Nichols Public House
Hilo finally has a pub! Nichols Public House is a small Irish style pub which opened this past Wednesday, located across of the old Kaiko`o mall on Kilauea Avenue.
It was a packed house at 10:30pm and everyone was having a good time. There was a $5 cover since there was a live band playing (I really hope they drop the cover in the future). The vibe was very warm, cozy, and classy. Maybe a little too cozy, though, since there was only standing room left.
I managed myself to the bar and ordered a Bass ale… they ran out of Guiness already!
Mmmmmm! Drinking a good beer in a nice place like this with good music just made it all worth it. I can’t wait to come back to try their food!
Check out the menu. The food looks great here! (click to zoom)
![Menu [click to zoom!]](http://www.bigislandgrinds.com/wp-content/images/nichols_menu_01.jpg)
I’ll keep you all posted on this place when I visit this place next time. It looks very promising!
December 11th, 2005 at 3:33 pm
Hey James - Looks like I have to “hit” when I get to Hilo!!!!
January 6th, 2006 at 10:02 am
Hey Scott - I’m having Matt and Holly stop by the Pub while they are in town!
January 11th, 2006 at 6:39 am
My wife and I had dinner at the Nichols Public House last night. The atmosphere was pleasant, the decor was tastefully done, service was reasonably good. As a drinking establishment, I’d rate it high. However, as a cullinary experience, I’d rate it below average:
- The artichoke dip appetizer was no more than average. Okay, but nothing special.
- My wife’s hamburger was okay, but her french fries were soggy, visually unappealing, and tasted as if it had been cooked in oil that wasn’t fresh. (The fries themselves weren’t burnt, but there was a distinct aftertaste to them.)
- I’d guess that my “jumbo shrimp” was really 30-count (medium size) shrimp. I’d expect the restaurant to serve at least 16-count (large size) shrimp before advertising it as jumbo shrimp. At better restaurants, I’d expect 12-count (jumbo size) or larger.
- The shrimp was overcooked and the sauce was much too tart (tasted like a whole lemon had been squeezed into it).
This is a relatively new restaurant in Hilo, having opened its doors just last month. My advice would be to go there to have a few drinks or maybe have lunch. But I’d suggest giving it some time to refine its cuisine before making dinner reservations.
January 13th, 2006 at 8:46 am
Robert,
Thanks for the review of the food here! I’ve eaten here a couple of times and I have to agree that they do need some time to refine themselves. The fries were soggy on my first visit there, but on a more recent visit, the fries were actually crisp, light, and quite good, so I’m going to give them a little more time until I actually come back to eat here.
The beer and atmosphere is great though!
Rose,
Hello! Who’s Scott?
Kirk, yes you do! Let me know so I can buy you a beer!
January 22nd, 2006 at 2:01 pm
Nichols is okay, it has too many mediocre beers on tap. I had some Dead Guy Ale one of the first nights available, and I was about ready to pour it out to my disappointment. I love Dead Guy but there was something funky about it. The Wait staff is quite pleasant, beautiful girls and handsome men, particularly Martin and Peter. I am glad I can get some Guiness at an Irish Pub in Hilo.
February 27th, 2006 at 7:21 am
Nice ambiance, but the service is slow. Took at least 10 minutes of sitting at a booth on a Sunday afternoon before being acknowleged. Place was not crowded. Food was not good. Fries were soggy. Came with a cheese sauce that tasted terrible. Waiter did not bring forks or napkins. A second order of beer was served in the same glass and at 5.50 a glass thats unacceptable. Management seems to think they have cornered the market on ambiance and ignore the other things that make a pub a place to which one seeks to return: efficient service and good food at a fair price. It will be a while before I return. And I won’t recommend it to anyone. Its a rip-off.
March 5th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
Went with a few friends on a sunday afternoon last week. Food was great! Fries were double fried and crispy. The cheese dip was good, although the toast tips couldve been improved. Beer was good and the mixed drinks was great. Service was excellent! VERY friendly staff. Had a really good time. We will definitely be back.
PS Dave: I dont mind paying a little more for a place with good ambiance to keep the rif raf down to a minimum. If i wanna be around unruly people I’ll go to one of the other local watering holes where the (occasionally) out of control people looking for cheap alcohol hang out at.
March 10th, 2006 at 1:13 pm
Mike, do you work at nichols? ’cause that was exactly the line I heard the bartender using the day I went. He was saying something along the lines of “yeh, you can go to uncle mikey’s if you want to get beat up” out loud to a customer at the bar.
I’m happy you had a good time if you are not a Nichol’s employee trying to do damage control. But careful with the discriminatory statements. Unruly people are everywhere once alcohol is served. And just so you know, most of the local watering holes do have a high standard. They serve excellent drinks and the appetizers are free. You are a fool if you pay more just for ambiance. And you know what they say, a fool and his money are soon parted.
March 10th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
Uncle Mikey’s is a club, not a bar.
March 17th, 2006 at 11:20 am
GREAT pub! have had two awesome visits already and are headin’ back tonight again. service is great, beer is better, nice to have a good irish type experience to hang in every now and then, great for some diversity in the bar-ring experience
March 17th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Dave: How can my comment be considered damage control? When I’m not the only one commenting that this is a nice place to enjoy a drink and have some food? As for “discriminatory statements,” implying I’m a fool, cause I dont agree with your opinion, simply shows your social ignorance and lack of aloha for those who live on the island. I can’t speak for any of the other returning patrons, but I’ll be glad to know you wont be back any time soon. Leaves one more seat for the rest of us that want to have a good time. And one less person who has no aloha for others. I wont miss your presence.
And for the record, I’m not an employee of the establisment. Im simply someone who’s sorry you had a bad encounter and I can’t share in your lamentations of the prices or experience. I enjoyed myself and look forward to going back again.
I’m sorry if you took offense at my comment as it sounds like you own one of the local spots here that these people are competing against. Attempting to pit people against each other by making statements about the bartender in a second post (which must hav been said by him during your only visit) but was never mentioned in your first post, indicates it was either an afterthought which wasn’t important to you to begin with until my disagreement with you, or simply something you concocted to support your accusation that I work for a place that I just ate at. Either way, thats very poor taste.
As for fools and money:
Do not be fooled into believing that because a man is rich he is necessarily smart. There is ample proof to the contrary.
-Julius Rosenwald (1862 - 1932)
March 20th, 2006 at 7:23 am
Alright Mike, enough said, we can go back and forth on this rubbish.
I still think you are an employee bobbing and weaving. I had a bad experience and I chose to state it on a public forum. I did not need you to address comments directly at me. Just state what your experience was and move on, thats how it works. Readers can judge for themselves. Now have a guinness and a smile. Your pseudo intellectualism is boring.
June 27th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Thanks for this site!
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