Gill’s Lanai

Wow! We will definitely be back before we leave Tuesday evening! It was BYOB and the fish tacos were aaaaaaamazing! Nice & simple. The fish was cooked perfectly. We put the habanero hot sauce on ours.

Great fish tacos, super-​friendly staff.
A great place to get a snack after a big hike.

Awesome fish tacos! Excellent menu and terrific friendly staff. Worth the stop. We will definitely be back!

LOVE this beautiful little spot, and love the folks who own it and the staff that works here. I am obsessed with the lobster tacos (I prefer Baja Style, cuz I like it fried like that, but «Naked» is great too, especially if you’re counting calories). The poke bowl is clean and delicious and always fresh, and when Tracy makes her special ceviche, WOOHOOO — watch out! So friggin good. The acai smoothie is acai-​awesome, and the Koreanifornian tacos are excellent as well. I cannot say enough good things about Gill’s Lanai. Jim, the proprietor, who is often at the register and in the kitchen, is super friendly and welcoming and loves to talk story:) We are very lucky to have them here in town. BYOB too, I mean, come on!!!

I drove an hour to come eat at Gill’s Lanai and was so excited — menu and pics looked awesome, and was looking forward to some fresh fish.
When the sign out front says «open daily from 11am-​5pm», does that mean Mon-​Fri? Cause this place was closed as closed can be at 11:30am on a Sunday.
So disappointed.

Delicious! We came here after ziplining and our guides recommended it. So glad we came. We had the spicy poke bowl and lobster tacos. We will definitely be back when we visit again!!! ***Warning*** the ninja sauce is SPICY! But delicious

We drove all the way up to Kohala to do the Hololu overlook and trail down to the beach. After being scorched by the merciless sun all the way back up the trail, we were pretty ready for lunch! Despite there being bigger/​fancier restaurants in Hawi we opted to try the very cute little ‘side of the road’ stand called Gil’s Lanai. Wow… what a find. My boyfriend had (and loved)(the lobster taco and pork quesadillas. I had the Ban Mih Vietnamese style tofu sandwich (I’m allergic to wheat so they very kindly fashioned me a ‘wrap’ version of the sandwich with corn tortillas). DELICIOUS. Amazing seasoning and so fresh tasting! I would literally drive all the way back up there just to eat that again. Seriously. Friendly fast service. Delicious food in a cute setting. And EXTREMELY reasonably priced. You’d be crazy not to stop here to eat!

Delicious poke and lobster tacos. Relaxed and fun. Will seek this place out the next time I’m back here.

Stopped at this little roadside diner and really enjoyed it. The fish tacos were delicious as well as Gill’s quesadillas. Very reasonably priced for a lunch (especially in Hawaii). Nice little seating area with a few tables outside, quite a quaint setting. A super yummy treat!

This is a real gem! Friendly folks, delicious food, reasonable prices & a sweet spot to eat in the fresh air.
We tried the specials:
Baja style lobster tacos ($ 12) with an amazing creamy aioli that paired so well with the crunchy lobster pieces. And kalua pork quesadilla ($ 11) with a mango salsa that I’ll probably have dreams about. Not sure if I could really pick a favorite of the two, but I guess the tacos would win.
If we had stumbled across it earlier in our trip or were staying nearby, we’d eat here several more times, maybe everyday.

First time on that side of the island. The fish tacos were great, the best I’ve had in a long time, along with the homemade chips and salsa. Good menu but I’d advise you not to try and modify any menu items, Seemed frowned upon. The location is small but comfy and tons of geckos to keep you smiling. Also try any vegan truffle, they all are good.

Unfortunately we didn’t discover Gill’s until 2 days before we were set to leave the Big Island, but we packed as much Gill’s into the trip as we then could (aka we went there for lunch 2 days in a row)!
On day one, the special was the Hawaiian pork quesadilla, and though that fusion may sound weird, do. not. hesitate. This is one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. The flavors were delectable and I couldn’t stop talking about it. I shared that along with the Baja style fish tacos with my boyfriend, and the two of us were head over heels in love with both dishes. (Pro tip: get the chips and salsa as your taco side, yummmmm.)
On day two, we came with our whole group of 6 and I was pretty impressed with the fact that we could snag the biggest table and also the small restaurant’s ability to handle a larger group. A+ service both days, with our very question-​heavy group. Amongst all of us we sampled the tacos (baja, lobster) and poke, though we also heard high, HIGH praise of the hot dogs. On day two we also brought along our own (adult) beverages, which didn’t seem like an unusual thing (…gotta love island life).
Thank you Gill & co for a lovely time!

