Volcano's Lava Rock Cafe — Restaurant in Hawaii

There aren't many restaurants in the Volcano area, and this is one of the few that don't turn people away when it gets busy.

Decor is fun, with an epoxy floor made to look like hot lava, and professional quality photos of the eruptions on the walls. The building is older, and in a lot of ways it shows (floor is uneven, older tables and booths, etc.). But the Lava Rock Cafe is very clean. It is also well lit.

Restrooms are located outside of the restaurant. They were clean and appeared to be well kept.

Staff is friendly, but clearly they are in need of additional staff as the servers each handle quite a few tables a piece. In addition, they seem to have to bus the tables and they also all step in as the host since there doesn't seem to be a dedicated host/hostess.

Plan to be here for a while at dinner time as there was a long line the two nights we ate here. Service is also somewhat slow, mostly because the servers are spread too thin.

Food is good, but for dinner the majority of the menu is fried items or hamburgers. They do offer a grilled Mahi Mahi, but it's very dry and doesn't have a ton of flavor. The Country Fried Steak, the Chicken Katsu, and the Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi were all good. The sweet potato fries are good, but I have had better at other places. Prices are a bit high for what you get, but since there aren't many other restaurants in the area it's to be expected.

It's not a bad place to eat, with fun decor, and a variety of items on the menu to choose from. But be prepared to do a...

Worst service ever. I’ve never bothered to write a bad review before this night. The brunette waitress with the very long ponytail could not have cared less about us. We popped in so couldn’t sit together which was fine. They could have given us back to back booths, but placed us across the room from each other. She was mad at us for asking for separate checks & exclaimed she didn’t have time for that! We were fine with two checks for our table. The other table had just one check. She couldn’t be bothered to return with lemon for the expensive fish until after it had been eaten. Never brought more requested water. Near the end of the meal brought me another PUNY ketchup container, this time with a half a squirt in it & a dreadful container of mayo masquerading as tartar sauce. My special rare treat of sweet potato fries while on vacation was useless with one tiny ketchup container. She then proceeded to give us bills with Large Party Charged on each one. When I challenged her in this, she said we came in as a large 8 person party. And whined about the separate checks request. So she charged us for that annoyance. I told her she would have gotten A MUCH LARGER TIP if she hadn’t pulled that. It would have been four times what she ripped us of for. Horrible attitude. Clearly thought we were just women therefore stereotypically wouldn’t tip much. Three of the ladies are three of the worst OVER-tippers I know! Mistake, inane waitress,...

Stopped by this restaurant looking for a bite to eat for lunch only to be unpleasantly disappointed. The calamities started when a family that came in after us stated they either had to get their food fast or not eat there at all. Not fifteen minutes after they were seated, their food came out and it took another 10-15 minutes before our food did. So, if you're in a hurry or just want to cut in line this is the place to do it. Just give them an ultimatum and they'll expressly make your food before all of the other people who've been waiting before you. With that said, service was below par as our waitress couldn't follow simple requests or, due to some bias, deliberately ignored them. Along with the terrible service, the prices were unreasonable compared to their portion sizes. Their 11$ lunch plates will be enough to satisfy your average 100 lbs. middle school kid but if you're an average adult, prepare to stay hungry until they dance around you with their overpriced cakes and pies. Literally. All in all, this place is great if you're looking to leave unhappy with lighter pockets and unsatisfied stomachs. Definitely not worth it. Check out the Yelp Reviews if you're...