24 Best Restaurants in Big Island, Hawaii

Beachy yet upscale, this restaurant has an in-house beer sommelier who advises on the perfect pairing with your food choice, which can range from fresh catch, steak, burgers, and sandwiches to crab cakes and escargots. Many dishes incorporate Hawaiian touches. The sports bar offers a 24-tap digital beer tower and 10 TV screens. An innovative frost rail on the cocktail bar keeps your drinks cool. Patio seating outside offers additional dining options.

This tiny place is the real deal. Yes, your tab might be a bit high, but it will be worth it because authentic, always-fresh poke doesn't get better than this. Enjoy bowls that include two selections of poke, one side, and a scoop of rice. The plates offer more choices. Try the award-winning Wet Hawaiian, which incorporates roasted kukui nuts or the Spicy Garlic Sesame, made with spicy Hawaiian chili pepper, garlic, and sesame seeds. Occasionally you will see a "Closed—Gone Fishing" sign on the door but consider that a good thing. They catch much of the fish themselves, sometimes the same day they serve it.

Ocean breezes flow through this open-air restaurant on Alii Drive, known for a quality menu infused with Cajun and island influences. Almost all dishes are made to order and feature non-GMO, hormone-free, or USDA-certified organic ingredients. A must-try is the seafood pesto puff pastry on the appetizer menu, and for dinner the steak house pasta (creamy mushroom pasta topped with a New York strip steak) is a good bet. Signature cocktails blend freshly muddled fruit and fresh juices with no commercial mixes. With happy hour daily from 3 to 5 and live entertainment nightly, Foster's Kitchen is a cool spot to enjoy a sunset cocktail or late-night libation. It's a good sign that you see a lot of locals here; it's got an elevated reputation among residents. 

Overlooking Hilo Bay from its towering perch on the waterfront, this popular, upscale restaurant with great water views has a sophisticated second-floor dining room that looks like it's straight out of Manhattan. A sushi bar complements the excellent selection of fresh fish, pork, beef, and vegan options. Premium wines and sake are available.

This open-air restaurant in a vintage 1920s-era building at the historical Kona Inn Shopping Village offers a beautiful oceanfront setting on Kailua Bay. The view and the bar are Kona signature icons, and it's a great place when you first land in Kona to have a mai tai along with some appetizers or to enjoy a calamari sandwich, clam chowder, or salad at lunch. They are still adjusting to staffing issues post-pandemic, but your patience will pay off if you stay, just for the location alone. It's the place local residents take visiting friends to impress them, it's that good. Dinner is also available, but the entrées can be hit or miss.   

Dig your toes into the sand and enjoy one of the most happening, entertaining, and memorable bar/restaurants on the Kohala Coast. There's something for everybody here, whether you want cocktails and pupus (appetizers) for sunset or a fine-dining experience; highlights include macadamia-nut-and-arare-crusted fresh island fish, baby back ribs, and the chef's signature gazpacho topped with macadamia nut pesto. The atmosphere is super-casual—you can dine in your beach togs—and there's always something going on: the blowing of the conch shell at dusk, the lighting of the tiki torches, tropical cocktails served in Hawaiian ceramic ware, and live entertainment featuring stellar Hawaiian recording artists. No reservations are taken, but if you have to wait, just take a stroll on the beach. 

Upstairs in a historical building, this seafood tiki bar has been a hot spot for years, known for a dynamite and well-priced bar menu with tasty pupus, signature seafood dishes such as the coconut shrimp and poke burger, and even a prime rib special on Tuesday. Don't let the kitschy retro appearance fool you; this place is frequented by legacy celebrities whose names you know or whose records you've bought. Service is impeccable. Happy hour runs daily from 3 to 6, and the calamari is a standout. 

There's a reason why locals flock to this hideaway for the best Thai cuisine in Hilo. Proprietor Sombat Saenguthai's menu highlights fresh local ingredients (many of the herbs come from her own garden) in authentic and tasty Thai treats like coconut curries, fresh basil rolls, eggplant stir-fry, and green papaya salad. Most dishes can be prepared with your choice of tofu, pork, beef, chicken, squid, or fish.

Owned and operated by the Nakagawi family since the early 1920s, this landmark restaurant features three separate dining rooms that overlook a 30-acre natural brackish fishpond, making this one of the most interesting places to eat in Hilo. Some highlights are paniolo (cowboy) prime rib, New York steak, and shrimp scampi. Arrive before sunset and request a table by the window for a view of egrets roosting around the fishpond.

In the heart of Hawi, this popular restaurant provides a historical setting in which to enjoy a menu brimming with Hawaiian country flair. Most of the entrées feature fish and chicken prepared several ways, although if the kitchen gets busy, you might get a mediocre plate. Bamboo accents, bold local artwork, and an old, unfinished wooden floor make the restaurant inviting.

In a sophisticated setting that includes open-air patio seating, this restaurant offers contemporary Asian dishes made with meats, prawns, peppers, and more grilled over an open flame in the traditional style. Blending locally sourced ingredients with Japanese and Hawaiian influences, Binchotan creates a menu that pays homage to multiple cultures. Premium sakes, outstanding whiskeys, and artful cocktails give the bar sophisticated flair. Prices are reasonable for a resort restaurant.

