Mala Wailea

Very overpriced for the quality. Fortunately, the breakfast buffet was part of our resort package. The view is beautiful and the service is excellent. My main issue is that when the meal is part of your resort package they fairly loudly confirm your room number. This is a general security issue for me and wasn’t an isolated incident. I heard the room numbers of families several tables over.

Bland, generic food but good view. Way overpriced if you don’t have it included with your hotel stay. The décor and ambiance is satisfactory.

Had dinner here last night with friends. Sat down, the table had three glasses of water from previous guests already at the table. Waitress came 10 minutes later and assured us she had poured it for us earlier. Not true. It went downhill from there. After mediocre service and meal (hint, avoid the Ahi on a sea of mashed potatoes for $ 44 or the «Island Vegetables» of bok choy and cauliflower for $ 27), we got the tab for the four of us with 2 cocktails, and one bottle of wine, the total came to $ 475 before tip… tip brought the total to $ 570.
After walking away we realized the bill was grossly inaccurate and came back in the morning to review the bill with them. They acknowledged that they overcharged us by $ 166, so did credit us the balance, but stated that «we can’t do more for you than that, since if everybody who we overcharged came back for more, we’d be out of business.»
#Lame

Enjoyed a delicious breakfast here. I had the smoked salmon Benedict which hit the spot perfectly. Nice salty salmon, crisp English muffin, great hollandaise and perfectly poached egg.
My mom had the French toast. She loved the fresh fruits and macadamia butter.
My sister had the steak and eggs and it hit the spot for her. I had a bite of her steak and it was seasoned perfectly.
Staff was friendly, quick and took such good care of us.

This review is for our breakfast experience during our stay here. We had a package deal that provided us with the breakfast buffet. If we did not have the coupons I am not sure we would have done the breakfast buffet, I feel like the value just is not there if you are paying for it.
I was really hoping there would be more tropical flavors present at the buffet. I was impressed with the fresh fruit ever morning which was nice. They generally always had pancakes or waffles with a few syrups (coconut was nice but lilikoi would have been even better), had potatoes, some sort of egg, a meat usually bacon (which could have been cooked more) or sausage. They had a nice omelet station, however if you do not see the cook there ask your server or the hostess and they will go get him (not sure why he is not there). They also have a selection of pastries and some of my favorite things were some of the pastries. Also available is bread (toast and bagels), meats, and cheese. I did really like the fresh juices, that was really nice to have.
Overall there was a good selection, we never left hungry however there were some things that could have been done a little better. All of our servers were always really friendly and helpful.

I had the Tuna special and my sister had the fresh fish of the day. Was absolutely amazing! We discussed and agreed that it’s the best meal we have had on our trip. The service is also wonderful. Everyone is so friendly! This restaurant is a must!

Some day, years from now I hope, when I’m served dinner in a nursing home, I hope I am capable of thinking back to dinner at Mala Wailea and saying, «This nursing home food, atmosphere, and service isn’t so bad. I’ve had worse.»
What an embarrassment to the Mala Ocean Tavern name.
The place is huge. Seven people occupied a total of three tables at 7pm on Sunday evening. After the other two tables emptied, one couple came in for a late seating. I guess we’re the last to figure out how bad this place is.
$ 36 for fish and chips. $ 50 for beef. $ 18 appetizers. When we asked for their advertised «tavern menu,» we were told the only things off that menu that were available were the cheeseburger, the fries, and two flatbreads. No fish sandwiches, which, at Maui Ocean Tavern in Lahaina, are to die for.
The wine list was horrible, almost all Californian. When we said we’re still looking at the wines, we were told that many were not available, since they’re changing the wine list. This place reeked of corporate management not local flavor. A fortune was spent on design and decoration for the restaurant, but then, in late November, we had the pleasure of a tape of Christmas music blasting through the empty restaurant. «The weather outside is frightful…» «Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…» Ah yes, all traditional Hawaiian music…
Finally, the food. I won’t bother detailing the starters or sides, boring as they were. Let me just end with the main course. I asked about the salmon, not a Hawaiian fish but by this time I just wanted something tasty. Our waiter said it was Alaskan wild salmon. I asked if it was King salmon or something else. «King salmon, I believe.» With his lack of conviction I asked him to check in the kitchen. When he returned, it was, «I was wrong. It’s farm raised Atlantic salmon.» I went with it anyway, and sure enough, it had the distinct lack of taste found in farm raised salmon.
We love Mala Ocean Tavern in Lahaina, both for the food and the atmosphere. And the service. But their Wailea place is a 100% loser.

