Somsamai Styles Restaurant

Cash only. The pad thai, curry, spring rolls and papaya salad are very good. So good, I want to try everything on the menu.

Delicious and fresh. The cook and service was nice-​very friendly. We enjoyed. It very much. We had the spring rolls and the pumpkin curry. Ono good!

A quick Unilocal check of the local Thai joints and we ended up here.
I was pretty leery from the exterior and I wasn’t super impressed when we walked in the place. Small, just a few tables and chairs. But it looked clean and the food smells hinted that things might turn out ok.
The super nice lady that greeted us is the owner and cook. Her menu is small so she can handle all the orders by herself.
We selected papaya salad and Chicken Pad Thai.
We watched as our food was assembled and cooked. That lady is amazing. It was as if we were at her house for a meal.
Both of the dishes we received were so delicious.
The salad was fresh and crisp with a wonderful citrus flavor. And the Pad Thai was served hot and tasted very fresh. Lots of flavor.
Since this place has a staff of one, the hours it’s open are limited. However, we feel it’s worth the effort and can’t wait to visit again.

Love this little Thai place and little lady in the kitchen. She is amazing. Her cooking is amazing. Her cleanliness is amazing. My man’s fave aspect. Her freshness and spice level is amazing! My fave aspects.
She makes one of my husband’s and my favorite pumpkin curry on the island, so this is our go to. I normally order the chicken larb as well. Medium spicy. Extra fresh. So so good. And the sum tom is even better. We also do her pad Thai often.
She deserves the support and business. She’s small and a one woman show. You may wait if she’s lucky, and get a table if you’re lucky. Do wait if you can. Check out the market on market days and make this your lunch stop. Then come back again and again so she stays open and in business. Please! Best Thai food prices on the island. Some even say it’s the best Thai on island. I won’t argue. Watch out for that spice!

We went to this restaurant near the Farmer’s Market on a Wednesday afternoon. The owner was very nice and helped us order our dishes. We enjoyed the red curry chicken and the pad Thai noodles. The papaya salad was okay but I have had better. Perhaps it was because the day was extremely hot, but there restaurant has only one fan and eating all that spicy food made us dripping wet! The owner is very friendly and kind and we enjoyed talking to her.

Love the pumpkin curry and green papaya salad– owner’s specialty dish. This is a small place and the emphasis is on her amazing preparation– NOT the ambiance. People line up 10 – 20 at a time on Sunday’s at the Makuu market for the same dishes. Five stars because of meticulous preparation and flavor but the restaurant is a small place with no ambiance or great service.

Sigh. This was my very first restaurant in Hilo and I wanted to like it so I can write a five-​star review like everyone else but it just didnt do it. How in the world this place get a five star review? I really would like to know if anyone has an answer for me.
So Hilo is the wettest city in the US and on my way to thos restaurant, it was pouring. Fortunately I had an umbrella and I went inside the restaurant without getting too wet.
Inside of this particular restaurant was very small as I have assumed. Only 4 – 5 tables with so-​called ‘open kitchen’. There was only one lady who did all the tasks; she hosts, serves, cooks and buses. It is a mom and pop’s shop but I didnt like it from the beginning. The restaurant was very warm and humid inside with only one fan. When I sat on the table, I saw little bugs crawling and flying and it was just annoying and bugging me so much.
The menu wasnt too much of a variety. I didnt really have an option so Boyfriend and I went with Red Curry and Tom Yam Koong.
When I got my Tom Yam Koong (TYK), and I asked myself, is this it? The soup/​broth was yellow and not red which I am used to seeing. I dont know if the ‘yellow’ soup means more authentic in any way but I didnt like the taste either. It has way too much lime juice. I also tasted too much coconut milk. Ehh. Weirdly though, it did taste like TYK but it wasnt very good to my taste.
Red Curry… I dont know where to start. It was horrible. Just horrible. I am never going to eat Red Curry ever again just because of this restaurant. It was so bad. YUCK! I thought I was eating some type of a perfume soup. Something in the curry that bothered me so much. I swear I thought I was eating food with perfume in it. Even the chicken and veggies, they were all infused with perfume taste and I couldnt eat ANY! The curry alone wasnt even red either. It had too much mint and it was just awful.
I honestly dont know if her cooking is ‘authentic’ thai or not but I didnt like it at all. I guess I am used to Thai food from Los Angeles after all. Nothing tasted right to me here. I am sorry.
I asked the lady a couple things and she doesnt hear me and I repeat myself and she doesnt get it. Frustrates me. I am never coming back here. NEVER EVER.

Here’s some authentic real deal McCoy papaya salad. Great food great people great service. Price is reasonable. I dare you try.

Unilocal led me here and thanks!
Very small place and a very sweet lady runs it. She serves and cooks everything. No beer but feel to buy your own next door to enjoy with your lunch.
Started off with som tum which is papaya salad. Fresh, tasty, and generous portions for such a good price. I got the green curry which came with brown rice at no extra charge and a chicken pad Thai for my husband. Both entrees had excellent flavor and was delicious! Reminded me of our trip to Thailand last year. We actually wanted to go back again the next day but she’s only open from 10−2pm and we were visiting the tidepools in koholo.
Don’t miss out on Somsamai if you are in Hilo! I’m craving the pad Thai even as I’m writing this review

Best papaya salad ever! Haven’t been to the restaurant, had it at the Maku’u Farmers Market. Delish!!! Made with aloha

Amazing, authentic Thai food. Its a one woman show. Pumpkin Curry may not sound appealing if you’ve never had it before, but if you come here you MUST try it along with a Papaya salad. Insanely good. This wonderful lady has no idea what Unilocal is or just how good her food is so be sure to let her know you love it.

