Cafe Concerto
I’ve been meaning to post about this place since my first visit in 2005 and can’t put it off no longer!
Really, I think this is the only “real” italian restaurant in Hilo. Chef Lando Landi, a native Italian, puts so much love and passion into his food that it creates a wonderfully warm family style atmosphere in his little restaurant. Cafe Pescatore has nothing on this place.
The food here is so fresh, homestyle, affordable and unpretentious. Perfect for a fun romantic date or even a get-together with friends over wine (BYOB!). There is even a great wine store next door (Grapes) if you need to get a bottle (closes at 6pm).
Fresh Caprese Salad
Super juicy tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and fresh salad. Good stuff.
Penne with Pesto.
Best pesto I’ve ever tasted. Fresh, bright, rich and full of flavor. Pasta was cooked perfectly al-dente. I highly recommend trying any of their dishes with the wonderful pesto!
4-cheese Ravioli w/spinach.
This practically melts in your mouth and is soooo delicious. I could eat 2 (or 4) plates of this! Nothing beats freshly made ravioli — you gotta try it.
Cappellini w/meatballs
Refreshingly light and bright sauce with freshly made meatballs. I love how they keep their pastas fresh, light and flavorful.
Pasta with clam sauce (Pasta al vongole)
Very nice with a kick of spiciness. I appreciate that the chef was not afraid to make this spicy!
I can’t forget to mention the bread! The chef actually brought out fresh loafs and cutted them up for the guests. The bread was so wonderfully yummy straight out of the oven. We couldn’t have enough!
Creme Brule
Soooooo so good! Highly recommended!
Tiramisu
Light, refreshing and swimming in rum 
— not too rich like many other Tiramisu’s.
The chef also serves a free homemade “digestive”, sorta like a limoncello, but with his own flavors. He makes different flavors all the time. Tonight it was fresh ginger. Don’t turn down the opportunity to try it! It’s a perfect ending to the meal.
If you haven’t yet tried this place, you are missing out. Definitely one of Hilo’s gems. A meal for two is well under $40 yet tastes like a $100 meal.
Cafe Concerto
808 Kilauea Ave., Hilo, HI 96720
Phone: (808) 934-0312 (call to check their hours/days open)
March 6th, 2009 at 5:50 am
[...] Big Island Grinds Reviews Cafe Concerto in Hilo [Big Island Grinds] [...]
March 6th, 2009 at 8:33 am
I’m sorry but I’ve eaten here a handful of times and I’m constantly disappointed. The pasta has never been al dente.it’s always mushy. And in the tradition of italian cuisine and culture the portions are small and the flavor is bland. It should be robust!
However, it is great to be next to Grapes and the homemade lemoncello is very tasty and it’s the only eatery with a nice outdoor dining area.
March 6th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Anonymous, thanks for your thoughts.
To me, real Italian food is all about light, fresh flavors, and smaller portions than the more Americanized places. The pasta to me has always been cooked well here and flavor spot on (not overpowering or too salty). And have you tried their ravioli? You can tell it’s made fresh in the kitchen. What did you order?
March 6th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Brother will you take me here next time I visit? hehe …. sounds SO perfect! oh my gooshness. I need a vacation.
March 9th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Sounds Ono! Time to go visit the folks.
March 19th, 2009 at 11:52 am
This is definately one of the best places in town.
Wine tasting at grapes, grab a bottle and head over to Lando’s.
I’ve never been disappointed.
June 7th, 2009 at 6:18 am
It looks so delicious
I’ll definitely to come back to your blog again.
http://www.ahacook.com
July 18th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
I took an Italian cooking class with Lando back in 2001 (If you’re reading this, Lando, you might remember me as the youngest student in that class, and perhaps the only non-teacher). Though I haven’t yet eaten at Cafe Concerto, I can say he knows his stuff.
September 28th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Thanks for sending the photos of delicious food. Italian food is the number one on my food list. I wonder if they serve pasta in extra large plate. I would be a happy camper if they do. I think we have to pay this wonderfull people a visit.
December 26th, 2009 at 2:33 am
Spaghetti was very unimpressive; ravioli or manicotti (don’t remember which one was it) was better. In both cases, I had to arrange for second dinner. I am willing to pay extra for larger portions, but certainly not the price for a second order.
July 15th, 2010 at 5:30 am
If you agreed or disagree with the post here, be sure to post at http://tinyurl.com/26okadh and tell us more about it!
November 14th, 2010 at 7:41 pm
I took my girlfriend out on a date on her birthday to this restaurant.
As soon as I walked in the place I could not smell any aromas coming from
the kitchen. I have eaten at many Italian restaurants across the globe and
by far this was the worst experience I have ever had.
If this guy is an Italian cook , then I am Albert Einstein .
Two pieces of garlic bread 2 inches long and a centimeter wide, they are supposed to have garlic on them ??????
