Black Rock Cafe

Great waitresses and Good food at an affordable price!!! My Favorite spot in town! I eat here 2 – 3 times a week!

I’m going to go ahead and give a 4-​star based on the fact that we were craving burgers and we did get our burger fix here. Options are far and few between and wasnt going to give in to McDonalds on vacation. The 3-​star feelings I had were based on waiter not very helpful, cocktails had little booze and hubbys fry portion was really skimpy. I had mushroom/​swiss burger and asked for teriyaki sauce although looked small in size the flavor and juiciness was amazing and fulfilled. I liked that you could get different options with the burgers without paying an up charge so I had onion rings and they were great, hubby was jealous but I shared of course. He got crinkle fries and looked as though half fell off the plate before arrival. He got the double cheeseburger w/​grilled onions and was a happy camper as well. They had good tarter sauce as well. The menu had a large variety of choices which was nice to know for future visits. Everything from pasta, burgers/​sandwiches, Loco Moco’s, pizzas, and specialty entrees.

If we come here it’s because we’re normally feeding a brood of starving children between the ages of 4 & 17. Eating out with 6 – 10 kids (no they are not all mine) can get pretty costly and we don’t like to feed them fast food too often. It’s times like these, where value meals are the ultimate goal. The prices here are great and the food is a lot better than plain diner food. I would even say the meals are comparable to Ken’s in Hilo. It’s not the cleanest establishment but the service is fast and environment is kid friendly. The staff here knows us pretty well and usually offers us a wooden table in front of the flat screen tv and allow our kids to flip through channels with the remote. That being said, they get 5 stars for customer service.
Then why only 3 stars? Well, the dinning area is to the left of the entrance but there’s the bar area to the right. It’s completely closed off from the restaurant but every now and again, primarily at night, you’ll have an occasional intoxicated person loitering around the area. I prefer doing lunches here because of this issue. The second down fall is the parking lot is very small and the stalls are pretty tight. Lastly, the bathrooms aren’t the cleanest so we never use them.

Very rude guy at the entrance. I asked to put my name down for and I was refused. Very rude and unprofessional, never got to eat here and will never consider this place to anyone.

Well, the lady who took my order for my to go turkey club wasn’t brimming with friendliness, but the sandwich made up for it! The fries that came with it were HOT! This doesn’t seem like something to be excited about, but so often I tend to get what seems like yesterday’s fries. I would definitely recommend it for take out !

Came for breakfast wasn’t impressed. The potatoes seemed like they were yesterday’s potatoes. Omelet was very runny. Maybe we came on a bad day

Good place for breakfast and lunch. Not much excitement here. Just eating and staring at people going on. Bar alone, I will give one star. Their TV doesn’t work. Paintings are so classy, but don’t match with the vibes of restaurant. Main customers are definitely retirees. The place should look more senior friendly and staff should be senior friendly.

Food was really good. People were really nice. Everything was pretty fresh. My favorite dish would be hawaiian stroganoff which is only served on Fridays and can’t go wrong with breakfast. Oh and must have deep fried icecream!

I’ve definitely experience better but it was a great and quick stop in a rush. The food came out quick and the waitress was on it with drinks. I’m not to sure what the goal of this business is. Fast food or quick fresher food or an actual restaurant. Prices were extremely reasonable but as a food enthusiast I have to give it 3 instead of 4 because the food quality could have been so much better with some more attention and patience, even though it wasn’t fresh.
I ordered the POG which seemed poorly mixed from concentrate and not the POG I have come to know and love. My french toast was very wet and soggy inside not being cooked thoroughly. My hash browns were pretty good with a tad more oil than I would have like but still good taste. My bacon was overcooked but I didn’t specify when I ordered that I like it a bit flexible so no shame there. Overall I would recommend for anyone wanting a quick breakfast or lunch on the go and on a budget.

Good simple grub to go or dine in. Ordered a chili burger. It was a fun mess. Nice fries. I finished mine and then finished my girlfriends.
Server was very friendly. Made sure we got wherever we needed.

Ordered my usual black rock special. Service was quick. Ordered my food and within 5 minutes got it. Waitress didn’t fill up my drink but overall it was okay.

Staff and customers were very friendly. Food was good and not expensive. Beer and drinks were good too. Nothing fancy but a solid local bar and restaurant.

I think the house margarita and burgers are 5 star. I enjoy them a few times a week. Some of the other dishes are not 5 star.

It’s a straight up solid café, not fine dining, but something for everyone with a varied menu. Good pizza! Large portions and reasonable prices.
The service can be iffy at times, even when it’s not busy– but hey, this is Pahoa. Relax and enjoy.
If you are seated in the bar be aware the smokers congregate right outside. The bartender was attentive and friendly.
Worth a try.

Black Rock Café– What can I say about this? This is my go to spot for breakfast in Pahoa! Kalua pig omelet… Broke da mouth! Best cholesterol evar!
But, I digress. I haven’t tried the bar or lunch. I will update in March. (If lava doesn’t shut them down). I can’t imagine that lunch or dinner isn’t much different. Friendly people! Mahalos!
Update… tried lunch… wings were the most tender evar! The meat melted off the bone. Everything was delicious! One of the best spots in Pahoa!

Had dinner on a Thursday nite at 7pm. Three of us ordered a round of drinks and escargot for starters.
The waitress was attentive and personable. The drinks and appetizer were served quickly. Six escargot were delish with melted cheese atop spinach with buttery toasted garlic bread.
We ordered the night’s special, Paniolo prime rib, which was a generous 12 oz cut smothered in carmelized onions and mushrooms. Three of us could eat just half our meals and took the rest to go. The prime rib was prime quality, juicy and served as we ordered, medium rare and medium.
The ambience was more country diner, friendly, quick service, and very reasonably priced ($ 5.95 margarita, $ 18.95 prime rib with all trimmings). We’ll be back!

Was down in pahoa to check out a job, stopped in for lunch, sat by the window in a booth it was really hot and my mother in law swore she was melting, moved ourselves to back of the restaurant where it was dimly lit but cooler. Waitress didn’t give an attitude for us moving, offered to point the oscillating fan at us instead so that was nice. Waitress got 3 of the 4 orders at the table right so I guess not bad, to put it in perspective your the best batter ever if your batting a .750 right?
On to the food, French dip: really tasty but it’s definitely the smallest French dip I’ve had, was still hungry after eating it and I wouldn’t say I was terribly hungry to begin with.
All in all, I would say just «standard» nothing special, and I’ve def had worse

Had grilled mahi mahi fish sandwich, it was wonderful. Great local place! The staff was wonderful and greeted us with a smile. It could use a good cleaning but overall I really enjoyed my experience. A must go if in Pahoa!

Gotta love your standard greasy spoon. What you see is what you get. Nothing hiding from you here. Cold beer, good burger, and nice smiles. Classic reminder of if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Cheers!

The Florentine omelet was good. It is very thin and not very filling. The toast was ok. The juice was watered down. The French toast was mushy and felt apart. The coffee was also watered down and tasted stale. The corn beef hash was 90% potato with very little meat.