Where to Eat on Hawaiʻi Island

If you're staying in downtown Kailua-Kona or in Keauhou, you'll likely dine along the main highway between Kailua-Kona and Captain Cook. The downtown Kona strip — Aliʻi Drive — is walkable from most Kailua-Kona resorts. Otherwise, you will need a rental car. Rideshare is unpredictable on Hawai’i Island.

Huggo's, open since 1969, is downtown’s classic oceanfront spot for seafood and steak. The dock-like dining room is set just above the water. After dinner, go next door to Huggo's On The Rocks for live music and dancing with your feet in the sand. Price: $$$ | Hours: Daily, 4-9 p.m. | Address: 75-5828 Kahakai Road, Kailua-Kona | Reservations: Recommended, especially at sunset; walk-ins accepted as space allows | Website: huggos.com | Phone: 808-329-1493 Best for: Sunset views and a special-occasion dinner. Skip if: You want a quiet, low-key meal — it gets loud and busy at peak hours.

Two more spots I like on the downtown strip are Walua Social Club for Italian food and The Temple Kitchen + Bar for wine, cocktails and small plates. This is the sister location to the original in Hilo. Just off Aliʻi Drive by a couple blocks is 808 Grindz Cafe — a favorite local breakfast joint serving banana pancakes and loco moco — and Herbivore for vegan food. Farther south, on Aliʻi Drive past the strip, is Da Poke Shack — locals swear by it.

In another Kona neighborhood, about a 5-minute drive north of downtown, you’ll find Umeke's — a casual restaurant and bar for fresh seafood and poke — and Kona Brewing Co. and Ola Brew for local beer and bar bites.

The Kohala Coast stretches from Waikoloa up to Mauna Kea. This is where you’ll find the island’s most high-end resort dining. The 30-40 minute drive is far, but doable from Kailua-Kona, but not from Hilo just for dinner.

In Waikoloa, the Kings' Shops and Queens' MarketPlace are both walkable from the Hilton Waikoloa Village, Waikoloa Beach Marriott and nearby condos. Roy's Waikoloa Bar & Grill, the flagship of chef Roy Yamaguchi's restaurant group since 1988, is located at the Kings' Shops serving Hawaiʻi Regional Cuisine. Price: $$$ | Hours: Daily, roughly 4:30-9 p.m. (hours vary seasonally) | Address: 250 Waikoloa Beach Drive, Waikoloa | Reservations: Recommended | Website: royyamaguchi.com | Phone: 808-886-4321 Best for: A dependable upscale meal without leaving the resort area. Skip if: You've already done a Roy's on another island and want to try something new.

Also at Queens' MarketPlace: Patina for craft cocktails and gastropub fare and Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar for seafood and island-inspired dishes.

On ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay, Lava Lava Beach Club puts diners in the sand for sunset, with live music most evenings. Price: $$ | Hours: Daily, roughly 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. (11 a.m. start on weekends) | Address: 69-1081 Kuʻualiʻi Place, Waikoloa | Reservations: Recommended for sunset seating; walk-ins welcome | Website: lavalavabeachclub.com | Phone: 808-769-5282 Best for: Toes-in-the-sand casual dining and sunset. Skip if: You want a quiet meal — it's lively by design.

At the Fairmont Orchid, Brown's Beach House is a AAA Four Diamond restaurant serving Hawaiʻi regional cuisine steps from the shore. Price: $$$$ | Hours: Daily, 5-8:30 p.m. | Address: 1 North Kaniku Drive, Waimea (Kohala Coast) | Reservations: Recommended | Website: fairmontorchid.com | Phone: 808-887-7320 Best for: Sunset dinner with live music. Skip if: Business-casual dress and a formal pace aren't what you're after.

Further north, at Mauna Kea Resort, Islander Sake Brewery’s Engawa Restaurant is tucked away, bottling the only sake produced in Hawaiʻi and serving its 8-course Japanese omakase dinner. Price: $$$ | Hours: Monday through Saturday 5:30 or 7:30 p.m. | Address: Hapuna Golf Course, 62-100 Kaunaʻoa Dr, Waimea (Kohala Coast) | Reservations: Required | Website: islandersake.com/engawa | Phone: (808) 517-8188 Best for: Sake connoisseurs, a romantic dinner. Skip if: You are looking for something lively and/or oceanfront.

If you're based on the east side, or spending the day at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, you'll likely eat in Hilo. It's the rainy side of the island, and I find it’s generally more affordable than Kona and Kohala.

Moon & Turtle, a small, chef-owned restaurant from Mark and Soni Pomaski, was a 2022 James Beard semifinalist. Chef Mark runs a menu that changes with the day's catch and local harvest. Price: $$$ | Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 5:30-9 p.m.; closed Sunday-Monday | Address: 51 Kalākaua Street, Hilo | Reservations: Strongly recommended — it's a small room and fills fast | Phone: 808-961-0599 Best for: The most acclaimed meal in Hilo. Skip if: You need a big table or want to see the menu ahead of time.

Lehua is another restaurant that merges farm-to-table with Hawaiʻi local cuisine. With dishes like fried kalo (taro) and its poke board featuring kimchee crab, spicy ahi poke and pipikaula, guests will learn the story of Hawaiʻi as they dine. Price: $$$ | Hours: Lunch Wednesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Dinner Daily 5 to 9 p.m. | Address: 600 Imiloa Place, Hilo | Reservations: Recommended | Phone: 808-932-8904 Best for: A farm-to-table experience in Hilo. Skip if: You already have a reservation for Naʻau — a similar approach to cooking, but elevated in execution.

Also in Hilo: The Temple Kitchen + Bar is a wine and craft cocktail bar with tasty small plates. Suisan Fish Market for poke, Cafe 100 for the original loco moco, The Booch Bar for vegetarians, and Naʻau, a renowned farm-to-table pop-up by chef Brian Hirata about 20 minutes north of town. The Hilo Farmers Market runs daily, with Wednesday and Saturday (7 a.m.-3 p.m.) the biggest days of the week.