The Big Island is 4,000 square miles — bigger than all the other Hawaiian islands combined. You will be driving. You might as well eat well while doing it.
The food road trip runs roughly from Hilo on the east side, up through the Hamakua Coast to Waimea, back down to the South Point area, and across to Kona. It covers about 150 miles. Every stop on this list is in the Da Plate Lunch Index.
Hilo: Start Here
Cafe 100 is the Hilo anchor. The loco moco was invented on the Big Island in 1949, and Cafe 100 has been serving it since the spot opened. They have 30+ variations — mushroom, chili, fish, teriyaki, Portuguese sausage. The original version (hamburger patty, fried egg, brown gravy, two scoops rice) costs $3.55–$5.25 and is the cheapest serious meal in Hawaii. This is where loco moco is actually from. Start here.
Ken's House of Pancakes is open 24 hours and is the only actual full-menu 24-hour diner on the Big Island. The Sumo Loco Moco ($24.95, double patty) and the macadamia nut pancakes are the benchmark items. Saimin with garnish ($20.85) is the late-night order. Locals who work night shifts in Hilo have been ending their shifts at Ken's for fifty years.
Suisan Fish Market is Hilo's fish market, open since 1907. Fresh poke made daily from the fish counter in back. Buy by the pound, eat standing outside, or take it with you.
Hamakua Coast: North of Hilo
Tex Drive In in Honokaa is where the malasada comes into the Big Island story. Not Leonard's on Oahu — Tex Drive In. Hot Portuguese donuts (malasadas) made fresh and served from the drive-in window since 1969. They make cream-filled and custard-filled versions that are the Hamakua Coast's most beloved drive-by stop. The original plain malasada, hot from the fryer, sugar-dusted, eaten in the parking lot before it cools down.
Waimea: The Upcountry
Hawaiian Style Cafe in Waimea serves the biggest breakfast plates on the island — eight varieties of pancakes, a loco moco that takes two hands to carry, Spam and eggs with rice that is enough food for two. Waimea is at elevation; you will be hungry. The parking lot is full by 8am on weekends.
South Point: Punalu'u
Punalu'u Bake Shop is the southernmost bakery in the United States. In Naalehu, on the road to South Point and the black sand beach at Punalu'u. The malasadas are the reason to stop — plain, sweet potato, macadamia nut, taro. Hot from the oven all day. The sweet potato malasada (big island purple sweet potato in the dough) is the one you can't get anywhere else.
Kona: West Side Finish
Umekes Fish Market Bar & Grill is the Kona end of the trip. A full-service restaurant with a poke bowl ($25), garlic shrimp ($28), kalbi shortribs ($26), and a Kona Mixed Plate ($35) that covers the island's food categories in one order. The lau lau is made fresh. The fish is local.
Da Poke Shack in Kailua-Kona is the simpler Kona poke option — a small market counter with fresh-cut ahi in ten preparations. If you want poke without sitting down, this is the Kona answer.