On our last few trips to Hilo, we stayed at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel and haven't been disappointed. For convenience, the hotel has two restaurants in the lobby. Wai Oli is also two businesses in one - it serves as a morning/brunch cafe for coffee and pastries, then transforms into a casual evening restaurant for dinner as well as live music and a bar space. On our first night we were too tired to go out in the rain, so we tried the Red Rice with Chamorro spices and sauces, and a Club sandwich with fries. The food is excellent, prices about what you'd expect in a hotel. The tap list is also pretty good with macro lagers and locally brewed selections from Big Island Brewhaus and Hilo Brewing Co among others. Service is good, with friendly servers. The view is also excellent with clear views of Hilo Bay right outside. They also have outdoor tables on the lanai. read more

See all

Great restaurant bar to grab a bite and a beer at. They now have live music everyday.

Great views, happy hour for cocktails and the food was good. Staff was friendly and helped with recommendations for food and drinks! . Great fun sitting at the bar and getting to know everyone. read more

Wai Oli iCafe & Lounge - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

We've been here before and I really liked their burger! My husband liked his French dip though he said next time he'd ask them to leave the cheese off which to me is weird but that's him. They must've been short a cook because we had to wait a while for our food though they apologized constantly. We like the setting, overlooking Hilo bay and it's not overly 'loud' as some lounges. The 'free drink' was nice, too (lol). It's nice to be able to stay at the Hilo Hawaiian and just pop-in to eat something in the same hotel without spending too much money next door at the restaurant. read more

Wai Oli iCafe & Lounge - Burger & Truffle Fries - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

See all

We did not feel like driving anywhere so we went here for dinner on a Saturday night since the lounge/restaurant is located in the Hilo Hawaii hotel where we stayed. We started with two margaritas, one on the rocks, one frozen, and they were among the worst we ever had. They used real lime juice, which was good, but they had very little tequila and the wife's on the rocks was mostly ice and very little juice. My frozen tasted like ice. Neither one of us felt anything from them. Moving on to the food, I had the Italian beef sandwich and it was excellent. The meat was sliced very thin so it was tender and the toppings were spicy as advertised. I got au jus on the side for an additional $2 and it was a great accompaniment. The side salad was good. It was not exactly what I had at Big Al's in Chicago, but it was a competent rendition. The wife got the mushroom burger and loved the quality of the beef. Very lean and no gristle. The beef was local grass fed and you tell the difference. The burger was one of the best she had, even if it was cooked to well done instead of medium as requested. We had some desserts--ice cream, macaroons, and cheesecake, so overall it turned into quite the nice meal. Service was friendly and efficient. The view from the lounge cannot be beat. We were really pleasantly surprised and would eat there again. read more

See all

Much better service than the steakhouse right next door and the steak cooked the way I asked. I wanted peace so I got it take out for my room. I had a cappuccino another morning from here which was pretty good. The better option if you're staying at the Hilo Hawaiian. read more

Wai Oli iCafe & Lounge - Ribeye app. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

See all

Went there last night, sat on a table waiting for a friend about 10 minutes. Friend arrived, we waited another 5 minutes. Friend went to the restroom, in the meantime 3 other groups came in. Friend came back from the restroom, three other tables got their orders taken, every time the waitress walked past I looked at her but I guess I was invisible. read more

I ordered the chicken karaage, and it was incredibly dry --so dry and hard that you'd need teeth of steel to chew it. The French fries were overly crispy and salty to the point of being inedible. Overall, a very disappointing experience. read more

Wai Oli iCafe & Lounge - Chicken karaage - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Good island style hotel bar. Very friendly bar tender. Great wing dings. Pretty nice views. Had the TVs on covering local island events.

