Hilo Yacht Club

«What’s a pirate’s favorite letter?
You may think it’s the RRRR, but it’s the C that they’re in love with! Aye.»
The Yacht Club: a place for the upper crust; the best of the best; the crème of the crop. Or, a place for people who don’t mind paying a ridiculous monthly membership fee for access to restaurant, a pool, and a few other facilities. Not something that I myself would pay for, but luckily I don’t need to! Always happy to escort my grandma to lunch or dinner, I’ve been able to eat here a good number of times in my life and feel that I can provide an accurate representation of their foods and services.
The menu at the Yacht Club’s restaurant is not one that goes on for pages and pages. It is a simple one with a few quality dishes to choose from, which do change. Although I have been ridiculed for it, I have been known to just order their cheeseburger, even for dinner, despite a nice assortment of high quality dishes that are actually on the menu. But, you know what? No regerts. I mean, can I live? They make a pretty dang good burger, and a side of fries is never something to complain about.
Every so often, however, I do decide to class it up and order something that is on the menu. And when doing that, I almost always get the tenderloin with gorgonzola butter sauce. It’s so tender and the sauce just makes it go down so much easier. Like, I cannot tell you how great this sauce is. Of course, that may just be my inner dairy lover.
Speaking of dairy, their dessert menu is none too shabby either. It sports a nice wide array of sweet delights, and they don’t skimp on the dairy, let me tell you. That lactose is much too much for a few Lactaids or lactose enzyme pills. So, if you do have very particular stomach in that way, be sure to come prepared.
Regardless though, everything there is delicious, and you can’t go wrong. If you get a chance to dine there, I can almost guarantee you that there will be something to peak your fancy.

No yachts at the Hilo Yacht Club. This place is a members only club that consists mostly of executives, attorneys, doctors and people with power.
The food is fine dining, I recommend the Spencer Steak, a 14 oz cut of tender Certified Angus Beef.

I had lunch here as a guest of one of its members. It was a most pleasant experience with tasty food, comfortable atmosphere and an outstanding server, Laura, who was especially attentive.

Four of us had lunch here on January 5. The location is fantastic and the service and food are very good. Two of us had the fresh fish special and we found the fish (Ono) to be both fresh and well prepared.
One of our group had the hamburger and it was well received.
The deserts are outstanding,
We highly recommend the HYC.

Lovely view of the Bay from the lanai
Calamari, fries, wings and raw veggie platter all are great.
The baked brie, however, is to die for. (What baked brie isn’t to die for??) Comes with small crostini and some jam.
A few beers on tap.

Second night in a row we are eating here and we are pretty happy with the food. My favorite dish is the lamb shops or the salmon plate. A friend of ours is a member of the club and you can bring your own wine they will charge you $ 10 per bottle, they only charged us for 3 bottles and we brought way more so that’s good to know. I recommend for anyone who is in Hilo and have a conection.

I have lived in Hilo my whole life, but last week was the first time I have eaten at the yacht club. I was invited for a business lunch with 7 other people. Let me just start by saying the rating being 3 stars is based solely on the food. If there was a separate rating for location and atmosphere, it would be the highest rating… beautiful! The sun was out, a cool breeze flitted through the windows (and the sides of the restaurant were nothing but windows) and the view was breathtaking. It looked like the type of place that a 5 stat high society restaurant would be. Even the interior was very tasteful and classy… extremely unexpected in Hilo. However, I was less than impressed with the food. It sounded good on the menu, but to that I say meh. I ordered the special blackened mahimahi with the corn relish slaw. Fish was way overcooked, but still palatable. Side was a scoop of blah plain white rice, and steamed broccoli and carrot, unflavored and overcooked. The other plates of food looked tasty, but similar uninspired sides. I asked a coworker how her seafood platter was and she said it was good, so perhaps I was just unlucky or have higher food standards. See, I am an accomplished cook, and have eaten at some upscale restaurants. So my review is from that perspective. A pity, If a new head chef took over who actually cooked food to match the restaurant, then it truly would be worthy of it’s members only status!

I love it here! Great place, great prices.
great food, some of the best quality and most consistent in all of Hilo.
Tennis courts, lap pool, kiddie pool, bocce court, gym, half basketball court, sand volleyball.
Yes it’s a club and you do have to be a member or a guest of one but this place is worth it.

The Hilo Yacht Club is a private club established in 1920. It offers lunch and dinner in the main dining room from which you can see the Pacific beyond their ocean lanai. They also have a bar and recreational facilities that include tennis courts.
I was fortunate enough to have been brought here by a Yacht Club member back in September of 2009. It was my first time on the Big Island, so as part of my tour, I was made a guest on two occasions. On both, we enjoyed lunch, first in the main dining room, then later by the snack bar window.
It was my first visit to a private club and I was a little nervous about the exclusivity at first, but it turned out to be a very relaxing experience. The food was pretty good, and drinks were mostly standard, but for me, it was all about the atmosphere and the view. It’s generally quiet, the breeze from the ocean felt really nice, and the sound of the waves really enhanced the mood. Seems like everything about the Big Island was slow-​paced and relaxing, but nowhere else did I find such an easy place to unwind.
The Hilo Yacht Club is everything ocean-​view hotel resorts can only aspire to be minus the actual lodging. There’s a bar, a pool, a gym, and all these other amenities, but no waiting in long lines, bumping into crowds of tourists, and best of all, no noise. It’s a modestly sized facility found just beyond what seems like a road through a jungle, but it’s a great place to get away for a breakfast or afternoon recreation.
I’m not aware of the membership details as membership is by invitation only, but they do appear to have a reciprocal relationship with other clubs elsewhere. So even if you may not frequent Hilo much, membership could still be worth it through a different club. I wish I could say the membership fee is worth it, but for obvious reasons, this review is only for the face-​value.
Given the opportunity, I’d love to come visit again.

I joined the Yacht Club for the food and tennis courts and have been extremely happy with the service. My parent’s are members and my grandparent’s were members and all for the same reason, the food. The inside dining area has amazing meals and the chefs are amazing. They always have weekly new fun things to do and always have family parties for holidays, craft fairs and theme nights. It is so worth the membership if you are a foodie!