Cronies
11 Waianuenue Ave, Hilo, HI, 96720
Cronies Menu
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Visit below restaurant in Hilo for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Hilo for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Hilo for healthy meals suggestion.
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Address :
11 Waianuenue Ave
Hilo, HI, 96720 - Phone (808) 935-5158
- Website https://cronieshawaii.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:00 am - 9:00pm
- Mon : 11:00 am - 9:00pm
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Street
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Good For Dancing : No
Alcohol : Full Bar
Happy Hour : No
Best Nights : Fri
Coat Check : No
Smoking : No
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : No
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
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V W.
Great grill food and full bar. Service is better than average and the deserts are super.
(4)Mei Y.
This is my favorite burger spot in hilo!! I love their swiss and mushroom burger!! Never disappoints!! The service is also great! Very attentive in filling waters and making sure everything was going well. No happy hour. Gone are the days of the $5 pitchers of beer, but still a favorite place of mine!
(5)J K.
I stopped by recently for lunch and as usual, the service was great and the tamashiro burger was very good. I don't care what anyone says, but I love crinkle cut fries, and I can take down a side order by myself. I also just tried their new desserts. I had a goodie goodie and my wife had the lava cake. Both were excellent. Keep up the great work Cronies.
(5)Charles C.
Never been to cronies before. First time eating in Hilo, ever. My wife and two friends had awesome burgers which they tell me they love. I had the best fish and chips I have ever had in my life. And I have lived a long life.
(5)Julia D.
It's the Hawaiian version of Buffalo Wild Wings. The theme of the restaurant is fun and exciting. Service was okay. I was surprised that their hot wings were really impressive and mildly spicy. And that's saying something because I have a high spice tolerance. When you come here you HAVE to get one of their burgers. My oh my they are gigantic and you probably won't finish one, but it has some of the freshest, richest meat and other ingredients you can have.
(4)Cindy D.
Awesome spot to have a rueban or hamburger. Drinks are decent and service was really good. Hilo is short on fine dining, but this fits the bill for bar and grille. Recommend this to visitors. Mahalo.
(4)Michelle D.
Terrible service. Waited 30 minutes -- with poor excuses for delay after almost walking out. Was offered 25% discount. Poor service and so so food. Never coming back again.
(1)Rockne H.
Visiting Hilo meant being able to meet up with my high school friends who live there. I was so stoked to meet everyone and get to party with them for the evening. We all decided to meet at this place as it's centrally located and convenient for a bunch of us. Driving up to this place, I was given the amazing opportunity to see Hilo Bay front at dusk. Such a beautiful place. The old buildings lined up in a row depict the olden day Hilo town. This joint is located on the corner of Waianuenue Ave and Kamehameha Ave, known as Hilo Bay front. Cronies comes off as more of a sports bar vibe. Lots of different jerseys, pennants and TV's playing sports games solidify this theme. The service was good. Our server was super accommodating and personable. She even split our checks up even though we did not ask. Our part was 14 people strong, so to do that proactively, I was impressed. For the evening, I got the coors light draft for around $5. Super reasonable and the beer was good. For dinner, I got the Teriyaki Chicken for $10.95. My side of choice was a scoop of rice. Kind of weird, but I though it wasn't a burger. My bad for not reading carefully. This is a staff favorite. Marinated and char broiled chicken breast, topped with grilled pineapples and swiss cheese. In my opinion, I wasn't too much of a fan. The chicken was a little dry and not really a fan of the pineapple. I tried to deconstruct the burger to enjoy it with the rice, but nothing seemed to change. I'm kind of sad that I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped to. For a bar to start our evening, this place was a good place to do it. It was alright in my opinion and not really somewhere I would make a special trip back to visit. I still think for Hilo, this place is good. Thanks for the awesome service!
(3)5hars M.
This place is always a must!! Never disappointed with the service and the food is great!
(4)Kory K.
Good bar food & great service. My wife left her phone at the restaurant and we were staying across the island in Kailua Kona. The manager, Shea, personally delivered the phone to us a few days later making the drive from Hilo to Kailua Kona. How's that for customer service?! Thanks Shea!!
(5)Ed L.
It's a nice little sports bar in the heart of downtown Hilo. The Kona longboard always tastes better on the Big Island for some reason! I was invited to dinner here on a recent Friday night by a group of friends whom were either running or volunteering for a small ultra distance endurance event called the Hilo to Volcano 50K. It was the night before and I had just arrived at 5:45p at the Hilo airport and my friend drove us directly here for dinner. I haven't heard of this place before, but thankful for yelp, it's a great way to explore the community and support local businesses, as always! With that said, Cronie's is where the food and fun is. While it was a quick meal to satisfy the appetite, I wish I could have returned here for a round of happy hour during my most recent trip to Hilo. Just as well though, the experience here was decent, quick, positive, and typical. The mood was quiet, especially on a Friday evening. Where were the drinkers and the party animals? Probably here in Hilo, the party starts later in the evening. Cronie's is where I would go to hang out and drink beer with friends. I wished I did have more time in Hilo, but that's how it is. The location is in downtown Hilo, right across the Hilo Bayfront, at 11 Waianuenue Avenue. The parking can be non existent here, but my local Hilo friend found prime parking spot along the Bayfront across the street from the restaurant. Of course, there are some parking areas in downtown Hilo, but you'd need to walk from there. Cronie's accepts major credit cards, so that's always a plus. However, my meal was comped by my Hilo friend, whom shook his head at me when the bill came. I thanked him of course and that was pretty excellent. I ultimately ordered the bacon cheese burger with fries and a Kona long board lager. Not the wisest choice the evening before running 50K from Hilo to Volcano on Highway 11, but that's how it shook down. I was living in the moment and celebrated a little too loosely. The longboard beer was excellent, obviously. Its a lighter beer in color and goes down great with any meal option you desire. However, while delicious, the bacon cheeseburger was typical and left to the imagination. The bacon was fun and the cheese on the burger was nice, but it didn't really satisfy me, but it was still a good meal. It's one of those meals where you wished you wanted more, but still okay with the real result. The fries were good, as always. I had my choice of onion rings too, but that was for another trip at a future time. For what it's worth, Cronie's is decently good. Just to hang out with friends over a beer and talk story is what makes Cronie's awesome. I'd recommend this place for that and any private gatherings you may have with friends is fun too. Solid 4.0 stars. Support local! B
(4)Makeitcount M.
The burgers are decent and I like the numerous TV screens but the drinks are just way over priced. The night I went here it was borderline sauna hot. Had to ask for more napkins to wipe the sweat. Prob won't return due to overpriced drinks and because of how hot this place gets.
(2)Cindy S.
From the moment we walked into till we got our food up to the moment that we left, service was amazing! The portions are huge, they spare NO detail or expense. The burgers are HUGE! The fries are really good too. My bf got the "works" burger and it was awesome! Cooked exactly the way we asked! Beers were ice cold and came quick. Even the kids portions were big! We'll come back if we make it back to Hilo before heading back to the Mainland!
(5)Lynda M.
My husband, daughter, & I had dinner here while vacationing in Hilo. What a great place! First thing my husband noticed was a UCLA flag on the wall. Woo! Hoo! We're in the right place! My daughter & I ordered delicious drinks: she got a Mudslide & I had their "drink of the month", Rumchata Root Beer Float, Yum!!! My husband & I, not being too hungry, both ordered the mini me hamburgers. We didn't want to feel overstuffed with the regular 8oz ones & I was pleasantly surprised that we were given the choice of smaller & cheaper burgers. My daughter, a vegetarian, ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Burger, replaced with a veggie patty. She enjoyed hers as much as my husband & did ours. Brittany, our server, was cheerful, attentive, & helpful. My only complaint would be the fries. They appeared to be the frozen crinkle cut variety, I wasn't impressed. Overall, great food & fun atmosphere. I would certainly eat there again.
(4)Ms R.
Ok....the food is good. The staff is nice. The clincher is the location. .that is if you don't mind the beggers just outside in full view..or tripping over the legs of a homeless couple in the doorway next to Cronies. Why not let them use you restrooms? It would help with the reek of urine just outside your restaurant.
(2)Alicia F.
The food and drinks are great. Perfect relaxed laid back place to kick back and enjoy some drinks and very decent food at a reasonable cost. My husband and I really enjoyed their homemade selection of cronies cocktails. Iys honestly a decent "dive". The only reason I'm rating 4 stars is that the carpeting floor makes it a bit dated. If its ever in the budget flooring renovations would improve the look. No actual complaints the service is great.
(4)Lynne R.
Had a fun experience today at Croonies. Fun sports bar, with college team gear all over the restaurant. My husband and I both had burgers and they were yummy! We especially had a great time cause our bartender Molly was great. Made awesome bloody Mary's and was very sweet. I'm sure we will be stopping back in before we leave the island!
(5)Colleen D.
Good greasy food, lots of tvs. First come first serve with Sunday football, so get there early. The Chinese chicken salad is surprisingly good! The servers are always nice. Really expensive beer compared to surrounding areas, and food is over priced for what it is. But we like the atmosphere and the fried pork spring roll things as a pupu.
(3)Bunny C.
I love it here. Great service and the burgers are delish! My usual is the Teri burger add Swiss and mushrooms...which are fresh. :) Sometimes we come just to watch a game and enjoy the "Lava" wings and popcorn shrimp. 4 stars because the staff remembers you and makes you feel like family.
(4)Patrick J.
We were driving through Hilo on our way to Volcano National Park and were starving. We stopped, opened Yelp and quickly realized that just about everything on Hilo is closed on Sunday. After walking around in a circle and getting hungrier, we stopped at Cronies. It's a sports bar with a lot of memorabilia and team jerseys hanging on the walls. We sat at the bar and ordered a few beers. There were several Kona Brewing Company options. They will let you taste them if you are unsure which to order. We ordered the Swiss and sautéed mushroom burger and teriyaki chicken sandwich with Swiss cheese and pineapple. Both are local favorites. The sandwiches came with crinkle cut fries that were lightly dusted with some type of seasoning. The burger was well cooked and topped with lettuce, tomato, and onion. The chicken had a nicely grilled piece of pineapple on top. The burger was better than the chicken sandwich. The mushrooms had a hint of garlic, but both sandwiches were very good. The food gets 3 stars and the service gets 4.
(3)Don J.
It was ok. If McDonalds had onions rings, it would be a legit tie. No tomatoes or olives in the salads. Server was just going through the motions and didn't care. Onion rings were super greasy and the steak was under cooked. We never send food back because we know how the servers and kitchen staff play with your food. We just took the food to go and cooked it right at home. Warm beers made this a big "mehhh".
(2)George B.
Nice sports bar. Decent food, good prices, good drinks
(4)Shawn C.
Finally got the wife to come here after her race on Saturday. The burger was very good but not great. I think the onion rings were pretty awesome though. It was a sports bar but could definitely use some more tv's. I don't think my wife cared to much for the fish and chips but I definitely enjoyed the burger.
(4)Jeff N.
You won't a better burger in the state of Hawaii! This is what I have been looking for... fast friendly service, exceptional food cooked to order, quality ingredient and great management. If you want a real hamburger... this is the place! Better than anything we have on Oahu. Teddy's... eat your heart out!
(5)Joseph S.
Overpriced and greasy american food. Plus an owner who never puts money in making the outside of the building look presentable. So one star for this ratty looking junk place. These kind of places make Hawaii look like crap.
(1)RL A.
I usually avoid any place that promotes itself as a "sports bar". However, Cronie's is a rare jewel that doesn't overwhelm you with the sports bar ambiance. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual. The service is excellent! The friendly staff all try to greet everyone who walks in. I enjoy eating here at least once a week. Great place for lunch meetings. The burgers, and other sandwiches, are excellent. Don't overlook the other choices, too. Their daily soups are superb, and the soup bread bowl is a full meal. Salads are always fresh and satisfying. I recommend Cronies for visitors who are exploring Downtown Hilo. It is right between the Tsunami Museum and Mokupapapa Discovery Center. Many fine stores and shops are close by. Street parking is free. Cronie's is also very pleasant for dinner. Check out the back of the menu for their full meal selections. They do a good steak!
