Food is always exemplary. Service is warm, friendly and perfect. If you can sit outside, its especially nice

Always wonderful. Great view of Hilo Bay. Excellent sushi. Excellent attention to food preparation. I thoughtful professional kitchen. Clint

Tables around us were very noisy, food was not nearly as impressive as the last 2 times I went.

Very hands off from the wait staff which made it difficult to request some items.

Food was way too oily (too much dressing?) on the crab cakes. Fish and chips were dry, almost hard rather than crispy.

Would like to try again since it may have just been a bad day

As a resident of East Hawai'i, I've enjoyed Hilo Bay Cafe since before it moved to its current location. But I've started to become a bit dissatisfied with their food. There just does not seem to be any special flavor in many of the dishes. An example is the Mushroom Pot Pie. It has a nice crust and was very hot when served. But the taste was just plain. There didn't seem to be anything in the way of herbs to help bring out the flavor of the ingredients. Even a sushi roll was plain and didn't have any extra flavors to distinguish it from the sushi roll I buy at our local grocery store.

I do like the view of Hilo Bay and the service is really good. The way that the rooms are broken up by half walls does keep the noise level down. It's a really nice place for good conversation.

Much better service from the month before! Only con was they had no beef carpaccio that night.

Not such a great experience, hoped for better

The waitress wasn't on it tonight. She put a biscuit when we asked for fries, she put water in the ice tea etc. Plus it was hit in the restaurant tonight

Hilo Bay Cafe is my FAVORITE restaurant on the whole island! I always recommend it to people coming over from the mainland! And go whenever I can!

We arrived early for our dinner reservation on 6-1-18 and had drinks at the bar. I had a bourbon-based cocktail with light cherry liquor which was outstanding and reminded me of a Manhattan. The popcorn offered at the bar was fresh and tasty. At our table, my spouse had crab cakes and grilled cauliflower appetizers, enough for dinner. I had mouth-watering Maui rum BBQ ribs—which did fall off the bones! The dimly lit atmosphere makes dining an intimate experience, even though every seat is filled. Definitely make reservations as this place is very popular with regulars and visitors. The server we had was pleasant but could have been more prompt. The reception and serving staff needs more training. That is my only negative comment.

Excellent food, great service, reasonable prices!

We were disappointed because we went there for Tori’s birthday. She was looking forward to 2 menu items. One was the kalbi French fries appetizer and the doughnut dipping for dessert. We later found out that both were no longer on the menu. We ordered the surf and turf. When we got it the kalbi skewers were ice cold straight from the fridge. When we asked a waiter he didn’t know if it was supposed to be that way so we asked if they could please heat it up. Our birthday girl got the sweet and salty Sunday since the dipping doughnut was not on the menu. The brownie bites were inedible, it was so dry and hard but the worst part was that it had no sugar no sweetness it was as if they forgot the sugar. We spoke to the waitress and she took it back to the manager and agreed something was wrong. They asked us if we would like to order something else but she ate the ice cream and that was enough. Needless to say when you spend over $250 on a meal you expect a little more .

We had a wonderful time and dinner at the Hilo Bay Cafe. The food was excellent, the staff took very good care of us, and we left very pleased, feeling rewarded, as we spent our very last night in Hilo.

Our waiter was great and friendly! The food was great and the view was amzing

Second time eating lunch at HBC. It was again a wonderful dining experience. Food & atmosphere were excellent . The taro quinoa burger was so tasty the last time we came here that I had to order it again but this time with the Lilikoi coleslaw. Loved the sliced Jicama instead of cabbage.
We invited two Hilo friends who have never been here but they were already making plans to return for dinner at another time. We had to order the lava cake dessert as a tribute to Tutu Pele.

Only problem is when I received the voice mail message to confirm reservation, the messenger did not leave a call back number.

Went half an hour before closing, hostess warned me kitchen would be closing soon. It felt a little rushed and it was apparent the staff was trying to be polite even though they probably wanted us to get out of there on time. It's the second time I've experienced this at this location. So definitely plan to go ahead of time to avoid the rushed feeling to order and eat quickly.

We've had our server Fabian before and he was excellent, but don't know if it was busy or short handed, but service was bad. Plates weren't cleared quickly like they usually are, water wasn't filled. We had to ask. We had to ask for chopsticks, shoyu and the small dishes for the shoyu. My husband's rainbow roll did not come with the rest of the appetizers, which also included a plate of sushi so don't know if it was overlooked. Noticed the other tables had to ask for the check, like they had to look for someone. We were seated in the back room.

We come often to enjoy some of the food creations by Chef Joss

Beautifully situated on the Hilo Bay. I had the salad with homemade spam, mostly out of curiosity. The spam was delicious! My husband had a hamburger which I almost leapt across the table to try. He said it was the best burger he ever ate. The service was very good. They had a good wine and cocktail menu. We really enjoyed this place.

Good food, great location. During daylight the view of the bay and toward Mauna Kea is beautiful.

Customers since inception, a favorite place. Especially grateful using OpenTable. Good wine list, but need more international choices. It'd be an exciting adventure with different wines suggested by Randy of Grapes on a month or two schedule. Also, great, friendly sushi bar. Mahalo for the fun, HBC!

