Cafe O’Lei at The Dunes

POOR SERVICE AT ITS BEST!!! BEWARE MAUI … Both my husband and I along with our family went to café olei to have breakfast. My husband made reservations before hand. We were a little early and there were only 3 other tables with guest. The girl standing by the podium gave us a choice to sit inside or outside and advised us to sit outside (the restaurant) being that it would be very hot inside. We were seated at 8:37am (I looked at my watch when we walked in). I saw the manager janae approach the only other table besides us that had guest sitting apologizing for not having the kalua pork they ordered, they ran out the night before and credited them $ 5 on their bill. While walking away from the table I saw the waitress looking at our table but she walked away and went inside the restaurant. 15 minutes went by and other guest arrived sitting at the next table beside us. We waited patiently for a waitress to come and offer us something to drink. I asked the girl with the romper that sat us if we could have something to drink. She replied oh I asked if you guys wanted something to drink but we weren’t interested in drinking coffee or tea. Then other guest arrived and was greeted and handed menus while my husband and I waited for a menu or even a glass of water to give my grandson. By then 25 minutes had gone and we were still waiting till a waitress approached us asking if we wanted anything to drink. We ordered our drinks and breakfast. Meanwhile, my pregnant daughter and her boyfriend was seated and ordered too. By now we were there for an hour and we were still without our meal. My husband stood up and told us lets go. He was livid by the service we were served and we walked out. As we approached our truck the waitress ran out telling us our food was brought out. 1 HOUR LATER!!! My husband told her no thank you! He works for the hospitality business and that is NOT how you treat your customers. He has never been discriminated against. We jumped into our truck and drove off. I called the manager and she gave us an excuse that the «tourist» made reservations. I responded we had reservations also. She then said they called their order in beforehand. Now mind you I saw with my own 2 eyes that they ALL were ordering out of the menus. Not to mention the couple that sat down 15 minutes after we were there. She tried arguing with me and I wasn’t going to argue my point. I was witness to being treated poorly and I took a stand! My husband spoke to her and explained where he works and let her know that he knows all about good hospitality and how to treat your customers and we were treated poorly and felt discriminated and hung up. His boss from his job called him and asked him what had happen because the manager at café olei called him and made a complaint against my husband. My husband explained EXACTLY what happened to US and was told he did not blame my husband for feeling the way he did because he would’ve done the same! He then hung up. We went about our day and got a phone call again because apparently the manager janae called again and my husbands boss apologized to my husband for calling him on his day off about something that had NOTHING to do with his job. café olei are a bunch of racist people. Janae and the rest of you that worked that day and treated us that way … SHAME ON YOU!!!

So glad we stopped here for lunch. Dad just arrived & first place he thought of taking us was here. Went around 11 a. m and it was fairly crowded. There was no wait for outside but we opted for inside seating. We really only had to wait 5 – 10 minutes for them to clear the table.
We were seated right near the entrance of the patio. So we had an awesome view of the golf course. My parents went for the lunch special; honey mustard chicken. I was debating between the macadamia nut crusted chicken sandwich which came with Cesar salad or Mac chicken which came with pasta. I went for the sandwich since it came with a salad. We also ordered calamari.
The calamari came out real fast. The calamari was fresh w/​crispy batter; not rubbery at all. But the chicken sandwich was the highlight of my meal & the Cesar salad was the cherry on top of an excellent lunch. Will definitely be hitting up this joint again in the mere future.

Great place to stop on the way to the airport. Good food at low prices and nice golf course views.

Located at the Maui Lani Golf Course, it provides very nice ambience for lunch or dinner. Food is very good and reasonably priced. Moana Lettuce Wraps were refreshing and caesar salad was excellent. Burgers were very good, too. If you have a large group, reservation is a must. It gets really crowded during lunch time since it’s such a good place.
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Our friends invited us to lunch here and they usually go every Sunday. We had a reservation so we didn’t have to wait very long. The place was packed with people so obviously a popular place to eat. We sat out on the patio and the weather and view were beautiful. It was super sunny yet a great breeze so we never got hot. It was awesome for our baby who hates being confined to a high chair or our laps in a restaurant so she could roam around the patio a bit because it was so spacious. The menu had unique dishes and very reasonable prices. When the food came we were impressed by the portion size and beautiful presentation. The taste definitely didn’t disappoint either! The food was super delicious. We ordered a Lilikoi (Passionfruit) Lemonade that was so good. My husband has the Tempura MahiMahi with shoestring fries. The fish was perfectly cooked. It was moist, flaky and tender on the inside and perfectly crispy on the outside. There was no grease or sogginess. I had the Macadamia Nut Crusted Chicken Sandwich which had baby greens, tomatoes and a basil aioli with focaccia bread. The chicken was so good! And they gave 2 huge slabs of fabulous flavorful chicken on the sandwich. It came with a petite Caesar salad. You could tell the dressing was homemade. It was one of the best Caesar salads I’ve had aside from Assaggios on Oahu who also make a great salad. I should mention the salad dressing has a very intense powerful flavor which I loved. Some may not like that but I did. My husband though it was strong but said it was good. Their dessert menu looked wonderful but we were so full we decided not to. Overall, can’t wait to fly back to Maui again just to eat at this place!