This was a very quiet Sunday Nite. Friends ordered: Prime Rib Poké Baked Fries Konâ Kampachi Poké And caprese Our drink of choice was the Perfect Lilikoi Maragarita Our Server was awesome, Friendly and helpful. Our server came over our table and said " Harold Kama Jr. wants to buy us. Round of drinks?' Then 10 minutes later, Harold Kama Jr showed up!! What a blessing ! Mahalo nui loa Harold for drinks and Desserts too. Many blessings unto you! read more

See all

Great oxtail soup at a reasonable price. Too bad the table next to us had foul smelling people. Oh well. Deodorant please! Oxtail body odor not good. Regards Beau Toichi read more

Ralph the bartender is awesome. Great service and beer! Great place! Love the live music and people are friendly. Ralph puts people at ease. read more

We had a great happy hour here! Friendly service and great recommendations! And they even had Harry Potter on the tv!!!!! 50 points to ravenclaw! read more

See all

We seated ourselves and a waitress came to greet us and handed a food and drink menu. She did informed us that the kitchen would close at 9pm and we arrived around 8:45pm so we just made it. I ordered the pork belly BLT with a side salad and an order of onion rings. I ordered the specialty drink called Luella. Our food was yummy. The onion rings really hit the spot. The Luella was strong and fruity just the way I like my alcoholic drinks. We listened to 10 minutes of live music and at 9pm the live music stopped. I did notice a sign about a 2 drink minimum during live music but we weren't bugged to order another drink. They do serve a light breakfast and coffee, lunch and dinner. Overall, the food and service was good. I will probably be back for a cup of coffee. read more

See all

Great service, great drinks, appetizers were delicious, friendly atmosphere, and the bartender is best!

OK. Dropped in for a pre-dinner libation to see what this was like. Kind of a a strange experience, or set of experiences. Happy hour drinks - adequate - but each person needed to buy two, to "unlock" the $1 tapas that are advertised roadside. We were able to 'pre-order' our second round of drinks so we could "unlock" the tapas menu.* The service Nice lady took our first drink order, and allowed us the pre-order on the second round so as to 'unlock' the $1 tapas. After that she weirdly avoided us. Neither wifey nor I fessed up to saying untoward things aloud, so we have no idea what happened. All subsequent interactions were with the busser. Nice "Flo-like" waitress lady would give her best "I see you, but am not interacting with you" smile as she would wait on the table next to us. The food The tapas / pupus were actually pretty tasty. Two pretty good, but basic sliders. The complimentary pupu platter of the day was OK, but nothing fancy. The facility Don't, I repeat, don't look at the baseboards. Nope. Don't do it. See, I warned ya! Along with that, I went out the ocean side doors to see the view, and when re-entering saw that the door handles are also not clean. That just kinda creeps me out when I figure that the wait staff are grabbing these and then handling the flatware, etc. *Any review that has this many quotes should be a clue that something is 'wrong'. Bottom line... walk over to the DoubleTree / Hilton next door where there's live music and a MUCH nice atmosphere and spend your drinking dollars there. read more

Ass. Got the nachos and they claimed fresh and new ingredients. Was nasty. Old fried chips from days ago along with nacho cheese. Fake sour cream. And the guac was yellow and from a can or something. The perfect margarita was nowhere near perfect. Being way to sweet. read more

Ambiance is amazing! Views of Mauna Kea and Hilo Bay came in craving Clams and Mac N' Cheese and was pleasantly surprised both dishes was on point! read more

Wai Oli iCafe & Lounge - Bacon Mac'N Cheese - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

See all

I was visiting Hilo and stayed at the Hilo Hawaiian. I was searching all over for good places to eat, but had a friend suggest just going downstairs for breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised by the food. The prices were great, the service was top notch, and the food was delicious! read more

Wai Oli iCafe & Lounge - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

See all

We stopped by before an event for happy hour. The cafe has a great view of the bay and friendly staff. The happy hour specials were nicely priced especially the liquid refreshments. The waiting staff even made sure to stop by 15 minutes prior to the end of happy hour to make sure that we did not miss out on the specials. read more

