New questions, breakfast in Hawi.

Thinking of driving to Hawi from Hilton Waikoloa early one morning during the week (not weekend). How far a drive is it? Is Kohala Coffee Mill a good place for breakfast or do you have other suggestions?

Thank you so much!!

Wendi

New questions, breakfast in Hawi.

Only if you want a continental breakfast, and there are not many tables there. You%26#39;ll compete for the limited tables with the local diners who go for coffee every morning and linger.

Not sure if Luke%26#39;s Place at the Kohala Inn is serving breakfast. You could call them. Lots of seating there.

Nambu%26#39;s in Kapa%26#39;au sort of has breakfast, or used to. You can call them also.

The Kawaihae Harbor Grill serves breakfast daily. Their menu is online (just search for the restaurant name).

The drive to Hawi from the Hilton is roughly 45 minutes, add 5-10 minutes to Kapa%26#39;au.

If I had to pick a meal to enjoy up there, it would be lunch, lots of fun options.

New questions, breakfast in Hawi.

We drove to Hawi and onwards to Kapa%26#39;au to the end of the road at the Polulu valley lookout, stopping at Kohala Coffee Mill for ice cream on the way back. Lovely scenery, reminding me a bit of the road to Hana in Maui with all of the single lane bridges. Once at the Lookout, save time to do the hike down to the black sand beach (1/2 hour, can%26#39;t swim, surf%26#39;s rough, bring water). then we took 250 back south to Waimea and Parker Ranch. A beautiful trip. Some choices to eat along the way, the Kohala Rainbow Cafe across from the King Hamehameha statue in Kapa%26#39;au being my favorite for wrap sandwiches. The August edition of Hawaii magazine had an article on Hawi. Also see viamagazine.com/top_stories/articles/north_k…

Enjoy.

When we were on island in May we had planned to stop for breakfast in Kawahaei, but everything was closed. We headed on to Hawi and stopped at Kohala Coffee Mill - yes there is very limited seating, but breakfast can be put together as you wish - plated or sandwich style %26amp; was very good. We probably missed out on other options, but were happy with choice until lunch time when we were too full still and had no room for the delectable aromas that tantalized our noses. Now I have to file away the other ideas for next trip!

hi Les!

So Tropical Dreams does serve eggs and traditional breakfast? I didn%26#39;t know. The last time I looked at their menu it was bagel shmears and pastries and sandwichees.

Your news that Kawaihae Harbor Grill was closed led me to check their website and I was see that their breakfast menu is still online but they don%26#39;t list breakfast in their hours any more.

It looks like they discontinued breakfast! Another cutback?

__________

Kohala wraps, yes those are a good choice.

There is a newish local style eatery just before Kapa%26#39;au, called SammyD%26#39;s. He makes his own pulled kalua pork for BBQ. I remember meeting him last year at the Kohala County Fair. A taste of local style for those who want.

Hi KK - Having been such a good student of your guidance we were looking forward to Kewaihae Harbor Grill, but... was not to be. At Kohala Coffee Mill what they have is a chalkboard and they list bagels and croissants and toast - eggs, etc - there is a listing of things to add - cheese, tomatoes, bacon, etc. So we placed our order and she asked if we wanted it %26#39;plated%26#39; or sandwich? What we got was a fat croissant piled with fluffy scrambled eggs, added cheese %26amp; tomato, bacon and I requested a bag of potato chips (I like taters with my breakfast and by then my blood sugar was doing a bottom crawl). The coffee was excellent as was my Chai. As stated we were stuffed! Next trip I absolutely must have room for a meal at Kohala Rainbow Cafe.

After breakfast, keep on going to see Pololu Overlook. If you are fit, a hike down to the beach is nice. Be careful of slippery spots. Under 30m min each way. Then as a reward, have shave ice (or Tropical Dreams) at Anuenue in the shopping strip at Kawaihae--same one as the minimart and Pesto%26#39;s. Best shave ice on the west side. Really.

yep, the Kawaihae place has the stuff like Honu Ohana says. Tropical Dreams gets all the write-up on the ice cream, but that doesn%26#39;t mean it%26#39;s better. It has more ';curb appeal.';

Hi Les, thanks for your updates about the Grill and the breakfast! Sounds good!

I wouldn%26#39;t regret Kohala Rainbow too much; it%26#39;s a decent lunch but falls into the category of ';place locals don%26#39;t go for lunch because it%26#39;s considered a bit overpriced.'; Caters to visitors. Wraps are good. Everything tastes more wonderful on vacation though, or maybe because I moved here from the Bay Area I%26#39;ve had a lot of good wraps that are similar.

Come to think of it, most restaurants had better food where I used to live than they do here. I%26#39;m not here for the dining! The Bamboo Restaurant has some dishes that are more special and you won%26#39;t find just like it anywhere else. It is still the only really good place to eat up there.

Locals are going to Sammy D%26#39;s and when I lived in Kapa%26#39;au I went to Nanbu Bakery in the historic Nanbu building, which has a pleasant courtyard behind it with tables. I did hear they have changed their offerings and prices and aren%26#39;t as popular any more. 3-4 years ago, that%26#39;s where you%26#39;d see the haole Kohalans meeting for lunch, and there is a local place across the way near the video store that was popular and cheap if you really love local style (not local style made to appeal to visitors, real local working class style).

Luke%26#39;s Place has a tropically stylish-decorated dining room and bar, in the renovated Kohala Inn, but sometimes their service is just not befitting their prices ... still, you might check it out. It%26#39;s entrance is across from the Banyan Tree area above the gas station at the main intersection in Hawi. (Akone Pule Hwy %26amp; Hawi Rd)

There%26#39;s a lot of art displayed, and with the high ceilings and many fans, and multiple French doors, it%26#39;s a pretty room.

We ate lunch at the Nanbu Bakery twice in February and it was very good both times. I thought the prices were reasonable.

We also ate once at a little place in Hawi (heading south out of town) on the left. I can%26#39;t remember the name of it but it had an art studio behind it. It was tiny with only room inside to stand and order with seating outside. We enjoyed the special of the day which was a homemade lasagna.

hey onegolden, thanks for the update on Nanbu. They had locals grumbling when they made changes and raised prices, but that%26#39;s because people don%26#39;t like such changes in their daily lunch place! Doesn%26#39;t mean they are overpriced from a visitor standpoint.

I%26#39;m trying to picture the place in Hawi where you got lasagna on the left side going south. I can%26#39;t think of anything on the mauka side of the highway other than Tropical Dreams, or an art studio. Most businesses in Hawi are on the makai side except that one block with TD.

Kapa%26#39;au, OTOH, has several galleries and businesses on the mauka side. Were you definitely in Hawi? It%26#39;s bugging me that I can%26#39;t picture it and won%26#39;t be over there for another week, lol.

Well, if my memory is correct going North it is on the right side just before Tropical Dreams. I%26#39;m pretty sure there is an art studio behind it kind of uphill.

I guess I could be completely wrong and it is Kapa%26#39;au but I thought it was Hawi. Please let me know when you go through there, it is going to bug me now.