Bistro Manila

Had lunch at Bistro Manila Maui and it was EXCELLENT! We went in for lumpia and fried chicken but took the recommendation of the proprietress instead. Could not have been happier. We had the sizzling pork to start and the pan fried milkfish as a main. The sizzling pork was tasty, but the pan fried milkfish was AMAZING. Light, savory sauce, the fish was perfectly cooked, light and flaky, and the portion size was good for two to split, having had a starter. I’m only on Maui for a short time, but will try to go back before I leave. Close to the airport, reasonably priced, open for lunch and dinner but closed from 2:30 to 5pm. Go! It is worth it.

Family Portions!!! Delicious Filipino food. I had the sisig and Kare-​Kare. I want to try different entries but I was sooo full.
Great service and great cooking.

I was recently introduced to sisig and it went straight to the top of one of my favorite dishes/​meals to eat. I also made it a few times at home. I heard about Bistro Manila from a few people and got very mixed reviews, so I figured the best way is to try it myself. My gf and I ordered the sisig (of course) and the pan fried bangus. The sisig came out on a sizzling plate and that alone made me excited. Although we ate it all, the dish had a bitter burnt taste and was not at all what I expected. The bangus was tasty and presentation was nice. I don’t think I would go back, more so after hearing what my co-​worker had to say about his experience. I also think their dishes are over priced a few dollars.
The group we went with ordered the crispy pata, kare-​kare, and beef sticks. Crispy pata was dry, kare-​kare was good and the beef sticks were only 3 small pieces (I don’t remember how much it was).

With as many Filipinos I’ve seen in Maui, I’m surprised there is only a handful of Filipino restaurants. Maybe most of the Filipinos here know how to cook so there isn’t a need?
Anyways, for some strange reason our party had the urge to have some Filipino food. I come from a background where my mom is one of those Filipino moms who just knows how to cook everything and cooks all the time. Then I marry my wife who is the same. So you can say I know what good – I mean great Filipino food should taste like.
First of all the place might be hard to find. It’s very small looking from the outside and located in a warehouse type looking building where there is no dimension int he building at all. Completely flat and you just have to look at the signs that is on the building itself. Unfortunately there is no signage really on the street and because the parking space is fairly roomy, it is easily missed. The inside is a fair size and a lot bigger looking then what you would expect before walking in through the door. This is a sit down waiter service restaurant. It is good for a party of 6, but more than that you should definitely call ahead.
We had 5 adults and my 1 year old. They counted my 1 year old and automatically added gratuity. I thought that really sucked.
I can only speak about what I had personally which was the Ginataan Hipon, Crispy Pata, Sisig, and Palabok. Although it seems and rather assumed most Filipino sit down restaurants are family style this place had me confused, The sisig is actually an appetizer. The Ginataan Hipon already comes served over rice. and the portions of everything are smaller than what you might be use to especially if you are from California. The sisig was ok. It wasn’t served with an egg unless you pay an extra $ 0.75. Again it was an appetizer and definitely portioned where everybody can have some, but not enough to really get full. I thought it was good, the rest in my party were mixed about it. It seems like the more authentic sisig if you know what I mean. If you don’t, google what the real authentic sisig is like. Definitely had more of that consistency. The Crispy pata was ok, but at $ 22 it was a rather surprisingly small portion than what we’re use to. I thought the palabok was good. The presentation of it was nicely done and had a few pieces of lumpia for the garnish and presentation. Wish I took a photo before it was devoured. What really was my favorite was the Ginataan Hipon. The flavors and consistency was on point. The shrimp tasted fresh a long with all he veggies. As previously mentioned it was served over rice already. This dish definitely did not seem for family style. At $ 15.50 it only had 4 – 5 pieces of shrimp. I would say this was a very good dish for one individual, but you will be dissapointed if you had planned to share. The presentation on this dish though was the best I’ve seen. I attached a photo.
The service was barely ok. The place was nearly empty but our waitress was not very enthusiastic and lacked happiness. The few smiles and any type of positive vibes were easily noticed to be fake.
Overall, it comes down to the food. I could have easily given this place a solid 3 stars, but there was nothing wrong with the quality of the food. I thought they all tasted pretty darn good. Also the presentation of them is exactly what needs to be done by other Filipino restaurants to attract more clients who aren’t Filipino. Unfortunately people eat with their eyes first and Filipino spots need to do a better job of providing better presentation. A little goes a long way. The lumpia stacks that were designed on the palabok and the way the ginataan hipon was plated with the basil on top – great examples.
My 1 star removal was for all the little things I complained about. The waitress, the counting my 1 year old (technically I guess is still part of the party so can go both ways), and that the portions could slightly be more for the price.