Had to wait 15 minutes for my table to be ready. People who came in after my party without reservation got seated first. Color of skin matters here. We were put in a corner in back of the restaurant. Food was cold (they said it went to the wrong table)

We've had dinner here 3 times, each time for a special occasion such as an anniversary or celebrating a milestone. 2 out of the 3 times the food has been absolutely excellent, and the mixed drinks outstanding - especially the house exotic offerings. However this last visit, we found the biscuits to be slightly underdone, and the ratio of mushrooms to potatoes that accompanied the steak was overwhelmingly in favor of the mushrooms - the potatoes were a paltry afterthought, but the steak itself was the usual perfectly seasoned and broiled local beef. The Lilikoi Cheesecake dessert was, however, so unbelievably out of this world that we hope the Food and Drug Administration doesn't discover it- they'd insist on making it a Schedule 2 drug!
The hostess was very attendant to our requests and our experience this time was almost perfect. Especially considering the dessert, the facility, the service and the overall experience, we look forward to dining there again.

I’ve eatwn here numerous times, that’s why I know it’s usually ok
.. but I made reservations for mother’s day.. gave me a table in doorway which is my least fav table.. ask to move and she said no.. so ended up sitting at bar.. service was horrible.. had to literally ask for everything. Got popcorn but was so stale couldn’t eat it. was leisurely talking and waitress let me know I better hurry up because 2 was the last seating and I wasn’t going to get to eat. What a horrible Mother’s Day lunch. Should have chosen somewhere else. I’m a regular.. so this was disappointing. I’ll make different choices from now on

Fast & Courteous Service ! Food was great .. Hamachi Sushi, Huge Battered Onion Rings with Ginger Ale & Lilikoi Passion Iced Tea was the perfect way to start our meal!! Fish and chips and bleu cheese burger quite a combo ! Dessert was ono! Sweet & Salty Sundae w/ glazed Mac Nut/cherries , hot Fudge drizzled over Warm Brownie Bites and vanilla 🍦 Ice Cream and the Molten Lava Cake was the bomb too 🍒🌋💕🍦Savor the Flavor!!!

Another great meal at Hilo Bay Café where we try to dine every six weeks or so. Our recent dining experience was for Mothers Day and we were pleased with the selections offered. Service was outstanding.

Mother’s Day

Bar crowd was very loud which is normally okay but they stood next to small tables in bar. Noise was obnoxious for table guests. Good and service were good

We eat here all the time and love it. Unfortunately this time I ordered the chicken breast sandwich with avocado and bacon. I've never had anything at Hilo Bay that was as bleh as this sandwich was. I was surprised. I'll keep coming to the restaurant, but I hope this was a one time event. It would be too bad if the usual high quality of Hilo Bay started to go downhill.

Have been there several times before and had excellent service and food on previous occasions. Unfortunately we had very poor and extremely slow service and the food was mediocre. Our swordfish was raw not medium as they said chef recommended.

We have been here many times for special occasions and happy hours. But itʻs been a few months and we went to take some friends visiting from out of state. We were very disappointed in the service and food. I ordered sushi; the fish was not fresh and it was mediocre. Our vegetarian friend ordered a dish that somehow came with meat, and had to be reordered, so by the time it came the rest of the party was mostly done with our meals (and we even mentioned this person was a vegetarian--AND it was supposed to be one of the "vegetarian selections"). Cocktails were not on time; nor were they followed up ("would you like another one?"). Nothing was addressed by management until I complained, only then was the mistaken meal taken off the bill. The waiter had zero personality and seemed distracted and disengaged. I have no incentive to go back.

The restaurant has nice views of the bay if you are lucky enough to be seated outdoors. The restaurant has a simple clean modern decor. Convenient parking is available.

Food was creative and fresh. Service was a bit odd. You felt they were do you a favor by bringing you the food.

Enjoyed it.

I have been going to Hilo Bay Cafe since it first opened, and while the food remains good, unfortunately the service seems to be suffering. Every time I go in the faces have changed, and the service the last several times has been very below average for the cost of the meal. Waters not filled, empty wine glasses remain on table with no offer of a refill, and in general poor service. One of my last dinners there the waitress was so down I almost asked her if there was a personal problem at home (luckily I kept my mouth shut, haha)
It is a shame because there are so few nice dining options in Hilo, especially to celebrate a special event (in this case our anniversary)
I truly hope Hilo Bay can rectify this problem so that long time customers like myself don’t turn elsewhere.

HBC is always a great place to dine in Hilo for an all-around, guaranteed fantastic dining experience! Tasty food, great ambience and warm, friendly staff, what more could you ask for!?

Great sushi and service.

Service was just average, ask for lemon for my water when initially served & never got any. Fries were soggy & "limp" & waited linver than acceptable to take our dessert order, that it made it easy for us NOT to order.

IF not for the sushi & especially the sushi chef Roy- I would not come back:(

Had a friend visiting from the Mainland and only had a couple of hours to catch up. Hilo Bay Cafe was the perfect spot. We sat at an outside table. Our waiter was patient and kind as we decided on menu choices (took us a while between talking). Beautiful view, good food, and nice employees.

GREAT FOOD VERY DELICIOUS . I was seated on time very nice view of the ocean.

Overall a pleasant experience. Ribeye was excellent.

As usual, good eats & superb view of Hilo bay. The waiters on our previous visits were all very nice and accommodating. This visit, the waiter was not as hospitable...seem like he had a problem being our waiter. We wanted to order desserts but he never asked. Simply brought the check as if to say "it's time for you to go."