Koji's Bento Box

A little treasure. Huge portions, maybe enough for 2 people to share one order. Very friendly and nice person working there. I think after taking our order she went and made it. Great prices on food compared to the nearby Hilo Farmers Marjet.

The new owners should not be using the Koji name. The food has gone downhill. My koji loco was ordered with fried rice. Shell was in the eggs, no Portuguese sausage, no fried rice no Kim chee, or even a fork. Called to try make it right and the manager was rude and had a bad attitude. I won’t be returning and I was a long time customer of the original Koji Korner. Sad day for Hilo

What happened to this place!?! Food is absolutely horrible now. Slimy, white gravy on the Loco moko now. Disgusting old rotten watercress and no tofu in my pork, tofu, and watercress dish. Koji burger is a joke now. Change the name if you going put out food like this.

Fast service. Food was hot and flavorful. Love the value, plates are stacked full and great prices on everything. Only 2 people allowed in at a time. Order and then wait outside

*Cash only* Small hole in the wall local take out restaurant located in downtown Hilo with awesome plate lunches. Go in, order what u want then wait outside until called when the order is ready. Had to visit first stop off the plane when in hilo. Had the kojis loco moco (teri burgers with fried egg and gravy, two portugese sausage and homemade kim chee) and did not disappoint. Will try their other daily menu items next visit everything looked winnahs🤙🤙🤙

Horrible owner. The take out boxes were broken and the loco moco leaked all over and he pretended deaf. I repeated and he started to yell at me, threaten me if not stopping harassing him and leave his store immediately, he will call police. He knew local police🤷🏻‍♀️ As a tourist I’d say, stay away.

BE AWARE!!! The food went downhill with the new owner. It’s overcooked and the store smelt so bad. I had digestion issues the very night. Never come back again.

SO SO GOOD!!! God, I wish I had the stomach to try more than one thing!! You can tell this place serves mainly local, lots of people coming by to order throughout the day. Family owned, really friendly people! I had their koji beef tray and it did not disappoint!! Tasty mac salad too (and on Hawai’i, you eat a lot)

The awesome, new owner's have made Kojis an excellent place for your grab and go bento's, to full plate lunches. They give you the choice of small or large on their lunch specials, but don't let the cheaper price fool you..the portions are enormous, enough to share or enjoy for your own. They kept the "favorites", and added their own touch to the menu, with a large variety to choose from. Don't miss out on trying this lunch shop, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

