Crater Rim Cafe

This café serves up totally basic, cafeteria-​grade food in a cafeteria-​like environment.
We were staying at the camp and ate breakfast here twice. The first morning I got an omelet with sausage and potatoes, which was pretty good. The next morning I got eggs over easy with bacon, and it was horrible. The eggs and bacon tasted cheap and dirty, the potatoes were much worse than the day before, and the whole situation didn’t sit well in my belly. I left wishing I hadn’t eaten anything at all.
On Fridays for dinner they only serve a buffet; we checked it out and decided we’d rather eat almost anything else. We wound up back in our room with wine, cheese, and salami. It was the right call.

One word-​convenience. Food is sub par (I would rate 2 stars) but the staff and the location is very excellent. We were staying at the military camp so after a long day of sight seeing where no one wanted to make decisions on where to eat or drive elsewhere, the KMC café was great for us because it was within walking range and fast/​easy. They do have specific hours like a cafeteria so check that before heading over.
The public is welcome to eat here, and there is no tax on the food due to the military ownership. However, it is pricey for what it is — military/​cafeteria food! $ 8.5 for all you can eat baked potato and salad bar, and any of the entrées (all around ~$ 13 – 15 including the salad and potato and drink and soft serve) can also be ordered separately aka carte.
I do however, think the breakfast is good and also a fair price– so maybe check that out if you are interested.

Diner/​lunchroom affair… food subpar although service was good.

Overpriced cafeteria food. If you like middle school food or military meals, you’ll love it. Sometimes it’s just the smell that gets me. If only go here in a pinch… Try the lighthouse café or ohelo or volcano house.

The crater rim café, oh my! There is a distinct theme going on at this place: nobody gives a ****.
Now does one expect fine dining at a military camp restaurant, no. But this is a spot located in a highly visited National Park and within a beautiful military R&R facility.
It is obvious that the staff feels they just need to show up and provide minimal service to the guests. This is not the fault of the staff, but without a doubt the fault of whomever is supposed to be in charge of this facility. Shame on them!
The food: Hit and miss with more misses than hits. The menu does not vary much but the quality and availability of items is all over the map. It’s cafeteria food on its best day, who knows how to describe it on its worst day.
The price: Acceptable for its location, unacceptable for the service and quality.
The dining experience: Dreadful. I’m still wondering why there is a dirty stuffed black bear mounted in a Hawaiian park café? The place is never really clean, and the décor and dining area a mismatch of anything that could be scrounged to keep the place going.
This review may seem unreasonable, especially for those who accept low Hawaii standards of dining. But this is a U.S. Military installation located within a premier U. S National Park.
It’s time that those responsible get their act together and clean up this place, and direct the staff to provide a quality experience for our past and present servicemen and visitors of this restaurant.

Paid $ 57 (2 adults, 3 children) and got ripped off; this place sucks! I stopped here last visit to the Big Island and should have know better. I love staying at the camp but the food sucks: buffet is always out of some key item: an entrée, shredded cheese for your salad, baked potato, etc. When the baked potatoes did come out they were old or extremely over-​cooked (brown on the inside) my wife opened like six of them, top of the bin, bottom, left side right side, because she really wanted one… they were all bad, mind you they just brought them out. When we showed the people behind the counter they said that was the last batch of the night. Even the ice cream sucked, my 9 yr old wouldn’t eat it! It was freezer burnt. The clam chowder had the consistency of water. Dont settle for this place bring convenient, go somewhere else!

I would give this place no stars if i could. The food quality was awful and the atmosphere was dirty. I ordered pancakes and bacon. The bacon was over cooked and on top of that I found a hair in my food. So gross! Save your money and go somewhere else.

If I had reviewed this Café 2 yrs ago, I would’ve given 4 stars for the awesome breakfasts & dinners. However my 2^nd time there, again with a school group, was not as enjoyable. Breakfast was just as awesome but dinner was not good. First, the Café could not accomodate our group even though arrangements had been made. We were instead served in the ‘Ohia Room & that buffet didn’t have all of the choices there were in the Café. If we wanted iced tea or coffee, we needed to walk to the Café & back. We even had to set up our own tables & chairs. Would’ve been OK if it had been made known that was how things were going to be.

If you’re low on $$ with a big appetite, there is an option at Crater Rim Café that is the best value in Volcano Village.
Crater Rim Café is a cafeteria in the military camp inside the park, but anyone can eat here. The super deal that a local resident clued me in to recently, that made me a fan, is the all-​you-​can-​eat baked potato and salad bar option for $ 8.50. It’s not fancy but there’s plenty of fresh vegetables and it’s a mellow atmosphere, and also includes soup and a drink. You can make up a couple of huge plates of salad with a baked potato for a very reasonable price. Or you can just do the salad bar for $ 5, or load up a baked potato for $ 3.50 ! So I am recommending the salad bar option here, the rest of the menu is probably about what you’d expect at a military cafeteria.
Friday nights there’s usually a local halau performing a hula show in the adjoining lounge and you can carry your food back and forth to watch the show while you eat. However on Fridays you can’t get just the soup and potato option, you have to spring for the whole buffet, which is about $ 16 and can be hit or miss when entrees are cooked by the tray-​full. Still, I’ve had some absolutely delicious baked fish which I went back for several helpings and complimented the staff on, so it can be quite good. The full buffet on Friday nights also includes beverage and dessert, although I’ve been irritated a few times when the included soft serve ice cream machine for the buffet was out of commission. They usually have a decent haupia (coconut) jello anyway.
After, you can continue down the road to the Halemaumau crater overlook to check the status of the active eruption and stargaze.
You do have to pay park admission fees to get to the military camp, so take that into account if you do not have a park pass, and allow some time to sightsee in the park as well.