(5)Bill H.
Bacon double cheese was one of the best I've had. Cooked to order, a very accurate medium. Fresh toppings, cheddar and Swiss, but $13??? It WAS a very good 8ounce piece of meat, but damn. I ate breakfast there, Sunday last, when the Browns beat the hell out of the Steelers. Good coffee, the girls kept my cup full. I ordered a breakfast sammich with Spam. I got two little pieces of dried up bacon. Took forever to get it out of the kitchen so I just ate the damned thing. I might try the other sport bar in town this next Sunday.
(3)Sam B.
This place is ok. We were in town and needed something to eat. It was the middle of the day between after lunch and before dinner. The food came out at a normal time but the servers are slow. The food was kinda greasy and the menu could be more detailed. I have a lot of food issues and I had to ask what was in almost everything.
(3)Tom J.
Horrible service at 1:00 on Sunday! If your gonna come here, sit at the bar. You will get the bartender bs'ing with you and getting you drinks. At least that's what he was doing when we were here, and not getting us our drinks.
(2)Patrick R.
Great sports bar in Hilo. Was on a business trip in Hilo and came here both nights. Friendly service, sports atmosphere, cold beer and great food. Mushroom Swiss burger was awesome and the Hawaii wrap appetizer was a must have. Great spot!!
(5)L-Internationally Known P.
Great place. Very inexpensive. Sports bar all the way. Menu is very easy and not overbearing. Drinks are up to par as well. I definitely recommend this place. Plus they're open on Sunday's!!!!!
(5)Kanoe I.
Fav. Spot in Hilo for Burgers.. I always order the Swiss Mushroom Burger with Half/Half.. the Crab cake salad and popcorn shrimp is also super yummy!!!
(4)Tiffany C.
Disclaimer: This review is for the bar and not for the restaurant or the food. As one of the few places open slightly late at night (Hilo's night life is non-existent at best), we came here looking for a drink and something to do. It was a really slow night so just a few people there and we asked to sit at the bar. We asked for a drink menu and the bartender gave it to us, we decided to order two blended drinks - the lilikoi margarita and the frozen mudslide. Both of the drinks were absolutely delicious. However, once we were done, we waited for about ten minutes with the bartender avoiding our eye contact and ignoring us while walking around the bar. We finally had to yell "Can we get the check?!" before he finally acknowledged us and let us pay the bill. I think Cronies might get lucky with business since they are one of the only places open later at night. I'd go back, but only b/c their drinks are decent and the hours they're open. The service sucked. And I didn't try the food, so as I mentioned earlier this review does not include food.
(3)Ariel L.
My mom and I stopped here for a late lunch on Sunday. It was nice and quiet. Our server came over right away and our food came out fairly quickly. I had the big island salad, which is huge and the papaya seed dressing was very good. My mom had the soup of the day, a chicken curry soup, in a bread bowl which she enjoyed but said that the bread was "crusty and chewey." I told her that is what the soup is for. Anyway, we also got the steak appetizer to share which was cooked well. Everything had a lovely presentation. In conclusion, a little pricey but nice for a leisurely Sunday lunch.
(4)Russell M.
Highly recommend the chicken Alfredo with side soup. Perfectly cooked and the sauce is to die for. I also recommend the bacon cheese burger with fried or onion rings. Awesome food, beer and desserts. Super friendly staff and very nice environment!!!!
(5)Zoey P.
I came in because it's the only place in town that's showing the game I wanted to watch. I was delightfully surprised by the warm and friendly service and their accommodation as I was the only one who was watching this particular game. The manager even turned up the volume for me so that I could hear the calls and commentary. The servers were very sweet and friendly as well. I ordered the soft shell crab po-boy which is the monthly special. Though I wouldn't consider it a po-boy (it was more like a soft shell crab sandwich on sourdough), it was quite tasty and the lack of crab smell indicates that the crab was fresh. They serve Mehana and Kona beer on draft for $5.50 a pint, which is a lot cheaper than Hilo Burger Joint. I'll definitely be back if I ever need a place to watch the game.
(4)Kwiki T.
Great food, drinks, and location! Highly recommend the onion rings and swiss mushroom burger!
(5)beeniegirl g.
Came here on a day trip during our honeymoon. Molly was amazing. She kept us there at the rail for an hour longer than we planned. Total badass friendly bartender! Totally recommend!
(5)Dania-Maria K.
Initially our party of eight had reservations at Ocean's Sushi at their new location. We waited about half an hour when we came to the conclusion it would take another half an hour to hour until we'd actually get into the restaurant. We ditched that plan and headed to Cronies. It was not too packed, so we were seated promptly and received excellent customer service. What I like about Cronies is that as soon as anyone comes into the joint everyone working says hi and acknowledges you. It gives the customer a nice welcome. We got all our drink orders in along with the food orders as we were very hungry at that point. I can't complain the service was great, very attentive and friendly. We received our food, ate, chatted, and laughed. It was a great night. Sports were on, the decor is all sports and UH Hilo had it's banner there too (I'm biased as a UH Hilo alumni)! The food is good, the prices ok. Not cheap, but I feel the portions are good. When we finished and left the staff said their good byes to us as well. I recommend Cronies if you like beer and sports as well as bar food. I'm sure when a game is on this might just be the place to be.
(4)Jack Y.
Service is on par here / watched the USA game and had a decent time here. Food was nothing to raved about. Just like one star up from a Denny's . USA draw match . At least they service was actually Moving here :)
(4)Leisha A.
This review may cause some to cringe, but it has a happy ending, I swear! My friend and I decided we wanted some gooood burgers so the obvious choice was cronies. The service was really good, very attentive waitress. My virgin lava flow (stop laughing. lol) was really good. So in a few minutes, we got our humongous burgers, with fresh and crispy onion rings. Then I cut my burger in half, looked down and saw a hair. It wasn't the end of world, especially since the waitress happened to come by and see if everything was okay. A short conversation with her and then with the on shift manager, the offending burger was quickly replaced with a fresh one and comped. Long story short, burgers and drinks are good, and they were quick to resolve any issues. Definitely will return.
(5)Albert B.
This was our first trip to Hawaii and we were looking for a place to eat. We found Cronies. Some of the best Burgers we ever had. The staff was out of sight. We arrived with six people and they quickly set up an area for us to dine. We went in for a quick lunch but stayed for two wonderful hours.
(4)Rose G.
Awesome place to grab a good burger. I'm from Los Angeles and went to the burger joint the night before and ended up with heartburn but the next day my husband and I ran into cronies and you can't com pair the two burger joint the service is very good as well at cronies.we know our burgers coming from L.A.
(5)Mark W.
What an amazing place. Smack-dab on one of the main corners of town and a sports bar as well. Walked in and everyone on staff said hello ~ first class. Sat at the bar and the mixologist (Molly) welcomed us again. Asked about suggestions and Molly did not steer us wrong with our drinks. Very friendly person, very outgoing and willing to talk (when she's not busy). The manager was walking around the place checking on tables and guests during the entire stay. We wanted to have one drink, and Molly was so great that we decided to have an appetizer and extra drinks. A MUST stop place!!!
(5)Aaron M.
The bar is dated and needs to be redone. The bartender had a Bitchy snarky attitude. And instead of talking to us she preferred to talk ABOUT us to her Co workers. She should be replaced as well... She could use a salad also...
(3)Jan-Marc E.
Great burgers, great waitress, nothing to complain. I would consider this to be the typical sports bar. Why not five stars then? I guess, because there are a lot of places like this.
(4)Caleb J.
If you are from the mainland this place might not be on par with some sports bars you frequent. I live in Hilo and am a regular here. I've never had a bad meal or poor service here. Shay and Nate have always made me feel welcome. The servers all have great, friendly attitudes. Had our Christmas party there and they accommodated us wonderfully. Best sports bar in Hilo by far. Just wish they opened early for college football season.
(5)Rina O.
Custome service and bartender were soooooo friendly :) a must go to place. Mahalo nui loa
(5)Yvonne J.
Best burger joint on the Big Island!!
(5)Andrew T.
The highlights: shabby decor and beer brought back warm memories of college fraternity parties.... manager and waitress were helpful and friendly.... the building has cool antique glass tile panels on the facade.... Burger was huge (!) and perfectly cooked to order, medium rare. The lowlights: Our food took a long time... and then arrived just -barely- warm. Not exactly cold but almost. Interior needs a make-over. Burgers and sandwiches were all about $10- $12. (Then they have a menu page of entrees that are $25- $30!!!) Burgers are not made with Big Island beef, and seemed a little mushy. Fries were crinkle-cut frozen fries...OK but not memorable. Burger with 1/2 fries/1/2 onion rings (75 cent upcharge) plus draft local beer ($5.50) plus tax and tip came to $22, so it didn't seem like a great bargain. There are other places I'd rather spend my $22... but if you want a burger, beer, and some sports on TV screens then I think this is the place you want to be in Hilo. I also got the un-itemized sales slip mentioned by a previous reviewer, so don't know if they upcharged me for using a credit card or not... I figured we got the un-itemized slips because we asked for separate checks, which the waitress graciously accommodated, despite the menu saying clearly "no separate checks." Bottom line: staff was nice, I cleaned my plate, but the overall experience could be a lot better. Oh yeah, I friggin' hate the name. That alone kept me out of here for over a year. Sorry if it has some local significance I am unaware of... if so they did not communicate that story effectively.
(3)Lisa A.
Don't ask me why I would go to a bar and grill while in Hawaii, except that it was raining, conveniently located and I saw a few people sitting in the restaurant. I definitely would not go bar although service was friendly, but the food was what you expect from a bar. I ordered the Hawaiian barbecue back ribs and they served St Louis style ribs with a marinade from a pina colada. It was just sweet mildly with no other flavors. No tanginess or tartness of a tomato based sauce or traditional barbecue sauce. I'm not sure what I expected, but these were awful. I gave it a 2 star rating because the service was decent and the drinks were good.
(2)Shawn C.
We were on our way through Hilo on our way back to the Kona district. Very good place to stop and relax, watch a bit of sports, and grab some great food. Hey, any place that has an All Blacks banner has to be a good sports bar!
(4)petaluma d.
Stopped in for lunch and a beer to wait out a quick rain storm. (and to catch a bit of NCAA March Madness) The waitress suggested the Thai chicken sandwich. It was absolutely fantastic! Paired it with the local coconut porter (yea!) If I find myself in the neighborhood, I will be back!
(4)Avery C.
Cronies is a decent, if not exceptional, sports bar. I've been a couple times. The works burger is pretty good, though I'm not a big fan of sprouts on one. Their wings are decent as are the costs. The other food I've had I haven't enjoyed. It is a place though that while I would certainly go if it were convenient the only time I would go out of my way to visit would be during Sunday football. Pros: * Good burger * Lots of tvs for sports * Waitresses are friendly and timely * Cost is reasonable Cons: * Most food is average there * Parking can be a little work
(3)Traci H.
Pretty good local joint if you want to chill over beer, bar food, and watch Sunday afternoon football. I heard the burgers were good, but i wasn't in the mood so I ordered a steak and rice plate and it was quite enjoyable, but it needed a bit of the bbq sauce, mustard and ranch dressing that we had on the table from other appetizers! Street parking, decent friendly service...not sure what the evening scene is here but I'd call it a pretty good sports bar afternoon destination. it's not the most modern or the cleanest feeling, but when you want burgers and football, usually you have a higher tolerance, i think. 31 Yelps #9 (yes it's still the 9th here...I'm having trouble with this whole Yelp time zone vs Hawaii time zone thing.)
