Pineapples Island Fresh Cuisine

Excellent service! Poke was so fresh and the fresh catch was awesome. Special shoutout for the potato mac salad — yum!

The place was packed on Thursday night! Enjoyed the Mai Tai sampler. We tried the cheese puffs, hibachi pupu fish, and teriyaki flank steak appetizers, all of which were delicious. They ran out of our preferred coconut cake, so we finished up with bread pudding (like coffee cake filled with tropical fruits) instead. Yum!
Overall, the staff was friendly. We were happy to find such a place with diverse flavors and live music. Would love to return and try a few more dishes.

Food is OK but nothing special. Location is good. Can be hot in the dining area. Need reservations on Friday and Saturday.

Stopped in after a day of volcano walking. We were somewhat surprised at having to sit at the bar on a Wednesday evening (6pm) because we didn’t have a reservation. Turned out to be a wonderful experience as our bartenders were very pleasant and most attentive! My wife and I both tried the specials and did not regret the choice. I had the smoked salmon alfredo over fettuccini and she had a cream cheese stuffed burger with a side of sweet potato fries. Both were really, really good! An added bonus was the live music — very talented guitar player with a wonderful voice. Only regret was that we had to drive back to the other side of the island. Would have much rather hung out at Pineapples a while longer!

We really enjoyed this place. We had the local plate filled with pork, ribs, potato macaroni salad and some sort of sweet rice. We also split the spring rolls with spiced chicken.
Everything was great quality and the atmosphere was pretty lively for a Sunday night and they even had a guy playing some live music. Food came out quickly and the staff was friendly.
We’re really glad we checked Unilocal before settling on something fast and crappy.

I ate here two nights in a row. Fantastic vibe on a street corner in Hilo. Two walls of the restaurant are garage doors that are rolled up when business is open. They had live music playing each night in addition to the really tasty food. I had a fish & chips special one night and the next I had the kalbi ribs and my wife had the macadamia nut chicken. Really good menu and nice wait staff. A very solid choice in Hilo.

Probably one of if not the best restaurants in Hilo, we had lunch & the food was very generous and very tasty, I would highly recommend this place to anybody that is in the area. As good as the food was our waitress «Jahnavi» was fantastic, nice smile & always available for any of our requests. I would give her 10 stars **********
We will be back next time we are on the island of Hawaii.
Thank you Jahnavi.

Went here for a quick lunch. Service was fast and the food was amazing… probably the best I’ve had in the week that I’ve spent on the big island. I ordered the fresh catch sandwich with sweet potato fries – both tasted great.
Also happened to have the prettiest lady in Hawaii serve me my fish sandwich. Strawberry blonde server with the tattoos – keep on rockin girl

Aye here after a visit to the hot springs. The seared ahi and swiped the sauce topping based on recommendation from the waiter. The sauce did it!
Got here at 8:15pm on a Wednesday… no line and plenty of seating. Guitar player was great. Wish he he played till closing (stopped at 9).
Great surprise was the check. A lot lower than expected!

Very fresh and good flavor! All local ingredients and nice selection of fish. I had the vege lettuce cups with a side of fish (Ono), and it was nicely flavored with fresh vegetables. Husband had the fish sandwich and he said it was about a 7 of 10, he also preferred the sweet potato fries. I tried the pineapple jalapeño margarita with a Li hing mui rim and it was very yummy!

What an awesome restaurant! From the service to the food! Everything was fresh and taste as if they have a garden out back! I had the caprese salad, and boy was it good! The macadamia nut pesto really was a nice touch. I also had the chicken sandwich, melt in your mouth good! I was stuffed but I couldn’t pass up the salted Carmel macadamia nut ice cream… Yummy… Thanks Katherine for your great service!

Limbo ha Curry and lettuce cup entre vegan are excellent as is the wine selection. Best place on Hilo strip with good fresh food vibe.

Easily one of the most popular restaurants in Hilo! There was a 30+ minute wait on a Sunday evening so we went to the Thai place down the street. We came back later in the week and the wait was only 15 minutes so we stuck around. We shared the clams with Hamakua Ali’i mushrooms. The sauce was addicting and the mushrooms were uniquely meaty. I had the Macadamia nut chicken ($ 18) which was hearty and tender. Rich mashed potatoes and thinly sliced squash on the bottom made it a cross between Hawaiian and western cuisine. They had an interesting beer selection which I would have liked to try. The live musician was quite talented, playing and singing covers of current hits.

Very lively place and very busy too. We had to wait almost 30 minutes for a table here on a Sunday evening. We were with friends so didn’t mind waiting it out while we caught up on all the holiday buzz.
There was live music being played that definitely lifted the holidayers’ spirit.
I ordered the veggie pasta while my friends ordered poke, ribs and chicken dishes. Everything tasted good. Please note the portions here are huge so order according to your appetite, we ended up wasting half of our plates.
Overall I would give a 4 star for the ambience and jolly environment and 3 star for the food. Definitely try this place out if you are in Hilo.

