Nalu Hawaiian Surf Bar and Grille

Food was excellent. The macadamia encrusted opakapaka was awesome with the sweet potato salad and corn on the cob. Best dinner of the week we spent in Dewey. Just a little bit noisy.

We were searching for a place that would be great food, family friendly, and a large variety for everyone who wanted something new and exciting. Nalu was the perfect place. It’s the weekend after Labor Day and we expected a possible wait. Nope got a beautiful table right at 7 no wait perfect breeze/​sunset. The staff was friendly and attentive. But the food omg the food. If you don’t get the pork spring rolls you are failing at life! We all got something different peppercorn tuna, kalua pulled pork, Ono sandwich, wagyu filet mignon, chicken tenders (kiddos), sweet potato salad, mac salad, wasabi fried rice, French fries. Everything and I mean everything was delicious and cook perfectly. Not one thing tasted bad or even just ok. Plus great beers on tap. I have been to Hawaii and this place really took me back. Try it you will find something you like.

I loved the short rib tacos, what a trippy place, all beachy, open air experience as big wide windows open, love Dewey and the Nalu experience

Great atmosphere, good food and cocktails! My wife and I went here for lunch and were impressed. The prices were good for a tourist town and the quantity and quality of the food exceeded expectations.
Food: 4
— Had the burger with spam on it. Burger cooked properly but could have used a little more seasoning. The spam, pineapple, and other toppings worked well. The house made fries were excellent!
— My wife had the Hawaiian salad — vegetarian. Really good salad, little pricey with no meat but that is normal in this town. Came with macadamia nuts, pineapple, passion fruit and other goodies. The passion fruit was flavorless but outside of that the toppings and the house dressing was really good.
Drinks: 5
We had the pineapple crush which was the best of the «crushes» we had in Dewey beach. I also had the «house» brew which was a pineapple beer. Good initial taste but drink it before it loses any coldness. Gets weak pretty quick.
Overall, I will def go back to Nalu when I am in Dewey. Service was very good and the food made me wish I was in Hawaii even more!

Strolled in at 10 pm for a late night bite on Thursday and was impressed with the service food and drinks! We had the nachos and wings which were great! The Nachos were stacked a mile high beyond the limit and it was finger licking good!!! My son got the plain wings which were the best tasting wings according to him!
We order the nulu pineapple beer and the orange crush both local drinks both were on point! Going back for happy hour and try the frozen drinks!!!
The service was quick and reliable !!

Best. Nachos. Ever. Not a soggy chip in sight. Layered cheese so every chip had some, even the ones underneath. Jalapeños have kick but aren’t super spicy. Shredded pork is moist and juicy.
I’m actually eating as I’m writing this. I couldn’t wait. I highly approve of Nalu.

We were looking for a place where my boyfriend could watch the game and we could have a halfway decent meal for dinner in Dewey. Lighthouse was dead so we saw the tiki torches of Nalu and the game on their wide screen above the bar so we decided to head inside. It’s very Hawaiian-​chic, with a lot of island influences, tiki torches and large tropical drinks. We were looking to eat light, so I ordered the Hawaiian salad add grilled chicken and my boyfriend ordered the chicken & pulled pork tacos. We didn’t have high hopes about the food and figured it would be standard bar food but we were actually pleasantly surprised with the quality of our meal. Salad was fresh and abundant with coconut, pineapple and plantains and my bf’s tacos were excellent, especially the pork. Our vodka sodas were strong and service was friendly. I noticed a lot of painted art on the wall as well, adding to the whimsical island vibe. This is a great spot for young adults looking for a quality meal while still getting the laid-​back, neighborhood bar feel.

We came here for lunch after a day on the beach. Hostess was great. Waitress was ok. She really was nice only… you know that professional nice that has a touch of disingenuousness? Anyway we had the Cesar salad (which tasted like heaven after a long morning on the beach) and the crab nachos and two orders of shrimp quesadillas. Crab nachos were massive and really good. Crab was plain. Someone needs to bring all these Delaware restaurants some Old Bay! Quesadillas were excellent and flavorful! Clean bathrooms. Fun atmosphere.

Still dreaming about the CRAB NACHOS!!! Please teleport me to Dewey once a week so I can gorge myself at Nalu! Delicious food, tasty beverages, and excellent service — what more are you looking for?

My girlfriend and I really love it here and make it a point to visit whenever we can. Every time we are in the area we drop by for lunch or the delicious happy hour specials that they have. We love the design of the bar –the ambience is really chill and laid back. Definitely a surfer bar/​island style place. Our server, Karie, did a really great job taking care of us too.
The tacos are phenomenal and the salads are fresh and really delicious. If you’re in the mood for a burger with a little kick, they offer a ghost pepper cheese that is really just fantastic and spicy! The crab dip is pretty tasty also and comes with lots of crab and not a lot of fillers.
Overall, it’s a great place to grab a drink or a bite to eat. I strongly recommend giving them a try.

Our first stop after the 3 hour car ride from VA to Dewey was here for lunch and both my tummy and wallet were happy with this decision. 4 of my gf’s and I split the kalua nachos and will probably be raving about them for quite some time. I ordered the blackened mahi and made it a wrap instead of a sandwich (LOVE this option!) and it was fantastic! My gf ordered the spam sandwich and said it took her back to growing up in Hawaii! Everyone was very happy with their food and the drink menu (that has a little of everything!). Our server was attentive and the vibe was right. I will definitely be back the next time I visit Dewey and maybe this time I will get to stay and check out the night life. The place looked pretty bumpin when we walked by on our way to another bar.

