Aloha Luigi

Sadly this place closed last month when the owner passed. I really liked the atmosphere and the food was quite good. It’s now a southern restaurant.

Ok so if you want to spend 13 $ bucks on 3 small shrimp tacos, in which I got five tiny shrimp, this is the place for you! When asking if this plate was for reals there was no attempt to salvage any kind of customer relations. Not good forh mexican food.

In downtown Hilo, there is a small restaurant called Aloha Luigi’s. You can’t miss this bright-​green building on the left-​hand side of Keawe street, across from Pescatore’s. They have a courtyard where tables are set-​up with umbrellas and beautiful plants growing that give the place an earthy feel. If you’re not interested in eating outside, they do have tables inside as well. The inside is painted in yellow and blue and the ceiling is painted blue with white swirls to resemble fluffy clouds. To top it off, they support local artists by displaying their artwork and photography.
One of the most interesting things about Aloha Luigi’s is that they serve both a little Mexican-​style food, and Italian cuisine. Wow, a little of both worlds under one roof! Now, that one family member who never liked tacos or burritos can instead enjoy a delicious plate of spaghetti. On their menu, they serve a giant burrito that is just bursting with flavor, but too much for one person. The pizza is to to die for! The cheese is oozy and the crust is crispy, what more could you want?
Another unique quality about Aloha Luigi’s is that they do not have waiters or waitresses, and you seat yourself. This means the customers bus their own tables. A sink and trashcan is provided inside and out for proper waste disposal. Also, inside and out, condiments are provided such as: jalapeños, salsa, parmesan cheese, etc. This allows you do «doctor up» your food, and have it your way.
The only downside about Aloha Luigi’s is deciding what to order within your budget. Their prices are a bit steep, but they do have meals ideal for those with a thin wallet such as a slice of cheese pizza and a drink for $ 5.00. However, typical entrée prices are around $ 10.00 each, not including a drink. Another topside note about Aloha Luigi’s is their speedy service. You will find yourself eating you food longer than you spent waiting for it. Since there are no waiters and waitresses, you order at the counter which reduces the amount of time you might have to wait. Their workers are really sweet. I remember ordering my food and my cashier was very sweet and made sure my order was taken to the cooks right away. So next time your hungry for pizza but only want a slice, stop by Aloha Luigi’s and have a cheesy, crispy slice of aloha.

We found this one while walking around — and so glad, too! All the food looked so good — the variety was amazing considering the size of the place. I had pizza — really really good — thin and crispy — mine had pistachios on it, not sure how that would be, but I would eat some right now! I forget what my husband had, but he loved it. We were too full for ice cream, but lots of people were buying it!

One of the BEST slices of Pizza I have ever had… found in Hawaii of all places!
I ordered the SUPER-​THICK Sicillian pizza with sausage and pepperoni and was so impressed I had to try a dessert as a follow-​up!
The crust of the pizza had a touch of honey in it for sweetness and it left me very happy and full too!
I «found» the room to eat an ice cream canoli — which was very delicate and balanced… it tasted creamy almost cheesecake like in the ice cream enveloped in a crispy exterior/​
Great Lunch for a Great Price!

Hawaii doesn’t have much Mexican food to begin with and most of it is pretty lackluster. So I didn’t have high expectations for this place but decided to eat here since their prices are reasonable and they offered a couple of vegetarian options.
My boyfriend and I got a breakfast «burrito» and a veggie «burrito». I use quotes because when we got them, they were not wrapped. They just placed the tortilla into the to-​go box and then laid the ingredients inside. Kind of like a soft shell tostada, for lack of a better description. Flavor-​wise they were satisfactory and portions were relatively generous. I just find it fascinating that this has happened to us twice in HI in two separate eateries. At the other place we ordered a breakfast «burrito», and got a poor excuse for a quesadilla with a flimsy fried egg inside.
All in all worth a try if you’re in the mood for Mexican or Italian. I didn’t try the salad/​pizza special but from what I observed it looked pretty tasty and seemed like a good deal. Btw, this place was CASH ONLY when we went.

I was sad to read that Luigi recently passed away (Feb 14, 2011). There are touching memorials within the restaurant.
I was happy to see that things have not changed at the restaurant — great service and food.

My Top Five List for Luigi’s:
#5 — Choice of outdoor tables with umbrellas in the patio or indoor seating in the restaurant.
#4 — Wide selection of ice cream. My friend ordered strawberry (with fresh chunks mixed into pink creamy goodness). A very large scoop! I think I’ll go back to try fresh banana flavor.
#3 — An attempt to be green! No plastic utensils or drink lids in sight.
#2 — $ 4.99 lunch special of Caesar salad and Sicilian pizza** Low price for fresh food!
And …(insert drumroll) My #1 reason for eating a Luigi’s repeat…
#1 — Caesar Salad is to die for! You have to love garlic… you will literally see the chunks! This is not your average «bleh» Caesar dressing from the bottle. Homemade baby! Note to self – be armed with gum or altoids. Your breath will be self destructive.
** the Sicilian pizza is the reason for lack of 5 stars. It kinda reminded me of elementary school pizza (maybe school was actually better. :oP) 90% bread, 5% sauce, 5% cheese. You get my drift. Thinner crust, generous toppings… especially cheese = 5 star rating!
P. S. Will make a second visit to try their caesar salad wraps… stay tuned for my Unilocal-​revision.

Good Caesar salads that are loaded with garlic! The seared Ahi is good, scallops are breaded and fried so they are so-​so. The canolli’s are frozen and are not good and to top it off they are expensive. Their ice tea is also really bad. The best thing I’ve tried there was the scallop burrito.

This place had something for everybody!
We ended up here after driving down to Hilo after a day of zip-​lining though the jungle… we were just looking for a place to eat lunch and having difficulty deciding as everyone wanted something different.
The fish, Ahi, tacos were yummy (their salsa selection was great too), several family members got them… as was the Ahi Ceasar Wrap. Other family members got other tacos and even spaghetti! Their coconut (one is covered in chocolate) macaroons were irresistible and were calling my name as I ordered my main.
Basically, it is a great little dive if you want a good lunch, a quick eat, or can’t decided what to eat!

We expected good things here based on prior reviews. We had spaghetti with a meatball and lasagne. We took both back to our hotel. Pasta sauce was weak and almost flavorless except for garlic. Lasagne was marginally better. My wife says she really doesn’t want to eat the leftovers for lunch today.
Don’t know about the Mexican menu.
Low priced but you get what you pay for.

3÷20÷08: LIke most place in Hawaii, this restaurant suffers by having too many personalities. Italian and mexican foods combined? Hmmm… There’s no apparent reason why those two were married.
Anyways, my group ordered their soup and ceasar salad combo (soup was a cream of shitaki (japanese, hm?) mushroom and garlic). Portion size was less than expected ($ 5.95 for this combo) — it comes with bread (appears to be made onsite) — the soup was filled to the brim with garlic. Oh wait, so was the salad (garlic smell and taste was quite strong) and even the bread (garlic chunks baked inside)!! They clearly rely too much on processed garlic (garlic was chopped evenly and reminds me of the one gallon bucket from Costco).
I’m not sure if I would go back, not very creative with meal and soup was also very salty. I should note that there were many people eating there, half eating mexican food and the other half eating italian foods.

Cute little place in downtown Hilo. A little pricey for the portion size. I ordered chicken tacos which come with a spoonful of black beans, spanish rice, and cole slaw. Brother ordered a chicken burrito which was a pretty good size. The presentation of the food is nice. Cash or local check is only accepted.