Had driven by this place several times in my travels and finally discovered what I had been missing. Full of character and friendly, they take the 50's home grown diner to a new level of quality. All that and exceptionally reasonable prices. Highly recommended for a casual stop (off the highway close to train museum)
Review Source:Very nicely decorated and not to mention quite clean. Â The food is honest and good. Â I love a place that is not a stupid mainland chain!
This last visit I had a very good grass fed steak, with local mushrooms. Â My friend had nice looking Ono on a salad full of sprouts. Â The people were genuinely friendly too.
Oh yes and very good prices.
Loved this place....the decor, the people and the food!
Tood a drive from Hapuna to Waimea...then decided to go to Honokaa....next Waipio Valley...and then finally, "what the heck"...let's go to Laupahoehoe for hamburgers.
A friend mentioned this place to me and said the food was good...so off we went...and went...and went.
When we finally got to Laupahoehoe, we found the Old Mamalahoa Hwy, but as we drove up there the road seemed to be going to no where...so we turned around in our rented Cadillac and stopped at a little store to ask the way...the lady there laughed and encouraged us to "keep going"....soon enough, we came upon this cute little restaurant.
I felt like we'd stepped back in time...walls filled with memorabilia...old 45 records and record jackets...juke box, autographed pictures of so many oldies stars, pin ball machine, booths and the great old formica tables with the padded chairs (the kind we used to have in our kitchen in Kaimuki!)
Loved "The King" room....ELVIS everwhere...he still makes my heart flutter!...loved it all.
The people there are really nice...so we shared the homemade chicken soup, Kalbi (served said it was her favorite), cheeseburger with garlic fries, and a chocolate shake....everything was really delicious. Â Chicken soup was tasty..not salty and full of chicken and noodles. Â Kahlbi was flavored just right and tender...cheeseburger was tender and tasty and complete with lettuce, tomato and red onion...fries were crispy and riddled with chopped garlic, topped with cheese....my absolute favorite was the chocolate shake...I could have had another one, but felt guilty.
We did a take out on the lilikoi cream pie, macnut pie and the cherry cobbler....all really good....
Lucky we don't live close by or I'd be there all of the time for the chocolate milkshakes!
The drive (either from Hilo or Waimea) is beautiful. Â
...then you take a trip down memory lane. Â Or for people like me, it feels as if you have traveled through time. Â
50's Highway Fountain is a homey restaurant that had excellent food, friendly service, and fun decor. Â
I definitely recommend this restaurant and I cannot wait to return and try something new.
This place was a great road find! It is a family run business with a 50's theme and an ocean view. The food was good- I has the Ono fish and chips and my mom had grilled Ono over salad. However, the portions were Way Too Big- I think they would do well to pair down portion size or recommend each dish be shared for two. The server was very friendly and helpful- service was at a slow Hawaii-esque pace, but we had plenty of time and enjoyed looking at the 50's paraphernalia collected in the restaurant- but I wouldn't recommend going here I you are in a rush.
Review Source:This place is amazing! We've seen it before, on our way to or from kona. But we just recently tried it and OH MY GOODNESS! Their burgers are amazing, as is the rest of the food. Mom had the ahi tempura platter, she was full and satisfied. It's my go-to place now for a damn good burger haha
Review Source:My girlfriend and I showed up here around 3pm, totally starving after a poorly planned hike down into the Waipio Valley. (PS do that hike! It's one of our favorite things we saw on our trip.) We ordered two burgers, not expecting much, and we were totally blown away. Granted we were starving, but we both agreed they were up there among the best burgers we've ever had. Plus they were from local, grass-fed cattle. I can't recommend this place highly enough.
Review Source:It was my first time trying this place. Right from the onset, seeing the outside of the restaurant I knew it was going to be good. I felt like a little kid when I took a step in the door. I ad,irked the interior and the family oriented atmosphere.
Although I just got take out it was better than I thought it was going to be. The chicken Katsu plate was so soft and the portion size was huge. The only thing is that this place is really popular so we ended up waiting an hour for our food. What I recommend doing is getting takeout! Cute place and good atmosphere!
Tried to go for lunch on the way back from Hilo, but they were full and the wait was about 30-minutes, so we decided to move on. Â However, we went back a few days later and were not disappointed. Â The place is very cool with all the 50's style decor and souvenirs.
The food was ono - very fresh and ample quantities. Â The only drawback is the lack of parking, but you could park on the side of the road closeby. Â The service was very friendly. Â The milkshakes great! Â Tried the lilikoi milkshake and was worried that it would be weird, but it was delicious.
They use Big Island beef in their burgers and the patties are handmade. Â I was pleasantly surprised that the menu was pretty extensive for a small place. Â Will go back again.
This place was no bueno. It was in an area that had no food for several miles.. if I had a do over I would just hold out even if I were starving. They had a good idea with the decor but the actual presentation is sloppy and dirty. It's also in a really shady area.. we were nervous to leave our rental car.
Review Source:Chris and Kendra have a homey place with beautiful views and breezes, astounding Elvis, Coke and other memorabilia form the fifties (it's like you are there!) and lots of attention to customers. It's all good and freshly prepared, but my favorite - the ono (and I mean it both ways) fish and chips!
Review Source:50's is definitely a place to check out whether you're heading out to the other side of the island or you're just looking for a great meal. Â I make sure to come here every time i come home to Hilo.
Great food, great service, and the cutest dining atmosphere for miles around. Â My favorites are their burgers and shakes, but my family are big fans of all the local stuff as well. Â Loco mocos are HUGE!
If you're in the area, make sure to check out 50's diner. You won't wanna miss it!
