Kai Wailea

Great food, excellent service. Prior review exactly correct.

We ordered takeout from Kai and took it back to our hotel. First impression: expensive. We had read the reviews and knew it wouldn’t be cheap, but we still were a little surprised when out two rolls and appetizer were fifty dollars. Sushi was very good and fresh. Both rolls were interesting and tasty. Spicy edamame was also very good. If you don’t mind paying for good sushi, you will appreciate what Kai’s has to offer.

My wife and daughter decided to try this place and was seated in back. The server didnt greet us for at least 20 minutes and we almost walked out but ended up staying.
They offered a couple of specials for $ 5 so I ordered the chicken wings but I only received 2 for each order. Not only that but they were dried out and over seasoned.
My wife complained but the server shrugged his shoulders and gave us the check.
What a nightmare! Do not go – Its a tourist trap and not worth the money.
Go to Monkey Pod — Fresh Food and Great service

The food is average, service is exceptional, but way over-​priced for such small portion of food!!!

The sushi was good but like others have said a little pricey. The Wailea Roll was a standout and worth the price. The Crispy Rice with Tuna was a great special as was the Sake flight. Try the Agedashi (deep fried) Tofu and don’t miss the specialty sauces that come with some of the rolls.

Menu is not clear. Asked the waitress if the Miso Lobster Bisque Udon had a strong «soup» base and she said yes. Ordered it and we got an udon pasta plate. Ordered 8 udons and each one came out every 7 – 10 minutes. Guess they can only cook one bowl at a time. $ 64 Kobe steak was more like a $ 5 steak from the grocery store. Poor excuse for a Japanese restaurant. You can’t pay us to ever come here again.

Sushi is quite tasty, but the prices really are unreasonable. Specialty rolls I understand are a premium, but at almost $ 20 each it’s a little much.

Disappointing lunch menu! Looked like a restaurant the belongs in a less affluent part of town, not at one of the most prestigious malls in Maui.

Oh fellow Unilocalers, why do I occasionally ignore thee?
Had I followed the advice of so many others, I wouldn’t be looking across at my wife waiting for her meal while the rest of the family gets theirs. She has to have waited at least 20 minutes for a baked tofu entrée. It’s TOFU! It shouldn’t have taken longer than the rest of the meals.
One star is for our server who was very nice. Unfortunately she didn’t seem too surprised about the delay in the kitchen and repeatedly apologized. I made sure to give her a decent tip as she comped our desserts after the lengthy delay.
One star for dessert. So obviously free dessert tastes sweet. My daughters had ice cream tempura. Japanese version of fried ice cream. It was not bad. Very creamy. I had the pineapple sorbet. It was completely bland. My wife had the azuki bean waffles which had a very unique flavor. She enjoyed it. Funny thing though. Her dessert was five minutes later than the rest of our desserts.
One star was for the food. It’s okay. Not great, not bad, but certainly not a good value for this area. I feel kind of bad for the poor fish that gave their life to end up as mediocre sushi.
My daughter and I both had udon. Not bad. Not good. But filling.
To me, if you’ve paid the money to get to Maui, spring the few extra bucks and get a decent meal. Just don’t expect to get it at Kai Wailea.

Came here after a massage with wifey and it was sub par. The food is definitely pricey for the amount and quality they serve. The inflated costs is also disturbing since the quality and portions of their food is not enough to justify it. I think that they have to overcharge since they are located in an expensive location at shops at Wailea.
Our server was terrific and he was definitely very mindful and kind to our baby. I just didn’t like the fact I ordered 1 app, 2 bowls of noodles and a sushi combo for over $ 100. I mean the food was not terrible but for $ 100 and more I expect to feel at least a little bit satisfied or full. The four of us had to go to another place to eat because he food portions were so small and we felt hungry still after leaving this place.
This place would do more business if they focused on better quality and aligned their pricing structure with the protons that actually make customers feel they get their money’s worth. Today’s world you need to provide value — not just high brow location and marketing. If they want repeat business it’s not coming from me.

Pricy
Good food but not amazing.
Under staffed and took too long to take care of us.

