I am going to end my Hilo food posts with my most favorite meal! Cafe Pesto is an awesome Italian restaurant in downtown Hilo. If the service was good, it would have been a perfect experience! But it’s okay, good food fits the bill for me.

Started off our dinner with a Hilo Sunrise – this is fresh lemonade with lemongrass, lime leaf and Island honey. It was delicious and comes with complimentary refills!

Complimentary Bread with Pesto Butter. Delicious! I was so hungry, that bread was devoured.

Smoked Salmon Alfredo

Grilled Chicken and Hamakua Mushroom Risotto

I don’t usually order risotto but something about this dish made me want to get it. A lot of the food reviews seemed to like this dish as well so I went for it. I’m so glad I did, it was delicious! The chicken was cooked perfectly especially for chicken breast. I would definitely recommend this!

Volcano Mist Salad

I don’t usually post the appetizer last but I can’t help it. This was my absolute favorite dish of the trip. And I know what you’re thinking, what salad? Well, buried under the mountain of fried onions and tomatoes, there is a small amount of romaine lettuce…lol. This salad was so delicious. Smoked mozzarella, local tomatoes, crisped onion rings, a citrus balsamic dressing…it just all worked so well together. I was tempted to order this dish to go right before we came home. Mmm…can’t stop thinking about it.