Mai Grill By Allen Hess

I am not one to give 5 Stars out. Really. And it really takes a lot for me to give a 5 Star rating. I take a lot of things into consideration, and always try to keep like with like, taking in service, locale, food, presentation. So really, Mai Grill should only get a 4 Star, because of its location. It’s in a Golf Course club, for heavens sake. The view is not of a beautiful ocean, it’s waves of grass. So why the 5 Stars? Because the food at Mai Grill made me forget that I was in a golf course club. The food was so new and different, beautifully presented, well thought out and each dish was a hole in one — seriously.
My husband and I shared 6 small plates, small, but plenty to share. Now that said, what I had may not be what is there when you are there, since Chef Hess likes to keep things fresh and seasonal, but take these as an example of the creative foods you might enjoy.
Plate #1 — Bone Marrow Toast ($ 12.00) — whipped bone marrow? Yes! Served on toasted ciabatta bread over a salad of fresh herbs and fried shallots with kabayaki pearls. Garnished with celery leaves. Yum.
Plate #2 — Crispy Asparagus Summer Roll ($ 16.00) — Summer rolls filled with fresh asparagus and I’m guessing goat cheese, served on a pumpkin purée with ume dots and & pulverized truffle oil — a sight to see for sure as they rain the pulverized oil over and it liquifies on the plate. Only Spectacular!
Plate #3 — Kona Abalone ($ 26.00) — Kona’s own baby abalone served in the shells with Hawaiian chili pepper and inamona sauce along with a generous portion of coconut rice. The abalone was so so tender. Mouth watering.
Plate #4 — Miso Fish ($ 14.00) — Fresh caught ahi, lightly smoked then served seared, with a mixture of buttered corn and crispy green onion with miso. I know, doesn’t sound like much right? But you would be wrong. The lightly smoked makes for a huge taste sensation. Plus the miso was like pudding. Innovative.
Plate #5 — Roasted Beets ($ 15.00) — What can you do with roasted beets? Only make them more delicious then roasted beets have a right to be. Not only did they taste fantastic but Chef used a corer to core out the tender middle of beautiful pink beets, served along with the red beets, all roasted in herb oil and served with fresh goat cheese, radish, cucumber, crispy bread, kale dust and local Hawaii’s favorite salty dry plum (li hing mui). Simply wonderful and refreshing.
Plate #6 — Goat Taco ($ 5.00 each) — Think you don’t like goat? This dish will make you think again.
And of course, we had dessert. Chef Hess’ take on flourless chocolate cake with a strawberry infused housemade ice cream. Only a perfect finish along with their specialty coffee. This would be the only thing I might say was a bit on the «expensive» side — the coffees were $ 6.00 each and the dessert was $ 15.00 so overall one of the more expensive courses we enjoyed. But enjoy it we did.
Our server was friendly, informed and took good care of us, but for the life of me I don’t remember his name.
LindySez: I would love to go back for dinner anytime I’m on the BIG island. And may even try the breakfast and lunches, although I understand those are geared more towards what the «golf» crowd likes, which isn’t nearly as inventive as what us night-​time food crowd lovers love. Hole-​in-​one!

My husband and I came for brunch on a Saturday, only to be told that brunch is only on Sunday. :(
At the time of this review, and when we looked around for places to eat, there was NO indication on their website that brunch was Sunday-​only.
We ended up staying, and splitting a $ 13 BLT. The BLT was really good! Nice soft bread roll, special sauce that was on the sweet side but fit well with the rest, and good bacon that was cooked perfectly. (Hubs said not enough meat, but I thought the ratio was perfect.) Fries on the side were perfectly done.
Overall good eats, with a disappointing start. A little on the expensive side, but to be expected in the touristy area. At the very least, the food was really good for what you’re paying.

This place is entirely one of a kind and 5 stars across the board. The service was excellent, attentive and very careful of every detail. The atmosphere outside was elegant and inviting, with live music and a great view. The food was outstanding. We had the kale Caesar salad and the braised shank. Both were tops– unique in their recipe and prepared with care. We met the chef, who was friendly and passionate for his craft.