The food wasn’t bad and it was not overly crowded although we dined here on a Sunday evening. Service was great and the view was gorgeous.

We were a party of 8 celebrating 2 birthdays. On the other side of the wall was a very loud Xmas party so we were subjected to disco music and screaming women and some kind of MC on a mic. Not cool. Service started out ok, but once the entrees were delivered it dropped off. When the table had finished eating they dropped off a couple comped pieces of dessert and left it sitting next to my uncleared entrée plates which never got cleared. Yuck. And then they wouldn’t honor a kama’aina rate because we were a party larger then 6, even tho 6 of 8 of us are kama’aina. Tacky and cheap.

very expensive for a mediocre meal with lousy service. I ordered the special for almost $ 40 and it was the size of an appetizer. not good either. took almost an hour to get our food even though the restaurant was very quiet when we got there. when I have to wait about 25 minutes to pay my bill, especially with my 3 year old wanting to leave, I’m beyond over it. we love the lahaina mala but this place is awful. don’t waste your time and especially your money. we will never be going there again.

We went there for my 40^th birthday dinner and it was amazing! I had the short ribs and the coconut prawns. It all melted in my mouth! We also loved the warm chick peas they give you as an appetizer! We will definitely be back! Aloha

Such a cute place. My husband and I came for lunch one afternoon. We were sat right away, right by the window. Such a cool atmosphere watching the ocean break upon the rocks. We even got to see a turtle through the waves so keep your eyes open.
Our waitress was very pleasant. Served us quickly and pointed out all the dishes they are known for, but wasn’t pushy about us ordering them. We shared the calamari, which was alright. It was crispy but we both felt is could have used some salt or some other seasoning to spice it up. We shared the fresh grilled fish sandwich. The kitchen nicely split it on 2 plates. Although there was a $ 1 up charge for sharing, which is very common, the made up for it with the huge pile of fries we both got. They were soooo good! Perfectly seasoned and our waitress recommended dipping them in the garlic aioli. Not sure if that always comes with their fries or just the fish sandwich but you should definitely ask for a side of it. Our busboy heard us talking about taking a picture and graciously offered to do it for us even though he was clearly busy.
Definitely check it out!

Had the seared Ahi tuna and it was the most incredible meal. The tuna was perfect and whatever that sauce was at the bottom of the plate made me want to lick it when I was done! I will admit service was a bit slow but mainly because our server had lots of tables. He made up for it with his personality

Got here early before sunset. Got a table with an ocean view. All the food and the servers are friendly and so helpful here. Will definitely be back.

GET THE PANCAKES! I added banana and coconut to the buttermilk pancakes and they were amazing. HUGE portion thought so beware!

I was very disappointed with this restaurant and would not eat there again. It was our first trip to Maui and my husband and I were celebrating our 10^th Wedding Anniversary. I made the reservations before leaving for Maui. I read the articles about their award winning chef but we were very disappointed with our meal.
I ordered a Ceasar Salad and Herb Roasted Jidori Chicken, my husband ordered the Fish & Chips and the other couple with us ordered the Rib Eye and another Jidori Chicken.
The ceasar dressing looked fantastic but turned out to be bland and tasteless. The chicken was overcooked, tough and lacked seasoning. The mashed Yukon potatoes were watery and bland. The rib eye also lacked seasoning. So much for our anniversary dinner!

