Born in Hawai‘i, chef Brian Hirata was a semifinalist for best chef, Northwest and Pacific, from the James Beard Awards in 2022 and 2023. His intimate pop-ups at the Whitehaven Farm in Pepe‘ekeo (about 10 minutes north of Hilo) celebrate the flavors he grew up with. Ingredients for his seven- and nine-course meals are sourced through hunting, foraging, fishing, and cultivating on the Big Island. Standout dishes include Hawai‘i’s Rainforest, which highlights ingredients like hō‘i‘o and hāpu’u, two wild native ferns with a rich history and significance to the Hawaiian Islands. The local sous vide lamb is reverse seared and paired with local vegetables. The thoughtfulness, plating, setting, flavors, and story behind each dish make this a must-visit spot for an anniversary, birthday, or graduation dinner.

Ian Hatch used to run a digital-marketing firm with a focus on hospitality, but he says he always felt the need for a bar like Temple in Hilo. When the opportunity presented itself in 2019 to start the business — next to popular tourist spot Jackie Rey’s, mauka (toward the mountain) from bayfront (Kamehameha Avenue) — he jumped on it. Temple offers a balance of high-end and casual, combining a substantial collection of modern craft beers, wine, and cocktails with a creative tapas menu. Head chef Jessica “Jess” Devendorf suggests the rib-eye carpaccio: prime rib-eye pounded thin to order, served with local arugula, pickled shallots, smoked Maldon salt, and shaved Parmesan cheese. You won’t find better drinks in Hilo. Fridays tend to bring a nice mix of locals, university faculty members, and visitors.

Hilo’s Friday night market was founded in September 2021 in response to the COVID-19 shutdown that closed many businesses in Hawai‘i. Mana Thome, Hilo born and raised, organized the market with partners to create financial opportunities for new and existing small business owners and to revitalize the downtown area. Highlights at the market span a range of local foods, representing various dishes and flavors from the different cultures that call Hawai‘i home. Standout dining experiences include Melange Hawaii Style Birra Tacos, Vai Niu, Lemonade Honey, and Jillann’s Caribbean Food. The Market is a good option for university students, offering a wide fare of affordable meals and a fun atmosphere to celebrate the end of a long school week while enjoying soothing sounds from local musical guests. There’s also a smaller Wednesday night market that includes karaoke. Slippahs welcome.

In operation since 2006, New Chiang Mai is a cozy, family-run, wood-paneled restaurant that serves classic Thai American fusion cuisine. If you can handle the heat, you are in for a complex array of Thai spices that will make your eyes water. Ingredients are either sourced from Thailand, acquired from the Big Island, or shipped from O‘ahu. Ask co-owner and head chef Thanrika “Nim” Thaoyot what she recommends, and she’ll probably point you to the Chiang Mai fried rice, pad kee mao (spicy stir-fried noodles), the house Buddha Rama Curry, or maybe the Evil Dish: your choice of tofu or meat along with a variety of vegetables flavored with Thai spices, chile oil, and salted soybeans, all topped with peanut sauce. Pro-tip: On a rainy Hilo night, there are few things better than the Chiang Mai Thai Noodle Soup, made with star anise that adds a licorice-like, peppery-sweet warmth.

If you want to stay out past 10 p.m. in Hilo, the Tavern is the place to be. Open until midnight, six days a week, the Tavern is a popular spot for university students to gather deep into the evening. Open mic nights and karaoke tend to draw a nice mix of students and locals, but you’ll always find folks lounging in the indoor and outdoor seating areas or lingering around the pool tables. According to the friendly bartenders, many UHH students come for the Trashcan, an ersatz Four Loko made of vodka, gin, rum, blue Curacao, and Red Bull. To go with the drinks there’s a range of standard bar fare: wings (nine different flavors that can be mixed and matched), nachos, and french fries. Check out the live music on Friday nights.

Kula Shave Ice started as a food truck parked at Pohoiki Black Sand Beach in Leilani Estates but moved to a Hilo storefront after the 2018 volcanic eruption wiped out the area. Owned and operated by husband-and-wife Luke and Tiffany Golden, Kula began with a mission to serve a healthier and more sustainable version of shave ice. The team makes their own organic syrups, sourcing the bulk of the ingredients from East Hawai‘i Farms, and they often give compost back to the farmers. Try the Local, a mix of soursop and liliko‘i shave ice topped with haupia cream. You can add poi for an extra twist (and a potent nutritional punch). Situated near the Hilo Farmers Market, it’s an excellent spot for university students to grab a treat after strolling the market.

Developed in 1988 by Richard “Mike” Rankin, the Hilo Farmers Market began with only four vendors selling goods from the back of their trucks. Today, the market hosts more than 200 local vendors and is open seven days a week, with the biggest turnout on Wednesdays and Saturdays. A popular destination for university students, it’s a great place to purchase local produce, honey, pastries, souvenirs, hot plates, and beverages. Check out vendors like Waiholoku‘i Garden, where owner Elizabeth Ward has worked for 20 years with her husband, Walter, and now their daughters; the family creates blends of endemic Hawaiian māmaki tea, which they sell alongside flavored salts and dried local fruits. Or go for shortbread from Hiro’s Cookies, run by Hilo native Bryson Hiro with the help of his mother, who has been baking for more than 40 years. Hilo Farmers Market was the first open market in the nation to be federally approved to accept food stamps via EBT electronic cards.

