We arrived in Hilo on a Sunday, when the majority of restaurants were closed. We stumbled upon Verna's for a Hawaiian bite, and were pleasantly surprised. Let me preface by saying: the menu is HUGE, containing every Hawaiian, Asian, American item possibly imaginable ranging from Loco Moco to Korean Fried Chicken to Hot Dogs. We got the Kolohe (chicken Katsu, Fried shrimp, teriyaki beef), which came with a side of macaroni salad and rice. Everything was delicious! Overall the service was a bit slow for a drive through/fast food joint (it took us about 10+ min to get our food), but the owner was super polite and nice. There's a small area where you can sit down and eat, but it's absolutely filthy, so we just decided to take our food back to our hotel. We were happy to have discovered Verna's, and find this the perfect for those starving for a larger than life entree of just about whatever your taste buds crave. read more

Supper fast, food comes out hot !! Everything g so tasty totally recomend it for easy fast and good food.

"IF CAN CAN IF NO CAN GO VERNAS!!! Oh man dis place is killaz. I had chest pain after eating the double patty loco moco with half pot of rice and mac salad. This place is not that bad but the servings can feed 4 people. I tried the double loco moco, roast pork and kalua pork and cabbage. All was good and were all big servings. Taste wise its not the best but not bad. The mac salad is OK but compared to L&L its bland. I tried the curry and that was just OK. I prefer the things that i ordered cause i wasn't disappointed. "If can still can if no can still can" read more

Every time I visit hello I usually make it a point to stop here. I remember the very first time I was impressed with the taste and quality of their food. Somewhere along the line I think something changed. I ordered a cheeseburger combo A chili bowl with rice and a double lau lau plate. My cheeseburger tasted almost artificial. It didn't taste like real beef it tasted honestly like something foreign. The double Lau Lau plate the Lau Lau tasted dry. The best thing was the chili bowl. I enjoyed the chili bowl. I don't think I will be going back to Veronas again. Really hamburger is the key to a hamburger. read more

This was the best food I had on the Big Island. Verna's is a fast-food place you drive to, place your order, and wait while they cook it fresh. You can eat at the covered large wooden tables, or take it to go. The food, in my opinion, is worth waiting a few minutes to get your order. Not sure what happened for the other reviewers. The lady taking my order was perfectly friendly, and the food was super tasty. Their onion rings and fries were still sizzling when they handed them to me, and the Teri Ono Burger is something I'll remember for a long time! Both times I went, there were plenty of locals, so I can't be the only one who thought it was good. read more

I'm a fan of Verna's burger combo. The crispy, melt in your mouth fries are to die for. As for the burger, there are different variations you can order such as a plain burger, a cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, etc. The bacon cheeseburger is ono. Best "drive in" burger in town. If you're looking to indulge and have that urge to eat a greasy artery clogging burger, this is your place. read more

Three of us went to Verna's for dinner. Ordered pork cutlet katsui, pulled pork and cabbage, and a dish with pulled pork with gravy and shoyu chicken. All came with rice. Service at the counter was friendly. Waited a reasonable time for our food. So far so good. Now for the food. What can I say? It was not very good.. VERY salty on all dishes. We couldn't finish our dishes, it was like the salt container was dropped in all our dishes. We were all very disappointed, We really wanted to like Verna's, but the food was not edible. The good: friendly service The bad: The food Chances we'll be back: Not likely read more

Whenever I arrive in Hilo, I like to go straight from the plane to Verna's. Gravy burgers FTW. GOOD - Cheap, delicious food. Excellent location for visitors flying in. Open 24 hours. BAD - No Verna's on Oahu. DISH 1: GRAVY CHEESEBURGER - A fat beef patty, cheese, and instead of the boring old regular hamburger condiments, BROWN GRAVY. The beef patty in this has to be at least a quarter-pound. Simple, delicious, and cheap. DISH 2: PASTELE - About $7.00, but you definitely get your money's worth. Giant portions; zero spiciness, but delicious still. read more