Great place for the Hilo Bay view. But don't waste your money on the food. The nachos consisted of stale corn chips, cheese whiz and guacamole so old that it had black blotches in it. The shrimps in the shrimp cocktail were partially frozen and tasteless. The crab cakes were a dark brown color and were not fresh. The lobster Mac was devoid of any lobster. A total embarrassment to the establishment. On the positive side, the server was good. read more

Maybe the best happy hour deals in hilo! Half off drinks and $1/$2 tapas after 2 drinks. Had the ceviche, beef lettuce wraps, and kalua pork quesadilla. All were tasty, especially the quesadilla. Me and my gf got 6 drinks (the lilikoi margarita was the best imo) and 3 tapas and our total bill was only $30. Sat at the bar and the bartender was very friendly and attentive despite it being full due to a large group. The food took a little while, but nothing unreasonable especially since it was busy. Drinks came out fast though. The view of coconut island is great, and its a really great place to hang out after work. read more

Had a perfect late afternoon/early evening at this well-appointed but casual lounge. Aside from the beautiful bay view and comfortable atmosphere, Eva brought to our table excellent service, Aloha and and relaxed yet so respectful manner! She made our experience exactly what we were looking for! And the food is so good!! read more

Lindsey's Lili-colada is so great we came back a second time. Couldn't stop craving it. Tried to get one somewhere else but it was nothing like Lindsey's! Can't wait to come back for more next weekend. 5 stars I wish I could give more! read more

Went to get some food after Merrie Monarch coz they were open until 12 and they had some specials. I got the shoyu chicken and it was such a disappointment. It was just two pieces of chicken and a scoop of rice. The chicken was dry, no sauce, no gravy, no moisture at all. My napkin had more moisture than the chicken. My friend got the beef stew, which he said was cold and got just 4 small pieces of meat. Was definitely not worth the $12 I spent on that "special." Didn't finish it and was still hungry, so we went to Jack's . The only reason I didn't give 1 star was because the staff were friendly. read more

**REVIEW IS FOR THURSDAY NIGHT HAPPY HOUR WITH LITO ARKANGEL" GO! My friend and I were cruising down at Honolii beach park and saw a flyer for a happy hour featuring Lito Arkangel at the Waioli Lounge and iCafe at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. My friend reluctantly agreed to check it out. WOW! WE HAD A GOOD TIME! First off, the cafe has the most amazing view of Coconut Island and Hilo Bay. That alone is worth going there for a drink. We were drinking $3 Coors Lights on ice which was the happy hour special. They have a list of specialty cocktails for $10... I tried one that sounded good but sadly it was way too sweet for me. Service was great.... we asked our waitress what an "icafe" is and she explained to us with a straight face that this is the cafe for people who use iPhones and Apple computers, and if we have an android phone we would have to leave and go to their droid cafe. This struck us as very funny at the time. You know, that's what you want in a cocktail waitress, someone who is willing to crack a joke or two. We showed her our iPhones and she said we could stay. The crowd was a funny mix of Japanese tourists quietly drinking wine and holding hands, hyperactive but friendly mainland newlyweds, and locals including one big table celebrating their friends' 60th wedding anniversary. MOST IMPORTANT: LITO ARKANGEL.... THIS GUY WAS AMAZING. I really couldn't believe we were getting this amazing concert for free. It was just him singing with his ukulele but he made MUSIC! Really great voice. He must have noticed Auntie with the flower in her hair, because he just said "anyone who dances hula and would like to come up and dance is welcome any time" and BOING! Auntie did not have to be asked twice, she jumped up and went up front and danced a really beautiful graceful warm hula. He was like "wow, I must be psychic" and then he asked her later if she wanted to dance again and she told him what to play and she danced again, so beautifully. It was really perfect and unexpected Hilo Moment. We did order food, the menu is basically sandwiches (about $10), fish and chips ($16), onion rings ($8)... we asked the waitress if she could substitute the onion rings on the fish and chips and she easily replied "sure why not" and we thought it was delicious. We split it. So yeah, just for food, I would have liked to see a few lower priced happy hour type bar food deals offered as well, but it was not too outrageous and was hot and fresh. read more

savanna was great super sweet very satisfied we also were impressed by sky the bartender will be back read more