(3)Jacqueline G.
Bloody Mary is awesome here!! Probably the best I've tasted in town! Mushroom swiss burger has a good taste and is served with beer battered onion rings. Looks like they downsized on their portions. Ask for window seat. Middle tables are crappy (in front of TV's). Staff are friendly. Fresh air during the day. I hate the carpet.
(3)Brennan T.
Great sports bar in downtown Hilo. I love the burgers that are juicy and huge. Great for lunch or a night out with friends.
(4)pat e.
The first is a copy I posted elsewhere a while ago: We should have stuck to burgers and fries, but how were we to know that this might be the only restaurant in the entire Hawaiian Island chain that doesn't know how to cook fish. We took our Chinese visitors here and several other places on the Big Isle. Except for one drive in fast food joint, this was sadly the worst. They did do fine with the burgers, but some of us read the menu and ordered ahi dishes. All decent restaurants in Hawaii serve local ahi, not imported frozen from Asia. We couldn't tell if it had been frozen or not because the fish was overcooked and dry. Two of us made the mistake of ordering ahi and if we ever go back, which is doubtful, we'll stick to beer and burgers. And the waitress messed up the orders. And was grumpy about it. So go watch a game and have fun, but unless you are into burgers, for lunch I'd head down to Ma'ona lunch counter, a little place next to Ruben's by the market that has burgers, thai, seafood, and shaved ice. --------------------------- Now for the update. We went 8/29/2013 to see the USC/UH game. My brother and his family invited me and I went along. Having had their crummy fish I ordered a teri burger, thinking if Blaines and Veras can do a decent teri burger, why not Cronies. Big mistake. I should have stuck with fries and beer. It was rotten. Literally, rotten. It tasted like freezer burned stale poison crud and the one bite left a nasty aftertaste. The food the rest of the table had was OK, but after two times being burned by this joint, I'll stick to beer. I'd guess that they thought they could hide the rotteness with enough teri sauce. OH, and as one reviewer noted, the fries are good, well actually OK - they are good compared to the mushy ones from a cheap drive-in, but sliced up russets fried in fresh oil? No... If you want to read, in my opinion, better reviews, check Tripadvisor - many comments like "worst burger ever," or "tasted like old freezer burned meat." I don't understand why people rate it high on Yelp, maybe the Tripadvisor people and I always go on off nights when they are serving the old freezer burned meat and dry tasteless ahi. tripadvisor.com/Restaura…
(1)Tim J.
Stumbled into this restaurant yesterday while visiting Hilo. I had the Hawaiian Kalua Pork & pineapple with BBQ sauce pizza and added jallepenos to it. WOW!! the BEST pizza in all my Pizza encounters while in Hawaii!! I'm a pizza fanatic and this was incredible!! I'd eat this EVERYDAY if I could! If you're coming here and like pizza.....this is a MUST!! Also tasted the mushroom burger that someone else at our table had...,another awesome menu item that I would recommend! Nice, casual, clean atmosphere. Staff and our server.....amazing! THANK YOU for the overall great experience!! Man, craving that pizza again this morning!
(4)Christi R.
Service was good. Clean. Yummy food. Plenty of tvs to watch the 49ers beat the Panthers.
(4)Elizabeth N.
I came here on Christmas Eve to watch my beloved SF 49ers play the Seattle Sea Chickens...I mean Seahawks (just kidding Seattle!) because Fox opted to televise the Cowboys game instead. So my team was only on DirectTV. I should actually give this place a 4 star for even showing it! But come on Yelpers, this place isn't THAT BAD to warrent 2 stars or worse reviews. If you're from the mainland or Oahu, you can't even compare it to places there. First off, its in downtown Hilo! The fact that this place even has choke big screen TVs each playing a different football game with great reception is rad in itself. Secondly, it's pretty spacious inside. Yeah there's some lawn chairs in the back of the place but for the most part it's got real seats AND is clean. I ordered a pizza and some hot toddies and the pizza wasn't TERRIBLE. It wasn't the best out there either but it was freshly prepared and hot when it came out. If anything I felt that the service was at least 4 star as every worker in there was super nice and friendly and didn't rush us to get out or vacate as they knew we were watching the game. At any rate, this is a spacious, clean and kid friendly place to go to if you really need to watch a football game and grab some bar food. Don't go here expecting a fancy franchise type place or gourmet food. Its a sports bar in downtown Hilo people! Go in expecting the worse and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Go in expecting the mainland/Oahu and you'll be dissapointed. Pros: -Got lots of TVs in there and good reception on them. They have Direct TV so you know they'll have the game you're looking for in there. -Super friendly staff -Spacious and clean -The Bloody Mary was really good and so was my Hot Toddie! -Good location, lots of parking Cons: -Kinda pricey food menu for average bar fare -bathroom could use an extra light fixture or stronger wattage bulb.
(3)JT T.
We were there a couple of times last week. They have a great collection of sports memorabilia and it was fun to talk to the kids about all of it. The service was great and the waiter spent time to make suggestions about the menu. My kid dropped his burger patty on the floor after the first bite. The manager saw it happen and without me saying anything had another out to us in less than 5 min. The kids liked the food so much, we went back the next evening. We had burgers and beers for lunch the first day and I had a steak the next evening. The food was very good and served up nice and hot.
(5)Jon G.
First off, best customer service I have ever experienced in a bar type restaurant. Every single employee thanked us on the way out. I mean wow they really went out of their way. Just for this I would return if the food was average. The food was about average. Burger was good. Girlfriend had the fish and chips, it was a little overly greasy. Not really great even though the staff said it was. But I forgive them, we are spoiled from the pacific north west with some of the best fish and chips. Clean fryers and proper drain time for the fish before plating is important... Price was within reason for hawaii about $10 per plate.
(4)Michael N.
Burgers here are just great - generous thick patties, moist, nice fresh flavor, double cheese. Lettuce, tomatoes and onion are quality, fresh. Really, one of the better burgers I've had, and I've eaten quite a lot over the years. Steaks are very good too, especially when you consider this is a casual sports bar. Service staff is always friendly and attentive. Place could be a little cleaner, but then again it's in Hilo where it's basically raining 70% of the time and customers are constantly trekking in wet and mud. If you are craving a good solid burger on this side of the island, this is the place to go.
(4)Jenny F.
This place has the hugest portions!! 8oz burgers!! Mushroom/Swiss, now where can you go wrong with that? They didn't, it was super! I'd asked for mine medium rare and there was no "oh the chef doesn't do them rare!" Sorry, that's how I live mine. Today I had the crab cakes, they weren't lump meat crab cakes, but they didn't say they were. They were however full of tasty crab and the chili sauce withe wasabi oil, yummo!! My husband had the ribs, big mistake. They had gravy on them!! It was weird! I can usually eat most things but these were off the chart not nice. The waitress asked if she could get him anything else and he told her no, it was his fault, picky eater- but she still comped us 50% off his meal!! We thought this was way above good service. The Mai Tai's here are amazing!! Potent!! Beware!!
(4)Samdooby R.
Not a fan of small roaches crawling on my hand while I drink beer. Burger patties taste like the pre-bought, frozen kind. Mushy and gross. The haole owner/manager is somewhat obnoxious. Ive tried this place over and over but it just doesnt work. Caters more to the tourist/shipboard crowd. The plus is the staff! Super friendly, attentive, and nice!
(1)Wes J.
Outstanding! Bacon cheeseburger was perfect. French fries and onion rings were perfectly cook. Waitress was friendly and attentive. Restaurant was clean. Decor was appropriate for the type theme. Big TVs and jerseys throughout. Will come back here again.
(5)Andrzej M.
sports bar. watching soccer world cup. beer and food good. service very friendly and competent:)
(4)Nick H.
After a long hike I generally need three things: a burger, a beer and a second beer. Cronies was my second choice, as the other reviews didn't inspire a lot of confidence. But I couldn't find my first choice (Shooters) and was starving. The service was great! My server was friendly, helpful and prompt. She helped me pick out a tasty local brew (Mehana Red) and was quick to bring me a second when I was nearly done with the first. Sadly, my burger was unremarkable. Plus it had american cheese, which is definitely not my favorite. The bun wasn't particularly fresh, or toasted--and it seemed like a cheap grocery store variety. The tomatoes looked a little depressing too--you know that pale pinkish-orange color? I suppose fresh, ripe tomatoes are hard to come by in the middle of the ocean... On the bright side, the onion rings were super tasty! The atmosphere didn't really excite me either--mainly because I was sitting on a plastic chair that is better suited to a patio than a restaurant dining room. All in all, not a bad experience, but not one I'm eager to repeat.
(3)Joe M.
Absolutely one of the best burgers I've ever had at a restaurant. Right ounces of Kobe beef topped with ahi poke. The French fries were very fresh and crispy. Service was phenomenal. My friend was brought samples of different beers on request. Throughout, our waitress was very attentive and friendly. All-in-all, an excellent place.
(5)Erynn T.
Chicken penne primavera is SOOO FREAKING GOOD! Pricier than other menu items but so glad I tried it because it is awesome. Tried the sweet thai chili chicken pizza last time I went too, and it was good, I love anything sweet chili. Buut probably wouldn't order it again though... I just wanted to try out their pizza. I will stick to their burgers and my newfound love, their pasta :)
(5)Kristina B.
Not bad for a sports bar. Came here for dinner on a Saturday night. Kept it simple and ordered wings and a bucket of fries. Food arrived fast and hot. Staff was attentive and friendly. I would consider coming back for dinner when I come to Hilo. If it's during football season, I'll be eating wings and drinking beers.
(4)Amy F.
Went here for lunch/after wedding day hangover meal... The burger "the Works" was so good! had bacon, mushrooms, cheese, lettuce, onions and tomatoes! The fries were decent. The Bloody Mary was right on, hit the spot good! Plenty of TV's to watch any football game on a Sunday. Even the manager asked if there was a specific game we wanted to watch while we ate. Very nice staff, clean, and good food.
(3)Agent T.
Great Burgers! Good value for money! And Friendly staff. We had the Swiss & Mushroom burger and the Big Daddy Burger. Both very happy.
(4)Susan H.
Coconut Long Island yum
(5)Desi B.
It was hard to rate this place only 4 stars but I had to take away a star because of the service. We went in on a Wednesday night and it was busy but not hugely so. Yet we waited about 10 mins for a table. I ordered a strawberry margarita and hubby ordered a long board draft beer. The alcohol took a long time to arrive, my margarita was really, really good but hubby's beer was not as cold as he likes. The waitress was busy but things did take a while to reach our table. But the food was a 5+ and worth the wait. We had appetizer's to start, sashimi market price (the serving was adequate for the price of $12.50 but the pieces could have been a little bigger), the crab cakes were WOW, just WOW, so much flavor and crunch that I wanted to eat both and not share with my husband. The hot wing's are HOT and messy, the way buffalo wings should be, mouth burning, lips tingling and finger licking good. After all that hubby ordered "the works' burger but "big daddy" style and he regretted it because it was HUGE, two giant hand made patties, sprouts, onion rings, tomatoes, cheese, bacon and mushroom's. He's a big eater and was barely able to finish it. I had the mushroom chicken with fries. Again a HUGE portion (I should have believed the menu when it said 1 lb of chicken) it was 4 large pieces of breaded chicken breast (a little dry but what to do you expect with boneless/skinless) smothered in brown gravy with big pieces of mushroom's, I had it with fries and of course they were crinkle cut and a big portion as well. I didn't finish all the fries but then again neither did hubby. Definitely not what I expected from a Bar & Grill.... Must do it again when we visit Hilo next time!
(4)Ken S.
Greatest Swiss mushroom burger ever. Been here once then back again for the Mai tai's. Fish and chips used Ono Fish. Amazing.
(5)Jim I.
