Simply Natural

My husband and I had the turkey sandwich and spicy tuna melt. Both were So delicious and so fresh! Liz, the owner, was super friendly. Definitely a great stop!

Best place if you need veggie options. Very local grandma kind– off restaurant! Ordered egg curry sandwich, mushroom veggie sandwich and taro pancake! Their egg curry sandwich was awesome and taro pancake was amazing too! Didn’t like mushroom sandwich much– that was kind of bland and very simple!
Few small changes they can make or may be if that’s working out well the way it is they can ignore, but they can better the packaging of sandwich– once you open it falls apart, also to give better and personal touch they can use non– disposable plate! And definitely the lady working can lend some help– she was alone taking order, making and delivering — which made us delivered 12oz of smoothly rather we payed for 16oz! Didn’t feel like mentioning that to her as she was already doing so much!

We went to this place because it was recommanded by the lonely planet and supposed to have Wi-​Fi (but wrong information). In reality, food is tasteless and too salty… Staff is quite unpleasant with customers. There are no restrooms.

Simply wonderful food! My boyfriend and I stopped here on a whim while we drove around the island, and I’m so glad we did; Liz prepared one of the most delicious egg sandwiches I’ve ever tasted. The bagel was crunchy yet soft, the cheese was just a bit spicy, and the egg was perfectly cooked. Liz was very pleasant to us, chatting us up from the kitchen while she cooked. Swing by for a bite if you’re passing through town.

Aloha,
My family lives in the area and we overall enjoy the food that is made here. This place is often open when other restaurants in the area are not, which is a definite plus. The older woman who works at this place is a wonderful person and great to speak with on those early mornings.
My poor review has to do with Liz (owner) and how she has treated my family as well as how I’ve seen her treat other customers. If it wasn’t for my positive experiences with the older woman (Liz’s mother), I would have never returned to this restaurant. I’ve approached Liz and tried to speak with her about this, but was blown off.
Since my first interaction with the owner, I haven’t had a positive experience dealing with her since. It is the energy that she releases and how she treats her customers, as if she hates her job. Please note that under the History section of Simply Natural’s business listing the owner states that she puts customers as her top priority. This is not true, as I am not the first to criticize her poor attitude especially if you have a young child who is eating with you. I sure hope that another review brings attention to this, because a direct face to face conversation isn’t invited.
Dreading to see the owner because you’ll have to put up her innate hostility once you walk into a restaurant is never a good sign.
I do not wish to do business with Liz again as she has been condescending and definitely does not share the Aloha spirit. The older woman is so sweet, I hope I figure out her schedule.

Best Sandwich I’ve ever had! Really delicious with fresh ingredients and awesome taste. Great place for lunch when you are discovering north of Hawaii. Great service and kind people. Greetings from the German Family

This was, by far, the best food we had on our trip to the Big Island (April 2015 was our trip). I had the egg drop saimin with mahi mahi, and I would go on another vacation just to eat it again. The fish was delicious, the veggies were fresh, and the broth was perfect. The whole family also got smoothies and all loved them. The space was small, and if she ever gets busy I imagine it might be difficult to get a seat, but when we were in there was only one other table occupied, so it was fine. The woman behind the counter was working the register, preparing the food and the smoothies, and she was very sweet. She’s clearly working hard to keep the place feeling comfy.
It’s unfortunate that there isn’t a bathroom, and you will certainly pay the price for the quality of the food, but it’s well, WELL worth it.

Not too sure why some people had a bad experience at this place! While playing tourist us locals had kanaka attack after driving from Hilo.
My kind of restaurant all natural food. Was busy as the owners Mom and kid son catered to customers. Got busy and they tried their best to accommodate orders until they were a little backed up! The wait was worth it.
The food was Ono! We need a place like this in Pahoa. Rated 4 stars for this visit only because we had to wait a little bit. We diff coming back!

Fantastic. Fresh, good quality, well-​prepared food and drinks. Sweet proprietor, really cute place. Especially liked the open-​faced Greek veggie melt. Would enthusiastically recommend.

Delicious, healthy sandwiches and friendly ownership. There’s nothing else to know, just go there!