Located in a beautiful high-ceiling venue in the historic S. Hata Building, Café Pesto offers artisan pizzas with ingredients such as fresh Hamakua mushrooms, artichokes, and rosemary Gorgonzola sauce. You can also make a full meal of the Asian-inspired pastas and saffron risottos, specialty seafood, locally sourced salads, and appetizers. Products from local farmers feature heavily on the menu—Island beef, Kawamata Farms tomatoes, and Kaunamano pork sausage.

The largest open-air tiki bar in Kona has the absolute best view of Kailua Bay in town. This is the perfect spot to relax with a pupu (appetizer) such as the coconut-crusted shrimp or "Hapa" poke bowl, or to dig into something more substantial like the kiawe wood–smoked prime rib. The Breezeway Lounge is excellent for watching giant surf or breaching whales, and Don's hosts first-rate Hawaiian performers on Thursdays. During happy hour from 4 to 6, the famous mai tais are only $8; the pina coladas are $9. Save room for dessert; the mud pie is deliciously sinful, or order one of the luscious dessert coffees.

Though it sits on a patio by the pool, this casual beachside restaurant and beach bar with gazebo is not just for pupus and cocktails. The island-infused dinner menu features excellent entrées, such as the Korean-style short ribs or the Kona Kanpachi Nicosia salad, plus plentiful seafood dishes and greens from local farms.

With cocktail bars both upstairs and downstairs, oceanfront Island Lava Java serves eggs Benedict for breakfast; fresh fish tacos for lunch; and pasta, Big Island beef, and seafood for dinner, plus towering, fresh bistro salads. There are also pizzas, sandwiches, and plenty of choices for both vegetarians and meat eaters. Portions are large, food is made from scratch, and most of the menu is fresh, local, and organic.

This nicely appointed restaurant with a warm, woodsy vibe serves delicious dinners with Brazilian, Asian, and European flavors, highlighting fresh ingredients from local farmers. Favorites are the pork chops, Brazilian seafood chowder, peanut-miso salad, and pasta primavera smothered with a basil-pesto sauce. There's an extensive wine list, or you can sip a refreshing mojito or a good Champagne before dinner. Smaller parties may opt to eat on the lanai.

At this historic lodge in the heart of Volcano Village, the fare ranges from gourmet grass-fed Big Island beef burgers and locally sourced lamb burgers to Cajun shrimp and sausage pasta, catch of the day, and farm-fresh salads. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week. The koa-wood tables and intimate lighting are in keeping with the ambience. Kilauea Lodge itself was built in 1937 as a YMCA camp, and the restaurant still retains the Fireplace of Friendship embedded with coins and plaques from around the world.

Perched on the waterfront overlooking a scenic pond at Reeds Bay Beach Park, this restaurant has the look and vibe of an old-fashioned, harborside steak house and bar. The menu features a good range of burgers and salads, steak, and seafood. Every Thursday is lobster night, with eight-ounce lobster tails served a variety of ways. Live music happens most evenings.

Creative sushi and contemporary Asian cuisine take center stage at this entertaining restaurant at Queens' MarketPlace, where you can make a meal out of appetizers and sushi rolls or feast on great entrées from both land and sea. Though it has tried-and-true mainstays, the menu is consistently updated to include options such as Hawaiian ahi carpaccio and Japanese yellowtail nori aioli poke.

Perched above a shopping center with sweeping panoramic views, this open-air restaurant has lots to offer besides spectacular views from every table in the house. The slow-roasted rack of ribs is the star of the show, and the locally sourced fish-and-chips is a close second. Be sure to try the famous Key lime pie or Mighty Dozen doughnut holes with some 100% Kona coffee. Their fun tropical cocktails such as the Lava Flow are best imbibed with an epic green-flash sunset happening and tiki torches flickering. 

The food is authentic and the prices are reasonable at this little Volcano Village find with Thai art and silk wall hangings in the pleasant dining room. A steaming-hot plate of curry is the perfect antidote to a chilly day at the volcano, and the chicken satay is excellent—the peanut dipping sauce a good blend of sweet and spicy. And speaking of spicy, "medium" is more than spicy enough, even for hard-core chili addicts. The service is warm and friendly.

In the heart of Historic Kailua Village, the open-air Hawaii location of the popular Monterey, California restaurant offers an expansive menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a vintage building with a bayfront view. Inventive fresh-fish specials as well as simple fish-and-chips are among the local favorites. The lunch menu is tantalizing, especially the seafood entrées. There's also a comprehensive wine list, plus a happy hour menu chock full of great choices and prices.

This fine-dining restaurant overlooks the rim of Kilauea Caldera and the expansive Halemaumau Crater. Featuring two bars (one of which is adjacent to a lounge) and live entertainment nightly, the restaurant highlights island-inspired cuisine and locally sourced ingredients. Families will appreciate the gourmet pizza on the lunch menu, or the daily breakfast buffet featuring omelets and waffles. To-go meals are also an option. Before dinner, you can sit in front of the fireplace in the lobby or peruse the gift store in search of volcano-themed souvenirs. The hot buttered rum recipe was created by a bartender at Volcano House in the 1950s. It's the perfect cocktail on a cool Volcano evening.

Fashioning itself after Hawaii's iconic shrimp trucks, this little place in the Queens' MarketPlace food court specializes in island-style fare, including garlic shrimp, teriyaki chicken, and kalua pig and cabbage. They are one of the few quick bites open in the food court and can get quite busy, but everything is made to order, so come with patience.