Where I Eat on the Big Island— Ep 136

Where I Eat on the Big Island

Who this episode is for: Anyone visiting the Big Island who wants real, repeat-tested restaurant picks organized geographically for easy trip planning.

What you'll learn: Marcie's personal Big Island food spots organized by region — Kona, Volcano, Hilo, the North Shore/Hamakua Coast, and Waimea — plus what to order at each.

Places discussed:

• Kona (Ali'i Drive)
• Captain Cook
• Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park
• Hilo
• Honoka'a
• Waimea (upcountry)

Activities discussed:

• Renting a car (essential for the Big Island given the distances)

Hotels discussed:

• Volcano House — where Marcie stays when visiting Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park

Restaurants discussed:

Kona (Ali'i Drive area):

• Gecko Girl's Shave Ice — nearly 30 years on Ali'i Drive, real fruit purees; get anything lilikoi
• Huggo's on the Rocks — casual, open-air, right on the water; poke nachos, virgin lava flows, live music and hula most nights; no reservations, just put your name in
• Lava Lava Beach Club — lawn games, fall-off-the-bone ribs; Marcie's "last day before flying out" spot

Poke and coastal detours:

• Da Poke Shack — tricky parking but worth it; get the shack special (kalua pork also available for non-poke eaters)
• Coffee Shack (Captain Cook, ~25 min south of Kona) — own coffee bushes, 26-mile coastline view, great sandwiches on house-made bread; closed Wednesdays, opens 7 AM, small parking lot fills fast — arrive early
• Kaaloa's Super J's — traditional Hawaiian plate lunch (kalua pork, laulau), no-frills atmosphere, excellent food

Volcano:

• The Rim (at Volcano House) — reservations required for dinner, don't just show up; overlooks Kilauea caldera, locally sourced food

Hilo:

• Cafe 100 — birthplace of loco moco, serving since 1946, holds trademark on "Home of the Loco Moco"; open-air walk-up window, 30+ varieties, good for takeout
• Ken's House of Pancakes — open since 1971, homey diner vibe; pancakes with guava/coconut/lilikoi syrups; get the saimin on a rainy day (their #1 local favorite)
• Zippy's — local diner chain; fried noodles, burgers, musubi; bakery attached
• Two Ladies Kitchen — Instagram-famous mochi, strawberry mochi is the go-to; usually a wait, worth it

North Shore / Hamakua Coast:

• Texas Drive-In (Honoka'a) — square malasadas; beef curry stew on overcast days; also burgers and hot dogs

Waimea (upcountry):

• Merriman's — excellent food, but the real draw is the mai tai with lilikoi honey foam

Marcie's recommendations:

• A rental car is not optional on the Big Island — book through Discount Hawaii Car Rental, a broker that shops rates across companies
• If you want an actual luau on the Big Island, see the Big Island luau ranking episode — Huggo's hula isn't a substitute for the real thing
• Book The Rim at Volcano House well ahead; dinner reservations are genuinely required
• Get to Coffee Shack early, especially heading south in the morning, since the small lot fills fast
• Listen to Episode 51 for full Big Island trip planning before diving into food specifics

Related Hawaii Travel Made Easy episodes:

• Episode 51 (How to Plan a Trip to the Big Island) — recommended listen before this one
• Episode 53 (Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park planning guide)
• Every Big Island Luau I've Been To (And Everything Else Worth Knowing), Ranked Honestly— Ep 135
• Where I Actually Eat on Maui— Ep 132
• Where I eat on Oahu— Ep 112
• Where I Eat on Kauai— Ep 102

Additional resources:

• Discount Hawaii Car Rental (Marcie's affiliate link)
• Hawaii Travel Consultation (60-min and 90-min sessions)
• $50 Itinerary Review
• Hawaii Travel with Kids Facebook group

About Your Host: Marcie Cheung is a Certified Hawaii Destination Expert who has visited Hawaii 40+ times and spent 20+ years as a professional hula dancer. Through Hawaii Travel with Kids, she helps families plan authentic, affordable Hawaii vacations that respect local culture while creating unforgettable memories.

