808 Grindz Cafe Kona — Restaurant in Hawaii

Vacationing on the big island. In the restaurant area early in the morning to purchase supplies and pick up a few things. Saw 808 Grindz as a breakfast option and decided to try it. Opened the door to find a short line already that moved quickly at the ordering window. While waiting, one of the young men staff said hello and answered our call for recommendations with a friendly smile. The young lady at the window took our order for the Moco Moco, tall stack pancakes with their homemade maca+nilla sauce and the Bene Trio. Their payment methods are in cash only, but the prices were very reasonable compared to my $400+ trip to Safeway! Don’t blame them for trying to save on credit card fees, smart for their business! We sat down in the clean, but simple dining area and the food was brought out after a fair 5-8 minute wait in take out foam containers. We had a toddler and a one year old infant in our group, but they didn’t have any high chairs or booster seats. Not a deal breaker by any means as this is laid back country and we just ate with kids on laps easily. The young man that greeted us in line made sure we were well taken care of and offered some condiments. The Spam Moco Moco was hot and very good without drowning everything in a bad gravy. Tasty and just perfect! The Bene Trio had a crab cake, salmon florentine and one other I just can’t remember (sorry) and featured perfectly poached eggs and was outstanding! Very different breakfast option, but seemed like a Hawaiian grandma’s favorite done right and shared with us mainlanders. The pancakes with the macadamia vanilla sauce was excellent! It was light, very different and the flavors went well with the pancakes. These pancakes are more like the ones your grandma makes from scratch at home than a chain restaurant, light, fluffy and soft.

In summary, this made our morning and was such a nice breakfast! I’d highly recommend 808 Grindz for breakfast and will probably be back later in our week to try them for lunch! Got try this local treasure, you won’t be...

DAY 4 of Vacation - We didn't really have anything planned today, so we winged it the whole day. What best way to start off our day than with some breakfast.

CASH ONLY! Come prepared!

Parking: Large parking lot. Finding a spot is easy. Free parking.

Ambiance/Environment: The outside doesn't look like much. It's a very casual and local spot. They have a medium size space with a good amount of indoor seating. No outdoor seating. This place is popping, so try to come early.

Service: When you walk in, you'd wait in line, overlook the menu, order at the window, then seat yourself. You can either order take out or dine in. We dined in. You get the napkins and utensils yourself from the shelf in the back. They do not offer complimentary water; only bottled water. They do sell other drinks too. A worker checked on us once, but you're pretty much on your own. There is a public restroom outside in the left corner of the plaza. The worker will show you how to get there on a map and give you a key.

What I ordered: We all ordered different dishes. Unfortunately, they did not have any steak so they substituted it with short ribs. Some of us ordered lunch, but I ordered "Da Kanak Attack" from their 808 All Day section. This dish is a three egg omelet w/ diced ham, spam, Vienna, bacon, onions, & mix cheese. I chose hash browns as my choice of starch. I really liked my dish! The omelet was cooked well, and it was stuffed with a good amount of toppings. The hash browns were crispy and seasoned perfectly. Overall, we all enjoyed everything and...

I don't get how people are rating this place above a 2 stars!? We stopped here because of the reviews...when we walked in we noticed the server ( an older gentleman) coughing everywhere!! We were handed menus that had pen markings in the inside with prince changes. When I ordered my food, the gentleman said they don't serve that item anymore ( although it's on the menu), so I ordered something else, which he marked on his pad $3.50 more than the menu said. My boyfriend ordered an item off the menu and he marked that up an additional $.75 more than the menu stated. We were confused, we decided that when he brings the check at the end we would ask him then. As he brought the food from the window to our table he did not use gloves or a tray and his thumb was in our food from holding our plates. He was still coughing and not once did I see him wash his hands!!! The food was good, but kind of scared me about the cleanliness about this restaurant...I don't know how they "passed" inspection for food and safety. When it was time to pay we kindly asked him why we were over charged per what the menu states and his exact answer was "because they need to redo the menu!" My boyfriend got into an argument with him and said we are not paying that!! The server ( owner ) got very defensive, after 10 minutes of arguing he eventually corrected our bill!! I cannot stress enough, DO NOT DINE HERE, ITS NOT WORTH YOUR TIME NOR MONEY!!!!!!!! There are plenty of restaurants in the area that will exceed your...