50’s Highway Fountain

The atmosphere is great and their food does the job.

We were disappointed to find this Café closed today after driving over an hour to get here to have lunch. We later discovered that they had no power. Next time please at least put a handwritten sign in the window so customers know why you were closed. Mahalo.

I love the feel of this place. The food is hefty and pretty worthwhile. I am not a fan of milkshakes, but this place made me think otherwise and it was a very good experience. The only problem that I faced there is the smell, it smells old and somewhat musty. I couldn’t really get over that fact.

Great ambiance and milkshakes. I do not recommend ordering the fish, chips or onion rings.

Stop here often, as usual the service was awesome, the staff was friendly and worked fast.
Ordered the pork chops, I would order again and recommend you give them a try!
Finished with a chocolate shake, can’t go wrong with the shakes here!
Great place.

Found this cute little place just off the main road on Unilocal while circling the island. It’s a house that’s been converted into a restaurant, so we were skeptical when looking at it from the highway. Once we went inside, we were totally blown away by the décor. We all ordered beef dishes– cheeseburgers, steak, loco moco– that grass-​fed Big Island beef is DELICIOUS! Prices were all reasonable, too. Definitely worth a quick stop during a long drive.
4 stars because the service wasn’t exactly speedy despite the relatively empty restaurant, but it was still reasonable.

After a long day of playing in the mountain and at the waterfalls above the old Hamakua Sugar Cane, this was the next stop to cool off and get something to eat before the drive back to Hilo Town.
This is not the regular route to our cabin but I’ve seen this place many times just never did stop to try it out.
Before you enter and as you enter, i’ts like a step back in time with all the 50’s memorabilia decorating the walls. From the coke machine to the milkshake glasses to the bars tools, this place was nicely themed.
I came for a banana split which I thought was really good. Not too fancy shmancy but the Oreo cookies added a nice touch and after a long hot day it didn’t last long in the bowl. The wife had the strawberry malt but said the malt flavor was lacking in the malt department. Refreshing nonetheless.
The fries and onion rings were ok. Nothing to go crazy over. My son had the Loco Moco. Two homemade patties with eggs over easy, this dish tasted really good and it was huge where he could’n t finish it.
Very good customer service and friendly staff too. There’s one table to sit outside and four more tables inside along with booth seating.
The parking is a different animal. We parked by the old gas pump and there’s maybe two stalls on the opposite side so parking is limited.
You wont see this off the main hwy either because its one street in parallel the hwy. Try this place out if your in the area. If not for the food, go for the ice cream. Definitely will be coming back here again.

Just gimmicky. Decorations pretty neat, but food and service bad, bad, and bad. We were a party of 10. Service was so slow. Half of our table finished eating before the last person in our party even got their food.
I ordered a fish sandwhich with onion rings. The fish tasted frozen and the onion rings were super oily. I asked for a wheat bun too, but got white. Didn’t bother asking for an exchange, because that would have likely taken another forever. Took two bites of my sandwhich and one bite of an onion ring and I was done. Blech… My cousin’s ordered a mixed seafood plate. Portion is ripoff and the breaded shrimp that come in the plate look like they are from Costco.
One thing that they do well though are their milkshakes.

Sad. This WAS my favorite 2^nd kitchen when I was lazy to cook. Today I ordered 3 take out plates which was to be ready in 15 minutes. 24 minutes later as I pull up to get my order, an employee calls me back to say that they didn’t have chicken drummettes-​a regular menu item. I walked in and ordered pork chops. I left and returned 15 minutes later and checked to see if the food was ready and it was. Upon checking my order, the pork chops were piping hot (obviously just made) and the chicken katsu plate was cold as well as the ono fish and chips plate (which was probably ready the first time I went there). Pork chops were flavorful. Katsu was breaded good but was cut or ‘shredded’ for me and looked like a mess. The Ono fish was oily and over cooked and the fries were soggy and pathetic. No tartar sauce. No Katsu sauce. No utensils.
If you had my number to call me and tell me that you didn’t have product for one order, 1) why did you take the order, or 2) at least call earlier, not after the designated pick up time.
If you mess up an order, re-​fire the whole order.
Customer satisfaction is paramount.
There is an obvious change in ownership, management and/​or employees.
Very disappointed. VERY.

