 definitely felt ripped off and would definitely not recommend. read more

Sandys, a long-time drive inn that's been around long before I. A lot of good memories growing up playing in the arcade here while waiting for the food. A standard local drive in with all the regular local offerings. Plate lunches, chili with rice, saimin, loco moco and the like. What I like quite a bit and is their most popular item is the sweet potato tempura. For .75 a piece it is a bargain, and really tasty. It is not tempura in any way, especially in a Japanese sense. It is actually breaded and fried much more similar to deep-fried-anything you find at a carnival. Any thoughts of light battered fluffy panko tempura should be forgotten and not expected from this point forward. They are still delicious though and I highly recommend them. Sadly, Sandys doesn't make their fresh ice cream shakes anymore, they were the best in Kona for many years. read more

Sandy's Drive In - Menu - Hawaiian Near Me - Kealakekua, Hawaii

Excellent food and friendly staff. I was recommended this place by a friend from the mainland that knows the couple that owns it. It did not disappoint me. Great tasting food and decent prices. Even my stubborn child who is difficult to find things to eat loved her food. Other kid loves Spam Musubi and had a few. Highly recommend this food establishment. read more

The bulgolgi fries were amazing! As were the musubi and cone sushi. Loved this place. read more

Sandy's Drive In - Hawaiian Near Me - Kealakekua, Hawaii

My 11-year-old son can't stop talking about Sandy's Drive Inn. It was his first time to try Loco Moco (even though I've made it for 3 years!) and he loved it. Now he's a Loco Moco fanatic. Good food, clean restaurant, great service, reasonable prices - especially for this area. read more

The owners made our visit a great experience. Very friendly and offer local locations to visit. They were right they do make a great spam musubi. read more

pulled into Sandy's after a long drive up from South Point... We were hungry and ready to snack... Tried the 2-combo mixed plate (teriyaki beef + fried chicken) and one of their specials: bbq spare ribs... The ribs were delicious...yum. We tried to stop at a bbq rib joint but it was closed...so we were happy to find Sandy's. The teriyaki beef was a little too...sweet + the fried chicken was good but the portion was a bit small in comparison to the amount of teriyaki beef they gave out. Prices were good. 6-7.75 for a mix plate, the usuals... Plenty of tables (around 6-7), lots of parking in the area. Cash only! Friendly service.. We got in before a dinner rush, so by the time we were smacking away, there were about 10 people in line on a friday night. I'd want to try some other goodies, next time. read more

The customer service sucks here. The lady at the cashier was so rude and it felt like she was annoyed when we asked a question. She was super rude and it ruined our breakfast. We ordered Loco Moco bowl and it was bad... But food could be just me not liking it, but customer service was something else. All my friends with me complained about it. Should know how to talk to customers if you want them to come back again. read more

Really enjoyed the kaloua pork and the chicken katsu. Stay away from the shrimp burger... I expected ground shrimp that was formed into a patty, but got three over-breaded fried shrimp served on a bun with mayo and lettuce. I will go back again for the pork and katsu. read more

A-Ok! Nothing fancy. Their menu isn't extensive like a L&L/Loco Moco. In fact, it reminds me more of Rainbow Drive-In on Oahu. But they do have some unconventional items, like somen noodles, and "daily special" items like Zippy's does. Lots of seats, air-conditioned, and affordable. My overall rating is 3.5 stars. No problems with staff or price. The portions aren't as filling, so that's about my only knock. Still, can't be too picky on this side of the island! read more

We tried this place for breakfast on our first day on the Big Island and decided not to return the other days. I ordered some traditional American breakfast food and what I received wasn't even up to McDonald's standards. I can't imagine less of an effort in food preparation. In fact, the "hash browns" was a deep fried formed potato patty. And it wasn't even that fast. I think they're phoning it in. read more

Food was ok. Service was terrible. You would have thought we were interrupting their afternoon. This is one of those places that I won't remember a week from now. read more

Eat everything. The cone sushi is sooo awesome. Everything I ate was amazing. If you are hiking and camping, this is where you want to fuel your soul. read more

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The pregnant lady working behind the counter was so rude and had a shitty attitude. Won't be coming back here, don't want to experience her bad vibes again. read more

Local grease spoon, I like to stop for thier Bento's. Food is decent, portions fair. They only take cash, no checks or credit cards. ATM nearby charges fee. Great place for catering food for parties or picnics. read more

Sandy's Drive In - Hawaiian Near Me - Kealakekua, Hawaii