Ponds Hilo

I took my mom to dinner we had the macadamia linquini and she had the teriyaki steak and they were delicious and the price wasn’t bad either. We will gladly come again.

The calamari appetizer & surf & turf was great. My pork ribs was tender except for a cpl pieces that was pretty burnt. The waiters & staff were very courteous.

Purposely came to Hilo on a Sun night for their special of Sturgeon. It was very good! We met another couple there for dinner and one other had the Sturgeon and also enjoyed it… our men had prime rib… quite fatty but good flavor. We will come back! Want to try their Thurs special of lobster.
I do recommend this place… service was also spot on… no complaints especially since they were busy.

Came in for late dinner. Live music! Well he is playing guitar solo. But I really enjoyed that. Service was great. Love the atmosphere and food is good and very reasonably priced.

This place was great. Friendly service, good food and atmosphere. Thanks for the excellent time and delicious dinner and dessert.

Came in for lunch. We were seated by the window so we could look at the fish which was cool. We were offered some fish food for the fish, but then they never brought it. I had the fish and chips which were pretty good, but nothing to be amazed over. My wife had a salad which was okay, with fresh tuna, which seemed decent quality.

Sadly, we left hungry wondering where else can we stop for food.
The prime rib wasn’t cooked well. It was the pinkest medium I’ve ever seen. We weren’t checked on early enough to notify our waitress. We picked at whatever was edible. The seafood soup that it came with was yummy though.
It seemed like everyone was more into dancing hula than service. As we were leaving, another guest (who I’m assuming was drunk) grabbed my brother. She was trying to make him dance. It got uncomfortable when she started putting her arms around his neck. No worker said anything. We were out in a hurry!
In the end, our waitress was sympathetic seeing our hardly touched plates and offered a few solutions. We were thankful for that but we’re probably not coming back.

Ordered take out, the prime rib sandwich w/​au jus and fries w/​turned out good .
While Waiting for the food I sat at the bar and crystal the bartender was just awesome!

Great place, love the location. The koi fish watching is so relaxing. It’s a great stop after the beach, the prim rib bites are my favorite.
Hope they open for breakfast soon

First of all, our server Travis was great he didn’t rush us or try to spew out the specials in his first table side visit he was professional and personable. The bus staff is top notch. My water glass was always full. We had a rib eye which was slightly under cooked but had a nice flavor. The smashed potatoes were fab u lous! Try the Mai tai. Very yummy. This has been my best meal on the Big Island.

Great service. Food is better than average. Live music too. A little loud for me. I had a difficult time hearing my wife but we also had a large group sitting next to us. The food was good but nothing overly special. My wife had the scallops and I had a steak. We shared the shrimp appetizer. I would return again. Our waiter was awesome. Funny and charming. Good little place right on the water/​pond.

This is a decent seafood and steakhouse. Glynis, our waitress was friendly and had great suggestions. The staff was also hustling, especially at the later part of valentine’s day dinner rush! Also, live music!
We had the artichoke crab dip w/​crostini, entrees were scallops and fettuccine, and crab crusted opakapaka. Dessert was cheesecake w/​blueberries. All were ok, nothing outstanding, however, it was valentine’s day, so I know it was busy. If it weren’t for Glynis and staff, it would be mediocre. We’ll be back on a regular day for a better look at the food.

Ponds really caught my eye because it’s situated with a view overlooking Ice Ponds, a favorite swimming spot for locals. I’m a sucker for a restaurant with a nice view, so I was excited to go to dinner here with Jake’s family while we were in Hilo.
I walked into the restaurant expecting modern plantation décor, but what I got was something a little outdated. With all the florals and older wooden furniture, I kind of felt like I was going to grandma’s for dinner. They could really turn this place into a destination with just a little bit of re-​decorating.
We were seated next to a window, so I was stoked. There was also another surprise — a view of a koi pond right below us! Although the views were great, I found that sitting next to the window can get pretty chilly if the wind is blowing. I figured out the windows slide, so you can adjust it to your liking.
Service was a little slow throughout the evening. It looked like there was only one waitress, so that was probably the reason. However, once we ordered, everything came out at an appropriate time.
For appetizers, we tried the the Hot Artichoke Crab Dip and the Mushrooms Tempura. The mushrooms were interesting, as they used «beer-​tempura-​panko» to coat the whole thing. Let me tell you though, I was a huge fan of the crab dip. It was delicious spread on the toasted baguettes that came with the dish. We asked for more bread to finish off the dip, but they brought us some rolls instead of the baguette slices — which weren’t as good.
I ordered the 10 oz. Mauna Loa Top Sirloin ($ 20) for my meal, which came with your choice of salad. My steak was a little chewy and overcooked. I gotta say, it was really disappointing. The dish also came with a baked potato, but those are always delicious.
I wasn’t ready to fall in love with any of the desserts here because nothing looked super special, but I tried some of the Brownie Sundae (a la mode), and I was in *heaven.* It is so delicious. I recommend not leaving until you’ve tried it. We also ordered some ice cream, which isn’t on the menu. If you ask your server, they’ll tell you which flavors they have that day. We got to choose from vanilla, mud pie, and haupia, and it comes in a nice tall ice cream glass! More than I bargained for, as I was pretty full.
It’s a quaint little restaurant with nice views, but I’m not sure I’d come back. Nothing really made me want more, if you know what I mean.
PARKING: The restaurant has its own private lot, so there’s free parking and nothing to worry about!

Unilocal 365 Challenge 2015 #25/​365
We came here with my family for dinner, and at around 4:30 I called to make a reservation for 5 at 6:30 with no problem. Nice! I actually called again after 6 to change it to 6:45 because we were running late and that was no problem as well. When we got there we were seated quickly, but had to wait for my mom who was running a little late.
The service was a bit spotty because it looked like there was only one waitress, but once we got our orders in, the appetizers, salad, and then entrees were delivered in a good amount of time. Also, my water glass was always filled so that’s a plus!
For the appetizers, we ordered the Spinach & Artichoke Dip & Tempura Mushrooms. I’ve never had tempura mushrooms, but they were pretty good! They came with a honey mustard dipping sauce, and tasted great. Spinach & artichoke dip is usually the same everywhere you get it, and that’s a good thing. It was really good, with 6 pieces of bread, but when we asked for more bread (since there was a lot of dip left over), they gave us dinner rolls to finish it off. Would have been nice to get more of the pesto bread that came with it, but it did the job.
For my entrée, I ordered the 16 oz. rib eye with white rice. It was fatter than it was wider, which is different, but still good! I only wish that I got two scoops of rice instead of one. Wasn’t enough!
I also got to try Rachel’s Top Sirloin, but it was a little tough for me. I dipped it in the sour cream that was on the baked potato, and that was one of the best decisions i made all night! I tried my dad’s prime rib, and it tasted like a normal prime rib to me. Nothing special. My mom’s shrimp scampi was pretty good though!
For dessert, we ordered some mud pie ice cream, haupia ice cream, and shared this brownie dessert with ice cream that was really really good. The brownie was warm and chewy, and the mixture of ice cream and brownie really hit the spot.
Although my review is mainly positive, I can’t seem to give this place more than a 3-​star rating. Pricing is a little high, food tasted decent, and service was okay, but I can’t guarantee that I would come back here for a meal.