This place screwed up spaghetti and meatballs which by the way Ragu can
do better ! How’s that Lando !? You suck , your restaurant sucks !
You gave me three meatballs … well thank you very much , they were the size of my kittens balls and they were burnt which added to my disgust . They were dry and tasteless and I cant believe your still in business !!!
I heard through the coconut wireless that this place has been in business for a long time ??? People without tastebuds ! Wish I could have gotten my money back but did not want to spoil my date . She had a ravioli pesto which was mediocre! Take your $5 corking fee and invest in recipes !!
November 14th, 2010 at 7:44 pm
This restaurant lies in it’s advertisements !
November 24th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
HORRIBLE ! BLAND ! Lando’s red sauce and meatballs need a lot of work ! I agree with Rich , I had a negative experience at this place ! I’m sure that a lot of people out there have bland taste buds , well…. this is the place for you!
I did not smell any aromas coming out of the kitchen either and the garlic bread was the size of a twix and had no garlic on it ! Very disappointed in this place ! Lando …. Make a meatball ! Not like the kind you would find in spaghetti OH’s ! Bigger , Better , and with a little flavor at least !!!!
Garlic , A bigger meatball , RED SAUCE (add flavor)
BIGGER MENU ! Veal…. Chicken Parm perhaps ?????
Lando … take a trip to New Orleans to a place called Vincents…learn something about FLAVOR !!!!!!!!!!!!
November 24th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
There is no love in Lando’s cooking , This is a sad excuse for an Italian restaurant . The Big Island suffers for real Italian cooking
November 24th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
I retract all positive statements about this place
November 24th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Looks can be deceiving ! These pix are not telling the truth , they were on a good day and this place in inconsistent ! THUMBS DOWN !!!!!!!!
November 24th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Photos of delicious food LOOK good , your food should taste good , but it doesn’t . Bland and too expensive for such poor quality , you should be ashamed to call your place Italian
November 24th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
If can try something else , if can’t then don’t try this place !
January 21st, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Personally, I have been to Cafe Concerto many times and it was always consistently awesome. I have relatives in Italy and ate at many places throughout Italy including Sicily, Florence, Rome, and Naples….home of the best Italian cuisine. Lando is a very distinguished chef and I feel sorry for all the idiots who posted on here who obviously don’t know Italian Food. First off, his bread is not garlic bread, it’s a homemade salted bread that is not supposed to be garlic bread and is just there for taste….So Rich and Marco, you guys are probably fat ass obese people that probably should be eating super loco mocos at Kens instead of fine dining cuisine. You guys are idiots and stick to your Ragu sauce b/c u guys are obviously not chefs. Anyone that truly loves and appreciates good food will love Cafe Concerto and for the price of fresh, homemade food, you really can’t go wrong.
March 1st, 2011 at 11:17 am
This is by far my favorite Italian restaurant. Everything I’ve eaten here (and yes, I’ve been here a lot of times) has been amazing. I love everything about the place, the food, the atmosphere, the service. Total awesomeness. If you like italian, come here. oh, and don’t listen to ^ Those Guys ^
August 14th, 2011 at 11:19 am
Worst Food, “Italian” or otherwise that I remember eating! I ordered the Four Cheese Ravioli, which turned out to be unraveled wonton-like overworked dough in with luke warm cream dribbled on top–no cheese that I could taste. The portion was also small. Surely, the “chef” can go online and look up a recipe for a sauce rather than just use unflavored cream. We ate there because of the good reviews. It was very disappointing.
September 29th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Most superb Italian food. Hands down, it is the best in Hilo. Every dish I’ve tried has a light but complex flavor with many layers to enjoy. Creamy sauce brings a delicate balance of savory and sweet that will leave you pondering it’s seasoning. (I feel the nay-sayers are simply brainwashed by americanized “Italian” food) You will leave feeling satisfied but not overfull. Prices are reasonable, service is great, atmosphere is warm & personable. Truly a gem for our small town.
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February 22nd, 2012 at 8:28 am
I went to eat there because of the positive reviews I read on other blogs, wish I found this one first. I ate the 4 cheese ravioli. The cream sauce was the consistency of milk, kinda tasted like milk as it had no flavor. I couldn’t even describe the food as lukewarm; it was more like the temperature of food left out all day. I’m not sure where the cheese was besides the grated parmesan cheese that tasted like flour that was messily scattered on my plate. Or maybe it was flour that I tasted as the ravioli didn’t seem to be cooked. The ravioli had no flavor at all and I wouldn’t describe it as ravioli. It mostly consisted of a big piece of undercooked pasta with some spinach in it. As for the bread, it was hard and cold. I couldn’t even use it to soak up any of the “milk” on my plate. The service wasn’t that great. I was never offered a refill on my drink though I drank it all before I even ordered my food. This isn’t someplace I would recommend to anyone or even think about giving it a second chance.
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