For a sports bar, Cronies is fine. Not amazing, not bad either. The food is mostly pub grub - not amazing, but not bad. The service is reasonably nice and reasonably fast. The ambiance is appropriately sporty with big screen TVs. They have reasonably clean restrooms on the premises. The location is good for watching the world go by and the restaurant is spacious and bright with lots of windows. An extra star for: 1. The Mauna Kea Pie (i.e. Hula Pie). It's a monster so share it with a friend (or two). 2. They serve good beer. BOTTOM LINE: A nice place to relax with friends.
(4)Chad Y.
Located on the Hilo waterfront, Cronies is a decent sports bar that you wouldn't write home about, but would write about on Yelp. The food is decent, service is ok, and the decor is quite lovely. Add it up and you get a fairly decent place to grab a meal. I opted for the special burger which had good flavor and the alfalfa was a nice touch. Two letdowns for me on this one. 1) I asked for my burger medium rare and it came out very well done. 2) If you order a burger with fries, put fries on the plate, not a small measly amount that just disappoints. The service was ok but the waitress seemed a bit aloof at times, forgetting a few things. Ambiance features some nostalgic Hilo memorabilia and a few sports banners in there which is nice but a little dis-jointed. All in all, a decent place to eat and watch a game, but if not...pass!
(3)Jeff A.
I've been here three times. The first two times I had no complaints. Tonight we came in at 7 before our flight at 9pm. Strangely for a bar they ask you wait to be seated although the tables are already set. The waitress came and announced they were out of fish. Reading other reviews that may have been a blessing in disguise. We ordered a vegi burger and the chicken Alfredo pasta. Half an hour later I was starting to get worried. I asked our waitress if she could check on the food explaining we had to be at the airport at 8. Ten minutes later she hasn't returned. I asked the girl refilling the water if she could check on it. The manager comes over next and basically said they got slammed at once (the place was a quarter full at best). He didn't offer any apologies. Eventually the food comes. My burger was fine. The onion rings were one step up from Burger King. The pasta was terrible. Watery sauce and over cooked pasta. Not worth anything close to $18. I asked for the check as soon as the food came. While we are the manager checked on all the tables - except ours. 40 minute wait for food at a sports bar is ridiculous. Stuff happens I realize but you would think the establishment would make an effort to apologize and make things right. I left 5% tip and that was being generous
(1)H B.
A bi-level restaurant, filled to the gills with various sizes of tvs tuned to whatever sports events being broadcast. Chose the surf/turf - no where did it say that the shrimp would be popcorn style. Wanted fresh ones. Meat was fine. Definitely a place for someone who's into carbs and protein. Suggest another location for a dinner, even if you have to wait to get in. Servers good.
(1)Gianna R.
Went here with the BF for lunch yesterday the service was good the decor is outdated and the carpet was gross its also stuffy and warm inside but other then that the food was good bar food... Great spot on the Bay for lunch.. I had my first bigger in like 5years the Western Burger it was so yummy But they tend to cook the food on the rare side so if u want it Medium id recommend saying Medium Well.. The wings are also very good.. The fries were lacking on the portion size but other then that it was a nice meal...
(3)Yumer Y.
Best burger in Hilo. Tamashiro burger is awesome. Service is great too.
(5)Trish R.
We had dinner at Cronies in Hilo last night. The food was ok but the service was appalling. The service was so slow we were thinking they forgot us. Then when the bill came it was on a scrap of paper ( not itemized) and we had to add it up ourselves. Terrible.
(1)Daphne I.
We had a large group of 15. My daughter and niece split a cheese pizza, how can you go wrong with a Cheese pizza $9 Well, it came burnt, hard as a rock, frozen pizza. If they weren't so hungry I would have sent it back. I got them ranch dressing to dip it in to try to make it better. Two of us orderedj the fresh fish entree for $22, again not great, not worth it, ahi was over cooked, and my cousin said his was unedible and he got sick that night. Everyone ese ordered burgers, and they were okay. The appetizers we ordered were also out of a box like the pizza. I would never recommend this place to anyone, yes burgers we're good, but that was it. Unless you want to eat frozen food out of a box at a restaurant.
(1)Jim A.
Appropriately polite staff, low end sports bar feel with a completely forgettable menu. If you're hungry and don't want to keep looking, why not.
(2)Roger P.
Had lunch . Fresh catch sandwich was mahi, it was delicious . Friendly attentive waitstaff, good value. One good sports bar
(4)Zach S.
The wings were outstanding as well as the burgers!! Wait staff is extremely friendly and prompt. Great place to catch a game or hang out with friends. I'd give it 5 stars if they had a pool table or some dart boards. Definitely check it out!!
(4)Jessica A.
Wings were good. Burger sucked, something about the super stale bun killed it for me. Atmosphere was kind of lacking and overall it was kind of disappointing. Kind of got the "i dont care" vibe from the staff.
(2)Amber W.
Sketchy sports bar with sketchy food. 1 star for the food, 2 stars for the photos and maps lining the walls. I'd rather see this place as a museum or restored soda shop than as a depressing, run-down sports bar.
(3)Jade T.
This place makes the "Best Burger's" in town! It's so Tasty & Juicy! Choose any Burger and you will not be disappointed! I also, Love their Virgin Pina Colada! OMG! Heaven in a glass! Yummy!
(5)Nelson Z.
Great food and service. Burgers are the best in Hilo by far. One a few place in Hilo where you can relax, have dinner, and a drink with your whole family.
(5)Patrick J.
Every time I eat here, the mushroom swiss burger is awesome. The wait staff made sure to address me right away, and got me seated. The burger was thick and juicy, and it went really well with my Heineken light. This is definitely the best burger joint in Hilo
(4)Kim H.
Not JUST a sports bar, but they do have a great selections of TVs to watch you favorite sports while truly enjoying a meal, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and great taste of the burger I got! If you've read any of my other reviews, you might note that I like when a place will prepare my burger to the medium-rare temperature, a sure sign of quality meat, and they prepared this one to perfection, the spicy tartar sauce added a little zing and they didn't mind serving a salad with my burger. They had a great selection of beers on tap and the bartenders were so nice, attentive and sweet... I was a little leery about even ordering lunch but was so happy when I got my meal I cannot wait to go back! Rock on Danielle and Kalinda!
(4)Foot L.
do not eat here, place is very dirty, they gave me a bowl of salad and the bowl had cracks with black mold in them, i got no apology! f on service.
(1)X X.
I thought the onion rings were really good and I liked my salad as well. Could use more vegetarian options and more comfortable chairs though. Service was okay. Would go back to.
(3)Melissa D.
Not a fan., burgers are boring, food in not very exciting. If you drink maybe you can find something more appealing than I did, but the last few times I have been there it was blah food. On the plus this is one place to watch games with your friends that actually has space to roam around. I agree with another reviewer, would be better as a restored old soda shop.
(3)Gregory L.
I live here in Hilo and work right up the street and eat here a lot! If you are looking for the best burger and a sports bar atmosphere...this is the place. I always have the fresh fish sandwich. We have the freshest fish in the world here in Hilo. The people that work there are also very sweet and helpful. I love Cronies!
(5)Jen S.
Awww, so this was how I ended my trip in Hilo, at Cronies. On a Friday night, it was so friggin dead. My brother and I kicked back with some beers and although it was cool to hang out with him, it would have been nice to see the night life. Boooo!
(3)Kalani C.
Loal sports bar in the beer and burger vein. Satisfied our hungry trek from Kona. Simple, uncomplicated.
(3)Gwen K.
Cronies is THE best place to watch UH Manoa football during college football season. Why pay $$$$ for pay per view while you can watch the game with friends, drink beer, and eat well at Cronies!
(4)Jay G.
Avoid totally or stick to bottled beer and enjoy sitting on plastic lawn furniture in a bar - very odd. Eat somewhere else.
(1)Carlo C.
it wasn't crowded when i went there, so the service was actually really good. the wait staff checked on us every 10 minutes to check if everything was ok. the wings reminded me of the wings at an old restaurant back home(now closed down). really good. would have liked to see the place live, but what can i expect for a monday happy hour
(4)Ruth B.
I was at Cronies with 2 others in May. We totally enjoyed everything. The food was delicious. The waitress was so friendly and efficient. We loved the drinks. I had a Wicki Wacki Woo and enjoyed it so much I had another. Since then I have lost the recipe for it that the bartender was kind enough to tell me the ingredients in it. Wish I had them.
(5)M H.
I keep getting dragged in here by friends and each time am more disappointed than the last. Food is barely edible and relatively expensive. There are several better burger places in town and other items are just ordinary here. Service is highly variable and often poor. Women's rest room has just one stall and the sink area is miniscule, so often it is jammed with a line outside. Avoid unless you just are dying to go to some bar with beer and a TV and can't think of anywhere better.
(2)Cynthia A.
Pros: The decor was fun, with sports stuff everywhere, even a basketball hanging from the ceiling. It seemed to be well lit and clean. The menu looked good with "outside the box" choices available. I wish I had tried the "coconut jalapeno ribs" rather than what I did. What food I did order came out in a reasonable amount of time. I found street parking at about 8:45 p.m. on Saturday night really easily, about a minutes' walk away from Cronies. I opted to not have the ribs because they have the 2006 version of the Megatouch game, and I wanted to play, so ribs were too messy an option. The bartender was really nice. When she saw I didn't eat a lot of my food she asked if it was OK. I lied to her because she was so nice. Cons: My daquiri took a really long time to make (did she have to kill something first?) even though there were less than 10 people in the whole place, none of who were ordering drinks while mine was being prepared. The place was kind of "dead", with shockingly few people present at what seemed like the only sports bar around on a Saturday night. I was craving something interesting and fried (i.e., not French fries or mozzerella sticks), so I ordered the "kalua pig potstickers with lomi tomato relish and lilikoi (passion fruit) sweet sour sauce". Sounds interesting and great, right? Well, it wasn't very good at all. What I received was 3 or 4 deep-fried kalua pig taquitos (I don't think they understand "potstickers" suggest something asian in dumpling form). The taquitos were sliced lengthwise and plated cut-side down on a bed of baby greens. There was no lomi tomato; it was dry, not-very-ripe diced tomato with dry, diced white onion sprinkled over the taquitos. The lilikoi sauce looked promising, but upon tasting it I decided it really belonged on a dessert. I was sad that the sauce was weird because the taquitos really needed some moisture; the kalua pig filling was super-dry. It seemed that the whole dish was not seasoned. After I sprinkled a good amount of salt over the whole thing, I was able to eat about 1/3 of the dish. The baby greens were the best part, better than Costco baby greens. I ate all of them. If you go to Cronies with the intent to eat, maybe order a salad, or something generic and hard to screw up like french fries.
(3)Joey N.
home away from home. step in here and you go I know this place its a sport bar.. just like home. so we had fried foods galor - fried shimp and fish and chips.. the fish was great.. the batter bettter - and the sauce i think it was saracha and tarter was great..
(4)Jesse W.
6/22/07: Went for dinner, ordered a couple of their famous burgers (went with my wife). I ordered the Works burger (lettuce, tomato, two types of cheese, bacon, sprouts, onion ring and a special sauce), she ordered the swiss and mushroom burger - we had a pitcher of beer (Mahena Red Ale, pretty smooth falvorful Hilo made beer). Burgers came out in due time (not too fast nor too slow), presentation was good (veggies weren't wilting) and was left open for any additional toppings as you wish. We thought the burgers tasted good ($7-$8/each), cooked as requested, nothing extraordinary.
(3)Daniela A.
Cronies is a sports bar and grill in Downtown Hilo, and, although sports bars do not appeal to me, Cronies has always been a fun spot when it comes to people watching and getting drinks with friends. Why? Well, for one they have pool tables and karaoke. Two, it attracts the college crowd so when it comes to socialization it's a pretty cool hangout. Three, they have great drunken snacks, for example, really great sashimi and good burgers, steak, salads, friend, etc. The bartenders are always nice and the service is great.