What a nice surprise! Although we had to wait a while for our table, it was well worth it. Not only were the staff very very nice and caring, but the food was excellent.
Teriyaki flank steak was huge tender and delicious with a Teri butter gravy. Fish bowl had a spicy sriracha sauce with lots of grilled fish atop. Everything at our table turned out great. Prices were reasonable for what you get!
We highly recommend pineapples while in Hilo.

We are loving pineapples! Nic, our server, is so great and friendly. He gave us amazing recommendations and anticipated our needs.
The steak appetizer was so great, super juicy and tender with great flavor.
Sunday is $ 6 wine night and all wines are $ 6 a glass. The girl & dragon red is amazing, highly recommend.
We ordered:
The coconut crusted fish, the Ono, the big island onion soup, the pineapple barbecue wings and they were all great! We loved it.

Pineapples Restaurant is located in Downtown Hilo and is home to an open air, street level setting. They are open 11 am to 9:30 pm Tuesday to Sunday and on Fridays and Saturdays 11 am to 10 pm.
I met up with some coworkers here on a Sunday and seems like no matter what time or day it is, it’s always busy. The atmosphere has a more casual yet locale feel to it. A lot of tourists and a few locals hit this spot. It was my first time there and I thought it almost did me good.
The food is alright, a little pricey though. I ordered a Fish n Chips which was $ 13 and now I can see why some Hilo locals would turn the other cheek. My coworkers ordered the Chicken wrap, Coconut Crusted Fresh Catch, the Pineapple burger, and some alcoholic beverages. My dish which I ordered the regular steak fries were decent. The slaw was good but for $ 13 and only 4 pieces of fresh battered fish the size of my thumb I was like c’mon!
All in all the restaurant is clean and the service outstanding! The location blows a little but I guess that doesn’t bother most people. With the location, parking is a pain! I would have to go here a couple more times so I can recommend what to eat and drink. 3 stars until my next visit.

Ok so, Pineapples is a fun open aired venue in the downtown Hilo area. The restaurant is a breath of fresh air to this gloomy little corner but it is severely lacking a view. The restaurant itself is nicely put together, pleasant & clean. The service is on point and fairly quick. The unit consists of a full bar with comfortable booth and table seating.
I’ll start by saying the margarita and daiquiri shooters are sassy, delicious and perfect for Unilocal photos. Try it!
The Big Island Onion Soup is Delicious! A cup of this soup is perfect for me.
The spring rolls are my favorite appetizer but you only get 3 for $ 10. The wings, cheese puffs and teriyaki steak are also good.
I would pass on the lettuce cups unless you’re on a strict diet. Blah! The cheese fries were poorly seasoned and very dry.
My friends love the hamakua mushrooms but when I ordered it, it seemed a little undercooked and my bread was hard.
I tend to order off the special menu so I can’t recommend too much on the standard menu.
I don’t think you can go wrong with the fresh catch but be expecting to pay between $ 25-​$ 30 for your plate.
The coconut crusted fish is a good choice.
The burgers both the classic and the pineapples burger are pretty standard. Nothing to brag about but they are far from bad.
The sauce in the shrimp scampi is good but served with spaghetti noodles. No complaints though, I ate the entire dish.
I would avoid the seafood pasta. Not the greatest taste and they serve this dish with spaghetti noodles also, which in my opinion cheapens the dish.
I don’t recommend the Nachos and Tacos (Better tacos and Nachos down the street at Lucy’s or Reuben’s)
I would like to try the surf & turf and the chefs pupu platter. I heard both are good.
I ordered a shrimp salad & spinach on special once. It was the best salad I ever tasted. I wish the Chef would add it to the regular menu.

A very nice lunch experience on a weekday at Pineapples has us still talking about it three weeks later. We stopped in after considering the other excellent choices in Hilo (Conscious Culture Café, Café Pesto, etc.) and we thoroughly enjoyed the scene and the food. First the scene – as we ordered and waited for our food, we sipped on beers and watched the Sunset Beach Surf tournament on the two big screen TVs over the bar. We also looked outside the opened doors and windows to the passing scene on Keane St. Then the food: my dining partner had a Pumpkin curry she’s still talking about and I had a Tuna Poke plate that I’m wishing I could get on the East Coast. Oh well… next time we’re in Hilo, we’re definitely stopping by.

We were seated quickly even with a large six person group. The staff was helpful and attentive. My curry bowl was perfect — a little spicy and creamy with fresh veggies and tofu. Delicious!
Loved the live music and beer selection. Thanks for a great meal, Pineapple!