Ate here the other day with my friend for lunch. It is always so amazing! My favs — Petite Caesar salad, onion soup, & the calamari with lemon caper dip. Yum!

Very delicious. … had lunch there numerous times. Love their French onion soup… love love Thier Mahi Mahi with ginger butter sauce. Had lunch there yesterday and had 2 big pieces of Mahi Mahi and then did a take out today and it was 2 tiny pieces. I was just curious and it was 2.9 oz., the bill was 15.50 .
So I wish the portion was bigger for that price but other than that it was very good food.

Went for lunch. Couldn’t even get waited on after being seated.
Another place that’s turned into a dive.

I just can’t get enough of this place for lunch. Food is excellent and reasonable priced. The crab cakes are delicious and not to be missed! I always gravitate toward the Bill Eby Burger… Maui cattle beef patty grilled perfectly, with a thick slab of cheddar cheese. I love the fries, but usually substitute a side salad with delicious lilikoi and papaya dressing with parm cheese on the side. This is a huge meal and I rarely can finish it… And it’s under $ 10…Hard to believe on Maui! My second favorite sandwich is the bacon brie. Ono!
Sit out on the patio for gorgeous views of the mountains and well manicured lawns. Be sure and call ahead to make reservations as this place is busy and the wait can be long without one!

This is a really nice place to grab a good meal. I went here for business lunch and it was great. We were seated fairly quickly as they were busy on a Friday afternoon. Everything was bright and clean. The view of the golf course is beautiful.
I had a hard time choosing because the menu has a lot of fabulous choices. Those are the worst decisions – so much awesome packed into one menu. I ended up picking the mac nut crusted chicken sandwich because it sounded so ono. I’m picky about chicken so I was hoping that this would be as good as I was imagining. I opted for a Caesar salad instead of fries. Where’s my cookie? #healthy
The food didn’t take long at all and to my delight, the chicken was cooked just right, had lots of flavor and presented nicely. Score! I had asked for extra dressing because, you know, healthy… and they brought all the dressing on the side. There’s something about Caesar and salad being tossed together that just makes it better, but it was a minor detail in the whole scheme of things. Moving on… The server kept our waters full and made sure that we were happy. The sandwich was huge and plenty leftover for another meal.
The view is stunning. the food is good and the location is pretty convenient. If you haven’t been here, head on over and enjoy the view.

Thanksging luncheon was great. Food was delicious service was great. Its all you can buffet for this holiday and price is reasonable.

Best golf course café I’ve been to! In fact most of the people coming here to eat are not golfers. That is telling in and of itself! When I dropped off the golfers at 1:15pm there was a line of people waiting to be seated in there. When I returned at 5pm there was a new line of people waiting to be seated. I knew this place was going to be good (based on the original location in Kihei) but I didn’t expect this new gem basically in the middle of nowhere!
To start I had the Lava Flow (best darn Strawberry Piña Colada around!) and a side salad (huge!) with fresh local veggies and goat cheese. For the main course I had the daily special — swordfish. Two perfectly cooked fillets of swordfish atop rice and Hawaiian slaw were placed before me as I sat in awe. I had to savor every bite as this was the best swordfish I have ever had. The way they prepare every dish here makes it apparent that there is fine attention to detail and even simple dishes can leave people with cravings from across the big blue ocean!

I have been to Café O’Lei at the Dunes several times over the last few years. I am always disappointed in the food. The steak and burgers are OK. The Ceasar salad — one of my favorite go-to’s in any restaurant is sub par, and the French onion soup was nothing to get excited about. The Ceasar salad was very acidic, and the French onion soup lacked flavor other than salt. The prices are good for central Maui, and the portions are generous. I won’t refuse to come here, but I haven’t been «wowed by anything.» I have a lot of friends who love the restaurant. It’s not among my favorites or those I recommend. It has a very pretty location right on the golf course.

