Hilo Bay Cafe

Restaurant close to hotel on water. We were seated immediately. The server was attentive, and we ordered drinks. A few minutes later, drinks arrived. We ordered the cheeseburger with bacon, medium rare with crispy fries. The burger arrived 5 minutes later. It was on the rare side, and the fries were not crispy as ordered. The burger had good taste otherwise. Good views from this clean restaurant. Prices are at market for Hilo.

Shocked about the quality of the food! I’ve heard a lot of good things about this place. Potato wedges were like rocks. The ocean special was terrible, the marlin fish included was a BRICK. Even mashing it into the sauce still couldn’t mask the rubber taste. Not sure if a trainee was back there today, but on a busy Saturday night, they completely missed the mark. The only saving grace was that the waiter Anthony was very pleasant and understanding about the situation.

Really enjoyed our last dinner here! I was a bit skeptical based on the past recent reviews but both food and drinks were solid. Portions were generous for the kabocha kale salad, pork chop and the short ribs. I’d definitely recommend ordering the first two, they were very flavorful and unique! Our server Anthony was very friendly and accommodating — we were able to make honi honi mocktail with a coconut rum and it was the best cocktail out of all 5 other drinks we had :) We were seated a bit past our reservation time and it was still a little hot since it’s an open air restaurant. Sitting out on the lanai helped though.

Went to Hilo to explore the town and couldn't resist this charming little restaurant on the bay. We sat at the bar and were waited on by Bella. She was so helpful and full of suggestions. We had Fish & Chips with Ono fish, Poke Ahi with sweet potato chips and a side of Jicama-Lilikoi slaw. I also had a tasty lilikoi drink. For dessert we had Goey Butter Cake and a scoop of Ice Cream. Every bite of everything we ordered was exquisite and fresh!!! I highly recommend.

This was one of our most favorite meals on the island! We heard about the cafe through a recommendation and stumbled upon it by accident. There was no wait at the bar, and we had a beautiful view of the water and the races going on. Our bartender/waiter was very friendly and helpful. The drinks were fresh and unique, and the meals were large and so flavorful! Definitely a great spot for lunch and cocktails!

The food was delicious and every dish we tried. The place was very clean and nice atmosphere with a beautiful view We definitely come here again next time we're in town.

I am a mushroom fan and I was very impressed with the mushroom poke appetizer and the chicken and mushroom curry pot pie. Both dishes used Hamakua mushrooms. Yummy. My wife had the fish and chips using freshly caught mahimahi. Kudos to the chef since the fish came out, piping hot and moist. Service was friendly and helpful since I also had another pot pie bagged and ready to go.

We enjoyed their drinks, but their food was really okay. Weirdly, we have never seen a restaurant where you tell them something was wrong with the dish, they would take it back to the kitchen, and do something on your dish and bring it to the same plate back to your table, instead of remaking it. That was pretty shocking to us, especially considering them a fancy restaurant. We ordered a short rib pasta which was overly salted, that I couldn't bear, and my partner tried to switch dishes with me, but couldn't bear it either. NOT EDIBLE. We brought the issue to the waitress and she took it back to the kitchen, a while later, I was expecting the same but new dish, instead she brought me back my original plate with over cooked soggy pasta, they added more butter in my over salted pasta, it was even worse, now not only did it taste just as salty, but with soggy pasta. I was confused why this was happening. The waitress came to check if it's better, I honestly told her it wasn't better. She told us they will take it off the bill. Fine, I'm still hungry but I don't have time for another dish to come. Then when we got the check, the pasta was still on our bill, with 30% off on that dish. We had to call them again to ask for the clarification, waited for over 20 minutes, the manager came and we confronted him, he eventually took it off the bill. What a waste of time!