(4)Yummy P.
last call was at 8pm on a sunday night. hm, sorta sad. but they had kona brew co. wailua wheat so fine by me
(3)Hawaiian I.
Safe, standard sports bar.
(3)L-Internationally Known P.
Great place. Very inexpensive. Sports bar all the way. Menu is very easy and not overbearing. Drinks are up to par as well. I definitely recommend this place. Plus they're open on Sunday's!!!!!
(5)Kanoe I.
Fav. Spot in Hilo for Burgers.. I always order the Swiss Mushroom Burger with Half/Half.. the Crab cake salad and popcorn shrimp is also super yummy!!!
(4)Tiffany C.
Disclaimer: This review is for the bar and not for the restaurant or the food. As one of the few places open slightly late at night (Hilo's night life is non-existent at best), we came here looking for a drink and something to do. It was a really slow night so just a few people there and we asked to sit at the bar. We asked for a drink menu and the bartender gave it to us, we decided to order two blended drinks - the lilikoi margarita and the frozen mudslide. Both of the drinks were absolutely delicious. However, once we were done, we waited for about ten minutes with the bartender avoiding our eye contact and ignoring us while walking around the bar. We finally had to yell "Can we get the check?!" before he finally acknowledged us and let us pay the bill. I think Cronies might get lucky with business since they are one of the only places open later at night. I'd go back, but only b/c their drinks are decent and the hours they're open. The service sucked. And I didn't try the food, so as I mentioned earlier this review does not include food.
(3)Ariel L.
My mom and I stopped here for a late lunch on Sunday. It was nice and quiet. Our server came over right away and our food came out fairly quickly. I had the big island salad, which is huge and the papaya seed dressing was very good. My mom had the soup of the day, a chicken curry soup, in a bread bowl which she enjoyed but said that the bread was "crusty and chewey." I told her that is what the soup is for. Anyway, we also got the steak appetizer to share which was cooked well. Everything had a lovely presentation. In conclusion, a little pricey but nice for a leisurely Sunday lunch.
(4)Russell M.
Highly recommend the chicken Alfredo with side soup. Perfectly cooked and the sauce is to die for. I also recommend the bacon cheese burger with fried or onion rings. Awesome food, beer and desserts. Super friendly staff and very nice environment!!!!
(5)Zoey P.
I came in because it's the only place in town that's showing the game I wanted to watch. I was delightfully surprised by the warm and friendly service and their accommodation as I was the only one who was watching this particular game. The manager even turned up the volume for me so that I could hear the calls and commentary. The servers were very sweet and friendly as well. I ordered the soft shell crab po-boy which is the monthly special. Though I wouldn't consider it a po-boy (it was more like a soft shell crab sandwich on sourdough), it was quite tasty and the lack of crab smell indicates that the crab was fresh. They serve Mehana and Kona beer on draft for $5.50 a pint, which is a lot cheaper than Hilo Burger Joint. I'll definitely be back if I ever need a place to watch the game.
(4)Kwiki T.
Great food, drinks, and location! Highly recommend the onion rings and swiss mushroom burger!
(5)beeniegirl g.
Came here on a day trip during our honeymoon. Molly was amazing. She kept us there at the rail for an hour longer than we planned. Total badass friendly bartender! Totally recommend!
(5)Dania-Maria K.
Initially our party of eight had reservations at Ocean's Sushi at their new location. We waited about half an hour when we came to the conclusion it would take another half an hour to hour until we'd actually get into the restaurant. We ditched that plan and headed to Cronies. It was not too packed, so we were seated promptly and received excellent customer service. What I like about Cronies is that as soon as anyone comes into the joint everyone working says hi and acknowledges you. It gives the customer a nice welcome. We got all our drink orders in along with the food orders as we were very hungry at that point. I can't complain the service was great, very attentive and friendly. We received our food, ate, chatted, and laughed. It was a great night. Sports were on, the decor is all sports and UH Hilo had it's banner there too (I'm biased as a UH Hilo alumni)! The food is good, the prices ok. Not cheap, but I feel the portions are good. When we finished and left the staff said their good byes to us as well. I recommend Cronies if you like beer and sports as well as bar food. I'm sure when a game is on this might just be the place to be.
(4)Jack Y.
Service is on par here / watched the USA game and had a decent time here. Food was nothing to raved about. Just like one star up from a Denny's . USA draw match . At least they service was actually Moving here :)
(4)Leisha A.
This review may cause some to cringe, but it has a happy ending, I swear! My friend and I decided we wanted some gooood burgers so the obvious choice was cronies. The service was really good, very attentive waitress. My virgin lava flow (stop laughing. lol) was really good. So in a few minutes, we got our humongous burgers, with fresh and crispy onion rings. Then I cut my burger in half, looked down and saw a hair. It wasn't the end of world, especially since the waitress happened to come by and see if everything was okay. A short conversation with her and then with the on shift manager, the offending burger was quickly replaced with a fresh one and comped. Long story short, burgers and drinks are good, and they were quick to resolve any issues. Definitely will return.
(5)Albert B.
This was our first trip to Hawaii and we were looking for a place to eat. We found Cronies. Some of the best Burgers we ever had. The staff was out of sight. We arrived with six people and they quickly set up an area for us to dine. We went in for a quick lunch but stayed for two wonderful hours.
(4)Rose G.
Awesome place to grab a good burger. I'm from Los Angeles and went to the burger joint the night before and ended up with heartburn but the next day my husband and I ran into cronies and you can't com pair the two burger joint the service is very good as well at cronies.we know our burgers coming from L.A.
(5)Mark W.
What an amazing place. Smack-dab on one of the main corners of town and a sports bar as well. Walked in and everyone on staff said hello ~ first class. Sat at the bar and the mixologist (Molly) welcomed us again. Asked about suggestions and Molly did not steer us wrong with our drinks. Very friendly person, very outgoing and willing to talk (when she's not busy). The manager was walking around the place checking on tables and guests during the entire stay. We wanted to have one drink, and Molly was so great that we decided to have an appetizer and extra drinks. A MUST stop place!!!
(5)Aaron M.
The bar is dated and needs to be redone. The bartender had a Bitchy snarky attitude. And instead of talking to us she preferred to talk ABOUT us to her Co workers. She should be replaced as well... She could use a salad also...
(3)Andrew T.
The highlights: shabby decor and beer brought back warm memories of college fraternity parties.... manager and waitress were helpful and friendly.... the building has cool antique glass tile panels on the facade.... Burger was huge (!) and perfectly cooked to order, medium rare. The lowlights: Our food took a long time... and then arrived just -barely- warm. Not exactly cold but almost. Interior needs a make-over. Burgers and sandwiches were all about $10- $12. (Then they have a menu page of entrees that are $25- $30!!!) Burgers are not made with Big Island beef, and seemed a little mushy. Fries were crinkle-cut frozen fries...OK but not memorable. Burger with 1/2 fries/1/2 onion rings (75 cent upcharge) plus draft local beer ($5.50) plus tax and tip came to $22, so it didn't seem like a great bargain. There are other places I'd rather spend my $22... but if you want a burger, beer, and some sports on TV screens then I think this is the place you want to be in Hilo. I also got the un-itemized sales slip mentioned by a previous reviewer, so don't know if they upcharged me for using a credit card or not... I figured we got the un-itemized slips because we asked for separate checks, which the waitress graciously accommodated, despite the menu saying clearly "no separate checks." Bottom line: staff was nice, I cleaned my plate, but the overall experience could be a lot better. Oh yeah, I friggin' hate the name. That alone kept me out of here for over a year. Sorry if it has some local significance I am unaware of... if so they did not communicate that story effectively.
(3)Lisa A.
Don't ask me why I would go to a bar and grill while in Hawaii, except that it was raining, conveniently located and I saw a few people sitting in the restaurant. I definitely would not go bar although service was friendly, but the food was what you expect from a bar. I ordered the Hawaiian barbecue back ribs and they served St Louis style ribs with a marinade from a pina colada. It was just sweet mildly with no other flavors. No tanginess or tartness of a tomato based sauce or traditional barbecue sauce. I'm not sure what I expected, but these were awful. I gave it a 2 star rating because the service was decent and the drinks were good.
(2)Shawn C.
We were on our way through Hilo on our way back to the Kona district. Very good place to stop and relax, watch a bit of sports, and grab some great food. Hey, any place that has an All Blacks banner has to be a good sports bar!
(4)petaluma d.
Stopped in for lunch and a beer to wait out a quick rain storm. (and to catch a bit of NCAA March Madness) The waitress suggested the Thai chicken sandwich. It was absolutely fantastic! Paired it with the local coconut porter (yea!) If I find myself in the neighborhood, I will be back!
(4)Avery C.
Cronies is a decent, if not exceptional, sports bar. I've been a couple times. The works burger is pretty good, though I'm not a big fan of sprouts on one. Their wings are decent as are the costs. The other food I've had I haven't enjoyed. It is a place though that while I would certainly go if it were convenient the only time I would go out of my way to visit would be during Sunday football. Pros: * Good burger * Lots of tvs for sports * Waitresses are friendly and timely * Cost is reasonable Cons: * Most food is average there * Parking can be a little work
(3)Traci H.
Pretty good local joint if you want to chill over beer, bar food, and watch Sunday afternoon football. I heard the burgers were good, but i wasn't in the mood so I ordered a steak and rice plate and it was quite enjoyable, but it needed a bit of the bbq sauce, mustard and ranch dressing that we had on the table from other appetizers! Street parking, decent friendly service...not sure what the evening scene is here but I'd call it a pretty good sports bar afternoon destination. it's not the most modern or the cleanest feeling, but when you want burgers and football, usually you have a higher tolerance, i think. 31 Yelps #9 (yes it's still the 9th here...I'm having trouble with this whole Yelp time zone vs Hawaii time zone thing.)
(3)Jacqueline G.
Bloody Mary is awesome here!! Probably the best I've tasted in town! Mushroom swiss burger has a good taste and is served with beer battered onion rings. Looks like they downsized on their portions. Ask for window seat. Middle tables are crappy (in front of TV's). Staff are friendly. Fresh air during the day. I hate the carpet.
(3)Brennan T.
Great sports bar in downtown Hilo. I love the burgers that are juicy and huge. Great for lunch or a night out with friends.
(4)Tim J.
Stumbled into this restaurant yesterday while visiting Hilo. I had the Hawaiian Kalua Pork & pineapple with BBQ sauce pizza and added jallepenos to it. WOW!! the BEST pizza in all my Pizza encounters while in Hawaii!! I'm a pizza fanatic and this was incredible!! I'd eat this EVERYDAY if I could! If you're coming here and like pizza.....this is a MUST!! Also tasted the mushroom burger that someone else at our table had...,another awesome menu item that I would recommend! Nice, casual, clean atmosphere. Staff and our server.....amazing! THANK YOU for the overall great experience!! Man, craving that pizza again this morning!
(4)Christi R.
Service was good. Clean. Yummy food. Plenty of tvs to watch the 49ers beat the Panthers.
(4)pat e.