Learn more at hawaiitravelwithkids.com

Connect: @hawaiitravelwithkids on Instagram | Book a Consultation

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Transcript

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My five-year-old took one look at the kalua pork and laulau at what might be the best Hawaiian food restaurant on the island and announced he wasn't eating any of it. So I boxed the whole thing up, drove back to the hotel, and ate it for the next two days. He got a vending machine snack. We were both perfectly happy. No regrets on my end whatsoever Welcome back to Hawaii Travel Made Easy. I'm Marcie Cheung, and today I'm walking you through where I actually eat on the Big Island. This is my personal list built up over a lot of trips. I'm organizing it geographically because the Big Island is enormous, bigger than all the other Hawaiian Islands combined, And it helps to know where things fall when you're mapping out your drives. If you're still in the early planning mode, episode 51 is my full Big Island planning episode, and it's worth a listen before this one. And a quick note before we get into it, a rental car is not optional on the Big Island. These spots are spread out all over the island, and you can't get to most of them without your own wheels. I always book through Discount Hawaii Car Rental. They're a broker, so they Shop rates across multiple companies and usually come in better than booking direct. You'll find that link along with the rest of my trusted Big Island recommendations at hawaiitravelwithkids.com under Hawaii Resources. All right, let's get into it. Gecko Girl's Shave Ice has been on Ali'i Drive for close to 30 years now, and it's always on our list. We usually stay somewhere along Ali'i Drive, so it turns into a walk through town at some point, which is part of why I like it. It feels like a natural part of the day instead of a special trip. They use real fruit purees and natural flavors, so it actually tastes like the fruit instead of just sugar. I always end up with something lilikoi. For dinner, Huggo's on the Rocks is my go-to. It's a casual spot right next to the fancier Huggo's restaurant, open air right on the water. My kids love ordering virgin lava flows and sipping them while we watch the sunset. There's live music and hula most nights, Which makes it feel like the full Kona experience, even though it's not a real luau. If you want an actual luau while you're on the Big Island, check out my episode ranking the Big Island luaus. That's the one to listen to for that. No reservations at Huggo's, so just show up and put your name in. I usually get the poke nachos Lava Lava Beach Club I save for the last day before we fly out. There are lawn games on the grass, and the ribs fall off the bone, messy and worth it. My kids always want to get their toes in the sand one more time before we leave, and this lets everyone do their thing. It's become a little closing ritual for us. Da Poke Shack is a real detour stop, not just a convenient one. Parking is tricky, I wanna be upfront about that, but the poke is the real thing. I always order the shack special. My kids aren't poke people, so they usually get the kalua pork, which tells you that the menu has enough range that you can bring anyone. It's worth the parking hassle. Once you're outside of town heading south, the Coffee Shack is about 25 minutes down the road in Captain Cook, perched up on the hillside. They grow their own coffee bushes right below the lanai, and from your table you can see 26 miles of coastline all the way down to Kealakekua Bay. The sandwiches are great, they make their own bread, and the coffee is exactly what you want after a morning of driving. A few things to know though: they're closed on Wednesdays, they open at 7:00 AM, and the parking lot is small and fills up fast. I've had to drive past it before because there was just no room. Get there early, especially if you're heading south in the morning. And then there's Kaaloa's Super J's, the place from the cold open. Kalua pork and laulau, traditional Hawaiian plate lunch done right. The atmosphere is no-frills, and I say that as an accurate description, not a warning. You're there for the food, and the food is excellent. I'm a little bit obsessed. Two days of leftovers confirmed it for me When you're heading to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, episode 53 has my full planning guide for that. I always stay at Volcano House and always make a reservation at The Rim. Reservations are required for dinner, and I mean that. Don't just show up. I once grabbed a last-minute table while we were literally driving to the park, and I treated it like winning something. The restaurant looks directly out over the Kilauea caldera, and on our last trip, we could see the lava glow from our table. I don't really have a better word for it other than breathtaking. The next morning at breakfast, we watched a full rainbow arc over the caldera. It's that kind of place. The food is locally sourced and actually good, not just a good spot for inside a national park Cafe 100 is where loco moco was born, or at least where it got its start according to just about everyone in Hilo. They've been serving it since 1946, and the family still holds a trademark on the phrase Home of the Loco Moco. It's an open air walk-up window, super casual and retro, and we always get it to go. They have over 30 varieties on the menu, which sounds like a lot until you're standing there and suddenly it's not enough options. My family loves loco moco, so eating it at the place that made it famous is sort of a big deal. Ken's House of Pancakes is the Hilo diner. It's been open since 1971. It's got a homey vibe, and my kids go straight for the pancakes every time because they come with house-made tropical syrups like guava and coconut and lilikoi. On a gray, rainy Hilo day, which will happen, I get the saimin. It's their number one local favorite and exactly the right thing to be eating when it's overcast outside. And Zippy's is a local diner chain that's worth knowing about. I usually get the fried noodles, and my kids go for burgers or musubi depending on the mood. It's a reliable stop with a little bakery attached, and the menu is wide enough that everybody finds something When we do the scenic drive north from Hilo toward the North Shore, we always stop at Texas Drive-In in Honoka'a. The malasadas are the reason. They're square, which is a little unexpected the first time you see them, and they're really good. When the weather's overcast, which it often is on that stretch of the coast, I get the beef curry stew, and it's the right call every time. My kids are also a big fan of the burgers and hot dogs, so it works for everyone Two Ladies Kitchen is pretty much Instagram famous and for good reason. We always get the strawberry mochi, and then I order whatever's new or looks interesting that day. We always end up with about a dozen, and they don't last long. There's usually a wait, and it's absolutely worth it. And Merriman's up in Waimea, which is a cool upcountry town worth visiting on its own, has a very different feel from the coast. The food at Merriman's is excellent, but I'll be honest with you, I come for their mai tai. They make it with lilikoi honey foam on top, and I think about it between trips. The food is great and the mai tai is exceptional. If you want help building out the whole Big Island section of your trip, that's what my consultations are for. I do 60-minute and 90-minute sessions, and you can book either one at Hawaiitravelwithkids.com under Hawaii Travel Consultant. If you've already got things booked and just want a second set of eyes on whether or not your day makes sense geographically, my $50 itinerary review is a faster option. Send me what you have and I'll tell you straight up if anything needs to shift. And if you want everything from today's episode in one place, plus the rental car link and the rest of my trusted Big Island recommendations, they all live at Hawaiitravelwithkids.com under Hawaii Resources. Come hang out in the Hawaii Travel with Kids Facebook group too. It's a great place to crowdsource real answers from other families doing the same trip. If your trip includes other islands, I've got where I eat episodes for Oahu, Maui, and Kauai too, and they're worth a listen before you go. Well, that's it for today. I'll be back Wednesday. Talk soon. Aloha.