The restaurant is randomly located off the highway, but the 50s décor is spot on.
Went with the healthier route and got the salmon burger on a whole wheat bun with the soup of the day. It was a Thai curry soup with some veggies, meat, and rice. It was surprisingly good! Gave me a good amount and was nice and flavorful. The burger was pretty good and comes with the standard lettuce, tomato, and onion.
My friend got the same burger, but with onion rings. They were tasty! Not overly oily with a nice and crispy batter
Next time I’ll try a burger and milkshake

Delicious and juicy burger, over-​the-​top décor, and immaculate views of Pacific Ocean, what more can you ask for? Stopped by here for lunch on a Saturday afternoon and was pleasantly surprised by how much character this diner had, compared to it’s extremely low-​key sign from the highway. We dined across from an older gentleman who had traveled all the way from Kailua-​Kona to celebrate his birthday with wife and daughter. I watched as he received an enthusiastic birthday song from the staff and shimmy to some Elvis from the juke box. He was treated like a king.
I had a cheeseburger, basket of mixed friend carbs (onion rings, curly and regular fries), and a strawberry milkshake. Totally hit the spot for my diner cravings. If you’re driving past Laupahoehoe during mealtime, be sure to stop by here for a fun and tasty meal.

Easy to miss, the entrance is not on the main highway. Once you make your way to the 50’s you can’t miss it. If you’re mainland, it remind’s you of the old Route 66 diners. Nice atmosphere. Island style service.
Have eaten here several times and never been disappointed. Free refills on fountain drinks. Had the patty melt with frys last visit. Grill cooked and delicious.
The menu has enough variety to please most. Average prices, quality food.
If you ask me, make a point to stop by. They make a damn fine shake too.

This place is completely random, in the middle of nowhere.
The food was great. Looks and tastes like homemade burger. I also had the cobbler, which was also tasty (but could have used more peaches).
Service was friendly, atmosphere was awesome, and great food.

The other reviews that mention service speed are correct. I went for a late lunch and it was busy. Parking is limited but you can park down the road on the shoulder and just walk two minutes to the diner.
The food was good and the fries were so fresh that I had to let them cool before I could eat them.

TOTAL.
HOME.
RUN.
BEST HAMBURGER I’VE HAD ON BIG ISLAND. GREAT SERVICE. FUN THEMED 50’S DECOR. VERY CLEAN. GOOD VALUE. I would not have been surprised in the least if today’s (80 year old) Elvis and Marilyn actually showed up to eat here at the counter, incognito. Cool getaway just off the highway. Elvis and Marilyn could so totally be hiding out on the Big Island!
Unilocal’S MAP LOCATION AND HOURS OF OPERATION WERE SLIGHTLY INACCURATE; SHOWING THEM ON WRONG SIDE OF HIGHWAY AND CLOSED EVEN THOUGH ALSO SHOWING THEIR HOURS AND THAT THEY’RE REALLY OPEN. SO CALL THE DINER IF YOU’RE UNSURE.
My usual obsessively detailed narrative:
My first visit here, not quite a year ago, was good… a few small issues but I received a thoughtful polite message from the owner regarding my concerns. The stars aligned today for me to try them again and boy did we enjoy our meal.
FIRST, I had some unused Unilocal promo certificates that had expired and were worth only face value, which was fine with me. Amazingly, the owner offered to redeem them at full promotional value. So he went above and beyond, which was much appreciated and is a true five star attitude.
SECOND, they’ve remodeled and taken down a wall and now the entire dining room has a great breeze and a (distant) ocean view. Really a big improvement. The décor is so well done, they’ve really followed through on their theme and it’s very fun. Think classic cars, vintage LP rock-​n-​roll records, Doris Day, etc. Also, despite the bric-​à-​brac and knick-​knacks, it’s all spotlessly clean. An awesomely cute mural (see uploaded pic). We passed the time reading Wikipedia entries on various 50’s stars we didn’t know… ever heard of Johnny Horton «the singing fisherman»? Well, now you have. His Wikipedia entry is amazing and should be turned into a movie. But I digress, back to the diner.
THIRD, THESE WERE THE BEST BURGERS WE’VE HAD YET ON THE BIG ISLAND. We ordered the special bacon cheeseburgers that come with garlic fries. Apparently what makes it special is they’re larger than the regular hamburgers, (and the regular hamburgers just come with regular fries). Big Island grass fed beef… five stars for that. They were huge and we totally ate every bite. Great flavor and perfectly cooked. Garlic fries were loaded with American cheese and a creamy garlic sauce and were also completely consumed. Drinks were reasonably priced and large with free refills. For dessert we got a piece of home-​made macadamia nut pie a la mode. It was LOADED with big chunks of macadamia nuts… it was really good. A lot of chewing though, LOL. Next time I’ll try something softer like the cheesecake. Im lazy like that. Waitress honestly informed us which desserts were homemade (MOST OF THEM) and which was not (ice cream pie).
SUMMARY, WE HAD A GREAT LATE SUNDAY LUNCH AND TOTAL WITH TIP WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT $ 38. WELL WORTH IT.
APPARENTLY THEY HAVE LIVE MUSIC FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. (I was actually wishing they had a local ukulele player singing 1950’s songs.)
Can I find anything to improve? Well, duh, you must not know me well yet, of course I can. My motto is «constant improvement.» So here goes: I would like it if they could add a little more 1950’s Hawaiiana into the Americana. The outdoor restroom (Fonzie’s Office) was 99% clean but just needed a little more attention to the light switch and the exit door edge by the knob. And maybe a red vinyl recover on my banquette instead of the red duct tape patch job. Finally, fries themselves were good, about par with McD’s best day, but COULD be more amazing. I would prefer a fresh cut true twice-​fried french fry. Minor details… and only mentioned because otherwise, EVERYTHING WAS SO WELL DONE.
1950’s DINER HITS A HOME RUN IN LAUPAHOEHOE. GO, EAT, LAUGH, HAVE A GOOD TIME.