Came here with a big island tour. Food and service were terrible. Do not eat here for sure. Nothing is fresh. Had the fish and chips. The fish was room temperature and tasted like it was premade sitting under a heat lamp. The fries were also room temperature. Didn't eat most of it. I ordered the tiramisu and it was the bite sized supermarket dessert. Not what I expected or wanted. Didn't eat most of it. I did order a chai latte which was actually really good. As for the service, when I am eating at a sitdown restaurant I expect the server to ask me if I want anything else before they deliver my check. I was brought 3 different checks, I only actually asked for 1, the last one. The woman who served me was clearly annoyed that I kept ordering things. She pretended to ignore me when I finally asked for the check then purposely made me wait to pay, as if to punish me. Did I mention I was the only customer left so I was hard to miss. A horrible experience. I would not recommend the food or the service. This was a very expensive tour with a mediocre lunch location. And before you ask, I paid for everything, even the things I couldn't bring myself to eat. read more

This hotel bar is a step up from most. It offers good coffee and food along with the usual bar drinks and local beers. Service is friendly and attentive. Nice view of Hilo Bay to watch out the windows and relax. Very chil place. read more

See all

So much opportunity, so many misses. we purchased five meals and two appetizers, the best of these foods would rate only "average". We started with the Ahi poke. It was actually flavorful and gave us hope for the other food. But it lived a short life, it was hardly a quarter cups worth. The wsw salad was incredibly flavorless for something so soggy and weirdly spicy. The tziki dressing was white water. The soft serve crab is not as advertised. And if you don't like deep-fried, full-crab with no seasoning or sauce, on a bun, probably not the choice for you. Unless you like being served mass amounts of raw onions and dry steak cubes, you shouldn't order the steak poke. The kids cheeseburger was fine. But you could get the same thing anywhere else for less money (and less heartbreak), and probably without the soggy bun. In all, you'd be better off braving the inconsistent restaurant schedules of Hilo rather than eating here. If you do pick the Waioli lounge, be prepared to leave hungrier than you arrived and for the inevitable mutiny your hungry family will throw afterwords. read more

Cocktails are pretty colorful tropical drinks. As a tourist that was what i was hoping for! Service was friendly although they were busy and sometimes did not come back to our table when we wanted something When they are serving dinner at the buffet side, this side's dinner orders get backed up too and took 1/2 hr to get our club sandwich and mac salad. The shrimp scallop appetizer is wonderful and tasty! Buttery goodness Pricey, as this is a hotel read more

Just arriving at the hotel after a morning road trip from Kona, we settle for late lunch there. We all had a salad (NYE resolutions, right?) and water. Verdict: A nice view on the sea and some Palm trees. The salads were average and expensive. To be fair, the other plates looked nice but we didn't feel like burgers and fries. read more

Wai Oli iCafe & Lounge - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Pretty good for a hotel bar/lounge! We came in on a Sunday around lunch time looking to get a snack and a beer and left satisfied. They were showing the NFL game which made my husband happy! The onion rings were a little on the pricey side but it was more than enough for both of us to share and crispy- not too oily. We had some of the locally made beers on tap. There was a HanalEi IPA from Kona Brewing Company and Bikini Blonde from Maui Brewing Company. Service was awesome. There weren't a lot of people in there but we were consistently checked on. read more

