Lehua Restaurant At Imiloa

Lovely place - absolutely get the crab skillet. The old fashioned was incredible. As was the ahi katsu and the mac nut pie. Service was VERY attentive and kind. Live Hawaiian music was a really nice addition - wish it had lasted all evening!

We were drawn by the high rating for Lehua. Lots of 5 star reviews, we were so excited to try an upscale restaurant in our community. We hear folks at work boast about Lehua. Starting off with the location, it’s located by the Imiloa planetarium, great spot. The dining room space was nice as was our seating. Front of the house was friendly and welcoming. Our server was professional. The live music was nice but way too loud, it was hard to have any conversation. Started with the ulu app which was by far the best thing tonight. My daughter ordered the confit chicken, wife ordered the pasta with chicken and I got the ribeye steak. The presentation on all our plates was beautiful and portions were ample. As for prep and seasoning, all dishes were flavorless. The confit chicken was dry and tough. The flesh smelled like two day leftover chicken. Pasta has no flavor whatsoever even though it appeared to have so much going on as to ingredients. Pasta was a bit undercooked. The chicken was dry and devoid of any seasoning. My steak was not prepared as I ordered it, it was overcooked and the steak was not a standard thickness, very disappointing and again, no flavor. Potatoes were actually good. Desserts were underwhelming. Summary: Lehua has the potential to be really awesome and maybe it usually is, but not during our visit. Food presentation was great but no seasoning, flavor or joy to be had. If there was flavor, I would give Lehua 4 stars. Chef, please taste the food before serving. The ulu appetizer was perfect but can’t move the number of stars. Service was good not great. Dining space was beautiful but music too loud to have a conversation. Best of luck.

Wow this place is amazing! Great ambiance, great customer service and delicious food to top it all off. Fried Kalo? YES, please! Also, one of the best burgers I've had in a long time. Wife had the pork belly plate which was delicious as well. Oh dessert.....could barely walk out of there. Everyone working there is awesome, and they work as a team which makes the customer experience even better. Definitely will be back!

Absolutely unexpected find - we stumbled on this place when searching for dinner and it was amazing. Truly unique food with Japanese and island influences, incredible flavors, delicious bread, fantastic service and fun and unique drink menu with a pickled mango martini (try it!). And the live Hawaiian music was the perfect accompaniment to dinner.

Honestly, this was the best meal we’ve had in Hawaii so far. We were a little hesitant at first since it’s located inside a museum/planetarium, but we’re so glad we decided to give it a try. I ordered the Pork Belly Bowl and my wife had the Mahi Mahi—both dishes were absolutely incredible. For dessert, we shared the dessert lumpia, and even though I couldn’t tell you exactly what was in it, it was fantastic. Our server, Cody, was also amazing—super friendly and attentive throughout the meal. Big shout-out to him for making the experience even better.

This restaurant is incredible, the ambience is nice and cozy, they had hawaiian live music which was beautiful. It all looked brand new and very clean. The service was a little bit slow, taking a while for things to get to our table but still the staff was very friendly. The food is incredible, very well seasoned and delicious, we couldn’t be happier with our food orders. We’ll definitely come back anytime we’re in Hilo. Aloha!

This was the freshest food I've ever had! I've never had li hing mui on a dessert like this (strawberry puff pastry with ice cream they made as well) so that was honestly my favorite part of the meal. For dinner, we had the fresh catch of the day and the pork special they had that night. The pork is unlike any pork I've ever had. If you're ever on the Big Island, definitely make reservations for dinner here. We stayed on the Kona side but the 1 hour, 30 minutes drive was worth it for a meal I will never forget and not find anywhere else.