Hello Hilo — Restaurant in Georgia

Me and my father went here on opening day today. And i must say this idea is wonderful, the food is delicious and the price is worthy.

What we had: we went during early breakfast hours, and while the selection was small, all we tried was amazing

Loco moco: now this was a rather interesting choice its essentially a hamburg steak (hamburger rolled in panko then fried) on top of rice, with cilantro tomato and other fresh herbs, and a fried egg, with some brown gravy on top. And while that may sound like an odd combination, it messhes each other so well. I would rate this 9/10

Sunrise burrito: Now my assumption had been that this would be just a standard burrito wrap. However, the combination of meats was the most interesting part. Admittedly, i only took a single bite off my fathers burrito, so my experience will vary from his. However from what i had tasted the meat is very full of flavor and the filling of the burrito is almost sweet but in the most comforting kinda way.- 8/10 (only since i didnt eat much of it so cant judge on more then the one bite)

Lychee lime lemonade: ADD LYCHEE TO MY LEMONADE EVERY TIME! But really, i enjoy lemonade as a standard and am always trying new lemonades. This was an amazing lemonade, and i want to go back to try the other combinations. It wasn't too sweet or bitter. It was a perfext blend. -10/10

Sweet tea (dads): "it was perfectly brewed sweet tea, not too sweet just right -9/10"

Price Total for everything here: $25.52 It's worth every penny.

Extra: i can't go anywhere without some sweets, so i tried two:

Mochi donut (strawberry guava): Take a bite and get a punch of flavor, mine had been sitting a short while but it was still very fresh tasting and the flavor really hits as soon as you start chewing. -9/10

Filled masaladas: I've never had one of these prior, so i have no prior reference to pull from. However, flavor wise, i got the chocolate, and it was fresh from the oven. Large sugar flakes on top and a cold, very flavorful filling inside. My only issue was that the top seemed to be kinda hard, but the bottom was soft. That could have been due to anything, but i still give this an- 8/10

Summary: i want to see more of this restaurant in other locations. The atmosphere is enjoyable and seems built on the idea of conversing with more than just your own group. There's a comfortable outside seating area, which i would sit at anytime. I would recommend trying this location at least once.

Update 8/12/24: Food continues being quality, and the staff continues to be kind. This time around, i tried two things that were new to me.

Choclate cake at hello hilo: perfectly moist chocolate cake, rich chocolate flavor yet creamy, the chilled cake keeps the cake layer cold but still soft and fluffy. The chocolate icing layers keep at a moderate temperature, but when bitten togeather give an illusion of cream cheese burst without the mouth coating feel. This cake is perfect chocolate cake with not too little or too much sugar. Would recommend 8.5/10

Pinapple muffin: This is a very soft, freshly made muffin, easy to eat, but as with most muffins, have a drink ready for afterward, the pinapple flavor is not as intense as you would expect but clear throughout. The muffin appears to put pinapple juice inside the batter mix, which gives a light hint of the pinapple flavor. Rather than kicking you in the mouth, you are softly reminded of the pinapple as...

Waited a couple months to try Hello Hilo and I’m excited to say things have finally settled down enough that they have all their menu items in stock and the crowds aren’t insane anymore!

We arrived at 11:45 for lunch and that was just in time because, by the time we were done ordering, there were 10 more people in line behind us! There’s plenty of staff and plenty of room for people to spread out inside and outside.

Atmosphere is everything here, the restaurant looks amazing and is a charming Hawaiian oasis in the center of Gainesville. Warm wood, tropical designs and foliage add to the ambiance. There’s peaceful Polynesian music piped in as you eat that truly leaves you feeling like you stepped out of your crazy modern life for a few minutes.

Because I was there for lunch on a weekday, it was mostly adults dining, but outside you could bring your kids and let them run around in the fenced-in lanai area while you were waiting for your dinner on a sunny day. Definitely a good environment for family.

If you like King’s Hawaiian bread, you’re going to love their sliders and their donuts.