The first is a copy I posted elsewhere a while ago: We should have stuck to burgers and fries, but how were we to know that this might be the only restaurant in the entire Hawaiian Island chain that doesn't know how to cook fish. We took our Chinese visitors here and several other places on the Big Isle. Except for one drive in fast food joint, this was sadly the worst. They did do fine with the burgers, but some of us read the menu and ordered ahi dishes. All decent restaurants in Hawaii serve local ahi, not imported frozen from Asia. We couldn't tell if it had been frozen or not because the fish was overcooked and dry. Two of us made the mistake of ordering ahi and if we ever go back, which is doubtful, we'll stick to beer and burgers. And the waitress messed up the orders. And was grumpy about it. So go watch a game and have fun, but unless you are into burgers, for lunch I'd head down to Ma'ona lunch counter, a little place next to Ruben's by the market that has burgers, thai, seafood, and shaved ice. --------------------------- Now for the update. We went 8/29/2013 to see the USC/UH game. My brother and his family invited me and I went along. Having had their crummy fish I ordered a teri burger, thinking if Blaines and Veras can do a decent teri burger, why not Cronies. Big mistake. I should have stuck with fries and beer. It was rotten. Literally, rotten. It tasted like freezer burned stale poison crud and the one bite left a nasty aftertaste. The food the rest of the table had was OK, but after two times being burned by this joint, I'll stick to beer. I'd guess that they thought they could hide the rotteness with enough teri sauce. OH, and as one reviewer noted, the fries are good, well actually OK - they are good compared to the mushy ones from a cheap drive-in, but sliced up russets fried in fresh oil? No... If you want to read, in my opinion, better reviews, check Tripadvisor - many comments like "worst burger ever," or "tasted like old freezer burned meat." I don't understand why people rate it high on Yelp, maybe the Tripadvisor people and I always go on off nights when they are serving the old freezer burned meat and dry tasteless ahi. tripadvisor.com/Restaura…
(1)Jan-Marc E.
Great burgers, great waitress, nothing to complain. I would consider this to be the typical sports bar. Why not five stars then? I guess, because there are a lot of places like this.
(4)Caleb J.
If you are from the mainland this place might not be on par with some sports bars you frequent. I live in Hilo and am a regular here. I've never had a bad meal or poor service here. Shay and Nate have always made me feel welcome. The servers all have great, friendly attitudes. Had our Christmas party there and they accommodated us wonderfully. Best sports bar in Hilo by far. Just wish they opened early for college football season.
(5)Rina O.
Custome service and bartender were soooooo friendly :) a must go to place. Mahalo nui loa
(5)Yvonne J.
Best burger joint on the Big Island!!
(5)Elizabeth N.
I came here on Christmas Eve to watch my beloved SF 49ers play the Seattle Sea Chickens...I mean Seahawks (just kidding Seattle!) because Fox opted to televise the Cowboys game instead. So my team was only on DirectTV. I should actually give this place a 4 star for even showing it! But come on Yelpers, this place isn't THAT BAD to warrent 2 stars or worse reviews. If you're from the mainland or Oahu, you can't even compare it to places there. First off, its in downtown Hilo! The fact that this place even has choke big screen TVs each playing a different football game with great reception is rad in itself. Secondly, it's pretty spacious inside. Yeah there's some lawn chairs in the back of the place but for the most part it's got real seats AND is clean. I ordered a pizza and some hot toddies and the pizza wasn't TERRIBLE. It wasn't the best out there either but it was freshly prepared and hot when it came out. If anything I felt that the service was at least 4 star as every worker in there was super nice and friendly and didn't rush us to get out or vacate as they knew we were watching the game. At any rate, this is a spacious, clean and kid friendly place to go to if you really need to watch a football game and grab some bar food. Don't go here expecting a fancy franchise type place or gourmet food. Its a sports bar in downtown Hilo people! Go in expecting the worse and you'll be pleasantly surprised. Go in expecting the mainland/Oahu and you'll be dissapointed. Pros: -Got lots of TVs in there and good reception on them. They have Direct TV so you know they'll have the game you're looking for in there. -Super friendly staff -Spacious and clean -The Bloody Mary was really good and so was my Hot Toddie! -Good location, lots of parking Cons: -Kinda pricey food menu for average bar fare -bathroom could use an extra light fixture or stronger wattage bulb.
(3)JT T.
We were there a couple of times last week. They have a great collection of sports memorabilia and it was fun to talk to the kids about all of it. The service was great and the waiter spent time to make suggestions about the menu. My kid dropped his burger patty on the floor after the first bite. The manager saw it happen and without me saying anything had another out to us in less than 5 min. The kids liked the food so much, we went back the next evening. We had burgers and beers for lunch the first day and I had a steak the next evening. The food was very good and served up nice and hot.
(5)Jon G.
First off, best customer service I have ever experienced in a bar type restaurant. Every single employee thanked us on the way out. I mean wow they really went out of their way. Just for this I would return if the food was average. The food was about average. Burger was good. Girlfriend had the fish and chips, it was a little overly greasy. Not really great even though the staff said it was. But I forgive them, we are spoiled from the pacific north west with some of the best fish and chips. Clean fryers and proper drain time for the fish before plating is important... Price was within reason for hawaii about $10 per plate.
(4)Michael N.
Burgers here are just great - generous thick patties, moist, nice fresh flavor, double cheese. Lettuce, tomatoes and onion are quality, fresh. Really, one of the better burgers I've had, and I've eaten quite a lot over the years. Steaks are very good too, especially when you consider this is a casual sports bar. Service staff is always friendly and attentive. Place could be a little cleaner, but then again it's in Hilo where it's basically raining 70% of the time and customers are constantly trekking in wet and mud. If you are craving a good solid burger on this side of the island, this is the place to go.
(4)Jenny F.
This place has the hugest portions!! 8oz burgers!! Mushroom/Swiss, now where can you go wrong with that? They didn't, it was super! I'd asked for mine medium rare and there was no "oh the chef doesn't do them rare!" Sorry, that's how I live mine. Today I had the crab cakes, they weren't lump meat crab cakes, but they didn't say they were. They were however full of tasty crab and the chili sauce withe wasabi oil, yummo!! My husband had the ribs, big mistake. They had gravy on them!! It was weird! I can usually eat most things but these were off the chart not nice. The waitress asked if she could get him anything else and he told her no, it was his fault, picky eater- but she still comped us 50% off his meal!! We thought this was way above good service. The Mai Tai's here are amazing!! Potent!! Beware!!
(4)Samdooby R.
Not a fan of small roaches crawling on my hand while I drink beer. Burger patties taste like the pre-bought, frozen kind. Mushy and gross. The haole owner/manager is somewhat obnoxious. Ive tried this place over and over but it just doesnt work. Caters more to the tourist/shipboard crowd. The plus is the staff! Super friendly, attentive, and nice!
(1)Wes J.
Outstanding! Bacon cheeseburger was perfect. French fries and onion rings were perfectly cook. Waitress was friendly and attentive. Restaurant was clean. Decor was appropriate for the type theme. Big TVs and jerseys throughout. Will come back here again.
(5)Andrzej M.
sports bar. watching soccer world cup. beer and food good. service very friendly and competent:)
(4)Nick H.
After a long hike I generally need three things: a burger, a beer and a second beer. Cronies was my second choice, as the other reviews didn't inspire a lot of confidence. But I couldn't find my first choice (Shooters) and was starving. The service was great! My server was friendly, helpful and prompt. She helped me pick out a tasty local brew (Mehana Red) and was quick to bring me a second when I was nearly done with the first. Sadly, my burger was unremarkable. Plus it had american cheese, which is definitely not my favorite. The bun wasn't particularly fresh, or toasted--and it seemed like a cheap grocery store variety. The tomatoes looked a little depressing too--you know that pale pinkish-orange color? I suppose fresh, ripe tomatoes are hard to come by in the middle of the ocean... On the bright side, the onion rings were super tasty! The atmosphere didn't really excite me either--mainly because I was sitting on a plastic chair that is better suited to a patio than a restaurant dining room. All in all, not a bad experience, but not one I'm eager to repeat.
(3)Joe M.
Absolutely one of the best burgers I've ever had at a restaurant. Right ounces of Kobe beef topped with ahi poke. The French fries were very fresh and crispy. Service was phenomenal. My friend was brought samples of different beers on request. Throughout, our waitress was very attentive and friendly. All-in-all, an excellent place.
(5)Erynn T.
Chicken penne primavera is SOOO FREAKING GOOD! Pricier than other menu items but so glad I tried it because it is awesome. Tried the sweet thai chili chicken pizza last time I went too, and it was good, I love anything sweet chili. Buut probably wouldn't order it again though... I just wanted to try out their pizza. I will stick to their burgers and my newfound love, their pasta :)
(5)Kristina B.
Not bad for a sports bar. Came here for dinner on a Saturday night. Kept it simple and ordered wings and a bucket of fries. Food arrived fast and hot. Staff was attentive and friendly. I would consider coming back for dinner when I come to Hilo. If it's during football season, I'll be eating wings and drinking beers.
(4)Amy F.
Went here for lunch/after wedding day hangover meal... The burger "the Works" was so good! had bacon, mushrooms, cheese, lettuce, onions and tomatoes! The fries were decent. The Bloody Mary was right on, hit the spot good! Plenty of TV's to watch any football game on a Sunday. Even the manager asked if there was a specific game we wanted to watch while we ate. Very nice staff, clean, and good food.
(3)Agent T.
Great Burgers! Good value for money! And Friendly staff. We had the Swiss & Mushroom burger and the Big Daddy Burger. Both very happy.
(4)Susan H.
Coconut Long Island yum
(5)Desi B.
It was hard to rate this place only 4 stars but I had to take away a star because of the service. We went in on a Wednesday night and it was busy but not hugely so. Yet we waited about 10 mins for a table. I ordered a strawberry margarita and hubby ordered a long board draft beer. The alcohol took a long time to arrive, my margarita was really, really good but hubby's beer was not as cold as he likes. The waitress was busy but things did take a while to reach our table. But the food was a 5+ and worth the wait. We had appetizer's to start, sashimi market price (the serving was adequate for the price of $12.50 but the pieces could have been a little bigger), the crab cakes were WOW, just WOW, so much flavor and crunch that I wanted to eat both and not share with my husband. The hot wing's are HOT and messy, the way buffalo wings should be, mouth burning, lips tingling and finger licking good. After all that hubby ordered "the works' burger but "big daddy" style and he regretted it because it was HUGE, two giant hand made patties, sprouts, onion rings, tomatoes, cheese, bacon and mushroom's. He's a big eater and was barely able to finish it. I had the mushroom chicken with fries. Again a HUGE portion (I should have believed the menu when it said 1 lb of chicken) it was 4 large pieces of breaded chicken breast (a little dry but what to do you expect with boneless/skinless) smothered in brown gravy with big pieces of mushroom's, I had it with fries and of course they were crinkle cut and a big portion as well. I didn't finish all the fries but then again neither did hubby. Definitely not what I expected from a Bar & Grill.... Must do it again when we visit Hilo next time!
(4)Ken S.
Greatest Swiss mushroom burger ever. Been here once then back again for the Mai tai's. Fish and chips used Ono Fish. Amazing.
(5)Jim I.
For a sports bar, Cronies is fine. Not amazing, not bad either. The food is mostly pub grub - not amazing, but not bad. The service is reasonably nice and reasonably fast. The ambiance is appropriately sporty with big screen TVs. They have reasonably clean restrooms on the premises. The location is good for watching the world go by and the restaurant is spacious and bright with lots of windows. An extra star for: 1. The Mauna Kea Pie (i.e. Hula Pie). It's a monster so share it with a friend (or two). 2. They serve good beer. BOTTOM LINE: A nice place to relax with friends.
(4)Chad Y.
Located on the Hilo waterfront, Cronies is a decent sports bar that you wouldn't write home about, but would write about on Yelp. The food is decent, service is ok, and the decor is quite lovely. Add it up and you get a fairly decent place to grab a meal. I opted for the special burger which had good flavor and the alfalfa was a nice touch. Two letdowns for me on this one. 1) I asked for my burger medium rare and it came out very well done. 2) If you order a burger with fries, put fries on the plate, not a small measly amount that just disappoints. The service was ok but the waitress seemed a bit aloof at times, forgetting a few things. Ambiance features some nostalgic Hilo memorabilia and a few sports banners in there which is nice but a little dis-jointed. All in all, a decent place to eat and watch a game, but if not...pass!
(3)Jeff A.
