For the holidays, I went to Hawaii. The first stop was Big Island, to visit Volcano Park, which left me staying at sleepy Hilo instead of the more busy and beautiful area of Kona. I’ve been to Big Island 3 times now, and each time I put Seaside Restaurant and also Cafe Pesto on my list, but never made it to either. Maybe the third time is the charm… well, at least to visit one of them.

We ended up at Seaside Restaurant. Seaside Restaurant has a long history and because of its heritage, you can expect some food that is styled in a nostalgic way- including asking whether you want a big scoop of white rice or a serving of buttered garlic sauce pasta with your fish, and those are your only choices. Yeah.

You should also know that you are going to be parking in a gravel lot and sitting in tables and chairs that you might recognize from banquet halls (hidden by tablecloth but still) from the 80s and 90s. The service is also remiscent of that, but it was dinner and dark and where else are we going after this but back to the hotel and bed anyway, so we relaxed and let it go- we had a late lunch earlier that day so weren’t starving. If you are driving from staying by Hilo Bay, you will wonder if you are lost as you drive by various shipping docks and industrial storage areas to get here. As we waited for our food, I wondered how dated the good reviewed I had heard were.

The appetizers (calamari, clams, poke) and salty crab legs entree didn’t make a strong impression- we didn’t think they were anything special. If you’re going to get Poke, might as well go to the local supermarket instead.

But, my entree of a macadamia nut pesto ahi was delicious- it looked like I had two fishes on my plate the serving was so generous, but I found some way to still eat it all. Also good was the other preparation of ahi that evening, Blackened with a cajun crust and seared to medium and served with tomato relish, wasabi aioli and a balsamic reduction, giving it a good balance of a bit of spice to tickle and acid.

Also tasty was the Miso Butterfish which had a much more delicate light flavor to showcase the freshness of the fish, while the Macadamia Nut crusted Mahimahi was ok but the wasabi sweet chili cream sauce the highlight of that dish. Seriously, why is there so much fish meat on each of these plates?

Seaside Restaurant’s claim to deliciousness is that it is part of a fish farm, its structure literally surrounded by its fish farms. So coming here and ordering anything but a fish is silly. I give props to my brother for the beautiful food pornesque photos.