Food is good, but it takes way too long. I waited over 20 minutes for a gravy cheeseburger. They should really change their slogan to "If can wait, you going wait. If no can wait, no come Verna's." read more

This is a true local dive, beachcomber favorite. This review is only for Verna's Loco Moco: 1) Fairly Priced 2) Generous local-size portion 3) Hamburger and gravy is decadently delicious 4) Egg is not over-cooked or runny. 5) While not the original loco moco, Verna does a good job on this local favorite. I've watched Verna customers inhale their loco moco dishes at speeds that seem humanly impossible. As one of Verna's customers put it, "If Verna's; dan good." And I have to agree, it was very good. read more

I love stopping by this place whenever I'm in Hilo for work. Always find myself getting the roast pork plate lunch. I've nicknamed it the Thanksgiving plate lunch. Stuffing, roast pork, gravy, mac salad, rice, and even applesauce lol. Servings for the full plate lunches are definitely large and can easily be shared for even those with a moderate appetite, and at a very moderate price! read more

Verna's Drive In - Roast pork plate lunch special - Hawaiian Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

We should have been comin here from the get go! The hotel clerk told us about this place but we didn't listen. The blinking sign out front almost gave my boyfriend a seizure. But I braved it, and ordered some cheese gravy fries, and some loco with sausage, not knowing what the hell that meant. It was egg (cooked how you want), rice, gravy, and sausage. MMMMMMMMM. And the fries? MMMMMMMM! We sat in our car at the gas station next door eating like ravenous animals, oblivious to anyone wanting us to move so they could get gas. Nice dive. read more

Nice little local place on the side of the road. Beautiful Staff, local food, local prices. You dont get much Mom&Pop shops still surviving in todays economy in Maui so its nice to see such a nice place still flourishing. Lots of choices they've got something for the whole family! Korean Chicken hit the spot, reminded me so much of home. read more

What do you do when you CAN or you NO CAN? you go Vernas...or... you no can go Vernas?... whatever. I'm not sure, must be some kind of inside joke, or some profound marijuana inspired philosophy. In honor of this much debated Can no Can business ill rate in CANS (+star) and NO CANS (-Star). Atmosphere. If you think you are going to impress some girl by taking her here, she better really like shoyu pork or you better have come from the beach. Open air means you get whatever atmosphere is outside which is not necessarily a bad thing. Its a very local restaurant so if us braddas and sistas make it hard for you to enjoy a meal you NO CAN. Personally, its CAN for me as i can order without a shirt on then sit down and eat while still covered in sea water and sand. Price. What i do know is if you can go Vernas you some times no can afford brah. 2 roast pork special plates and 2 med sprite is $18 plus tax. If you are a vivid beach go-er (and vernas is many a time a post holo holo destination) you will be hard pressed to find 18 dollars between 2 people. Over all the price is not terrible its just inconvenient given that it is a beach go-er destination. NO CAN! Food. If you are like me and have grown up eating the most unhealthy versions of pork, chicken and beef available to man you will absolutely adore this place. Theres nothing more unhealthy than cooking chicken in oil and shoyu, leaving the skin on, then serving it with vast quantities of rice and mac salad. Personally this is CAN for me but if you are vegan, on a diet or are concerned about your cholesterol or salt intake it is a NO CAN. Service. I will have to award a CAN but also Inflict a NO CAN on this one. Ive had horrid services and Ive had "extra mile" service and everything in between. I've had the sweet old aunty or the smitten local chick pile on an extra scoop or throw in an extra drumstick from time to time but then again ive also waited half an hour and not received food because the cashier forgot to place the order. Ive also gotten home only to realize half my order was missing. read more

We flew into the Big Island with jet lag still in place so we asked our local friends for a good suggestion to eat. Verna's was second on his list, and closest to our hotel so we decided to check it out... A little let down. The food was more on the greasy side. The waitress at the window wasn't the best at answering all of our questions which was needed since we didn't know what half the stuff was. The kahula pork was rather good, as was the rice and Mac salad. Not a bad place to stop if in a quick hurry or need of a greaser filling meal, not for the sensitive stomachs. read more

Verna sounds like the name of a chick I would have secret sex with. She must have that stingraykewchie because I plan to come back again and again!!! The musubi was extra delectable as was the Teri beef and Mac salad! I get extra slutty when it comes to grubbing plate lunch...and Verna did not disappoint! read more

A real treasure not to be missed. Open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Great Island food at very reasonable prices. The Kimchi Burger is not too be missed. The loco moco awesome. . Most items are between $4 -$7 read more

Great little take out spot for plate lunches open 24/7 good prices on food and it's delicious !