I've been here three times. The first two times I had no complaints. Tonight we came in at 7 before our flight at 9pm. Strangely for a bar they ask you wait to be seated although the tables are already set. The waitress came and announced they were out of fish. Reading other reviews that may have been a blessing in disguise. We ordered a vegi burger and the chicken Alfredo pasta. Half an hour later I was starting to get worried. I asked our waitress if she could check on the food explaining we had to be at the airport at 8. Ten minutes later she hasn't returned. I asked the girl refilling the water if she could check on it. The manager comes over next and basically said they got slammed at once (the place was a quarter full at best). He didn't offer any apologies. Eventually the food comes. My burger was fine. The onion rings were one step up from Burger King. The pasta was terrible. Watery sauce and over cooked pasta. Not worth anything close to $18. I asked for the check as soon as the food came. While we are the manager checked on all the tables - except ours. 40 minute wait for food at a sports bar is ridiculous. Stuff happens I realize but you would think the establishment would make an effort to apologize and make things right. I left 5% tip and that was being generous
(1)H B.
A bi-level restaurant, filled to the gills with various sizes of tvs tuned to whatever sports events being broadcast. Chose the surf/turf - no where did it say that the shrimp would be popcorn style. Wanted fresh ones. Meat was fine. Definitely a place for someone who's into carbs and protein. Suggest another location for a dinner, even if you have to wait to get in. Servers good.
(1)Gianna R.
Went here with the BF for lunch yesterday the service was good the decor is outdated and the carpet was gross its also stuffy and warm inside but other then that the food was good bar food... Great spot on the Bay for lunch.. I had my first bigger in like 5years the Western Burger it was so yummy But they tend to cook the food on the rare side so if u want it Medium id recommend saying Medium Well.. The wings are also very good.. The fries were lacking on the portion size but other then that it was a nice meal...
(3)Yumer Y.
Best burger in Hilo. Tamashiro burger is awesome. Service is great too.
(5)Trish R.
We had dinner at Cronies in Hilo last night. The food was ok but the service was appalling. The service was so slow we were thinking they forgot us. Then when the bill came it was on a scrap of paper ( not itemized) and we had to add it up ourselves. Terrible.
(1)Daphne I.
We had a large group of 15. My daughter and niece split a cheese pizza, how can you go wrong with a Cheese pizza $9 Well, it came burnt, hard as a rock, frozen pizza. If they weren't so hungry I would have sent it back. I got them ranch dressing to dip it in to try to make it better. Two of us orderedj the fresh fish entree for $22, again not great, not worth it, ahi was over cooked, and my cousin said his was unedible and he got sick that night. Everyone ese ordered burgers, and they were okay. The appetizers we ordered were also out of a box like the pizza. I would never recommend this place to anyone, yes burgers we're good, but that was it. Unless you want to eat frozen food out of a box at a restaurant.
(1)Jim A.
Appropriately polite staff, low end sports bar feel with a completely forgettable menu. If you're hungry and don't want to keep looking, why not.
(2)Roger P.
Had lunch . Fresh catch sandwich was mahi, it was delicious . Friendly attentive waitstaff, good value. One good sports bar
(4)Zach S.
The wings were outstanding as well as the burgers!! Wait staff is extremely friendly and prompt. Great place to catch a game or hang out with friends. I'd give it 5 stars if they had a pool table or some dart boards. Definitely check it out!!
(4)Jessica A.
Wings were good. Burger sucked, something about the super stale bun killed it for me. Atmosphere was kind of lacking and overall it was kind of disappointing. Kind of got the "i dont care" vibe from the staff.
(2)Amber W.
Sketchy sports bar with sketchy food. 1 star for the food, 2 stars for the photos and maps lining the walls. I'd rather see this place as a museum or restored soda shop than as a depressing, run-down sports bar.
(3)Jade T.
This place makes the "Best Burger's" in town! It's so Tasty & Juicy! Choose any Burger and you will not be disappointed! I also, Love their Virgin Pina Colada! OMG! Heaven in a glass! Yummy!
(5)Nelson Z.
Great food and service. Burgers are the best in Hilo by far. One a few place in Hilo where you can relax, have dinner, and a drink with your whole family.
(5)Patrick J.
Every time I eat here, the mushroom swiss burger is awesome. The wait staff made sure to address me right away, and got me seated. The burger was thick and juicy, and it went really well with my Heineken light. This is definitely the best burger joint in Hilo
(4)Kim H.
Not JUST a sports bar, but they do have a great selections of TVs to watch you favorite sports while truly enjoying a meal, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and great taste of the burger I got! If you've read any of my other reviews, you might note that I like when a place will prepare my burger to the medium-rare temperature, a sure sign of quality meat, and they prepared this one to perfection, the spicy tartar sauce added a little zing and they didn't mind serving a salad with my burger. They had a great selection of beers on tap and the bartenders were so nice, attentive and sweet... I was a little leery about even ordering lunch but was so happy when I got my meal I cannot wait to go back! Rock on Danielle and Kalinda!
(4)Foot L.
do not eat here, place is very dirty, they gave me a bowl of salad and the bowl had cracks with black mold in them, i got no apology! f on service.
(1)X X.
I thought the onion rings were really good and I liked my salad as well. Could use more vegetarian options and more comfortable chairs though. Service was okay. Would go back to.
(3)Melissa D.
Not a fan., burgers are boring, food in not very exciting. If you drink maybe you can find something more appealing than I did, but the last few times I have been there it was blah food. On the plus this is one place to watch games with your friends that actually has space to roam around. I agree with another reviewer, would be better as a restored old soda shop.
(3)Gregory L.
I live here in Hilo and work right up the street and eat here a lot! If you are looking for the best burger and a sports bar atmosphere...this is the place. I always have the fresh fish sandwich. We have the freshest fish in the world here in Hilo. The people that work there are also very sweet and helpful. I love Cronies!
(5)Jen S.
Awww, so this was how I ended my trip in Hilo, at Cronies. On a Friday night, it was so friggin dead. My brother and I kicked back with some beers and although it was cool to hang out with him, it would have been nice to see the night life. Boooo!
(3)Kalani C.
Loal sports bar in the beer and burger vein. Satisfied our hungry trek from Kona. Simple, uncomplicated.
(3)Gwen K.
Cronies is THE best place to watch UH Manoa football during college football season. Why pay $$$$ for pay per view while you can watch the game with friends, drink beer, and eat well at Cronies!
(4)Jay G.
Avoid totally or stick to bottled beer and enjoy sitting on plastic lawn furniture in a bar - very odd. Eat somewhere else.
(1)Carlo C.
it wasn't crowded when i went there, so the service was actually really good. the wait staff checked on us every 10 minutes to check if everything was ok. the wings reminded me of the wings at an old restaurant back home(now closed down). really good. would have liked to see the place live, but what can i expect for a monday happy hour
(4)Ruth B.
I was at Cronies with 2 others in May. We totally enjoyed everything. The food was delicious. The waitress was so friendly and efficient. We loved the drinks. I had a Wicki Wacki Woo and enjoyed it so much I had another. Since then I have lost the recipe for it that the bartender was kind enough to tell me the ingredients in it. Wish I had them.
(5)M H.
I keep getting dragged in here by friends and each time am more disappointed than the last. Food is barely edible and relatively expensive. There are several better burger places in town and other items are just ordinary here. Service is highly variable and often poor. Women's rest room has just one stall and the sink area is miniscule, so often it is jammed with a line outside. Avoid unless you just are dying to go to some bar with beer and a TV and can't think of anywhere better.
(2)Cynthia A.
Pros: The decor was fun, with sports stuff everywhere, even a basketball hanging from the ceiling. It seemed to be well lit and clean. The menu looked good with "outside the box" choices available. I wish I had tried the "coconut jalapeno ribs" rather than what I did. What food I did order came out in a reasonable amount of time. I found street parking at about 8:45 p.m. on Saturday night really easily, about a minutes' walk away from Cronies. I opted to not have the ribs because they have the 2006 version of the Megatouch game, and I wanted to play, so ribs were too messy an option. The bartender was really nice. When she saw I didn't eat a lot of my food she asked if it was OK. I lied to her because she was so nice. Cons: My daquiri took a really long time to make (did she have to kill something first?) even though there were less than 10 people in the whole place, none of who were ordering drinks while mine was being prepared. The place was kind of "dead", with shockingly few people present at what seemed like the only sports bar around on a Saturday night. I was craving something interesting and fried (i.e., not French fries or mozzerella sticks), so I ordered the "kalua pig potstickers with lomi tomato relish and lilikoi (passion fruit) sweet sour sauce". Sounds interesting and great, right? Well, it wasn't very good at all. What I received was 3 or 4 deep-fried kalua pig taquitos (I don't think they understand "potstickers" suggest something asian in dumpling form). The taquitos were sliced lengthwise and plated cut-side down on a bed of baby greens. There was no lomi tomato; it was dry, not-very-ripe diced tomato with dry, diced white onion sprinkled over the taquitos. The lilikoi sauce looked promising, but upon tasting it I decided it really belonged on a dessert. I was sad that the sauce was weird because the taquitos really needed some moisture; the kalua pig filling was super-dry. It seemed that the whole dish was not seasoned. After I sprinkled a good amount of salt over the whole thing, I was able to eat about 1/3 of the dish. The baby greens were the best part, better than Costco baby greens. I ate all of them. If you go to Cronies with the intent to eat, maybe order a salad, or something generic and hard to screw up like french fries.
(3)Joey N.
home away from home. step in here and you go I know this place its a sport bar.. just like home. so we had fried foods galor - fried shimp and fish and chips.. the fish was great.. the batter bettter - and the sauce i think it was saracha and tarter was great..
(4)Jesse W.
6/22/07: Went for dinner, ordered a couple of their famous burgers (went with my wife). I ordered the Works burger (lettuce, tomato, two types of cheese, bacon, sprouts, onion ring and a special sauce), she ordered the swiss and mushroom burger - we had a pitcher of beer (Mahena Red Ale, pretty smooth falvorful Hilo made beer). Burgers came out in due time (not too fast nor too slow), presentation was good (veggies weren't wilting) and was left open for any additional toppings as you wish. We thought the burgers tasted good ($7-$8/each), cooked as requested, nothing extraordinary.
(3)Daniela A.
Cronies is a sports bar and grill in Downtown Hilo, and, although sports bars do not appeal to me, Cronies has always been a fun spot when it comes to people watching and getting drinks with friends. Why? Well, for one they have pool tables and karaoke. Two, it attracts the college crowd so when it comes to socialization it's a pretty cool hangout. Three, they have great drunken snacks, for example, really great sashimi and good burgers, steak, salads, friend, etc. The bartenders are always nice and the service is great.
(4)Yummy P.
last call was at 8pm on a sunday night. hm, sorta sad. but they had kona brew co. wailua wheat so fine by me
(3)Hawaiian I.
Safe, standard sports bar.
(3)Mei Y.
This is my favorite burger spot in hilo!! I love their swiss and mushroom burger!! Never disappoints!! The service is also great! Very attentive in filling waters and making sure everything was going well. No happy hour. Gone are the days of the $5 pitchers of beer, but still a favorite place of mine!
(5)J K.
I stopped by recently for lunch and as usual, the service was great and the tamashiro burger was very good. I don't care what anyone says, but I love crinkle cut fries, and I can take down a side order by myself. I also just tried their new desserts. I had a goodie goodie and my wife had the lava cake. Both were excellent. Keep up the great work Cronies.
(5)Charles C.
Never been to cronies before. First time eating in Hilo, ever. My wife and two friends had awesome burgers which they tell me they love. I had the best fish and chips I have ever had in my life. And I have lived a long life.
(5)V W.
Great grill food and full bar. Service is better than average and the deserts are super.
(4)Julia D.