So we came here because our first choice had an hr and a half to 2 hour wait. We could not do that with 2 small children under 4. The place seemed good from Unilocal,but I think it was slightly over-​rated. The menu looked tasty alright, but when we got our entrees, the meals seem a tad overpriced. I had the kona braised beef short rib for $ 20 with 2 sides. Honestly, the beef was fatty tender goodness. But the sweet potato salad side was a forgettable mess of cubed sweet potato, apples and craisins. Not much better was the Wasabi rice. What were other reviewers raving about the sauce? It was merely sticky rice with a smidgen of scrambled eggs and 3 edamames. My kid could eat the rice since it was flavorless. So, meat was great, but sides need improving. And service? Agreed with totally lacking. Other than taking your order, she was somewhere else. Will I venture here again? Meh…

The atmosphere and restaurant is nicely decorated it’s tiki Hawaiian feel. The service sucks. The food looks good, but isn’t great and is a huge rip off! Also, granted my fault, be sure to actually read the description. I got the Spam BLT thinking I was getting a spam sandwich but instead had no spam and just bacon. I didn’t even eat half of it. The Serrano peppers were decent. The tuna tartare was bland and overloaded with sesame oil so it’s like eating chunks of sesame oil. The sushi was so tiny and had zero flavor. It was like eating cardboard mush. My piña colada may as well be a virgin bc a you tasted was the piña colada syrup. I would never come back here or recommend this place. But if you was a low key night then this place has good atmosphere and nothing more to offer.

Food was awesome and service was spot on. Great Hawaiian beach atmosphere.
Had the Waikiki ahi tuna burger — cut with a spoon rare.

Wonderful! We visit Dewey Beach every year! This restaurant will now be a yearly visit for us also! Tuna steak excellent, beer selection great and Ono Burger is out of this world! Great waitress too
. Oh and how can I not mention the Wasabi rice yum

Hands down the best restaurant on Dewey Beach. Loved it so much that in one weekend we went back three separate times and on the last one ordered some wasabi fried rice to go just to eat it at home after our beach trip. I’m not sure what kind of voodoo they concoct to make the wasabi fried rice as magically delicious as it is, I just know I want to live inside of a bucket of its buttery goodness.
Also, Nalu is one of those rare Hawaiian-​themed restaurants that ACTUALLY serves Hawaiian food, with loco moco and poke and spam. We loved everything we ate and drank here and will definitely be back on our next beach trip.

It’s clean, and I’ll allow the fact that cleanliness was the first thing I mentioned in this review to speak for itself.
The problem with the food, honestly, is that there’s a lack of balance. Pickles diced in salsa, spam and burger served together on a croissant in a squishy, unpleasant trinity of fat, panko breaded shrimp fried rock hard… It just wasn’t very good. And I wanted it to be, nay I need it to be.
Were it in the super-​cheap range where food of this caliber usually appears, I’d be all in on this orgy of mistakes. But priced where it is – $ 40 for 2 people at lunch – it’s just not worth it.

You come to Dewey beach for a hearty, quick, and booze-​filled brunch so you can hit the beach. If that’s your plan, then I highly suggest going to other neighboring establishments. If you like staring at each other, and spending a lot of time exchanging stories of the restaurant’s service, then this place should be on your list!
Our group of 10 called ahead to see if we could get seated right away, and thankfully, we could. We were hungry, and on a mission. The first few minutes of our experience were fine. We were seated, placed our drink and food orders, but after that, it was a complete nightmare. We got drinks at different times, and Bloody Marys without its signature accent of a BBQ-​glazed bacon-​wrapped shrimp. Menu was limited, but I only saw a few «Hawaiian-​esque» items, and maybe because it included spam.
After some wait, a server came over with an omelet dish. Since someone in our group did order an omelet, we took it, thinking our other meals would come in sequence. However, that dish was for another table. (Another table that complained about the lack in quality of service, and multiple servers that kept coming over about the missing omelet dish). Some of the food came cold, some missed a side dish, and the food was a bit lackluster. Its only saving grace were the delicious and gargantuan-​sized pancakes! Cake-​like with the perfect amount of crisp and sweetness. My meal was the breakfast sandwich that McDonald’s could have made better, and the side of potatoes did not satisfy as a full serving.
Sadly, I don’t think I’ll visit again. If they delivered their pancakes, I might reconsider!

It’s not Hawaii but it gives you a taste of Hawaii with east coast style. We came back a couple of times while in Dewey. Our dinners were tasty. The Hawaiian plate entrée «plate lunch» with kalbi (Korean BBQ ribs), mac salad and sticky rice was surprisingly good… great flavors and the kalbi was marinated nicely. The SPAM and pineapple topped burger was good though not what the hubby quite expected. We returned for breakfast one morning and were surprised by the Bloody Mary. It was really good! Overall, tasty place with a Hawaiian twist on bar food.

Picked the Nalu as our nice dinner out while staying in Dewey for two nights. It has a neat, Hawaiian vibe, from the grass hut-​looking bar area to the shark suspended from the ceiling. Open windows– big ones– give you the feel of open-​air seating… too bad it isn’t on the beach. Our family ordered two appetizers off the $ 5 special menu– Bavarian pretzel sticks and Wonton Shrimp Wraps. We’d hoped the kids would gravitate to the pretzels… nope, they were all about the shrimp. Both got thumbs up from the table.
For entrees, kids got a variety of tacos– shrimp, pork, and chicken– and they ate ‘em up, no problem. The wife had the Kalua Pork, and I had the crab cakes. Both were great, after the swapping of dishes was complete. Pork was just done well, and the crab cakes were plenty crabby.
Total bill after an iced tea was added was $ 70.
Service was fine, but lacked some personality. Too bad, as the rest of the establishment has a good feel to it.
Would I go back, were I to go to Dewey for the second time in my life? Probably not… maybe by the third or fourth, I’d be ready to cycle back again… but with Route 1 jammed with a commercial buffet of eateries, I’m sure there are other places to try!