Hilo Bay Cafe

I was very disappointed in the service. Very poor service... constantly waiting for the waitress. I was in this type of business for over 15 years and this was very unacceptable. Customer service should be your top priority and food! I spent $30 on my entree which the main dish had no flavor. I even had to ask my hubby to try it because maybe it was my taste buds but he also said it had no seasoning or flavor.

The remodeling was nicely done .... I like it but I won't be coming back unless I have to.

I saw a couple that I knew there and I happened to see him today and I asked him about the service and food. He said maybe the service wasn't as bad but the food he ordered didn't have enough flavor.... so I'm not the only one that feels it needs more flavor (2 different entrees).

Servers Jess, Tyson, and Isaiah were outstanding!

Amazing food and a really nice atmosphere! Oceanfront and clean. Diverse enough menu and everyone loved what they got!

Courtney was nice, but there was a long wait to order drinks and receive them. One beer was flat and it took ten minutes to replace it. It also took a long time for someone to take our food order.
The sushi was terrific! The meals were mostly good except for the stuffed Mahi which was just ok. The ambiance is amazing here and I would recommend highly.

Wonderful restaurant with a view and great healthy food! What happened to the great salad menu? No Blue cheese, no Cobb or Caesar? Sorry a Shrimp Louie and kale salad just doesn’t do it!!

I had heard mixed reviews but for me it was outstanding! I did an easy on-line reservation, got a beautiful table, excellent fast service, food was so delicious (crab cake salad). I would highly recommend it. It was my first experience there. The service in particular was exceptional!

Food was wonderful. Loved the view of the bay. Dirty martini was perfect. Overall we had a very delightful time. French onion soup was beautiful to see and delicious. The Kailua pig sandwich was so good.

Always great food, GREAT, friendly service from the minute you walk in the door, beautiful location and restaurant . . . always a great experience.

Make reservations to avoid waiting a long time. The service was great minus my drink getting “lost” but over it was great.

Great waiter, Zack. Service great w a smile always

Vegetarian special sold out with a 7 pm reservation which was really disappointing because it sounded wonderful. Brussels and mushroom app was amazing. Pot pie mediocre. Chirashi unbelievable. And most of all bartender was impeccable... all drinks were awesome but saketini on another level!

My husband and like to go there on our anniversary. The food is delicious. Service is great. If your getting up in years it will be nice being able to go up to the dinning room in an elevator.
We have only gone to dinner there but I think I am going to ask him to take me there for lunch.

The service was very good but the seat we where in it was very hot even with a fan blowing on us the food was just ok I had the Filet steak little over priced for what you got

Date night with my husband was wonderful. We had our wedding reception here at Hilo Bay and we love going back to enjoy and. Remember our special day!

Two of us had lunch on the lanai overlooking the bay -- it was shaded and comfortable and lovely. Overall, the restaurant is designed in a sophisticated minimalist way that I appreciate very much. The menu, too, reflects this. Everything has a special touch.

Amazing in every way. Anna was amazing and attentive to my wife’s allergies (gluten). Food was perhaps the best we’ve ever had in a restaurant setting. Amazing amazing amazing!

Food was delicious! Great final meal for us in Hawaii!

This is one of our must go to restaurants when in the Hilo area.

Table was available on time, great outdoor weather, good service. Local fresh fish (mahimahi) was perfectly cooked on fish and chips. Fresh local greens. A favorite Hilo restaurant.

since you asked. the burger was dry....not pleasing.

the afterglow cocktail was great!!

very warm and humid on lanai....maybe chose to sit inside if there is a next x.

service was good tho we had to go and look for someone to get the bill...mahalo.....

We enjoyed our meal and they had good keiki options too.

Everything was fine, except the seating was tighter than usual with chairs bumping and difficulty getting in and out of seating because of lack of space between tables. Not something I've normallly experienced at the restaurant, a bit of a disappointing surprise, esp. when dining with elderlies. The tightness of seating also took away from the usually pleasant view from the dining room, major views are the neighboring diners.

Great food. Friendly staff who take their time assuring fabulous service. Staff interaction is a positive reason for a customers returning.

No return of my phone call verifying my dinner reservation via Open Table prior to my reservation. Onion rings could be less oily as a bite pulled out the inner onion itself. Open air seating inside the restaurant was humid and very warm for dinner, no ventilation. Service person was excellent

The atmosphere was enjoyable. Great menu options, which included vegetarian selections. The food was very tasty and the service was excellent.

Always great at HBC

Fantastic meal at HBC! Loved my surf n turf bowl and the desserts were amazing. Most impressed by how good the Keiki menu was. Best chicken tenders - homemade and fresh! We will come here for all our special occasions.

Consistently fresh, excellent quality locally sourced food, wonderfully prepared and served by a friendly, efficient staff. We use this place for special occasions such as birthdays, holidays and visiting mainland guests. We recommend Hilo Bay Cafe with thanks and aloha.

Consistently good food and always have at least a couple vegan options. Also have gluten free. Amazing views of the bay and some outside seating. Love going there!

Servers need more personality. Service was slow and food was moderate. Not very satisfied for spending $200 on dinner and drinks.

We really enjoyed our waiter Pa'ele. He was very informative and friendly.

nothing wrong with the table service but something went wrong in the kitchen so the waiting for food was VERY LONG.Extra popcorn and peanuts did not really help.

Service and food were excellent. Wish they had a wider variety of cocktail drinks as well as maybe some pasta dishes

Love this place! Went for a special dinner and everything was great! Food was delicious and many things to choose from. Had to answer a phone call and an email about my reservation after making it butnother than that it was great!

We have really enjoyed HBC in the past and are willing to think this one night was just not a good night. That said, it was understaffed and very disorganized. And, the food was not its usual quality. I know they are staffing up again after the volcano....so, we'll try back again soon.

We are celebrating our anniversary for the week. Several people listed this place as a “can’t miss” for our trip. Food was amazing. Waiter was very helpful with his recommendations for things to see/do. I only wish we had gone during daylight to enjoy the view. We sat outside on the deck and I remembered the water front location!

Starters came out with our entrees, my boyfriend ordered the spicy tuna rolls and the everything but the bagel sushi rolls which you could hardly distinguish what you were eating.

Generally good, but on this visit when I specifically repeated we had a time constraint to our meal, the service was exceedingly slow, even absent for the first 10 mins. after our seating. A bit of a surprising disappointment.

The food was quite good--much better and more creative than in the past. The dishes were nicely plated. The service was attentive and prompt.

The only drawback was the noise--crying babies and loud families were not conducive to an adult setting.

It was very good! But when we ordered additional drinks it took long time before they arrived.