Ken Pruitt and Bonnie Twitchell opened Ken’s House of Pancakes in 1971, when it was the only 24-hour business on the east side of the island. In 1990, under the ownership of Lindberg and Frances Ching, it received a much-needed face-lift but remains a storied icon, with framed celebrity photos on the wall featuring guests like Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson and Oscar the Grouch. Ken’s has long been a favorite spot for university students seeking a late meal after studying for finals or celebrating the end of a semester. Large groups often visit for diner-style breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including pancakes (try the banana mac nut chocolate chip). For especially hungry customers, there are “sumo-size” meals, offering hefty portions of local favorites, like the Sumo Loco, which consists of 2.5 pounds of hamburger on top of six scoops of rice, served with three Spam patties, three eggs, and brown gravy. Prices are reasonable, and portions — no matter the stated size on the menu — are generous. Though Ken’s has shortened its hours, it remains a slice of Hilo history and a rite of passage for UHH students.

The history of Kuhio Grille dates back three generations. In the 1900s, Genji Araki immigrated to Hawai‘i to work on sugar plantations along with many other Japanese nationals. When Araki’s contract expired, he relocated and started a taro farm in Waipi‘o Valley. His first son, Tetsuo, took over the family business and, along with his wife, Sueno, started making laulau, a Hawaiian dish of fatty pork and salted fish wrapped in taro and ti leaves, for friends and family. In 1995, Tetsuo’s son Sam and his wife, Nelline, opened Kuhio Grille, “home of the 1-pound laulau,” in the Prince Kuhio Plaza. Now located on Pauahi Street, the restaurant has won numerous awards for the family’s laulau recipe, and the business continues to expand, with a new storefront in O‘ahu. The famous 1-pound laulau comes with kālua pig, lomi salmon, pickled onions, poi, and two scoops of rice. You’ll also find other local fare like lunch plates and homestyle desserts, including creamy custard bread pudding and mango cheesecake. It’s all so ‘ono.

Small-town Hilo charm at its finest, Kawamoto has been a go-to okazuya (a local-style Japanese delicatessen) since Masako and Takeji Kawamoto opened the doors in 1947. Though it started as a family-owned shop selling local farm goods and other grocery items, the business has adapted as large-scale supermarkets moved into Hilo, expanding into sushi and bento boxes. In 2001, the Kawamotos’ daughter passed the store to employee Celeste Nathaniel, who oversees operations with her mother, Cheryl Kualii, and her sister, Darleen Shimabukuro. The trio have maintained the deli’s roots, including the Kawamoto name, and longtime customers often comment on how the place hasn’t changed. The variety of Japanese cuisine includes fish cakes, nori chicken, and tempura-fried purple sweet potato (items come by the piece, allowing customers to customize their bentos on a budget), and the shop offers custom catering orders featuring Filipino, Chinese, and Hawai‘i foods as well. If you happen to be in Hilo on the first Wednesday of the month, stop in for malasadas. Make sure to arrive close to opening time (6 a.m.) or place orders a day in advance; items tend to sell out quickly.

Maria Short cultivated her childhood passion for baking while attending culinary school at Baltimore International College and graduating from L’Academie de Cuisine’s pastry arts program with honors. While teaching Merchant Marines how to cook, Maria met her husband, Dien, a Hawai‘i native who left after high school to see the world. Together they opened Short N Sweet in 2004 in Hawi, the northernmost town on the Big Island, before moving to a larger facility in Hilo in 2010. You’ll find a variety of pastries and luxurious made-to-order cakes, including the bestselling Hilo Bars: freshly ground macadamia nut flour, from sister company Kipuka Mills, added to an oatmeal cookie base, topped with a chess pie-like butterscotch filling, and sprinkled with more crunchy macadamia nuts. The Liliko‘i Bar, another local favorite, combines a shortbread base with liliko‘i curd, made with fruit sourced from East Hawai‘i Farms. Come hungry; you’ll want to try everything.

While attending the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo as an art student, chef Kanoa Miura held a job cleaning fish in a local restaurant. On Mondays, his only day off, he would invite friends over for Aloha Mondays, a nod to the tradition of Aloha Fridays. Miura then worked at Roy’s in Waikoloa and the Flying Fish in Seattle, before recognizing his dream of launching his own catering service in 2005. Alongside catering (UHH is a regular customer), Aloha Mondays offers takeout for lunch and dinner using various local ingredients to create fresh, seasonal plate lunches, like furikake-seared ‘ahi with wasabi potato salad and ginger rice with a side of ginger lime ponzu, or Kulana beef mole shepherd’s pie with a green salad and creamy chipotle sauce. Vegetarians will find dishes like teriyaki baked-tofu steaks served with ogo-lomi tomato salad and sesame tahini soba noodles. Save room for dessert, which might include tres leche cake with toasted local macadamia nuts or walnut banana bread trifle with fresh local banana, salted caramel, coconut pastry cream, and vanilla whip. Just walking distance from the university, the restaurant sees a steady stream of students and faculty members for lunch during the school year.