The Rim

My wife and I have been coming to The Rim for years after our hikes at the park. We are baffled by the low ratings. This has been consistently one of the best places to eat lunch and dinner. The food is great and our servers and hosts have been superb. Obviously this is not Nobu LA.. it’s better, more real, and on the literal rim of one of the most active volcanoes in the world. It’s an elevated and locally sourced dinner that is delicious. We can’t wait to come back.

Incredible Food with an Unbeatable View of Kīlauea! If you want the unforgettable experience of watching the active Kīlauea volcano live right in front of you while you eat, The Rim at Volcano House is an absolute must-visit. Situated right inside Volcano National Park and part of the historic Volcano House, this restaurant offers a dining experience like no other. We spent three days exploring the national park, and The Rim completely satisfied all of our breakfast, lunch, and dinner needs. The food is incredibly delicious across the board, and we loved everything we ordered. Their breakfast buffet is fantastic, featuring a wide selection of breads, eggs made exactly how you like them, breakfast meats, and their very famous (and delicious) guava and ube breads. For lunch and dinner, their pizza and pesto pasta are absolute standouts. Beyond the food and the breathtaking views, the service is wonderful. The staff are incredibly helpful and accommodating, making sure you feel well taken care of. They also maintain very clean restrooms, which is always appreciated after a long day of hiking. One of the best features of the property is the dedicated viewing area where you can just sit, relax, and watch the volcano in action. A quick tip on logistics: they do not take online reservations for breakfast or lunch. It is first-come, first-served, and depending on the time of day, you might have to wait in a line. However, the wait flies by because you can spend that time relaxing in the viewing area watching the crater! They *do* take online reservations for dinner, and I highly suggest booking ahead, as the place gets crowded easily and the dinner line can get long. Overall, whether you are stopping in for a quick bite or a nice sit-down dinner, The Rim is a must-visit when you are in Volcano National Park!

When you eat a place like this you're not expecting too much and that's what they delivered. We ordered the Macedonia fish and chips and while the fish was pretty interesting with the crunch, the chips were pretty bad and we ended up not finishing them at all. We also had the Oriental Somen Salad with Chicken which was a decent salad all things considered. However, the chicken was pretty dry with the best part being the Somen noodles. Service was fast and you can't beat the location or the view.

The night of the 42nd volcano eruption, we enjoyed a front window seat to the massive lava fountains! Created a great backdrop to a great meal. The restaurant is inside the very old classic Volcano Lodge; complete with wood fireplace. Staying in the lodge made it simple to have meals; we ate at the Rim two nights, one night at the more casual Lodge restaurant Uncle Georges Lounge. All meals were prepared very well. For the first meal, we ordered a couple of Mai Tais that were nicely flavorful. For appetizers, I can recommend the Furikake Seared Ahi; gently seared with very flavorful colorful condiments. Plus, the portion was relatively generous as well. The chef's entree special was an amazing local fish prepared attractively and tasting marvelous. For our second night, the volcano was no longer erupting and the crowds of watchers had left so the meal was far less hectic. Did a less extravagant meal of Big Island Stuffed Chicken (great stuffing of Feta cheese and greens!) and it was a great choice. Straying from fish my partner went with the perfectly grilled 12 oz Hawaiian beef ribeye. Finished up with a fun crème brûlée with lots of burnt sugar!. Not a restaurant to drive 1-2 hours to, but if you find yourself on the mountain, well-worth stopping for a great meal here. but try to get there when the volcano isn't erupting or you'll be trampled, pushed, and find nowhere to park.

Breakfast buffet open til 10:30. $24/adults. Omelet station, cocktails if wanted, fruit, waffles, sweet bread, bagels, turkey hash. Guft Shop with Volcano merch. Cozy lobby. Overlooks the volcano.

With episode #40 looming we were looking to ring in the New Year on the rim of the volcano. We made reservations for January 1st and dressed up to celebrate. The only time available was 8 pm a bit late for us but we took it totally geeked to eat on the rim of an active volcano. We arrived early and waited almost an hour to be seated. We were seated at a window table which is awesome but the inside lighting was so bright all you could see was your own reflection. They were out of several of the menu items like the fresh catch of the day and the tiramisu. We ordered drinks and an appetizer then our entrees. The restaurant cleared out and we felt forgotten. Once we finished our entrees it felt like forever before we were approached about dessert. The chocolate cake was really good but took a long time to get. I had night vision on my iPhone and I was able to capture the smoldering volcano.This was probably our least favorite meal of our trip.

Imagine having dinner on top of a volcano. Amazing. The food, I guess for the price I expected much more. It wasnt bad by any means but.. it definitely wasnt spectacular. Chicken was relatively bland considering...i enjoyed the bed of potatoes quite a bit but id not order this again. Wife had the steak salad and enjoyed it. I tried the steak and was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps I jist got the wrong dish but for the price, there ought not be a wrong dish. The dessert on the other hand... phenomenal. The bathrooms however need some serious attention. They're pretty filthy...and smell.