I used to like this place.
But as there are new workers. The service is not the same anymore.
Well, we were sitting at the counter. I ordered a chocolate milkshake. She made two! Gave them to the other customers. Then came back to me and said «Oh, you didn’t get your milkshake yet.» I said no I didn’t. **mind you she didn’t get to my milkshake. 15 minutes later, still no milkshake. We had to ask the other waiter.
Then my loco moco was undercooked. The middle was red. Yuck! I lost my appetite.
I don’t know if they have new cooks as well, but if they do, they should learn how to cook.

Very nicely decorated and not to mention quite clean. The food is honest and good. I love a place that is not a stupid mainland chain!
This last visit I had a very good grass fed steak, with local mushrooms. My friend had nice looking Ono on a salad full of sprouts. The people were genuinely friendly too.
Oh yes and very good prices.

Loved this place… the décor, the people and the food!
Tood a drive from Hapuna to Waimea… then decided to go to Honokaa… next Waipio Valley… and then finally, «what the heck»…let’s go to Laupahoehoe for hamburgers.
A friend mentioned this place to me and said the food was good… so off we went… and went… and went.
When we finally got to Laupahoehoe, we found the Old Mamalahoa Hwy, but as we drove up there the road seemed to be going to no where… so we turned around in our rented Cadillac and stopped at a little store to ask the way… the lady there laughed and encouraged us to «keep going»…soon enough, we came upon this cute little restaurant.
I felt like we’d stepped back in time… walls filled with memorabilia… old 45 records and record jackets… juke box, autographed pictures of so many oldies stars, pin ball machine, booths and the great old formica tables with the padded chairs (the kind we used to have in our kitchen in Kaimuki!)
Loved «The King» room… ELVIS everwhere… he still makes my heart flutter… loved it all.
The people there are really nice… so we shared the homemade chicken soup, Kalbi (served said it was her favorite), cheeseburger with garlic fries, and a chocolate shake… everything was really delicious. Chicken soup was tasty. not salty and full of chicken and noodles. Kahlbi was flavored just right and tender… cheeseburger was tender and tasty and complete with lettuce, tomato and red onion… fries were crispy and riddled with chopped garlic, topped with cheese… my absolute favorite was the chocolate shake… I could have had another one, but felt guilty.
We did a take out on the lilikoi cream pie, macnut pie and the cherry cobbler… all really good…
Lucky we don’t live close by or I’d be there all of the time for the chocolate milkshakes!

The drive (either from Hilo or Waimea) is beautiful.
…then you take a trip down memory lane. Or for people like me, it feels as if you have traveled through time.
50’s Highway Fountain is a homey restaurant that had excellent food, friendly service, and fun décor.
I definitely recommend this restaurant and I cannot wait to return and try something new.

After our day at Waipi’o Valley hiking and swimming, we stumbled across this gem of a place. You will not go away hungry or without a to-​go box. Oof! :)
I had the Korean Katsu Chicken. It came out steaming hot and nice and crisp. However, the winner was the BBQ Swiss bacon burger with garlic cheese fries smothered with ranch dressing. OMG! Delish! See my photos I attached.
To end we had Lilikoi (passion fruit) cream cheese pie. Perfect ending. But very stuffed!
Service was amazing!
Overall, I highly recommend. So glad I found this place on Unilocal