Incredible family owned restaurant. We came over for the day from kona and had an awesome day. We orders the summer rolls and red and green curries. Ordered them hot. Everything was fresh made, while you had to be patient the food was worthy of the wait. Fresh ingredients and hand made on the spot. Can’t miss.

A very small single operator, so service will be a little slow if she is busy, but it’s the best deal in town for Thia, others do it as well but not at these process.
The Green Papaya salad, Tapioca pudding, the Chicken Larb. all were spot on excellent food at Cheap prices you won’t be disappointed.

Limited menu focused on curries. There’s also papaya salad, larb, and pad thai. The pumpkin and panang curries were perfect. Not exactly what I’ve had before, but that’s ok. The infused water was a nice touch.
It’s just one person working behind the bright pink door, the hours are limited (2:30 pm close), and the décor is really spartan. For me, it’s about the food!

MUST.EAT.PAPAYA.SALAD
This place is really easy to miss on road, but not on Unilocal!It does’nt have very strong competitors in its neighborhood. However, that can in no way steal its thunder. Very tasty food, very good experience of freshly cooked food. Coconut Island is nearby, so take a walk after tummy-​full of somsamai style food!

If not for my friends at work, I never would have gone to this place. And I would have missed out. This is a one-​woman operation. The limited hours make sense since she does everything.
There are 4 tables that can seat up to 4 people. The menu is straightforward and she has a special listed on a chalk board at the entrance. The place is clean, bright, and airy.
There were 3 of us who went in and there were 2 other people in the restaurant when we arrived. The owner brought us water and gave us menus right away. She’s not gushingly welcoming but she was nice and said ‘Hi’ as soon as we walked in. She reminded me of one of my aunties who is direct and all business, but really nice once you get to know her.
Surprisingly, the menu held quite a few items for a one person operation. I ordered the kao mun kai that happened to be the special for the day. I’ve been eating Thai food for years and this is the first time I’ve had this dish. It was delicious!!! The rice was lightly covered with some sort of yellow sauce and it really complimented it. The dish comes with a few slices of raw cucumbers and a small dipping bowl of another type of sauce. That sauce made the whole meal scrumptious!
The portion was pretty large for a meal that cost less than $ 10. Most Thai places charge meals more than $ 10 for portions that can be smaller or about the same size. I personally ate more than I planned for lunch. I couldn’t stop eating.
My friend ordered Thai salad. That was delicious, too. He got it medium and it was perfect for me. Our other friend ordered larb. It was nicely presented and the lettuce was very fresh.
This place is cash only so make sure to stop at the ATM before going in.
We didn’t wait that long to get our food. Presentation was good. The food was fresh and very delicious.
There are a few Thai restaurants in Hilo but this is my new favorite. I would definitely go back and try the other items on the menu. I’ll update my review as I try other items.
I definitely recommend giving her a try. Remember, however, that she does run the entire place by herself and she makes everything fresh so if you walk in and a few people are there, be prepared to wait a little bit. Luckily, the place is small so there can’t be too many people waiting around.

True to the previous reviews, this is the best Thai food in Hilo. They are generous with their portions and the quality is very high. The chef owner and server, all in one, provides exceptionally warm service. The space is not large (but has high ceilings) and she plays softly beautiful classic Thai music. My favorite dish is the pumpkin curry and I haven’t been able to move past this dish to try anything else. Cash only. Open Tuesday thru Friday, currently from 10 am to 2pm except Wednesday which is open from 830 am to 230 pm. Do go!
Feel free to reach out to me with questions about each place or destination. I only write 5 star reviews to help you find the best each city has to offer.

I always love our day trips to Hilo from the Kona side.
We had lunch at Somsami yesterday while visiting Hilo. OMG, this place is fantastic. I’ve eaten a lot of Thai food and this is as good as it gets. The menu isn’t extensive, but it’s done well. Great quality food and served up fast.
We shared the papaya salad to start and it was excellent — lots of lime.
I had the red curry with chicken and it was fantastic. My friend had the pumpkin curry with chicken and it was also great.
One of my pet peeves with Thai restaurants is if they ask you if you want something hot it usually doesn’t arrive more than medium hot. My dish was almost as hot as I like it, but just a little bit milder than I like.
I will definitely be back ASAP, the next time we come to Hilo! I highly recommend having lunch here, you won’t be disappointed!

So my boyfriend and I came here because we saw all the great reviews. Its open for only four hours on most days and we walked in at about 1:30 and the place closes at 2:00. Maybe we would have had a better experience if we had come earlier. We ordered papaya salad and that was great. I have had better but still good nonetheless. We tried to order pad Thai but she informed us that she ran out so we got pumpkin curry. Curry was good and very flavorful. After we left and paid, the bf told me she was looking at us like she was waiting for us to leave and was getting impatient. She did turn away two groups before 2:00 and kept on looking at the time when they walked in. I didn’t notice her sideways glances towards us because my back was towards her but when my bf told me that, it made me pretty upset. The food was good but it wasn’t amazing enough to where i would come back just to get annoying glances from her because we came thirty minutes before the restaurant closed.