I would actually suggest Merriman's for lunch as a casual spot, too. We did this last week and it was great. Also checked out the Huli Sue's location at the Mauna Lani golf clubhouse, and I'd skip it. Greasy, greasy, greasy. The menu for lunch was half BBQ and half Italian, which was a weird mix. At night I guess they do Italian only, but we didn't try it. Our waiter says that the original Huli Sue's location still does BBQ at lunch, but their website definitely doesn't back that up.

As for sushi, if you don't mind the drive (it's a pretty nice one) to Hawi, I highly recommend Sushi Rock there.

We grabbed breakfast at the new Island Lava Java in Waikoloa village, which might be nice for a casual lunch or dinner too. I'd suggest it for breakfast over the Hilton Waikoloa breakfast. We stayed there once and the buffet didn't look that great. Ala carte was terrible - in 10 minutes you can drive to Island Lava Java, which is twice as good and half the price.

I suggest Cafe Pesto in Kawaihae for lunch or dinner - we go back every year. I love the crab cake salad - it's got delicious, fresh tomatoes on top and a killer dressing.

We hit up Merriman's for lunch last week (to save a bit of $$$ over dinner) and it was great. I had an amazing cobb salad with kalua pork (it came with a warm and delicious roll with red salted butter), my husband had the burger and loved it. Service was excellent even though the place was quite full. We shared the poke for a starter - it was great! It's served with some steamed rice, which is kind of nice. (I'm used to getting poke just by itself, I guess.)

I highly recommend Merriman's - I try to go every year when we visit. I also saw some crazy Yelp review when I checked them out on there the other day, but the reviews seem to be consistently good otherwise. It seems like most people complain about small portions. If you're someone who values freshness and quality over portion size, this shouldn't be an issue. We always get the most wonderful service when we go, and the food has been consistently great every time I've been.

You could try the new restaurant in the old Huli Sue's spot, which has transformed into someplace much fancier called Allen's Table. It JUST opened, so not many reviews. (It has some not-so-good reviews incorrectly posted to Huli Sue's Yelp page, mostly from people who stopped in expecting BBQ or having eaten at the previous incarnation.)

Sorry, scratch the rec for Huli Sue's - just found out they're closed! We're going to see if the location at Mauna Lani is still open when we're there next week.

Oh, sad to hear Huli Sue's closed - does anyone know if the second location at Mauna Lani closed, too? My husband needs his BBQ fix :)

Surf, Sand and Stars is great - I went last year and couldn't resist making reservations again for our trip next week :) The main draw for me is the lobster - so good! It's going to run you about $100 per person after tax and tip, but there is SO MUCH FOOD, all excellent, and live entertainment. Plus, you get an excuse to wander around at the Four Seasons if you haven't been before (very nice property). There was grilled steak with a chimichurri sauce, many different kinds of sushi and poke and seaweed salads, chilled crab and shrimp with cocktail sauce, lots of different salads and desserts. If you're there for a special occasion, don't forget to tell them when you make your reservation - last time I got a free cocktail and dessert.

I'd suggest Cafe Pesto in Kawaihae (Italian, but with many good not-so-Italian-but-more-Hawaiian dishes) or perhaps Huli Sue's in Waimea (They do excellent BBQ)

I ate at Barking Frog just last night, and it was GREAT! Delicious chicken in truffle cream sauce with perfectly-cooked baby spinach and potato gnudi. Mmm ... And the husband splurged on a bottle of '99 Col Solare, which kind of defeated the whole '$30' thing, but whaever :)

I love all of his restaurants - Palace Kitchen is great, as is Dahlia Lounge. Lola for Greek-style food and Etta's for breakfast if you're down by Pike Place market. Best thing is that the first 3 are all within a couple blocks of each other, so if one dosn't have any seats you can have them call one of the others ones and get a table.