Satisfy your craving for rich, flavorful meats and fresh, local seafood with a trip to The Fish and The Hog near Waimea. A comfortable, laid-back atmosphere, servers in jeans, and hearty food make you feel like you’re at a family reunion or a friend’s home.
When driving by, you may almost miss this restaurant for its unassuming appearance. Located on the Hawaii Belt, it sits in a home-like building on the highway. However, a hanging sign perpendicular to the road tells you that you are in the right spot. A parking lot next to The Fish and The Hog provides you with ample free parking.
The draw for most to this restaurant is their barbecue. This is real barbecue that is slowly cooked for hours instead of tossed on a grill for a few minutes. Low and slow is the mantra of cooking at The Fish and The Hog. The hours they spend smoking chicken, ribs, pork, and brisket results in unparalleled flavor. The results of the long cooking are succulent meats with lots of flavors. Pair the meats with one of the house-made sauces for an unmatched flavor sensation. Many patrons rave about the sauces served with the meat as much as they do the barbecue.
The hours-long smoking of the barbecued meats means that when certain dishes, such as brisket, sell out for the day, they cannot make more due to the hours of slow smoking required. Don’t worry if you miss out on one dish. There are plenty of other options on the menu.
While The Fish and The Hog specializes in barbecue, this is not your typical BBQ joint that you might find elsewhere. Instead of offering meats and a couple of sides, The Fish and The Hog has a full menu with appetizers, desserts, seafood, salads, sandwiches, burgers, and barbecue specialties. Aside from its signature meats, other dishes on the menu receive equally extensive attention as almost everything at the restaurant, from bacon and sausage to dressings and cakes, is made from scratch.
Try the following must-taste items from the menu:
Pulled Pork Sandwich
The Pulled Pork Sandwich starts with slow-cooked barbecue pork. The kitchen serves the pork open-faced on a dry bun with an onion ring, coleslaw, pickles, and fries for sides. Top the meat with the barbecue sauce provided at the table and add the onion ring for extra crunch before placing the two bun halves together for your sandwich. Some people, though, find the meat moist and flavorful enough to forego the sauce.
Lilikoi Cheesecake
Even if you cannot find room for dessert after your meal, at least order a slice or two of cake to go. For a sweet and tart finish to the meal, try the Lilikoi Cheesecake or take a slice with you. This tall slice of cheesecake has a creamy cheesy core topped with tangy lilikoi sauce. The cake has a tartness that most people love.
Not everyone loves cheesecake, but you can also find other great treats on the dessert menu. If you want something sweeter and smoother, try the Chocolate Cake or Banana Cream Pie, both of which are as beloved as the Lilikoi Cheesecake.
Fish Tacos
Fish Tacos come beer-battered or grilled. Either form includes cilantro sour cream, guacamole, and salsa on flour tortillas. Like all other seafood dishes, the Fish Tacos use never frozen, fresh fish. Therefore, you may get a different type of fish each time you visit, depending on what the freshest, in-season catch is available. If you want a simple, flavorful alternative to the meats on the barbecue side of the menu, don’t miss the fresh fish tacos.
Cheddar and Green Chile Cornbread
Enjoy an appetizer of Cheddar and Green Chile Cornbread or choose this as a side. The cornbread comes with two slices of freshly prepared with a side of honey candy butter. Many visitors recommend the cornbread as much as they do the barbecue. If you order any of the soups or barbecue, the cornbread pairs perfectly with all of them.
Visit The Fish and The Hog for scratch-made food that consistently outperforms the high expectations visitors have of this restaurant.
Insider Tips:
-Arrive early because the restaurant only makes a limited amount of each dish. When a menu item sells out for the day, you cannot order it until the following day.
-A line forms during lunch. Get to the restaurant before you become too hungry and put your name on the list. The restaurant does not take reservations.