Stopped by Simply Natural at the recommendation of another local restaurant owner… we were looking for box lunches for a picnic. Let me start by saying Everyone on the island has been AMAZING and we have been having the honeymoon of a lifetime! My husband and I stepped in as the owner was taking an order from another couple. We got in line waiting our turn while we read over the menu. Without a greeting the owner looks around the couple giving their order and asked us if our clearly marked service dog was a service dog. Politely my husband responded «yes» and we continued looking at the menu. A few seconds later the owner looks around the couple ordering again to try and inspect our service dogs vest. Why ask if you are going to look?!? At that point I could tell we were not welcomed in her restaurant but thought, be patient she has probably not encountered many service animals. Unfortunately, over the next few seconds the nasty looks continued until finally she comments to the other four patrons in the restaurant, «it might be a service dog but he stinks like flea powder, doesn’t he?» Attempting to get the other patrons to agree with her rude comment as she literally scrunches her nose to visibly show she is disgusted with his odor. The two sitting down shake their heads in disagreement with her comment but the gentleman directly in front of her shockingly comments, «I have a cold so I can’t smell.» At this point I had enough and my husband and I left. I called her a an unpleasant word which I regret but how dare her discriminate against my husband treating him like a second rate citizen. My husband faithfully served his county for 11years deploying multiple times to the Middle East to defend and protect our freedoms. He is now medically retired and is accompanied by his loyal service dog. We are from Colorado, we don’t have fleas in Colorado and he doesn’t wear «flea powder!» He is better groomed and behaved then most grown adults or so that is what everyone tells us where ever we go. On the flight over my husband service dog say under my feet and it wasn’t until 30 minutes into our flight that the person sharing the row with us even knew we had our service dog on the flight. He rode there on an 8 he non-​stop flight and didn’t move once. We have NEVER had a single complaint. The sad thing is the owners only problem with us seemed to be that we were clearly military. What a shame… I would encourage you NOT to support this local business.
Update: she doesn’t accept abuse but she is allowed to belittle, abuse and bully anyone who enters her restaurant to support local businesses! Ha What a joke!!!
Take a second to read through all of her negative reviews. None of it is about the food, it’s all about the disrespectful and shameful actions of the owner. Maybe if she got an attitude adjustment she might actually have a top notch business! I wouldn’t know but sounds like she might serve decent food. Unfortunately today’s consumer expects good food and A+ service. Her Aloha and Mahalo were 100% condescending and she actually had the nerve to scream Happy New Years at me as we left her business.

The owner is absolutely miserable and rude! I can agree with the other negative reviewers. She disrespectful and disgrace to other local business owners. Do yourself a HUGE favor and spend your hard earned money elsewhere.
Update: Funny they don’t accept abuse but they can abuse anyone. The owner is a bully who obviously has problems with many people in her 18 years.

We stopped in Honoka’a while driving around the area. We got lost on our way to Hilo and decided to stop in this area to ask for directions. This place was one of the few ones open so I went in to ask for directions and the reception I got was so disgustingly rude. The lady, claiming to be the owner, said «this is my restaurant. I serve breakfast and lunch. I’m not here to give directions to tourists». I was caught off guard and asked if she was being serious to which she replied «yes. Have a safe drive» in an extremely condescending tone. This made my family and I so upset. In a place where the people by far and large are welcoming we weren’t expecting such a reception much less from a state whose main revenue comes from tourism. This place shows a complete lack of regard for the community and the general help of people. Aloha means nothing to this horrible restaurant and explains why the place was so empty. I hope she realizes that customer service isn’t her forte and loses the privilege of being such a staple in this community.

So good. We had the soup and an acai smoothie after our Waipio hike. It was PERFECT and exactly what the doctor ordered. Liz is a delight!

I ate here when I was visiting the island for my 30^th Birthday. This is literally the best restaurant on the entire island. The food is fresh and full of deliciousness, miss this restaurant.

This was such a delightful meal! Not only was the food great, but the people as well — including locals who have us lots of tips. Ono fish is fantastic — never had it before — I had this on a huge, yummy salad with some added mushrooms (thumbs way up). Enjoy! OMG! I just realized that I posted this to the wrong business. I had just eaten at a different restaurant! Sorry!

More than a delicious lunch. A personal, local Hawaiian dining experience. Liz (owner) made us feel at home, answering each and everyone of the hundreds of questions my parents had about the menu and guiding us to the perfect selections.
Spicy tuna melt had the perfect flavor with chili sauce. The Ono sandwich had huge chunks of filet. We recommend the waipio smoothie and taro pancakes to top your meal off.

Miss Liz made us the most delicious siamen soup and a fabulous smoothie for my friend. Thank you

Breakfast here was amazing. Liz (the owner) greeted us warmly and made large taro/​banana pancakes that were scrumptious. My pineapple/​orange smoothie was just as tasty as my wife’s papaya/​banana smoothie.
Can’t speak for lunch but if you’re looking for a great breakfast look no further…

What a great place! Good fresh heathy food with amazing service! Liz was a pleasure to talk with and it is apparent she approaches food with the same energy and vitality. The Saimin Soup and spicy tuna melt were delicious and the smoothies were fresh and yummy!