This place was highly recommended by two friends who lived in Maui and of course you take the opinion and recommendation and the website is probably deceiving too. The moment we arrived, we stood there by the entrance for 5 minutes with no customer service. 3 staff members walked by and saw us but didn’t bother to assist us or even to say, «we’ll be right with you.» Finally someone came but by then we already lost our appetite. We were finally seated, but we got no customer service for 15 minutes. We had to wait for even two glasses of water to arrive. Finally someone came and we ordered our drinks. He said he would be back to take our order but AGAIN he didn’t return until another 20 minutes. That’s way too long to make customers wait especially when they are starving. This place was not even busy. There is no excuse for bad service. The extremely long wait only gave us time to make up our minds that we weren’t dining at this restaurant anymore. First impression will either make you or break you. You can even see our waiter walking around helping the couple two tables from us. It’s extremely rude to take their order first and they just arrived there.
Our waiter finally came around to take our order and my girlfriend responded quite eloquently and with class «something came up, we have to leave» You can tell he’s not happy. We left with style and class quite figuratively speaking because our driver came quickly.
This is our first time in this restaurant and it’s our last. The one star it received from me is the killer view it had. It kept our focus and it was the only saving grace. I don’t care who owns this restaurant or who dined here, I am never coming back. Our driver came to pick us up so fast and drove us right down the road to Morimoto’s at the Andaz. The service there was completely different. We had the best service at Morimoto’s that saved the night. We were even dropped off at the front of Andaz and the superior quality service continued immediately because We were picked up at the Andaz by a little golf car that drove us right to the front door of Morimoto’s We didn’t wait at all for the classy mode of transportation. That’s customer service! What a big difference !
I have been reviewing restaurants and rarely do I have bad reviews. Read all my reviews. If the food is not good I don’t talk about it because it’s a matter of taste and everyone is different. But service is so important in the restaurant industry because if the service is poor then even if the food is good, the poor service already ruined it all and the bad experience will always be remembered.

My experience with Mala and Migrant left me so satisfied I almost hated them for it.
The drinks were mixed well, and I was very happy with my choice from the list of suggestions from the staff. The appetizers (also chosen based on suggestions from staff) were the perfect size and came at exactly the right time for my party and I.
I was pleasantly surprised at the entrée portions, as I expected smaller plates with higher prices to be honest. We even ordered dessert, although I’m pretty sure we shouldn’t have. I finished it. It was terribly awesome. I felt like I couldn’t move for a few minutes and my server was nice enough not to rush me out of my seat as soon as our plates were cleared.
I plan on going back. I’ll try not to over do it again next time.

Next to Migrant behind the lobby, so lots of ocean views. Owned by S. Tyler, so we were told. We ate dinner there one night and did the breakfast buffet as part of the room package, so the price was right. Dinner was good. We got comfort food (flatbread pizza and hamburger), but there’s fancy stuff too. The breakfast buffet is varied and plentiful. Made to order omelets, lots of fresh fruit. Tasty sweets. Carafes of coffee are brought to the table. Very nice.

The main selling point of this restaurant is the absurdity. If life on Maui is getting too good, come here to have your mind boggled.
You have to wander past Migrant to find Mala. You should probably just go to Migrant. Anyways, we had a reservation, for which we showed up in a timely manner. The hostess welcomed us warmly, but then asked if we could wait for 15 minutes because they were short-​staffed and only had one server working that night. We were like, uhhhh… okay? We had drinks at the bar at Migrant, which were good, and then the hostess found us and brought us to our outdoor table.
Half the reason we chose to try dinner here was because they offer a Vegan and Gluten-​free menu — now, we’re not vegan or gluten-​free, but we’re (lacto-​ovo) vegetarians, so we hoped the availability of this menu implied a particular thoughtfulness to the menu that might benefit vegetarians. Turns out: not the case. The vegan/​GF menu was a weird collection of selections from the regular menu, plus some other items, none of which were interesting-​sounding (ex: margherita pizza on a GF crust), all of which were confusingly-​marked (steamed white rice… isn’t vegan?).
In the end, we tried to order the «Adult Mac and Cheese» from the regular menu, because we love mac and cheese, only to be told that they had taken that off the menu because the kitchen had such a hard time executing it properly! Which begs the question: How hard is it to make mac and cheese!?! Answer: It’s not! It’s literally the first thing I learned to cook as an adolescent. What kind of operation can’t execute mac and cheese?!
And then! The dessert! The dessert menu is boring — there is flourless chocolate cake, or ice cream, or ***Caramel Miranda*** (gluten-free).This is described as the chef’s «signature dish», and even though the description makes no sense, we ordered it anyway. The dish, like the description, makes no sense. It is, in fact, a plate covered in melted chocolate and caramel, with a random-​ass assortment of room-​temperature cut up fruit, and a scoop of melting vanilla ice cream on top. Plus, you get the pleasure of being warned of an extra 15-​minute wait for this signature dish to be «created» for you. I can’t even.
Our waitress tried SO HARD. She spontaneously suggested noodles from MIgrant, which we were happy to order. (They were fine but not great.) She was friendly, funny, energetic, attentive, and helpful. I wish this restaurant was as good as she was!

