Cafe Pesto is one of the few local restaurants in Hilo that are known well beyond Hawaii. I've previously reviewed another,
Ken's House of Pancakes, with its hundreds of menu options. Cafe Pesto, which also has a location in Kawaihae on the west side of the island, not far north of the North Kona and South Kohala resorts, is the antithesis of that approach - a lunch or dinner menu fits on one page. True to its name, Pesto offers various pasta dishes, as well as calzones, calamari, focaccia, and more gourmet pizza varieties than you could shake a pointy stick at.
But it's not
just an Italian restaurant. With extensive use of locally grown organic vegetables, locally raised meats and fresh locally caught fish, the menu has a distinctive Asian/Pacific tone as well.
My favorite dish is the Grilled Fresh Catch Salad - grilled fish on a large, diverse salad of local organic greens and edible flowers. I wash it down with lemonade, which comes with complimentary refills.
Cafe Pesto is a slightly "upscale" restaurant. Dress is casual, but I can easily spend $20 or more per person on a meal and dessert, and I don't even consult the wine list. That said, it's fresh, healthy food prepared and presented well, so it's a nice place to go for a treat.
Visit Cafe Pesto's
web site for menus, recipes and more information.
