Cafe Concerto

A taste of Italy here in Hilo. The chef here is from Italy and the food is very authentic. The ravioli is my favorite, but I’ve tasted the pasta with the homemade meatballs and the lasagna off the menu that are both VERY delicious. The sides of bread we always have to order seconds of as well! The quality of food here is amazing. The restaurant is small, so make reservations, especially if you are trying to seat a large party. After meal digestives made by the chef himself is a MUST.

My husband and I had made reservations for an early dinner NYEve. Our table was waiting for us in a cozy little corner. He ordered angel hair with clam sauce, clarifying that it did come with bread. Yes, it did. I ordered a salad and the spinach ravioli. The waitress opened the wine we had brought, and poured it. My salad arrived quickly and was delicious. Such fresh ingredients. But after about two bites, the ravioli was placed in front of me. I asked to please take it to the warning oven until I finished my salad. When I had, both our entrees were served, each with 2 tiny pieces of bread, more like over-​sized croutons. When we asked about getting more bread, we were told that would cost $ 2.
Pros– The food was delicious and very reasonably priced. BYOB was great.
Cons– Service was lacking, training is needed. Not a friendly feeling with either of the waitresses. If bread is advertised as being served, it should be enough to be presented in a bread basket.
I’m tempted to just get the food to go next time. And enjoy it with a some fresh bread at home.

This place was amazing! The chef is from Italy. I got the ravioli Gorgonzola and it was so amazing. It is made in house and was honestly the best I’ve ever had. The waitresses were quick, friendly, and helpful. The other people in my group got the caprese pasta (I think) and it was very flavorful. One of the people in my group lived in Italy and he said it tasted very authentic. We also got the tiramisu and panna cotta and both were very flavorful and yummy. At the end of the meal it came with a special drink that was close to a lemon ciello that is supposed to hep you with digestion. It was very flavorful and sweet. One person got an espresso and it was very good. The price of everything was a major plus as well. I think the ravioli was only $ 12 or $ 13. Overall this place was amazing and I would suggest getting any kind of ravioli. I am sad they don’t have one of these on Oahu because I would go there all the time.

Great little place for two, bring your bottle (s) of wine and let the pasta come to you!

I hate to have to update this with a much lower rating, especially since the chef-​owner is such a nice gentleman, but the poor service my family has received on several occasions can no longer be overlooked. We have eaten at Café Concerto about a dozen times and the food is consistently good. However, the management and service leave much to be desired.
Twice now, and separated by several months, I have been turned away from the restaurant despite having a reservation because of problems by the servers to hold the table or properly record the reservation. This last refusal to honor a reservation was the most upsetting as it was for an anniversary dinner. To help ensure that our reservation was not lost, I went in a week early in person to make the reservation and watch them write it down. Despite this, when we arrived they had no record of the reservation and the servers shrugged at us until we went away. It will be, unfortunately, the last time we attempt to eat here.
I left two stars because the food is pretty good. However, due to the problems with service, you would be better served by going to Café Pesto or the Hilo Bay Café for special occasions, brief visits to Hilo, or any non-​spontaneous meal.

Best tomato sauce I have seen used in a Pasta. Our craving for pesto was well tended to.
First time I and my husband ever saw the chef come and inquire about the food in a good café.
FYI: parking is on the back of the building.

Got overcharged.
Food was ok, I was patient with the restaurant but I don’t fuck with getting overcharged.

I was underwhelmed by this restaurant. It’s a cheaper alternative for Italian food in Hilo than Café Pesto. The best part was the tiramisu. My friend had homemade ravioli which seemed good but the rest of the menu is choices of angel hair or penne pasta with a variety of sauces. I could make any of those at home… Most have no meat either. And do not come with a salad. And fresh Italian bread? You get two tiny pieces. The best part was tiramisu for dessert. It was authentic and very good. I recommend the tiramisu but not impressed with the menu variety for food. Most of the reviews rave about how authentic it is, but if you haven’t been to an authentic tiny Italian restaurant on the mainland, you don’t know what you’re missing! That’s the real deal, not this place

Well if you are looking for Italian food in Hilo this is almost your only choice. Unfortunately you will be better off busting out the Prego in your hotel room. My experience visiting this quaint hole in the wall was very mediocre. Lets start with the bad news. Servers were taxed therefore unable to do their jobs well. After squeezing into the restaurant because of packed seating at the front door I then again had to squeeze into my seat because our table was jammed against the wall; Awkward! We then waited for a good 10 mins before a menu was dropped off to us. Then another 5 for water; and this slow service continued. We watched other tables get bread, that would have helped with the hangryness but nope we didn’t get bread until the really poorly made pasta that they served us was almost pau and the bread was not good. At that time they brought us our salads, not good unless you like school lunch salads. I am a chef and not that picky but this place didn’t do any justice to the little boot in the Mediterranean. Oh good news… ummm… it wasn’t that expensive… and we did eat the food, so they get two stars for food being edible.

