Since June is away in Texas for a few weeks, I’ve decided to visit lunch places outside my normal routine. Aloha Luigi, the small restaurant on Keawe Street in downtown Hilo, qualified.

The back entrance, from the very convenient back parking lot.

The main dining area.

I’ve actually tried several different places. But Aloha Luigi is one I can already write about now, without even trying anything else off its menu.

I ordered the spicy ono served on linguini with lots of garlic and capers, to take out.

This is where you place orders. You walk straight through to the back parking lot.

While waiting for my order, I wandered out back to look around. An old bathtub with a decorative purple crawling taro growing in it caught my attention. I noticed some guppies swimming around – for mosquito control, I thought to myself.

A friendly guy with a slight New York accent asked me if I was admiring the fish. I told him I liked the potential of the place and he said he was Luigi, the owner.

Nearly 30 years ago he built the restaurant in Hilo that eventually became Pescatore. He moved back to New York, and then back to Waimea where he opened the original Aloha Luigi. He said he returned to Hilo four years ago, because Waimea was getting too built up.

This is a multi-function mail box. Local artists’ works hang on all the walls.

Four months ago, Luigi purchased the land where the present Aloha Luigi now stands, just down the street from Garden Exchange on Keawe Street. And now he is building the place up. He told me he’s going to open up second floor dining as well as an outside, open air dining area.

Two tables and the view from under the outside canopy. Looking toward Keawe Street, where there will be more outside seating.

Look carefully and you can see the outline of his vision. He has a gem of a location. The back parking lot is so unbelievably convenient.

Outdoor dining in Hilo. Who would have thought?  But if you look closely, you can see that too. Upstairs and downstairs dining? I love that.

The spicy ono linguini was so good that I went back later to order a Sicilian slice of pizza. It’s square. As toppings I had jalapeno, spinach and garlic. I’ll be back often!