Tonight was our second time to Mai Grill, we had the nasturtium chèvre salad, poke nachos and the whole fish. We also had a bottle of wine our server recommended that was amazing! Scotty, the server gave us exceptional service, above and beyond.
Each dish was creative and delicious! The live music was a great touch, and added to our already amazing experience! I can’t say enough, we will be back again!

Updating my review. Went back six months later and we will not ever return again. This place is a sham.
Website says one thing and you are told something different when you arrive wanting to order food. Staff and owners are not in the same page. The dinner menu is too pretentious for anyone to want to come by when there are so many other great places to choose from in the area.
Owner or manager? Wanted to argue with us about the website hours stating when they were serving food. I was so embarrassed as we were trying to take my parents out for a nice meal.

We had breakfast here on a weekday this week and the place is in a gorgeous location overlooking the 19^th hole. The décor is very nice and ambiance is perfect for breakfast. We had the traditional sausage and eggs and my wife had the pancakes. The sausage and bacon are homemade by Chef Hess. Not your traditional store bought bacon but more of a natural taste we thought it was delicious. They have a variety of eclectic foods-​we tried some home made jam was very tasty. Definitely a. Place to have a peaceful and enjoyable breakfast.

We were at Mai for breakfast yesterday! The restaurant had just 3 occupied tables. We had a server pass us a few times ignoring to acknowledge us. My husband and I were ready to leave when we had a lady address us.
Food: I ordered an omelette while my husband ordered a BLT, the whole reason we were here!
Omelette comes with an option of Swiss or pepper jack. I asked for Swiss. Server comes back to tell us that there’s no Swiss. I asked for pepper jack. Turns out no pepper jack, only cheddar! If you have it on your menu, stock it, else, just say cheese and live with it!
We waited for about 30mins for our breakfast, to have my order arrive with the omelette and fruit but no toast or ketchup.
Omelette — I waited for another 10 mins to find a lone, small slice of dry sourdough bread arrive for my now cold omelette. Two third through my omelette, ketchup arrives to save the grace! The star of the dish was the sweet papaya.
BLT — a decent burger with an over cooked, chewy bacon! It is so hard to mess bacon but of course, if you cant get a toast right, it’s another story!
The server asked us for a side for BLT, husband orders fried potatoes. The plate was served with a papaya. Husband reminds the server that he wanted potatoes, server tells us that the menu’s changed and BLT doesn’t come with a side. She says, «you got a free side». Well, not the best thing to say. Anyways, she gets us potatoes. Any chef would have been embarrassed to have these dried, stale potatoes leave their kitchen except to make that trip to a trash can!
The saving grace of our breakfast was the papaya and our server.
After looking at our table, we had another table laugh and leave just after having coffee.
You really have to be gutsy to have your name on a restaurant with such amazing standards!
Tip: don’t skim on quality ingredients especially if you aren’t trying to be a cheap eat! The cheddar, toast, etc speaks!

Want something different on the Kona side of the Big Island? Look no farther.
The crisp Asparagus different.
Obviously I have have Miso Fish from as long as I can remember.
But, this Miso Fish that has a Smoked Ahi was «different»
Even the Garlic Fried rice with selantro, different.
And different is Great !

Excellent food. Well worth the $$. Our sever was attentive and our baby daughter felt right at home. Make a reservation of course late in the day. I ordered the 3 egg omelet served with papaya and bacon. The bacon is smoky, rich in flavor, and soft. The BLT breakfast sandwich is good as well. Of course, you can go with the Old Fashioned Breakfast as well. They change their menu up, but do try the pancakes. Everything served fresh and made to order.

If you appreciate creativity and culinary innovation, you’ll love this place. The menu is full of interesting techniques and odd but not inaccessible or inedible combinations of flavors. I appreciated the uniqueness and intentionality of the whole experience –from drinks and shareable plates to the crazy deserts. Almost everything we tried was both interesting and delicious. The highlights were the goat tacos and the flourless chocolate cake
Only thing that outdid the food was the phenomenal service. Never had a waiter so gracious and knowledgeable before! Such a great experience. Try it out if you get the chance.