OK y’all, have you ever had funeral sandwiches? Sometimes they’re called tailgate sandwiches? You know, the ones where you pour a brown sugar glaze over little ham and provolone sandwiches made with King’s Hawaiian bread and bake them in the oven? (if you haven’t had these things, make some today, they are amazing!) I feel like the sliders at Hello Hilo are glorified “funeral sandwiches,” delicious, warm bread loaded with flavorful, hot meats and cheeses - they melt in your mouth! We had the Kalua pork sliders, which were a little sweet, buttery and delicious and sprinkled with sea salt and the Bulgogi beef sliders had a spicy mayonnaise on them to give it a little kick and was practically gooey with extra cheese and some crunch black sesame seeds for texture.

We thought the loco mock bowl was basically a Hawaiian version of country fried steak and eggs, lol! If you’ve had it at the Cracker Barrel, you’ll like it here. The gravy at Hello Hilo has more of a soy flavor and you also get some tomatoes in a tropical marinade for a tangy kick with cilantro rice.

The most unique things we had were the Hawaiian sodas. My lychee lime was sweet and tart and refreshing and my husband had an orange soda that was also a sweet treat. And the donuts were insane! We tried both the pineapple and the guava doughnut I’m a huge fan of guava anyway, but pairing it with donuts that are basically fried King’s Hawaiian bread rings? Good lord. They were AMAZING!! A little crunchy on the outside and doughy in the center - just such a treat!

All that said, the prices were unexpectedly high, so you’re going to spend a lot of money to be full. Three sliders, which come on three Kings Hawaiian rolls so you know their size, are $12. That doesn’t include a side or a drink so you can expect to spend about $20 an adult on a meal to be full. That’s a little exorbitant for a weekday lunch!

The atmosphere is gorgeous and unique. Much of the food is different from anything else you’ll see in Gainesville. Due to the price though, this is a restaurant we will only return to for a special occasion or to share something fun with guests to...

UPDATE: We’ve eaten here several times and I have finally ventured out and tried something new, but I want to also share some new things they have incorporated. They now have a loyalty program! Like everywhere else, you just enter your phone number to earn points on your purchase, but you get a free hula whip when you sign up. They also now have a variety of amazingly delicious drinks! It used to just be fountain and their own (my favorite) Hilo Island sweet tea, but now you can get their handcrafted POG (pineapple orange Guava), blue Hawaiian, strawberry guava, lychee lime, lilikoi orange, pineapple, and pineapple lihing as alternatives to soda! All are delicious, but I love the POG and lilikoi orange the best. They also have some new longboard sliders. You can now get your loco moco on a slider, but I tried the teriyaki burger longboard slider and it’s my new favorite and I’m not a burger kind of girl! We are going to try some of the new mochi donuts like lemon coconut and Georgia peach. Can’t get enough of this place, and now there’s even more to enjoy.

I can’t say I have ever been greeted as warmly as I was walking in here! The outside has a great look to it, but the inside has great attention to detail.

I was completely overwhelmed with so many amazing options, Freda at the register offered her suggestions. Alisa came over and told us a little about the place and the differences between popular Hawaiian locations that we’ve been to versus their products. She is native to Oahu, so she was able to elaborate on preparations and able to describe things we were unfamiliar with.

We ended up ordering the loco moco (we’ve had both fantastic and terrible in various places in Hawaii) but this may actually be the best ones we’ve had! While the meat is Panko crusted, and I’ve never had that before, it is extremely fresh and the tomato salsa, gravy, and perfectly cooked egg made it irresistible!

I was unsure between the Huli Huli chicken and the Kahlúa pork, so I got a small side of each. Honestly, I normally never order anything with dark meat, but that is one of the best tasting chicken things I have ever had!

My son got the spicy Bulgogi steak sliders. He liked my chicken so much, he was worried he would be disappointed in the stake, but he overall was very happy with it. The steak was too spicy for my taste. The malasadas are very fresh and not as dense as Leonard‘s in Hawaii and the filling is a light whipped cream that has a very nice flavor to it. I like how they have the malasadas color-coded in case you get filling, it’s easy to identify what you got!

On a side note, they have a pineapple sweet tea is also amazing! If it were a nicer day, we may have eaten outside because it’s adorable. The restrooms were clean and nice.

We do not live close, but it is worth every minute and every mile of the drive. We will definitely be back!

Thank you, Alisa! You have converted me to eat...