If you blink, you’ll miss this gem hidden in a light industrial area, just a very short distance from the airport. The proprietor and sweet waitstaff welcome diners to this restaurant with a handful of tables. The food is delicious and artfully presented. So good, that after you’ve eaten you’ll want to order some to-​go! This is a family run establishment. They are so nice. Everyone is welcome — even this kid with midwestern roots!

I guess I’m just spoiled growing up with and around people who can throw down some sarap. But this place left me wanting to eat somewhere else just to get the taste out. Even after paying too much. I know everything is more expensive in HI but please. I didn’t even eat half my food.

If you want to get ripped off, then come to this place. Although the lady/​owner can seem really nice, it’s because she rarely gets business. I would stay away unless you want to pay over $ 6.00 for 6 small pieces of lumpia.

Not bad, I wished they had real hot pepper & not pepper flakes. Portion was a little disappointing for $ 10.94. Can’t complain definitely satisfied my cravings I’ll be coming back for sisig cravings again.

The food was great, we had pork sisig pancit guisado, pork barbecue and fried rice, my husband is a picky eater but he liked his sisig and barbecue pork, he is not used to Filipino fried rice so he thinks it’s soso. we come from Florida and it nice to find a hole in the wall Filipino restaurant here in Maui, the lady owner is very nice so with the lady server and the grandpa. will come back again soon

Craving for Filipino food and found Manila Bistro on Unilocal.When we saw the place we kinda cringed because from the outside it looked kinda grungy but don’t let that drive you away. The food was delicious.
We ordered shanghai, sisig, palabok and pan fried bangus. All were very good. We’ll come back for sure.

We ordered ukoy, pinakbet and sinigang. Everything was good and the staff are nice. We will definitely comeback.

Recently moved from Chicago and found Manila Bistro on Unilocal.It’s the cutest Filipino restaurant I’ve been to. Beautiful presentation of each dish. It’s clean. The owner is wonderful. I highly recommend Manila Bistro! Masarup!!!

My wife and I just had a very pleasant lunch here. Reminds me of the food my mom used to make, although nobody could match her cooking. We had the pork and vegetable lumpia – disappeared quickly. Then pancit bihon and pork and tofu adobo. The adobo was non-​traditional, substituting watercress for kangkong, and adding tofu, but it was delicious. For excellent Filipino food on Maui, this is the place.

We made a special trip to this place because of the great reviews from Unilocal.I’d have to say that the food is as good, as the Filipino restaurants in the SF Bay Area. We had two entrees (sisig and bistek) and garlic rice and banana turon. All that came to over $ 50! Am not sure whether it was all worth it. Wonderful people though!

OK, what can I say about this ‘hole-​in-​the-​wall’ looking place !!!
It looks real crappy from the outside but is much nicer inside. The lady/​owner was very pleasant and spent time on explaining her menu.
Vegetable Pork Lumpia (6 pcs) $ 6.75: first disappointment here. It was actually 3 lumpia cut in half to get the advertised ‘6’ pieces. They were just ok, nothing special. Yes, small portion, indeed.
Sizzling Pork Sisig with Fresh Farm Egg $ 10.50: this was quite tasty, especially with the egg but, again, for the price, the portion was small.
Sinigang Seafood $ 15.50: it was just so-​so and it wasn’t tart/​sour enough for my liking. And, although it was served traditional Filipino style, it was overpriced for the portion size.
Garlic Fried Rice $ 7.50: this was not delicious and it did not have enough garlic. Overpriced for what you get.
Pan Fried Bangus $ 15.00: this was what made this whole visit here worth it. Great flavor & seasoning. Highly recommended.
Sprite $ 2.00: they do not filter their water so the ice gave a bad flavor to the Sprite. Same goes for the water. This, for me, was a deal breaker so, I am giving a 2 Star rating.
One good thing was that we did get our food quickly.
I would not recommend this place unless you’re determined to have Filipino food and you don’t mind paying more for less.
Apparently, they are the only ‘sit down’ Filipino Restaurant in Maui.

