A big island,
a small check
Here are 20 places on Hawaii Island to find the best food at the best prices
But island prices can take a huge bite out of a vacationing family’s budget. You’ll pay $40 for adults and $20 for kids for breakfast, for example, at the Big Island Buffet at the popular Hilton Waikoloa Village. A family dinner for four at famous Merriman’s in Waimea costs $79 per person.
The solution: Eat where the
More than a decade ago, the Travel section developed lists focusing on inexpensive places to eat in Hawaii. We canvassed the islands to bring you articles we called “20 for $20,” tasting our way across the four main tourist islands in search of great meal deals at restaurants locals like best. But things change in a decade.
1. Hula Hulas Kitchen & Bar
It’s all about
We caught a duo playing Hawaiian tunes and then dug into a barbecue kalua pork pizza ($14) and grilled local fish tacos ($18). In the background were huge photo murals by Kim Taylor Reece, an Oahu artist who specializes in photographing the state’s hula dancers.
2. Conscious Culture Café
Are you a conscious omnivore? Then this colorful cafe in downtown Hilo is for you. It caters to people who aren’t necessarily vegan or carnivores but are interested in making sure the food they eat is organic and sustainably sourced.
“We can veganize almost anything,” server Miranda Thomas said. “But we also serve grass-fed beef, locally sourced wild-caught fish and sustainably raised Black Forest ham.”
You’ll also find fermented foods (aged cheeses, sauerkraut, kimchi) that contribute to diners’ probiotic health. We tried the yummy Fresh Catch Bibimbap breakfast — eggs with grilled mahi mahi, kimchi, sweet potatoes, veggies and avocado ($17) — as well as a Jamaican Jerk Chicken Sammy — a soaring sandwich with apples, bananas and ginger beet kraut ($15).
3. Hawaiian Style
If you’re looking for local comfort food, Hawaiian Style is the place to go. This popular East Hilo cafe can be counted on for tasty loco mocos, chicken
The cafe, which opened in 2012, has a nice tropical ambiance. “We want it to be comfortable enough so that people don’t feel like they have to dress up to come, but nice enough for date night,” said Stephen Izumi, general manager and nephew of owner Guy Kaoo. We tried deluxe fried
4. Hilo Burger Joint
Walk into this downtown Hilo restaurant and bar and you’ll swear you’re entering an Irish pub. Except you can’t order corned beef and cabbage or Irish stew. Hilo Burger Joint once was an Irish pub, and it still has that warm, friendly atmosphere. But now you’ll choose from 21 burgers, making it a burger lover’s destination, with
We toasted the Joint’s inventiveness with a beer and a Hilo Bay Burger — a tasty combo that included beets and goat cheese ($15) with a side of fries. If you dislike buns, the Joint will prepare your burger with a salad or rice.
5. Suisan Fish Market
A steady stream of customers enters the market, and it’s been that way for more than a century. The business, which labels itself as “proud to be part of the Hawaiian fishing community for over 110 years,” buys and sells fish.
If you’re planning a barbecue, stop in for whole fish or steaks. If you’re an ahi fan looking for lunch, stop by for a bowl or plate featuring some of the freshest fish around, with an amazing variety of ahi flavors. Or try the marlin, oyster, spicy lobster or spicy crab salads.
The ambiance here is fish market, not restaurant, so you’ll eat outside at a picnic table or take it to go. Our large bowl, with sesame ahi
6. Hilo Farmers Market
Spend a morning grazing at the farmers market, where you can find unusual fruits and vegetables, including furry red rambutans, pink-and-green dragon fruit and sweet longans, plus the more common passion fruit, mangoes and pineapples. Arrive early or you’ll miss the best deals.
More than 200 local farmers, artisans and retailers have booths. You’ll see the largest number on Saturdays, but there’s a smaller market Wednesdays. Besides food, you’ll find souvenirs, flowers, unusual plants, honey and spices. For lunch, check out bento boxes from $5 and packaged Hawaiian favorites such as
7. Kilauea Lodge
The architecture is on a grand scale at the lodge, which has soaring ceilings, a huge stone fireplace and big windows with views of the outdoors. It almost feels as though you’re walking into a national park lodge.
Kilauea Lodge is just outside the entrance to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It started as a YMCA camp, built in 1938 for the children of Hawaii, was renovated in the ’80s, becoming a lodge in 1988. It’s now an excellent breakfast or lunch stop for park visitors but is way out of our price range for dinner.