Unlike any other national park, the food was very reasonably priced (cheap), tasted great and had a good variety. The place had a very home-​y feel.

I am only giving this place one star because I can’t give it zero. Customer service was terrible. The food was even worse. I had SOS «shit on a shingle» Basically biscuits and gravy for those you non military folks. The biscuits were gritty and the gravy didn’t taste like gravy. The sausage in the gravy tasted like it was spoiled. The croissant was not fresh it was made from frozen and awful, didn’t even faintly resemble the taste of a croissant. The only thing good is the coffee and the orange juice. But seriously, I’ve had better chow on underway when stores were running thin. Please take my advice and find someplace else.

We love this place. It was easy and fast to get food to my three kids after a long day exploring the park. We’ve had dinner here the last two nights and both times were fantastic experiences. When you walk in, you place your order with the cashier. There are only about ten selections to choose from, so it was quick to make a decision on what to order. All of the dinner selections come with an all-​you-​can-​eat salad bar, baked potato bar, soup station, ice cream, and a drink. I felt that it was a huge value for the price, as long as you come hungry. It’s also super relaxed and kid-​friendly.
The cashiers on both nights were nice and very helpful. The place was clean and they kept an eye out to restock anything that ran low. I loved the do-​it-​yourself style of this cafeteria and the kids loved that they could build their own salads. Doing it this way actually had them eating more salad than if it were served to them restaurant style!
My family of 5 all give this place 5 stars for a fun time!

We had 7 people in our group and we placed two tables together to all eat together, the staff told us we needed to make sure to put them back when we were done. I found it a bit rude for the staff not to offer to not only put the tables together for us but then to put them back. The prices were a bit high, but it is to be expected that far out from civilization. We had the Mongolian BBQ and some civilians cut in line in front of my 6 year old and me. Then they proceeded to invite their friends in line in front of us. Some people just don’t have any class. If I stay at KMC again I will plan ahead and bring my own food.

Good breakfast, and cheap

It is cafeteria food, but it is good. The people working here are delightful. The prices are beyond reasonable. We spent more on drinks at other resorts than an entire meal here.

I am not in, nor have I ever served in the military. So, I cannot stay in the military cabins. However, anybody with some cash can eat in this café located at the Kilauea Military Camp. My family and I ate here one evening recently when we came up to visit the Volcanoes National Park. You pay for your meal ahead of time and select an entrée. Then you can partake of the all-​you-​can-​eat salad bar. I had fish (ono) and it was good, albeit a bit on the dry side. This ended up being the best value for the money during our entire trip to the Big Island. I would definitely come here again. If you are looking for upscale dining, then drive down to the fancy hotels in Waikoloa and pay $ 100 a plate and take some pictures of your food for instagram and facebook. If you are there for a laid-​back dinner, then the Crater Rim Café at KMC is for you!

For 3 adult entrees it was $ 51. That was ridiculous. We got 2x teriyaki chicken and 1x pork chops entrée all which came with salad bar. 2 pieces of meat each ranging from $ 12.95-$ 16.95 wasn’t at all worth it for us. We probably won’t be back. At least the servers included exceptional service.

What it is: inexpensive and unfussy cafeteria food IN THE PARK, super-​convenient if you are staying at KMC.
What it isn’t: gourmet dining with a view of the crater. If that’s what you want, head to Volcano House.
Friday night unfortunately is buffet only for $ 16. Salad bar, rice, chicken, pig, fried fish, chicken long rice, purple sweet potatoes, haupia, brownies, and soft-​serve. A free hula show follows at 7pm — I was initially expecting super-​corny tourist-​luau show but was pleasantly surprised when a hālau from Hilo walked through the door. Keiki, teens, and a few kupuna. They performed about ten mele and hula, both kahiko and ‘alana (more of the latter).
On other nights, they offer 6 – 8 items on the menu, or salad/​baked potato bar for $ 8.50 that includes green salad, something like potato or mac salad, soup, and a baked potato and fixings. Except tonight, when a tour group of students ate all the potatoes! They replaced it with a pan of mashed potatoes, which was quite fine with some cheese and bacon bits.
Breakfast is $ 6.50 per person and includes all the usual suspects. It fuels you; it is serviceable food, not fancy. Again, you can pay 2x as much at Volcano House for the macadamia waffles.
You can take your trays next door into the Lava Lounge and enjoy adult beverages with your meal. I had a lava flow (uh, when in Rome…) that was about on par with the Hale Koa drinks I’ve had in Waikiki.
Plentiful and (usually) cheap meals, which you sometimes need. Easy to give it 3 stars.

Terrible. Mac salad had egg shells in it! Food was just awful… I only came here because of a tour we went on. It’s good for a tour group but the food is awful.

The food here is really terrible. Greasy, overcooked, with very little flavor. It is very convenient if you are staying at Kilauea Military Camp to eat here, but I would avoid it at all costs. The breakfast we had sat in our stomachs like a lump of lard for most of the day. Dinner was about the same. Then began the diarrhea. I didn’t expect fabulous food here, but I didn’t expect to get ill either. And the staff could have been friendlier. Next time I’ll get a cabin with a kitchenette and cook my own meals. It will be much better, and less hazardous to our health.