Pūpū and Drinks at The Temple Kitchen + Bar Hilo
by Natasha Bourlin.
The Temple Kitchen + Bar offers refreshing and flavorful craft cocktails to pair with innovative dishes by Chef Grace Ryan.
Settle into one of the cozy couches (they have tables too, reservations for dinner are encouraged as they fill up quickly), where you can chat with others sharing a communal coffee table. I felt as if we were all just hanging out in a friend’s living room.
For cocktails, I recommend the Pisco Sour and the Sandy Lei — this is apparently co-owner Lei Kapuni Hatch’s favorite. It’s a vodka-based drink made with lemon and tart liliko’i, muddled ginger and a salt, pepper and Hawaiian chili rim.
The Smoky Flatbread made with smoked bacon, pipikaula (Hawaiian dried beef), caramelized onions, smoked gouda, chipotle cream sauce, Hawaiian chili-marinated mozzarella and shiso is also delicious. You should also try the pork belly poke, locally-grown kalo, or taro, and cassava with chimichurri and anything they are running as a special — it was Maui Nui venison chorizo tacos the day I went.
If you are too tired to walk back to the hotel, you can order a rideshare — a luxury not readily available everywhere on Hawai’i Island.
The Sandy Lei at The Temple Kitchen + Bar Hilo. Photo by Natasha Bourlin.
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