DELICIOUS!
We had cappuccinos, the caprese salad to start, and pasta dishes for dinner. — the four cheese ravioli and the penne pesto. So good. Wish I had room for the tiramisu, everything was perfect! Definitely will visit again.

As authentic as it gets! Small, intimate restaurant in the heart of Hilo. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu and the freshly made bread is really really delicious!
The Ravioli con Gorgonzola is absolutely divine. I could eat plate after plate of just that, but we usually order a couple of other pasta dishes to be polite.
Chef Lando Landi, a native of Tuscany, Italy personally prepares all of the dishes and every time we’ve dined here he has come out to make sure our dinner was going well.
BYOB and make reservations.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the ravioli. also for the locals who like lots of food, I would suggest something with a tomato sauce.
my bf and I always get our own entrée then split a ravioli plate or something to ensure that we won’t leave hungry.
tiramisu is strong in the espresso but so good and don’t forget your digestive shot at the end of your meal! super refreshing.

We didn’t have reservations, but they were able to seat us after a few minutes of waiting. I had the 4 Cheese Spinach ravioli with an Alfredo type sauce. Sekueli had the angel hair pasta with meat. Both were delicious and huge portions. Prices were fair. Panna cotta and mango ice cream were also delicious.
Cute, romantic type setting for a date night.

Best-​fresh-​made-​from-​scratch pesto on the island amazing chef who came out to meet us and give us his valuable time. Wonderful sweet attentive waitress

Our first time here, Valentine’s Day… We were ready for a long wait and ok service. But we were ecstatic to have excellent service and the food was awesome! We tried a variety of things the caprese salad, summer spaghetti, the caper one (can’t remember the name), the meatball spaghetti, but our favorite – vongole (clam sauce)! And the crème brûlée was crazy good! Also byob so we could bring our favorite vino to enjoy. Dinner for 4, $ 80. A deal! And we even had left over food! Portions are very generous! What a great experience! Best valentines dinner we had in many years! Definitely coming back!

I love the pasta. The portions are fantastic for the price. The owner is a amazing cook. Every time I eat here I’m always very full and satisfied. Me being Italian it’s refreshing to have that authentic feeling. It is also one of my sons favorite places to eat, and the tiramisu is to die for.

Their cappuccinos were the only good thing that I ate. Their enormous portions are unusual. Also their spaghetti is a disgrace. If you want to eat here do not order the spaghetti

One of the best Italian restaurant in Hilo if not the best
The owner is from Tuscany… so do I have to say more??? I have been few times, love puttanescha pasta. Thank you Lando
I will be back soon in your lovely restaurant

Came for a friends bday dinner. Believe there was about 9 of us. There was just one waitress and like others mentioned, the one chef/​owner. Waiting time was above average, but we didn’t mind.
It’s byob, so it’s nice that they provided the wine glasses. I ordered the clam pasta, which is angel hair pasta with a tomato clam sauce. It was yummy! The clams were seasoned nicely and perfectly chewy. It had a little kick which complimented the dish. The portion size was just right for me. I like how it was not too big, because I have a problem with always clearing my plate, especially with delicious food.
I also tried my friends pesto ravioli. It was filled with a couple different cheeses. I enjoyed the pesto sauce. Rich and not too heavy. The pasta itself was pretty good, but I feel like there could have been a lot more filling. Definitely enjoyed the clam pasta over the ravioli.
At the end of the meal everyone got a complimentary after dinner shot. It has a splash of alcohol, but the purpose is to help you digest your food and helps to boost your metabolism.
The service was good! Had to be patient and wait a little, but for the amount of help and the amount of people were in our party, I was pleased. She constantly was filling the waters, keeping us updated on the food, and was helpful with menu questions.
They ran out of crème brûlée, so hopefully I will be back soon for the clam pasta and dessert!

First let me start and say I dont like italian food but the bf does. So when I found this restaurant on Unilocal I had to give it a try.
Street parking or on the side of the restuant theres more. Hole in the wall shop.
Walked in to find lights decorating the place, it made the place look romantic. Got seated in 5 mins. Sat outside but we ordered a lot so moved to a bigger table inside. It wasnt hot inside, actually it was cool. Very nice decorations btw.
Ordered a pesto dish (sorry its been a few days since we went) its probally the only pesto green dish on the menu), the clam spaghetti and the ravioli gorgonzola. With the caprese salad. A coke extra bread, a teramisu, and some thing like a crèm brulè.
Our bill was $ 54!!! Can you belive it?!! 4 dishes, 2 desserts and a soda? Such a deal. And the food was delicious! Tried to go back on monday but they were closed.
–GREAT serive as well!
Tuesday-​sunday I think 5 – 9.
Definitely going back soon!