Big Jake’s Island B-B-Q

Pulled pork was so good. Consistency is the same as kahlua pork, but with bbq flavor & sauce. Ends of the beef brisket tasted incredible and were nice & smoky without any dryness. Big Jake is clearly passionate about his food.

I love the q at Big Jake’s, I stop everytime I go to the Big Island (which is often). Brisket is especially good. My fear is that Da Poke Shack opening up next door is going to put Jake out of business, don’t believe me just give Da Poke a chance and you will know what I speak of.

As a local, I visit Jake’s often. IMHO, it is the best BBQ place on Big Island. Have had the ribs over 50 times and the sandwiches over 100 times, each event was ‘broke ‘da mout’!! For no islanders, this means AWESOME!
Will I go again — if you really have to ask, then the answer is YES!

My favorite meal on the big island! Wander down the highway and pull into jakes where the portions are large and the people are friendly! We both got rotisserie chicken that was out of this world delicious!!! It comes with a yummy dipping sauce, brown rice with seaweed crunchies, and your choice of sides… I picked Edamame wild rice salad. We had the best time here!

Hidden gem! This fantastic little bbq place is a little off of the beaten path (I like it that way, otherwise it would be way too busy). Delicious BBQ plates, something you can’t really get at all anywhere else on the Big I. I actually can’t think of better BBQ I’ve had anywhere else in the state. I love the BBQ pulled pork bowl. And the lilikoi cheesecake is the BEST. Do yourself a favor and at least grab yourself a slice to go if you’re stuffed from the ono meal.

Authentic Hawaiian food and friendly host lady.
I had pork laulau for dinner and some local drink from the fridge. I had laulau with rice a few days ago at some restraint in the town. I feel the laulau here is better.

Sampler plate with potato salad.
All of the meat is tender and ribs are falling off the bone.

The rib pork barbecue is worth dying for! Its very soft and tasty. The combination of side dish beans and coleslaw completed our day! Stopping here after snorkeling at Honaunau Bay completed our day!

Stopped in here on our way back from the Volcano National Park after smelling the bbq from the smoking rig in the parking lot. I guess I’m going against the grain a little bit with this review, but I found the pulled pork to be nicely smoked, but I wasn’t overly taken by the bbq sauce on it. I didn’t get much depth of flavor in the sauce and found it to be heavily molasses based (same with the baked beans). I like a little more tanginess or spice. The coleslaw with the addition of local raisins was great.
Love the vibe of the place and the prices are reasonable for what you get, but I wasn’t into the sauce… bbq sauce is always a tough item to please everyone!

AMAZING food. The brisket knocked my socks off! And the fish-​of-​the-​day sandwich (ahi that day) was absolutely fantastic. SO fresh — with just the right amount of super fresh alfalfa sprouts! We also got the sampler platter — with ribs, brisket, pulled pork and BBQ chicken. Everything was good, and the BBQ sauce was amazing: complex, a little spicy, not too sweet, and with a depth and breadth of flavor that’s very rare and precious to find in barbecue sauce nowadays.
The picnic tables on the little lanai in the front were comfy and perfect, and there was a lovely laid back atmosphere that really made us feel like we got the real local Hawaiian experience :) The bathroom was clean and very easily accessible too!
The poke shack right next door has very good plate lunches. The crab salad was especially good. There’s also a cute little coffee shop just across the street that made the best mac nut iced latte I could possibly imagine.

Mmmmmm! We got some BBQ to go along with our poke from the poke place next door because we were super hungry after our snorkeling session. My boyfriend got the BBQ pork with rice and I got the BBQ chicken with rice. The BBQ sauce that was use was fantastic! The shredded chicken was very tender and soaked up all the flavor of the BBQ sauce. Definitely try this place out!

Really good. I got the sampler and it didn’t disappoint. I was shocked with how good it was. A must stop location for the perfect vacation.

Damn, son! That was some mighty fine BBQ!
Very (very very) laid back place.
We got pork, chicken, and brisket between the three of us, and it was to die for. Seriously.
I’d put this in my top 2 or 3 BBQ places anywhere.
Outstanding food. Good prices. Good portion sizes. Friendly service.
Nice place to pull off the road and grab a bite. Make this the meal of the day though — enjoy it! Don’t go here for lunch the day of a Luau; it’ll wreck your Luau. It’s that good.

*They are doing it right here, great brisket, no nonsense and just gruff enough to tell me they are authentic BBQ
*Love the set up on the highway with the wheelbarrow of Kiawe wood, awesome
*Grab a seat at the picnic table and enjoy and dont forget to grab a pound of Poke from Da Poke Shack next door for the road!

Awesome bbq.
Brisket and pork butt are awesome.
Great ribs.
Cant beat their meat

We got a large rack of ribs to take home. They were great, soft, falling apart with great sauce. Great BBQ

Brisket was better than the ribs which were nice and tender but a little sweet and under-​spiced for my preference.
Sides were ok. Solid for fast food BBQ

Yum! Couldn’t decide if I wanted poke or bbq, but my love for pig triumphed and I ordered a pulled pork sandwich with some coleslaw and baked beans. The food did not disappoint. The cute couple behind the counter bickered with each other as a small crowd of hungry folk waited in line… but no worries, the brief 5 minute wait allowed me to take in the scenery and hang out with the geckos chilling on the picnic tables.
Simply served, pulled pork and bbq sauce on a bun, the flavors melt in your mouth and settle the soul similar to a cup of good kava. The cole slaw and baked beans were quite notable and highly complimented the sandwich. I’ll definitely hit this spot up again.

Most of the reviewers get it right: this place is about the food. Couple of points to emphasize:
— Look for Mile Marker 106 if you are coming from Kona. Jakes is on the left past 106.
— Ribs are meatier than you get in most of the places in the states. Bring an appetite.
— Definitely call ahead. Days off vary by season. Currently it’s Wed and Sunday closures.
— Take a few minutes to talk with Jake. He’s really friendly, and anyone who loves barbecue as much as he does is worth talking to. Conversation starter: ask about his sauce.
Bottom line: the place is fabulous. Be sure to eat here. But remember, it’s an island place, leave your stop-​watch at home.

Best food stop so far on the Big Island. Got talked into the lemonade and THANK GOD. Ribs fell off the bone, pulled pork sammy was incredible and the baked beans were sugary and delicious. Ribs being served over rice was super weird, I think, but so it goes. This place was incredible. Don’t fuck this up. Eat here.
HOT TIPS: call ahead to see if they’re open. it’s pretty Hawaiian in the I’ll Be Open When I Want To Be Open vibes.