The specialty is Hawaiian favorites, including fresh fish, grass-fed beef and local produce. Our fave was a Cajun-style Niçoise salad made with ahi ($15), a colorful blend of flavors and textures.
8. Coffee Shack
The Coffee Shack gets our cute-and-wonderful nod. This indoor-outdoor cafe is suspended 1,200 feet above the Pacific on the side of Mauna Loa. The patio, surrounded by a white picket fence, offers an amazing view of Kealakekua Bay.
Owner Jim Keaver opened the cafe 19 years ago, serving breakfast and lunch to locals and tourists headed to and from Volcanoes National Park. Our fave here was a giant smoked turkey and Black Forest ham sandwich ($13.95); you can also get pizzas, salads and lots of good coffee.
The property was once a coffee plantation; Keaver’s restaurant is still surrounded by 2½ acres of plants. “All we want to do is help tourists have a good time on their vacations,” he said.
9. Kaaloa’s Super J’s Authentic Hawaiian
This mom-and-daughter snack bar is old-school Hawaiian. It’s not much to look at, but it’s a winner. It has been included in Yelp’s annual Top 100 Places To Eat in America the last three years.
Hawaiian favorites are the specialty of the house: kalua pork,
“There were eight of us J’s when we opened,” Janice Kaaloa said of the business she and her husband started 28 years ago. Now there’s just Janice and her daughter Jaye cooking up those great family recipes.
10. Shimaichi Sushi
Gerry Gabaon is a second-generation sushi chef now doing his own thing. That means serving traditional favorites, spiced with contemporary dishes, at his restaurant, Shimaichi Sushi.
He trained under his dad, Greg, a longtime executive sushi chef, then opened his restaurant in a strip mall in Kailua-Kona. He’s a master in his own right now, with 17 years of experience
His 16-table indoor-outdoor cafe offers some super buys at lunch. A $20 lunch special, for instance, provides more than enough for two people, with a choice of two signature rolls. We tried the Dragon Fly ($12), with shrimp and avocado topped with ahi and macadamia nuts, and the Thai Stick ($12), with mint, which adds a refreshing taste.
11. Kona Inn
Location, location, location. Kona Inn has it — oceanfront on Kailua Bay — and wows visitors with one of the nicest views on the island. (Arrive before sunset for a vibrant close of day.) This island classic, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in September, has other claims to fame, including the best mai tais on Hawaii Island. Try the happy hour menu (2-5 p.m.) for drink deals, or the evening entrees menu, which includes several sandwich plates, most less than $20. Other great possibilities: a jumbo shrimp cocktail ($18.95), seared rice paper ahi ($19.95) or calamari ($12.95). The restaurant is owned by Bob Mardian, a well-known surfer back in the day, who also owns Wind & Sea and Harpoon Henry’s restaurants in Dana Point.
12. Feeding Leaf Kitchen
& Okazuya
The most hectic time of day here is 6 to 8 a.m., when workers crowd the front door of the cheerful cafe for breakfast or a lunch plate to go. Owner Tracey Apoliona is “crazy busy” then and sells out by noon.
Start your morning with chicken and waffles ($11.95), a beautiful dish that will make your Instagram followers jealous. Or perhaps Hangover Saimin ($11.95), another stunner with kimchi, shrimp, a beef skewer and sunny-side-up egg. Apoliona started with a catering business, opening her popular kitchen, take-out business and
13. Jackie Rey’s Ohana Grill
Paul Streiter and Angela Rey named this Hawaii Island restaurant in 2004 for their daughter when she was a child. Now she’s all grown up, and there are two restaurants: this one in Kailua-Kona and a 3-year-old version in Hilo. The popular dining rooms were too pricey for us at dinner, but happy hour offered some succulent deals.
We visited the Kailau-Kona restaurant, a large open-air room filled with plants and ceiling fans and flanked by a 10-seat bar. You can get tacos for $15 or a burger for $16. But the tastiest deal is the steak
14. Under the Bodhi Tree
A career dream came true for Stephen Rouelle five years ago when he opened this vegan/vegetarian cafe in the Waikoloa region of Hawaii Island. Rouelle, formerly a chef at the nearby Fairmont Orchid, shifted gears when he opened his eight-table, mall-based cafe named for a sacred fig tree associated with enlightenment.