Been a guest for a few days... tried to order take out at 7:30pm... no one answers. They close at 9. I call wsw because they literally share menus, and the drinks for the restaurant come from the lounge. The girl who answered at WSW claimed that the only way to get in touch with Waioli Lounge is to just keep calling back and she would keep transferring me until they answered. After 5 attempts I gave up and decided to skip dinner. I know the hostess stand is 20 steps away from the bar area and a simple heads up to the staff at the lounge that someone was calling for take out would've solved the problem but she told me all I could do was keep calling back... that's not service. I spent almost $400 in there the night before...I thought this was fine dining. Anywho, fast forward to this morning when all I wanted was something quick to go and a coffee from the lounge and the bartender was in conversation with another guest. So my 5 year old and I waited patiently... after a few minutes the bartender sounded like she was done giving the other guest directions somewhere and I figured she would at least acknowledge that my daughter and I were standing there but instead she and the guest ignored us and started a new conversation so I left. It's hard because I have been in F&B for 25 years and have been trained in customer service. To not at least acknowledge the guests presence is horrible...it's been more commonplace now since the pandemic... bad service is the new standard read more

When staying here for work it's hard to beat the happy hour prices. $3 house drafts(coors light or stienlagers) an after 2 you get to start ordering the tapas(pupu). Definitely recommend trying them all. My favorites are the quesadillas, Kimchee wraps, Broccoli, and ceviche. If you don't drink too much you can have dinner with drinks for under $20. Monday through Wednesday. read more

Wai Oli iCafe & Lounge - If you can catch the tapas specials it's worth it. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Excellent view. Great service. Food was great. Only distraction is that it's a very noisy lounge.

There menu is great for a quick bite especially if you are staying anywhere near the hilo Hawaii hotel. Prices are affordable considering it is Hawaii. read more

This past week I got a notification on facebook that the Waioli lounge was going to do a happy hour m-w with drink specials, tapas, and prime rib sliders. I saw prime rib sliders, ran to my boyfriend and said "we are checking this out". We arrived Tuesday a little after happy hour began and grabbed a seat at the bar and were greeted by the bartender and one of the servers -I'm terrible with names, I'm sorry!, but they both were extremely friendly and stoked to talk to us about the new happy hour, the food, etc. my boyfriend and I ordered drinks and one of everything and two of the prime rib sliders, because let's face it neither one of us are willing to share that lol. My first drink was the lihing tini...super good and refreshing, i then ordered the Waioli drink special; it reminded me of a fancy AMF and instantly brought me back to my 20s , and ended with a cosmo all the drinks were great. A few of the food items I couldn't eat because I'm allergic to shellfish, but boy did my boyfriend not shut up about how amazing the shrimp scampi was. I don't want to write a novel, so case in point.... everything we ordered was absolutely delicious and I wound up ordering a second order of the prime rib sliders, they're to die for! We plan and going again next Tuesday and I cannot wait to see what's going to be on the menu! -also, when you order two drinks per person, you unlock the $1 tapas.... we left with full happy belly's and we didn't break the bank, how can you go wrong with that?! read more

See all

First visit to this hotel lounge as we were staying overnight and wanted to get a late bite and cocktail. It's overlooking the bay but since it's dark by 6-6:30 sadly no view. Small but decent lounge. Greeted quickly by friendly server. Ordered couple drinks and hot sandwiches. Beautiful presentation on drinks and they were yummy, some special mango lime drink in a martini glass and a Long Island tea, both had a little kick. Meals came and we're both very tasty. BBQ pork bao buns w/ Caesar salad and hubby had crispy pork belly sandwich and fries. Everything really good, even his ciabatta buns super soft . Caesar dressed properly with garlicky dressing , boa buns steamy warm pillows of tender pork goodness. Crispy skinny fries and tasty crisp strip of pork belly with fresh tomato/lettuce w/ garlic aioli. No complaints. Great service although place got fully seated by 8:30. Live jazz started at 8 which was lovely bonus to our evening. We ordered a couple more cocktails to go walk around the water and see the pool. Drinks added up real fast but can't complain. Obviously a popular place with locals since not too many lounges or live music this side of island. We will be back, in fact booked again next weekend due to Black and White big Hilo event! read more

See all

Located inside the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. Full bar. I had sashimi, pretty fresh. read more

Wai Oli iCafe & Lounge - Kitchen behind bar. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

See all