My go-​to secret. Caesar salad entrée with lettuce wrap topping, for some reason it’s awesomely delicious

Such a disappointment! Ordered take out dinner tonight. Just 4 items, told would be ready in 15 minutes. Called husband to see what was taking so long. They supposedly messed up our order, told they had a new system. Not happy!
Got dinner somewhere else!

I’ve lived on Maui for a couple years now and finally got around to this place for lunch… I’m so glad I did!
I got the special that day which was Mahi Mahi fish with a butter, lilikoi sauce and white rice. I could bathe in that sauce! It was so good! My hubby got the Mac nut chicken sandwich on focaccia bread… heaven!
Really great prices for the food and atmosphere!

You could call this the flagship restaurant of the island chain. The original Wailuku spot closed years ago. They’re also in Kihei, and they run the Makawao Steakhouse.
ATMOSPHERE:
They’re located at The Dunes at Maui Lani Golf Course. You’re greeted by a koi pond that is filthy green. I’m surprised the fish were alive in there. There’s an outdoor lanai with gorgeous views of the golf course, and West Maui Mountains. The indoor room is spacious, with a good sized bar and TV tuned to what else, the Golf Channel, and a private room toward the back which can be rented out for parties. There was a small fly problem inside, mainly because they leave the doors leading to the outdoor lanai cracked open.
MENU:
Apps, salads, burger, sandwiches, and American entrées.
FOOD:
Onion Soup — Mildly sweet but more savory, which is what I like, and cheesy. It comes with a huge puffed pastry that covers the entire bowl like a lid. Break open a puka and go to town.
Café O’Lei Crabcakes — I absolutely love crab of all kinds but have never really been a fan of crabcakes, but this is the exception. Two good sized, snow crab-​filled cakes with a crispy crust and drizzled with an Italian dressing/​mayo mixture. Amazing favors! Highly recommended.
Bill Eby Burger — Named after a local rancher. Mainstream cheeseburger with grilled onions, and tasty fries. Good but there’s better versions on the rock.
Tiger Shrimp Linguine — Being a pasta fanatic, I wanted so much more from this dish. The shrimp and pasta were done nicely but the flavor was so boring — tomato/​basil/​olive oil. Nothing special.
Crab Club — Snow crab salad mix topped with tomatoes, guacamole, alfalfa sprouts, baby greens and bacon on foccacia bread with a side of caesar salad. Taste was okay but the raw onions in the crab mix ruined it for me. The foccacia could’ve been toasted more. Caesar salad was okay. I ordered a plate of shoestring fries because I can’t stand eating a sandwich without them.
Macadamia Nut Crusted Chicken — My favorite dish here. 3 super tender breasts breaded with finely chopped mac nuts and bread crumbs, and pan fried in a butter caper sauce with a nice crust, over a small nest of mushroom linguine with a side of sautéed veggies (zucchini, celery, carrots.) Total deliciousness. My only gripe would be for more pasta. Highly recommended!
RESERVATIONS:
Not recommended as turnover is fairly quick.
SERVICE:
Staff are friendly and professional. Never encountered any problems.
TIP:
They offer a daily lunch special but it runs out quick! The special differs by day.
OVERALL:
Good food and pricing, nice sized portions, good service, and great views from the outdoor lanai.

Came here on Saturday with my mom for a late lunch after work. This is one of those places where we always know we’ll get a good meal, good service, and really fantastic prices. I had the crab club, and my mom had the Manoa lettuce wraps.
My sandwich was nicely-​sized, on focaccia, and quite full of tasty crab meat, thick bacon, flavorful tomatoes, and creamy avocado. Although it was indeed packed to the gills with goodness, it wasn’t at all hard to eat. The accompanying Caesar salad was delicious– perfectly dressed, and came with lots of parmesan.
Service was efficient and friendly, and getting a nice, sit-​down lunch for two for under twenty bucks is a rare find, which is why we go to Café O’Lei at the Dunes at least once a month. You can’t go wrong here– really!

Went back and took my boyfriend out to lunch. He ordered the tiger shrimp linguine and I ordered the Mac nut crusted chicken sandwich. He loved it. Unfortunately they ran out of the popular French onion soup. We had lunch at 12pm so I would suggest going earlier if you want the soup. We also had the tiramisu for dessert and that was really good too. I don’t know what it is about the salad they give with the sandwiches, but I could live on that salad alone. We will be back soon!

Second visit to enjoy the delish Calamari and sip on lychee martinis… oh … am i in heaven?! close enough! their ceasar salad is one of the best I have ever had anywhere… their prices are reasonable and their staff is friendly and attentive. their setting is pleasant and comfortable… i will be back for more soon… even before going home to San Francisco!
cheers!