He limited his kitchen to plant-based dishes, except for eggs in the morning. The menu features soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts, and everything is $16 or less. We tried the Raw Thai dish, a combination of zucchini noodles, kimchi, raw cashews and lime ($15); I think my vegan friends would be happy. We also had a beautiful açai bowl ($10) with apple, guava, rambutan, macadamia nuts and shredded coconut.
15. Kona Tap Room
What’s a vacation without a little evening entertainment? If “boring” is your answer, don’t despair; Hawaii Island offers more than fresh air and big waves. The Kona Tap Room at Hilton Waikoloa Village has different entertainment from 8 to 11 p.m. daily, including Hawaiian night, country and pop, pop and reggae night, hula night and a night to do your karaoke thing.
You’ll find 12 Kona Brewing beers on tap; try a flight of three for $9 or a 16-ounce glass for $9. We had dinner; beer-braised short-rib sliders ($17) and kalua pork nachos ($19). It wasn’t the most healthful meal of the trip, but it tasted great with beer. You can order food here until midnight. Another plus: You can ride the hotel’s little boats for free, a Disney-ish way to see the 62-acre grounds.
16. Noodle Club
“Do you hear the slurping?” asks a cartoon on the wall here. Of course we do. This attractive 4-year-old cafe is full of the sound of slurps —from
“This is cold country,” server Tracey Taylor said. “This side of the island gets down into the 40s; people need soup.” We loved the cafe’s Big Pho King Bone ($15), an over-the-top dish featuring an 8-inch beef bone. The broth was rich and flavorful, especially after we scooped out the marrow. Tip: There’s no bathroom; use the one in the Foodland market next door.
17. Big Island Brewhaus
Raise a mug or three to Big Island Brewhaus, which sells award-winning beer with a Hawaiian flair and food that’s locally sourced and delicious. We wanted to try the macadamia nut beer (Big Mac Nut Brown Ale), except it’s seasonal and we were a bit too early; it usually appears mid-fall. But Golden Sabbath, brewed with Hawaiian honey, made its way to our table, as did a flight of draft beers that included a coconut cream ale. Beautiful, fun, tasty.
The brewhaus offers 20 draft beers and seven bottled beers. There’s also an eclectic menu that includes fish tacos ($7 for one), burrito ($9), burgers ($13) and several other pub-style dishes. We tried a colorful salad that featured Waimea-grown Kekela Farms greens with squash, tomatoes and guacamole ($11 or $13 with chicken or falafel). Cheers!
18. Naupaka Beach Grill
One of the downsides of staying in inexpensive digs is you miss the cool amenities at glam hotels. But you can live the high life for the price of a $20-or-less meal. One of our Hawaii Island favorites is the Westin Hapuna Beach Resort, which recently underwent a $46-million renovation and offers awesome views and grounds.
Take your time moseying around as you walk to Naupaka Beach Grill, which has grand views of its own. The poolside restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., so you can visit for lunch or dinner. The menu has several salads, plus sandwiches and small plates that make our $20-and-under cut.
Our favorite is the Chinese chicken salad, overflowing with colorful veggies ($17). The tropical ambiance makes it even better.
19. Kings View Cafe
For a moment, I thought I was at Honolulu’s Iolani Palace. In front of me was the city’s famous 18-foot-tall statue of King Kamehameha. But no, I was on Hawaii Island at aptly named Kings View Cafe, across the street from a look-alike statue that honors the king who united the Hawaiian Islands in 1810.
“This is actually the original. We named the restaurant after it,” said Alyssa Ackerman Slaven, the cafe’s owner. She said the statue was lost in a Falkland Islands shipwreck and found years later. Meantime, another was crafted for display in Honolulu. Besides a reminder of Hawaii’s royal heritage, Ackerman Slaven’s Polynesian cafe offers breakfast, sandwiches, salads, pizza and burgers, all priced at less than $15. We loved the hot pastrami with fries ($12.99), big enough to share.
20. Sweet Potato Kitchen
& Bakery
Vinnie, Henny Penny and Junior greeted us when we arrived. They’re the resident chickens. And they don’t have to worry about ending up on the menu because this is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant. Everything is organic and gluten-free, said owner Susan Alexy.
Eat inside or out. Breakfast and lunch are served; everything is made from scratch using Alexy’s recipes. Her BountiBurger ($14) is a rich and flavorful mixture of brown rice, quinoa and black and pinto beans, with a lot of other veggies mixed in. Or try the