What a cool little place!!
Last time we came to Big Island, we drove by it curiously on our way back to Hilo. This time, we made sure to stop. Glad we did!
The plates were huge. The milkshakes brought me back to childhood in New England. The service was good and friendly. The decor is so much fun, it's easy to wait for your food while you check the place out (gotta love the Elvis room!). Complete with the old school wooden high chair for our tot, formica tables and checkered floor. :-)
If your on the Hilo side, 50's Fountain is totally worth stopping for!
After our day at Waipi'o Valley hiking and swimming, we stumbled across this gem of a place. You will not go away hungry or without a to-go box. Oof! :)
I had the Korean Katsu Chicken. It came out steaming hot and nice and crisp. However, the winner was the BBQ Swiss bacon burger with garlic cheese fries smothered with ranch dressing. OMG! Delish! See my photos I attached.
To end we had Lilikoi (passion fruit) cream cheese pie. Perfect ending. But very stuffed!
Service was amazing!
Overall, I highly recommend. So glad I found this place on yelp.
After reading a review that stated the address is wrong, I wanted to help some folks out and let them know that according to Google maps, the address is actually at Old Mamalahoa Hwy, not Government Main Rd.
35-2074 Old Mamalahoa Hwy. Laupahoehoe, HI is how to find it via google/yahoo/bing maps.
Hope this helps :)
**I'm updating my review to 4 stars because the owner contacted me within 24 hours of posting my review and responded to the issues I raised in a polite and helpful manner. very impressive-- obviously they are trying hard to do the right things**
MY ORIGINAL REVIEW: Â
win: fun eclectic decor, clean, space larger than it looks, walk through to rear dining room with ocean view
win: peppy hostess had great energy
win: the food was made to order and we enjoyed our lunch overall and will return
win: the loco moco used nice good quality hand made hamburger patties and the eggs were cooked perfectly.
win: lilikoi shake was delicious (about $5) and they brought the overage in a little side cup which my Mom thought they did special just for her
fail: Â I found the place via Yelp app on my phone as we were driving by, saw a Yelp deal, purchased it, showed it to our waitress on our mobile phone, she was confused, went to talk to owner, they refused to accept it for this visit, saying we had to print it out first. Â Deal clearly states: "just print and present this Certificate to the business or show it to them on your phone or mobile device."
fail: Yelp map location for this restaurant is incorrect-- several miles up a steep one lane road straight up the mountain... when you finally get up there and the road ends at someone's house you have to turn around and drive back down to the highway... these people are savvy enough to have a Yelp deal but can't get Yelp to display their location accurately? They're really just one street behind and above the highway... I'm sure they're losing business because the map makes it look like they are much farther away.
fail: the food was made to order and took a while to come out. Â It was good overall but not consistantly great (we did not like the coated fries, the "special" burger seemed a little overpriced at $10, the fried ono fish and chips was greasy and one or two of the pieces of fish were a little "fishy"). Â The menu said the items ordered as a plate would come with a side of macaroni salad or green salad but the waitress never offered or brought this. My parents split the loco moco... so 1 loco plate, 1 burger, 1 fish and chips, and beverages ended up being $49 with tax and tip.
fail: after our disagreement about the Yelp deal (which we did not press or get angry about) our server largely ignored us. Â This would not have been a problem if the prominent water cooler and water glasses in the room were operational, but when we tried to get our own waters, we discovered the water cooler was empty and unplugged. Â This was a major bummer as I drink a lot of water when I'm eating and initially loved the idea that I could get it myself as needed.
dear 50's diner: you are doing a lot of things right..... how to improve and get more stars: Â fix your Yelp stuff, fill up and plug in the water cooler, figure out some amazingly delicious french fries, serve plates with promised items or change menu description.
I lived on the Big Island for years, then moved to Oahu, and now I'm in Portland. I recently went to Laupahoehoe to stay at my friend's house which just happens to be a beautiful old Buddhist temple from the late 1890's. Anyway, the restaurant is right up the road... not much else in the area, food-wise. Luckily the 50's Highway Fountain did not disappoint. I think my partner and I went 4 times in 5 days. I liked all of the classics and then local fish dishes. Everything was great and the service was excellent. Very friendly people and a cute old plantation building.
Review Source:Lots of local food along with burgers and shakes.
I was impressed they brought the shake "extra" part - not all places will do that.
Very good Mac salad.
And great prices and heaping quantities.
It's a shame this place isn't on the main road as I am sure they could use the business, but then again, being just off of it, there is little traffic so dining outside is quite nice!
If you are hungry, this is the place for you! We ordered the chili cheese fries which were amazing and the loco moco(s). You can choose a bowl or a plate. My brother chose the plate and got two burger patties on what looked like 3 scoops rice with gravy and two eggs. His eyes nearly popped out of his head! Needless to say, he didn't finish, but then he had food for two more meals when he left. Also, the ice cubes there are super cool, made from an ice machine from the 50s. The service was nice and we ate on the outdoor patio enjoying the light rain and tradewinds.
Review Source:Their malts are awesome. Don't know of another place that has malts so this is definitely the place to go. Their burgers are also great. Patties are wonderful along with all their other ingredients depending on what you add on which they have a wide variety to offer. I stop by every time I'm passing through just for the food and their GREAT customer service.
Review Source:We LOVE this place, and always go there during our visits to Big Island. The 50's decorations are so fun, and the food is fantastic. We especially like breakfast, but lunches have been delicious too. Excellent service, and everything is fresh and homemade. A must-stop place between Hilo and Honoka'a.
Review Source:
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