Breakfast bird infestation. I love wildlife, however I don’t think there is any reason to have birds landing on my table, pecking
around the buffet and flying around me and in front of my face while I eat.
Food was good, staff friendly. Seriously do something about the birds.
I’ve heard that nearby resorts actually bring in hawks while their resturants are closed to keep the birds away.
All other aspects of staying here have been very pleasant.

Dinner. I had the burger which was actually good. They had posters out in the hotel lobby saying it was the BEST kobe burger; I have to say, it was really really good. I’m not even really a burger fan. But when someone claims such a thing, I just had to try it. I also had a delicious salad. The fries were a bit much. The food was overpriced by about 30% but tasted good.
The view and sunset were amazing.
The staff was kind, but loud and off talking to themselves not the customers. They were young and immature (GOD i sound so old right now). I heard laughter and loud noises and talking from the kitchen the whole night. There were no table cloths, which would have been nice to have on these tables.
The manager (I think it was) was clueless and, although quite nice, he was just kind of a spaced out guy, asking us at awkward times if everything was ok, like in the middle of our conversation instead of right after we started to eat, for example. He seemed out of it and I don’t know why he was there.
Overall, I would go there again, if the prices were cut just a bit. I recommend the burger.

I was visiting my sister on Maui, and she had a coupon for the breakfast buffet here that she won in a silent auction. If it weren’t for that, I would have never searched this place out on my own.
The views were awesome, the service good for a buffet, and the food just average. This is a typical hotel restaurant in the upscale Wailea part of Maui. Buffet selections were basic, and the poor guy cooking eggs and omelets was not well-​equipped by the restaurant. The pans were not very non-​stick, and he managed to bust every yolk, every time. Not a big deal, but easily solved with better pans.
Lots of good fruit on the buffet, an interesting veggie mix of spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms, and like I said earlier… just average buffet fare.

What a huge letdown!!! IT was our first night on Maui, and we were staying at the Marriott (in which this restaurant is located); needing some dinner, obviously, we decided to give this restaurant a shot, despite the very mixed and mediocre Unilocal reviews. Hey, we got 20% off for staying on the property, so how bad could it be? Right?
They brought out a free little nibble — some chips and salsa-​type dip, which I think actually turned out to be edamame hummus (which I’m pretty sure is sold at the little convenience stores at the Shops at Wailea because we saw it the next day). It was pretty good, but pretty weird to have gotten chips and dip at a place like this. Just seems like some fresh bread would have been more appropriate.
For drinks, the hubs got a lychee mojito — which he said was just okay. He’s not a sweet drink kind of guy, but he can appreciate cool and fun flavors — but this didn’t seem to do it for him. As I’m expecting at the moment, I opted for the «No Jito» — clever, right? Basically a mojito sans alcohol. Um, seriously, $ 7 for some slightly sweetened club soda and unmuddled mint? Very disappointing.
For food, the hubs ordered the mahi mahi entrée, which came with rice and some sort of veg (I’m assuming, I can’t really remember). The fish was a little overcooked and not super flavorful, and the rice that came with it was totally bland. Hubs kept salting it (and he rarely reaches for a salt shaker), which is a clear sign in my book that the flavor was lacking. For $ 38, I expect better!
I wanted something light, so I ordered the tomato bisque soup and the beet and goat cheese salad. The soup was actually really good — my favorite thing by far at that meal. In hindsight, I should have just ordered 2 bowls of that. But alas, I had the salad to contend with… the salad must have had no less than 6 diced beets in it — SIX! As one who has overdosed on beets before (and subsequently paid for it digestively, if you know what I mean), the chef should have known better than to serve this many beets in one salad. As for the goat cheese, there was exactly one piece of fried goat cheese on top. ONE. It was super yummy, but there should have at least been 2. The dressing was pretty light and uninteresting. But man, that soup was good!
After it was all said and done, I’m pretty sure our bill came out to ~$ 80 with tip (that is including our discount). If this meal had been anything more than sub-​par (except for you, soup!), I would have been happy to pay $ 80 — and if it was amazing, $ 80 would have seemed like a steal. But I felt pretty ripped out.
I don’t know who started the rumor that celebrities eat here, but I guarantee it was a lie. There are FAR better restaurants within a mile radius of this place, and at much nicer hotels. If we ever come back to stay in Wailea (we probably won’t, but that’s not the point here), we would never give Mala a single fleeting thought.