It's the Hawaiian version of Buffalo Wild Wings. The theme of the restaurant is fun and exciting. Service was okay. I was surprised that their hot wings were really impressive and mildly spicy. And that's saying something because I have a high spice tolerance. When you come here you HAVE to get one of their burgers. My oh my they are gigantic and you probably won't finish one, but it has some of the freshest, richest meat and other ingredients you can have.
(4)Cindy D.
Awesome spot to have a rueban or hamburger. Drinks are decent and service was really good. Hilo is short on fine dining, but this fits the bill for bar and grille. Recommend this to visitors. Mahalo.
(4)Michelle D.
Terrible service. Waited 30 minutes -- with poor excuses for delay after almost walking out. Was offered 25% discount. Poor service and so so food. Never coming back again.
(1)Rockne H.
Visiting Hilo meant being able to meet up with my high school friends who live there. I was so stoked to meet everyone and get to party with them for the evening. We all decided to meet at this place as it's centrally located and convenient for a bunch of us. Driving up to this place, I was given the amazing opportunity to see Hilo Bay front at dusk. Such a beautiful place. The old buildings lined up in a row depict the olden day Hilo town. This joint is located on the corner of Waianuenue Ave and Kamehameha Ave, known as Hilo Bay front. Cronies comes off as more of a sports bar vibe. Lots of different jerseys, pennants and TV's playing sports games solidify this theme. The service was good. Our server was super accommodating and personable. She even split our checks up even though we did not ask. Our part was 14 people strong, so to do that proactively, I was impressed. For the evening, I got the coors light draft for around $5. Super reasonable and the beer was good. For dinner, I got the Teriyaki Chicken for $10.95. My side of choice was a scoop of rice. Kind of weird, but I though it wasn't a burger. My bad for not reading carefully. This is a staff favorite. Marinated and char broiled chicken breast, topped with grilled pineapples and swiss cheese. In my opinion, I wasn't too much of a fan. The chicken was a little dry and not really a fan of the pineapple. I tried to deconstruct the burger to enjoy it with the rice, but nothing seemed to change. I'm kind of sad that I didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped to. For a bar to start our evening, this place was a good place to do it. It was alright in my opinion and not really somewhere I would make a special trip back to visit. I still think for Hilo, this place is good. Thanks for the awesome service!
(3)5hars M.
This place is always a must!! Never disappointed with the service and the food is great!
(4)Kory K.
Good bar food & great service. My wife left her phone at the restaurant and we were staying across the island in Kailua Kona. The manager, Shea, personally delivered the phone to us a few days later making the drive from Hilo to Kailua Kona. How's that for customer service?! Thanks Shea!!
(5)Lynda M.
My husband, daughter, & I had dinner here while vacationing in Hilo. What a great place! First thing my husband noticed was a UCLA flag on the wall. Woo! Hoo! We're in the right place! My daughter & I ordered delicious drinks: she got a Mudslide & I had their "drink of the month", Rumchata Root Beer Float, Yum!!! My husband & I, not being too hungry, both ordered the mini me hamburgers. We didn't want to feel overstuffed with the regular 8oz ones & I was pleasantly surprised that we were given the choice of smaller & cheaper burgers. My daughter, a vegetarian, ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Burger, replaced with a veggie patty. She enjoyed hers as much as my husband & did ours. Brittany, our server, was cheerful, attentive, & helpful. My only complaint would be the fries. They appeared to be the frozen crinkle cut variety, I wasn't impressed. Overall, great food & fun atmosphere. I would certainly eat there again.
(4)Ms R.
Ok....the food is good. The staff is nice. The clincher is the location. .that is if you don't mind the beggers just outside in full view..or tripping over the legs of a homeless couple in the doorway next to Cronies. Why not let them use you restrooms? It would help with the reek of urine just outside your restaurant.
(2)Ed L.
It's a nice little sports bar in the heart of downtown Hilo. The Kona longboard always tastes better on the Big Island for some reason! I was invited to dinner here on a recent Friday night by a group of friends whom were either running or volunteering for a small ultra distance endurance event called the Hilo to Volcano 50K. It was the night before and I had just arrived at 5:45p at the Hilo airport and my friend drove us directly here for dinner. I haven't heard of this place before, but thankful for yelp, it's a great way to explore the community and support local businesses, as always! With that said, Cronie's is where the food and fun is. While it was a quick meal to satisfy the appetite, I wish I could have returned here for a round of happy hour during my most recent trip to Hilo. Just as well though, the experience here was decent, quick, positive, and typical. The mood was quiet, especially on a Friday evening. Where were the drinkers and the party animals? Probably here in Hilo, the party starts later in the evening. Cronie's is where I would go to hang out and drink beer with friends. I wished I did have more time in Hilo, but that's how it is. The location is in downtown Hilo, right across the Hilo Bayfront, at 11 Waianuenue Avenue. The parking can be non existent here, but my local Hilo friend found prime parking spot along the Bayfront across the street from the restaurant. Of course, there are some parking areas in downtown Hilo, but you'd need to walk from there. Cronie's accepts major credit cards, so that's always a plus. However, my meal was comped by my Hilo friend, whom shook his head at me when the bill came. I thanked him of course and that was pretty excellent. I ultimately ordered the bacon cheese burger with fries and a Kona long board lager. Not the wisest choice the evening before running 50K from Hilo to Volcano on Highway 11, but that's how it shook down. I was living in the moment and celebrated a little too loosely. The longboard beer was excellent, obviously. Its a lighter beer in color and goes down great with any meal option you desire. However, while delicious, the bacon cheeseburger was typical and left to the imagination. The bacon was fun and the cheese on the burger was nice, but it didn't really satisfy me, but it was still a good meal. It's one of those meals where you wished you wanted more, but still okay with the real result. The fries were good, as always. I had my choice of onion rings too, but that was for another trip at a future time. For what it's worth, Cronie's is decently good. Just to hang out with friends over a beer and talk story is what makes Cronie's awesome. I'd recommend this place for that and any private gatherings you may have with friends is fun too. Solid 4.0 stars. Support local! B
(4)Makeitcount M.
The burgers are decent and I like the numerous TV screens but the drinks are just way over priced. The night I went here it was borderline sauna hot. Had to ask for more napkins to wipe the sweat. Prob won't return due to overpriced drinks and because of how hot this place gets.
(2)Cindy S.
From the moment we walked into till we got our food up to the moment that we left, service was amazing! The portions are huge, they spare NO detail or expense. The burgers are HUGE! The fries are really good too. My bf got the "works" burger and it was awesome! Cooked exactly the way we asked! Beers were ice cold and came quick. Even the kids portions were big! We'll come back if we make it back to Hilo before heading back to the Mainland!
(5)Alicia F.
The food and drinks are great. Perfect relaxed laid back place to kick back and enjoy some drinks and very decent food at a reasonable cost. My husband and I really enjoyed their homemade selection of cronies cocktails. Iys honestly a decent "dive". The only reason I'm rating 4 stars is that the carpeting floor makes it a bit dated. If its ever in the budget flooring renovations would improve the look. No actual complaints the service is great.
(4)Lynne R.
Had a fun experience today at Croonies. Fun sports bar, with college team gear all over the restaurant. My husband and I both had burgers and they were yummy! We especially had a great time cause our bartender Molly was great. Made awesome bloody Mary's and was very sweet. I'm sure we will be stopping back in before we leave the island!
(5)Colleen D.
Good greasy food, lots of tvs. First come first serve with Sunday football, so get there early. The Chinese chicken salad is surprisingly good! The servers are always nice. Really expensive beer compared to surrounding areas, and food is over priced for what it is. But we like the atmosphere and the fried pork spring roll things as a pupu.
(3)Bunny C.
I love it here. Great service and the burgers are delish! My usual is the Teri burger add Swiss and mushrooms...which are fresh. :) Sometimes we come just to watch a game and enjoy the "Lava" wings and popcorn shrimp. 4 stars because the staff remembers you and makes you feel like family.
(4)Patrick J.
We were driving through Hilo on our way to Volcano National Park and were starving. We stopped, opened Yelp and quickly realized that just about everything on Hilo is closed on Sunday. After walking around in a circle and getting hungrier, we stopped at Cronies. It's a sports bar with a lot of memorabilia and team jerseys hanging on the walls. We sat at the bar and ordered a few beers. There were several Kona Brewing Company options. They will let you taste them if you are unsure which to order. We ordered the Swiss and sautéed mushroom burger and teriyaki chicken sandwich with Swiss cheese and pineapple. Both are local favorites. The sandwiches came with crinkle cut fries that were lightly dusted with some type of seasoning. The burger was well cooked and topped with lettuce, tomato, and onion. The chicken had a nicely grilled piece of pineapple on top. The burger was better than the chicken sandwich. The mushrooms had a hint of garlic, but both sandwiches were very good. The food gets 3 stars and the service gets 4.
(3)Don J.
It was ok. If McDonalds had onions rings, it would be a legit tie. No tomatoes or olives in the salads. Server was just going through the motions and didn't care. Onion rings were super greasy and the steak was under cooked. We never send food back because we know how the servers and kitchen staff play with your food. We just took the food to go and cooked it right at home. Warm beers made this a big "mehhh".
(2)George B.
Nice sports bar. Decent food, good prices, good drinks
(4)Shawn C.
Finally got the wife to come here after her race on Saturday. The burger was very good but not great. I think the onion rings were pretty awesome though. It was a sports bar but could definitely use some more tv's. I don't think my wife cared to much for the fish and chips but I definitely enjoyed the burger.
(4)Jeff N.
You won't a better burger in the state of Hawaii! This is what I have been looking for... fast friendly service, exceptional food cooked to order, quality ingredient and great management. If you want a real hamburger... this is the place! Better than anything we have on Oahu. Teddy's... eat your heart out!
(5)Joseph S.
Overpriced and greasy american food. Plus an owner who never puts money in making the outside of the building look presentable. So one star for this ratty looking junk place. These kind of places make Hawaii look like crap.
(1)RL A.
I usually avoid any place that promotes itself as a "sports bar". However, Cronie's is a rare jewel that doesn't overwhelm you with the sports bar ambiance. The atmosphere is relaxed and casual. The service is excellent! The friendly staff all try to greet everyone who walks in. I enjoy eating here at least once a week. Great place for lunch meetings. The burgers, and other sandwiches, are excellent. Don't overlook the other choices, too. Their daily soups are superb, and the soup bread bowl is a full meal. Salads are always fresh and satisfying. I recommend Cronies for visitors who are exploring Downtown Hilo. It is right between the Tsunami Museum and Mokupapapa Discovery Center. Many fine stores and shops are close by. Street parking is free. Cronie's is also very pleasant for dinner. Check out the back of the menu for their full meal selections. They do a good steak!
(5)Bill H.
Bacon double cheese was one of the best I've had. Cooked to order, a very accurate medium. Fresh toppings, cheddar and Swiss, but $13??? It WAS a very good 8ounce piece of meat, but damn. I ate breakfast there, Sunday last, when the Browns beat the hell out of the Steelers. Good coffee, the girls kept my cup full. I ordered a breakfast sammich with Spam. I got two little pieces of dried up bacon. Took forever to get it out of the kitchen so I just ate the damned thing. I might try the other sport bar in town this next Sunday.
(3)Sam B.
This place is ok. We were in town and needed something to eat. It was the middle of the day between after lunch and before dinner. The food came out at a normal time but the servers are slow. The food was kinda greasy and the menu could be more detailed. I have a lot of food issues and I had to ask what was in almost everything.
(3)Tom J.
Horrible service at 1:00 on Sunday! If your gonna come here, sit at the bar. You will get the bartender bs'ing with you and getting you drinks. At least that's what he was doing when we were here, and not getting us our drinks.
(2)Patrick R.
Great sports bar in Hilo. Was on a business trip in Hilo and came here both nights. Friendly service, sports atmosphere, cold beer and great food. Mushroom Swiss burger was awesome and the Hawaii wrap appetizer was a must have. Great spot!!
(5)