What a relaxing and enjoyable experience… listening to Kenny sing and share his love of this land, watching the moon rise between the palms, and savoring Chef’s creations. Don’t miss this new destination for dinner on the Big Island.

I was looking for a new restaurant on the coast for date night, and saw Chef Allen Hess’ name on this one. Having always heard great things about his cooking, we checked it out, and we’re so glad we did.
It was one of the best dinners I’ve had in recent years on the Big Island, and beyond that, the whole experience was very well thought out and the service great.
We split several appetizers (favorites were the goat taco and the wok-​fried bacon), and then ordered the Kona abalone and the shellfish bowl. The butter sauce on the abalone was so good it was drinkable. Shellfish were also perfect, but by that point we were pretty full (portions are generous for this style of cooking).
Really enjoyed meeting the chef and hearing more about the techniques, and also chatting with both him and the server about wines. They had a lot of good bottles on their list and know wine.
We’ll be back.

Really great quiet place to grab breakfast, service was political and the food was great. I highly recommend the French Toast!

The chef clearly has passion for his art form. The waiters share that passion and it becomes infectious. The tasting menu is a fun dinner for two experience. Everything is very intricate and infused with … Etc. I recommend doing the Bloody Mary bar for $ 25 unlimited.

GREAT breakfast. If you’re staying at the Hilton then leave and go to Mia Grille. Sooooo much better and sooo much cheaper than the Hilton Waters Edge breakfast. This food was great. I will attach a picture of our receipt. We even had a mimosa and it was $ 50. At the Hilton Waters Edge our bill for breakfast with no drinks was $ 75.
Eat here and eat outside. You’ll love it.

If you are staying at the Hilton, this is a must go to place for breakfast. Mimosa and Irish coffee were great and perfect way to start overlooking the beautiful golf course and resort. Best Irish coffee, we had the corned beef hash and the pancakes, both plates were delicious and we left with your plates completely empty. Overall great breakfast spot.

The breakfast was great! We had the omelette and an order of the macnut pancakes with fresh oj. Definitely delish and worth the drive/​long walk from the Hilton to get here. We plan on coming back again tomorrow!
Didn’t give it 5 starts bc there was a golf tournament and there was a lot of people standing around and a couple tables near us eating bento lunches while having loud conversations. That definitely took away from the expansive golf course view and peaceful meal we were hoping to enjoy.

Nice, simple, and clean little tourist restaurant on a golf course, with friendly service.
The $ 15 Fish sandwich came with a nice portion of tasty ahi and sweet potato fries.
Nice lunch if you’re in the area or passing through, but not something to drive out of your way to get to. This whole general area is artificially built for mega resort yuppy tourists whom don’t want to see real «Hawaii».

Had a memorable meal! Lots of complex flavors and textures in the dishes. Both a visual and flavorful treat! Every dish is worth trying! Had the roasted beets, crispy asparagus rolls, the «Cow» which had great flavor and careful preparation and presentation, and finished with two desserts – Crème brûlée and Flourless chocolate cake. Even the estate grown coffee is worth trying! Thank you Allen Hess!

We decided to walk over for lunch because… bacon. :)
View: ⁴⁄₅ — nice view out on the patio with misters to keep you cool.
Service: ³⁄₅ — efficient, but not very friendly or welcoming which is really weird after getting used to how friendly everyone is elsewhere on the island.
Food: 2.5÷5:
— spinach salad that was nice and fresh with a few sliced strawberries. added 4 shrimp for $ 7 — shrimp were cooked well.
— a bun-​less 20% bacon 80% beef burger with no fries, sub cesar. The burger was cooked to specifications, but wasn’t really well seasoned and was in the end not that great.
They charged me $ 7 extra to substitute a small salad (½ head romaine lettuce with a little dressing). No way that much lettuce could ever be justified at that cost.
The problem I had with this restaurant was really value for money. The food was OK, not great, and way over priced for what we received. If we had payed around $ 35 – 40 plus tip I would have been ok with it, this is a resort area and I expect a slight mark-​up, or if the food had been great I would have been OK with it, but the bill was $ 50 for mediocre food. That I am not OK with.