The last time I had been to Hilo was when I was in the 3rd grade, many years ago, but I remembered one thing. Verna's double cheeseburger. When we came to Hilo for our honeymoon I was super happy to see they are still going. First thing I had was the pastele plate w/ gondule rice and bakalau salad, YUMMY. I love pastele but am partial to the way grandma makes it and here I really had no complaints. Hubby had the bento (rice, spam, portuguese sausage, shrimp, fried chicken and pork teriyaki) he was disappointed with the size but took one bite of my double cheeseburger and was in love. So far they are still everything I remember from when I was in the 3rd grade, crinkle cut fries, huge burger patties, melted cheese and that "special sauce". Gotta have it again before we leave the island! But will also make sure to try some of the other menu item's, everything looks so good. read more

Our tour guide stopped at Verna's so that my sister and I could order our dinner to take back to our hotel room. We ordered the pastele plate and it was the bomb man. I really and truly enjoyed it a great deal They really know how to cook well. What more could I ask for. On my next trip to Hilo, I will be sure to stop by to order this again. read more

I seen this place on the way to our hilo base yard and had to try it. It is your basic "hole in the wall" small town drive inn. The food is reasonable and good. I can speak of the meatloaf and fish and chips only. The best part is you can get mashed potatoes instead of rice. The meatloaf was definetely a loaf!! Two huge 3" x 3" pieces with mash and decent mac salad (I dont normally eat mac salad but ate this one). The plates are huge and can definetely make 2 meals for me and for 8.75 it was reasonable (unlike the prices KITV "CHEAP EATS" CONSIDERS REASONABLE). The fish and chips was pretty small but perfect for a snack and for 4.75 worth it. In both visits I took the food to go because the dining (well sitting to eat area) is basically your average concession stand tables and chairs open air deals. The next time I am sent to Hilo for work I will definetely have no problem with getting food from Verna's, of course, to go. Oh yeah almost forgot to mention the best part. They are always open 24/7 read more

I wanted kahlua pig but they only make it with cabbage and I hate cabbage, so I got the bacon cheeseburger instead thinking that burgers are impossible to mess up. Boy was I wrong. My boyfriend got the teri bruger. The burgers have the consistency of something between mashed potatoes and meatloaf. The bacon was in one big ball in the center of my burger with a dollup of thousand island dressing (only in the very center). The combo came with mediocre french fries and a drink but they were out of pepsi and sierra mist so I got a water. The combo was well priced at $7 but really not worth it. I wish I hadn't eaten there. I am hoping that their plate lunches are better because the burgers were horrible. read more

Don't think you can look at the online menu and expect anything to be available. I literally had a list of items to purchase if the prior item was unavailable. They were ALL not being served anymore. So I settled for what they had. It was awful, tasteless and unbelievably over priced. Then they wouldn't accept credit card even though right at the window said they did. Avoid. I will never go again. Girl at the window could care less about anything. read more

The best mac salad in a plate lunch, I've ever had! Chicken katsu and shoyu chicken were amazing, very authentic and true Hawaiian plate lunch meals. read more

Sad to say, each of us ordered mana burgers and all three of us got food poisoning a couple hours later. Throw up and diarrhea all night. Never again. read more

Food is great no doubt about that, it's the service that lacks. If your trying to call in an order to be ahead, don't bother they never pick up. None the less their food is worth the hassle. Also they give a nice size portion. Jumping off the airplane or heading to the beach and your hungry? This is a good place to stop. read more

Verna's Drive In - Their mushroom chicken is awesome - Hawaiian Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Got the Teri hamburger steak it was okay. Definitely a quick stop n go place. Good drunk food after drinking at the beach lol