Unbelievably delicious, excellent service &great sushi chefs. Chelsie, our waitress was so helpful & friendly. Sat out on their back patio and had a beautiful view of the mountains & trees… The sake sampler is a must taste… My fav Shirakabe Gura.

Settle in for a loooooooong wait if you eat here! We should have known it would be slow when nobody came to give us menus for 10 minutes. There was only one waitress and the restaurant was almost full.
The sushi is mediocre and the prices are sky high. The rolls were falling apart as we ate them, which is a pet peeve of mine. If you need your sushi fix, this place will do, but I don’t recommend it. We won’t be back.

Terrible terrible terrible!!!
Maui Hawaii the most isolated islands on Earth. And the sushi at Kai is bad. How? Located in an upscale mall in the upscale town of Wailea I expected good sushi. No Dice.
Not fresh. Not good.
The room itself seems basic and worn. The waitress came and took away 3 different rolls with one piece missing from each. Basically 3 full plates of food and didn’t bother to ask why we didn’t like the food. It was as if she new it was bad, didn’t want to hear it, so she didn’t ask
. It’s sushi so of course it’s expensive, I don’t mind as long as its good, this IS NOT. they didn’t take a dollar off the bill or even give a sh) t.
Burt says — Skip this place and hit Ruth Chris across the mall.

Cute place to stop by for a light dinner! The entire menu is very appealing, as it has something for everyone. The «Robata-​Yaki» is a must try! The Sashimi sampler was very good, but the cuts were not very big… Get a little fried tofu, with some udon noodles, and it’s all good! I love the sake sampler… always get a kick out of it!

Kai isn’t good. Kai isn’t bad…
Kai is meh.
Nondescript Japanese food at outrageously high prices. There isn’t anything wrong with the food other than the price. I’d give a 4 star if they had the early bird special, which was decent — and now it is gone. It was good Tempura and Robatayaki at a decent price. Now, it is an indecent proposal.
So, for Robatayaki, go to Amasia at the Grand Wailea.
For sushi, wow i’m a broken record here, go to Koiso.
For other Japanese food, sorry you’re out of luck, wrong island, go Oahu, and visit Gaku or Morimoto.

Swanky sushi on the island. Food was good though. Be prepared to spend a grip here.

This place is pretty solid overall, my only complaints were that the seating is pretty tight but hey, you’re on Maui, space is at a premium. My other complaint was that we ordered tempura as an appetizer and it came out last because the «tempura station was backed up» which would’ve been nice to know up front. Usually if a restaurant is running behind on an item, they let you know so you can order something else instead.
Their saving grace are their rolls and sushi — I thought they were pretty darn good. They also got creative with the roe — they flavored it with a few different things like wasabi and habanero which I had never seen before and really liked. It was a hefty bill, but again, look at where you are, no restaurant in those shops needs to offer lunch prices or discounts to get people to come in!

Located in The Shops at Wailea, I thought Kai’s sushi was among the better that I’ve had (and since I live in LA, I have access to a lot of good sushi). Definitely avoid the specialty rolls if you’re on any sort of budget ($ 30 for a roll — what!!!), but the regular rolls are quite good and not as exorbitantly priced. I had a very nice meal of hot tea, spicy edamame, and a salmon roll for about $ 20 including tip and tax. Seems about right once you factor in the Maui surcharge.

Very solid Japanese place in an über-​touristy upscale shopping center in über-​upscale Wailea… so you have to be suspicious, you know?
But it was quite good. My wife and daughters are not really into sushi, but they have a larger selection of tempura and grilled things, and everyone found plenty of food that worked for them. The sushi was very good. The others are still talking about the volcano tempura shrimp, which are sauced with some sort of sweet/​hot sauce.
The service was the OPPOSITE of what others have said. The staff was so attentive it bordered on weird. Not quite annoying, but kind of amusing. They were bending over backward to ensure that we had a good time, and our food came out very promptly. Almost like they read the criticism and fixed everything by going overboard in the opposite direction!
Prices were not cheap, but seemed ok by Hawaii tourist standards.