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 disappointed.