4 "Onas" out of 5 - Ono-licious If can, can - Verna's sure can make Ono grinds. Look forward to my annual Merrie Monarch visit so I can kick back for lunch plate at Verna's... read more

this place has decent "local food" but is sooooooo slow it took 30 mins for a burger and fries like bruh. still waiting as i'm writing thi

Vernas serves it up right! They have a huge menu of classic favorites at a very reasonable price. The staff is friendly and the service is quick. The food is made with love and it reminds me of meals I'd eat growing up. Overall, everything Ive tried here has been delicious, satisfying, and served at an unbeatable price. I'd recommend this spot to anyone as there truly is something for everyone! read more

Instead of taking my order. The cashier decided to talk with the other employees and let me wait for a while.

Great plate lunches here. You know it's good food with large portions when you see the local work crews lining up for lunch. Ordered a Teri hamburger with onion rings meal and a shoyu chicken and roast pork plate with steamed rice, brown gravy on the pork and a scoop of macaroni salad. The onion rings were lightly crispy outside but tender inside. Hamburger was flavorful, just shy of greasy the buns are tasty too. The pork was tender and fell apart, the chicken grilled to just shy of crispy. One plate lunch is easily big enough to share for two people. Be prepared to wait a bit, but we would definitely go back. read more

Fantastic, Moco Loco, burgers, chicken boat, chili fries!! All on point!! Very reasonable prices, especially for Hawai'i, very nice service! Excellent strawberry ice cream too! read more

Sorry but not sorry. They ran out of bread for sandwiches at noon. Purchased a lunchplate which finished in 3 minutes and meat was half cooked. No line no rush no can vernas read more

I was drawn to this restaurant because I work the night shift and I tend to be nocturnal. I came to eat at around 12:30am on a Friday night. It wasn't very crowded and I played with my phone while I waited for my food. The reason that I gave this place 5 stars is that my food was very tasty. I ordered the Kamuela (sp?) specialty plate and it came to $12 after tax. This plate consists of fried noodles, beef teriyaki (delicious), and small pieces of seafood and chicken with a side of mac salad. The portion was generous and I had to take it back to my hotel because I couldn't finish it. It's conveniently located to the Hilton hotel in Hilo (which is in close proximity to other hotels in the area). It took about 10-15 minutes to walk here. This was the best beef teriyaki that I've ever had in my life and it blended well with the flavor of the fried noodles. If you are looking for a 24 hour place in Hilo, then you need to check this place out. It tastes too good to be fast food so be patient if you happen to come at a time when it's busy. read more

This is exactly what it looks like, and when you're in the mood for it, this is exactly what you want. Inexpensive, flavorful comfort food.

The food is good but the service is horrible! The cashier was a B****! I honestly love the food but won't be coming here anymore because of the cashier! You guys better do something about the cashier and the way she treats your customers cause she's rude! read more

Usually, whenever I go to Verna's everything is perfect- from the time I order to when I leave. Food is ALWAYS on point and I always leave with a major case of kanak attack and happy cause the customer was exceptional. This evening, though, I was really disappointed. The cashier who took my order (a young girl, wearing a black shirt with really dark eyebrows) seemed like she didnt want to be there. She didnt greet me, smile, make me feel welcome or anything that you'd expect as a paying customer. She had plenty of attitude, which I didnt appreciate, to the point where I almost wanted to get a refund and leave altogether. Didnt even get a, "thank you", "have a nice day" or anything... which was really rude. I drove all the way from Mountain View and getting that kind of service was aggravating. Customer service is very important, its what keeps people coming back. Verna's, you need to teach this girl some customer service skills... seriously or hire someone else. Mahalo nui loa! Other than that, food is still on point! Teri beef needs some work though... tonight, it was like rubber and really salty. read more

Great burger at the local dive-in. Don't miss this gem in Hilo. Truly a Cheeseburger in Paradise with no frills. Order the onion rings. Burgers are HUGE! read more

i said . . . the double teri cheeseburger was ok read more