In July of this year, I visited and wrote a review for this place which was already under new ownership. But, my review was posted to the previous Yelp business page, that account now closed due to a name change. So, after seeing a post this morning on Yelp through the activity feed, speaking to the owner over the phone for clarification on his business name, I decided to venture back to Kojis for lunch. Here is a new review based on the combination of July's and today's experience + pictures taken today. This "hole in the wall", take out only local eatery, the former Kojis Bento Korner now Kojis Bento Box, has been a staple in Downtown Hilo for over 40 years at the same location. Simple, home-style food, cooked with lots of love. There's nothing fancy or gourmet about this location, but the simplicity stands out to those who know about this place, making it key to its success. Recently, the original owners decided to close the operation but, to the surprise of loyal customers like myself, it reopened under new ownership almost immediately featuring the same menu items plus recipes being used. Brilliant. Unlike other places in town that seem to care more about making that extra dollar somehow, this place I feel, under both previous and now new owners, I feel care more about tradition and serving the local residents of Hilo town with never changing favorites like Kojis Steak, Gravy Burgers, Chopped Steak, Kojis Loco Moco and, their macaroni salad. I grew up eating this macaroni salad. It still tastes the same, made the same way. The Kojis Loco Moco is all I order. With an extra egg with extra gravy, extra two scoops of macaroni salad on the side. Just like that, not a miss. Everytime. A true winner in my eyes, my go-to favorite when I'm craving a Loco Moco. I was so bummed during that short period of ownership transition, shop closed and no other place I wanted a Loco Moco from. But, here they are again. Open for business with a slight name change, the Kojis Loco still offered. Smile. Yes, there are other places that offer fresh beef patties and one place is known as the "home of the Loco Moco" but, I feel this is the best place for this item. For the portion size, what's included and the price. For $12 vs. $18 at another place for a Super Loco Moco for just about the same on a plate, why not Kojis Bento Box if hitting up a place for breakfast or lunch. The Kojis Loco offers two thin beef patties cooked fresh on the flat grill, placed on a generous portion of white rice, topped with one egg (I always order an extra egg) and warm brown gravy. Served also with slices of grilled Portuguese sausage, a scoop of their yummy macaroni salad and, a side of kim chee. My plate today had no kim chee, bummer. Maybe an honest mistake, forgotten? That's okay, minor, forgiven with grace. I make mistakes at work too. And, the menu description states patties with teri sauce but both times, plain patties. Just so you know, so you're not disappointed. I wasn't, nope, still tasted yummy, still enjoyed all of it, ate all of it. All for $12.99, extra for the additional egg and if you order extra gravy too. So delicious. So satisfying. Oh, don't forget to order extra scoops of macaroni salad on the side. I do, all the time. To enjoy with my Kojis Loco, one scoop just isn't enough for me plus, the extra scoops of macaroni salad, I then pair it with another meal as a side dish. The woman who took my order today was extremely friendly, dynamic personality, enjoyable to have been in conversation with. And the kitchen team, I believe that was the owners, cooked my order quickly and when the plates were opened at home, visually presented well. Thank you. If it's busy, I would suggest to be patient and give the small, friendly team here which is usually the owner(s) + help, the time to prepare your food. Take the time to find parking on Ponohawaii Street and you'll hopefully see why it was so important for someone to continue the tradition and save the Kojis namesake. When I try and bake or cook items off a recipe, I'll say honestly, the end result is satisfactory. But, the original person who wrote that recipe for me, when that item is made by that person, same recipe followed, does it come out/taste the same as mine? You know the answer too from experience, of course not. The original item by the original creater will always come out/taste better. Always. It's that "touch" they have, right? Same here at Kojis Bento Box. Same recipe, same menu but different people following the original recipes from the original owners. I'll say this though, it's honestly pretty close to the original, executed by the new owners and a new team. Like the Chopped Steak with onions grilled extra, ordered today and thoroughly enjoyed. Well done. Congratulations Kojis Bento Box and welcome "back" to Hilo, wishing you much success.

After a long day of driving, walking, site seeing, shopping and having not eaten any breakfast beforehand, my hubby, daughter and I were pretty famished. We originally had a reservation at Paul's Place but canceled it thinking we wouldn't be there in time. Funny it turned out we still had time but too late as the reservation was already canceled. Anyway, we parked right in front of Koji's Bento and saw a few locals standing in line. So we asked how's the food as this place looked like a hole in the wall. If the locals say it's good, then it must be good. Naturally we ordered our plate lunches and wasn't disappointed at all. To begin with, the plates were heavy, filled to the top, & smelled so ono. We couldn't wait to taste our meal. Daughter ordered: Loco Moco with overhard egg, rice, Portuguese sausage, kim chee, & mac salad Hubby ordered: Grilled steak and onions with rice & mac salad My order: Hamburger Steak (homemade patties) with rice & mac salad Let me tell you, we went back to our car and we ate our meal in silence. We all were happy with our choices and pretty much full after that. Prices are reasonable and the wait wasn't that long even with two people ahead of us. What's funny is that Paul's Place is right around the corner from Koji's.

We got to try the "new" kojis since the original owner sold it to another person. The inside looks a little different, allows only 2 people inside at a time. We went before noon on a Saturday and there was no one before us. Portions are big, prices seem the same. Wait wasn't too bad, they did overcook our steak and eggs. Other than that it was delicious and I'm glad kojis is still open.

It's completely different food, the gravy from the original kojis was good rich flavorful and brown, I decided to try the "new" kojis and the gravy is white like for biscuits and gravy super disappointed they changed kojis up for the unfortunate not better