This is probably the best poke I’ve ever had! Went with the spicy and loved it. It’s an eclectic location with only a patio, but its incognito nature means less of a crowd.
If you want great Hawaiian poke, this place is awesome!

Fish taco of the day really good; fresh. Chips and salsa exceptional. Smoothies were also great. Service friendly and prompt.

Great food, laid back atmosphere!
I tried this place after zip lining at the nearby location. One of the guides recommended it and I am so glad to have tried this place.
I had the poke dish and the ahi tuna was super fresh. They told me all food is made to order and I was able to alter h poke recipe to have no onions. The place was run by the owner and an assistant and the service was good.
They also have many other varieties like fresh fish taco and burgers.
Highly recommend!

Small roadside shack/​joint run by owner Gil. Varied menu to cover most tastes. We had Koreafornian Tacos and special Kalua Pork Quesadilla and cane sugar Waialua soda. Food was plenty full and tasty. We deserves 4*

If you’re visiting this is worth the drive. It’s my favorite place in beautiful North Kohala. There’s not a single thing on their menu I don’t like. My roommate really loved the poke (raw tuna) — she said it’s among the best on the island. I love the koreafornia (spelling?) tacos. They’re Korean-​style marinated tacos. Hence the name. Also, cute lani (porch area) to eat outside and always the nicest service. Great vegetarian and vegan items too. It’s a little costly, but comparable to prices in that area.

Absolutely loved this place. We stopped here after our hike down to the black sand beach from Pololu lookout. Needless to say, we were starving.
I ordered a veggie tofu sandwich and a tropical smoothie. Husband ordered catch of the day baja tacos.
The food was super duper yummy. My sandwich was one of the best tofu preparations i have had. It had a spicy kick to it from the sauce which I LOVED!
I did not taste the fish as I am vegetarian, but hubby was raving about it.
I did not like the smoothie too much, though.
This has a nice road side shack vibe to it. The prices were cheap and food yummy. If I am ever in this area again, I will stop by here without even thinking twice :)

Lobster tacos were the best!!! It was one of the specials that week, so we had to go back the next day for more. The Poke bowls are awesome as well. You sit outside under on a lanai next to the road. If you don’t mind a laid back local environment then go here!

It doesn’t seem right that I’m the Duke of Gill’s. I live in Pasadena, and some local should take the honor.
We found this place in the first few days of our 2-​week trip. We changed our day trip plans more than once so we could eat at Gill’s *along the way*.
The setting is tropical roadside charm. All the vegetarian options are yum and fresh. Husband had every seafood taco variation. Says it’s the gold standard at any price (but the price is cheap).
Menu/​website is on Facebook.
We liked the owner Jim a lot too.

I dream ALL year about Gill’s Spicy Island Dog. The most glorious of treats. A Hot Dog so divine that you just know your ass is expanding with every bite. And what’s more? You don’t care. In fact, you know you’re coming back for seconds. A cooked-​to-​perfection Louisiana Hot Link topped by tropical fruit relish, Lillikoi mustard, and chopped tangy onions. All snugly tucked into the freshest of fresh sweet Hawaiian bread rolls. I add more heat, mind you, with Hawaiian Hot Sauce from the Condiments Safe. My husband loves the epic fish tacos served up with made-​to-​order tortilla chips and salsa. Amazingly enough, for a restaurant as highly rated, reviewed, and even hailed in the pages of Vogue magazine, Gill’s still feels like a sleepy surfer spot.

Delicious right in Kapa’au Town was driving by to the King Kamahameha Statue and saw this cute place so we stopped.
Glad we did.
I wasn’t too hungry and ordered a bun less LA Dog, not very Hawaiian but delicious and my husband he fish tacos. DELICIOUS !
Would come here again for sure! Great place!!!