I wanted to take some friends out to eat tonight and I was tired of the usual fare. We all wanted something different. I am not a huge fan of Filipino food. There are a few things that I do like but not much. I’ve had a few bad experiences at Filipino restaurants before and pretty much gave up trying them anymore.
I was extremely hesitant to come here but I trusted the Unilocal reviews. Great thing I did! Bistro Manila has restored my faith in Filipino cuisine. Everything every reviewer has said is true.
The owner, Cecille, is super friendly and has great at customer service skills and as did the rest of the staff, who I assumed were kitchen staff helping her out. We tried the sigsig at the recommendation of Cecille and it was delish. Our friends ordered the talapia, which to their delight, they said it was the best they ever had. It was crunchy and the sweet and sour sauce with the onions really elevated it.
My wife and I ordered the pansit and karekare which were both good. I would have preferred more lemon for the pansit, and more seasoning for the karekare, which was easily remedied with some salt and pepper. The meat of the ox tail was wonderfully tender and fell right off the bones. We would have liked the sauce to have been more peanut buttery.
We then had halo halo and lumpia bananas for dessert. Both were excellent. And done just right.
For Filipino food, I did not expect the nice presentation, which was a breath of fresh air. If you’re in the mood for something different and are tired of Mexican food or sushi, come try this little gem. We’ll definitely be back next time we’re on Maui.

Wow! What a major disappointment. I went in hoping for a good Filipino food based on other’s review and I was very surprised what I saw and got.
1. Two plates came out to $ 32
2. The food was very greasy and SMALL portion
3. Their prices are very high for the small portion
4. SMALL portion
5. They try to make a nice presentation, but they failed (come on a few beef in styrofoam, what a presentation!!)
6. Did I say greasy and small portion yet? I want to make sure you got this point.
7. On top of that, the food was not very good
On a good side, they were friendly, but I would stay away! Worst Filipino food yet. I can cook better with a page from
.

Amazing food! I’m from out of town and I was looking for something great to eat and this is the right place. I recommend it! The service is excellent.

Hole in the garage place. Walk in an you feel like you are at tita’s (auntie’s) house. All our dishes were good, but they unfortunately did not have bangus left that day. If you are craving Filipino food and you are in or passing by Kahului, then this is a legit place. I wouldn’t t go out of my way to come here though.
We ordered:
Kare Kare: just like Tito would make it
Pinakbet: just how I like it, ampalaya was too bitter for me though
Pork nilagang: the best out of the three

It’s been a tradition that the sis and I would get some «halo-​halo» upon arriving in our second home =) and this trip was no different. For a Saturday afternoon, The place was empty! Thus, we ended up eating lunch there as well.
I ordered the following:
— ginataang shrimp (I had to get this since the rest of the menu involved beef and pork) = the presentation itself was not the typical Filipino way… It was rather nice! The first taste… Awesome! It tasted like something my mom would cook so I was instantly sold! It was tasty — plenty of shrimp and calabaza.
— ultimate noodle (forgot the real name) but that was delicious as well! Lots of veggies and really had the right seasoning…
— fresh coconut juice (as in über fresh that they had to crack the coconut and shave the coconut meat and make a juice out of it!)
The sis and the nanny ordered something with meat (gave up beef and pork for Lent) so they feasted with the crispy pata! That looked good … But I’ll have to try it out next time around!
Ordered halo-​halo to go… Had a little too much ice than the goodies but it’s still good. I wish they had more sweetened bananas.
Over all — sis and I are both looking forward to going back here… Next time I’ll definitely hit up the beef/​pork dishes next. Oh did I mention that they’re friendly as well which helped a lot!