Had been to multiple other good restaurants in the area, and based on reviews and the look of the place, we went to Cafe O'Lei on our final evening in Kihei. Went with no reservations, and was informed of a 45 min wait. No problem, we just went and sat on the beach for a while. Went back after 30 mins, and the unsmiling hostess said she had called us to say table was ready..umm, no you didn't. Anyway, got seated. Ordered some drinks and a starter each, and a main. Drinks were nice. Starters, coconut shrimp - 6 large shrimp, tasted great. Onion soup - lovely, steaming hot. But then it all went wrong. We were not even a third of our way through the starters, and the main courses arrived and were unceremoniously put on the table next to our starter plates. Our bewilderment did not register with the server. Our server/bar guy then came to 'check' on us. When we pointed out the obvious that we were not even halfway through our starter, and now the mains on the table, he just shrugged and said, yeah - sorry about that. So, now left with the choice of finishing starter and letting main go cold, or ignoring remainder of starter to eat main, or eat everything together. One of us left a couple coconut shrimp to eat New York Strip Steak. Cooked rare when asked for it to be medium. A sauce in a little pot that was just laughable as we could not figure out what it was, just tasted like milk - apparently was a shiitake mushroom cream... mashed potato and couple bok choi. I had a still steaming hot onion soup, and now a plate of shrimp linguine as well. I literally went from one plate to the next just so I could at least eat the shrimp whilst still hot (because the air con, although welcoming, was cooling food down!) I had just a little of the pasta as frankly I was fed up by now. When server cleared plates, asked if I was done the pasta, I said yes, I couldn't eat it as it was cold now as I wanted to eat my soup. No sort of apology. No removing anything off the bill. We literally got the bill and left. Had been in the building for under 40 minutes and spent over $100 Don't waste your money here. So many other choices within a block that have much nicer staff, understand the concept of a starter course and a main course being separate, and all for half the price!!
We ordered Shrimp Linguini, Short Ribs and a Rainbow roll. It was all amazing. Loved this place!
This place was recommended to us and we were told to get the Onion Soup? So delicious!.We made reservations just in case as it was always busy when we drove by..Very beautiful place with a very relaxing table set up. Little white partially see-through fabric separating the guests..Windows everywhere made a fantastic view in every direction you looked..Everyone enjoyed their meals and we even tried to make it back..Staff was awesome..Thanks.
After few disappointed dinners we found this place on TripAdvisor. We had dinner here twice and absolutely loved it. We had Mahi Mahi with mashed potatoes ( absolutely wonderful), onion soup is unbelievable and Cesar salad , very good portions and is enough to share. We walked in without reservation, place is pretty big with good size bar. Thank you for great food!
Absolutely awesome Fresh Fish, Blackened Mahi Mahi was wonderful perfect sides and portions. Definitely come back over and over, service was great and while extremely busy sat us immediately with no reservation.
Very good food in a comfortable setting with good service. A winner. You will be glad you tried it. French Onion soup was one of the best I have tasted.
Very disappointed! 1) Went with a big group, I said to the waiter prior to ordering “We are together” referring to my husband, I thought this was sufficient for a separate bill. Beware it was not. 2) The prime rib was half solid fat plus very thick fat around the outside. My husband gave me a piece from the inside which was tough full of grissal. I asked to speak to the chef, was told no to busy. Then asked for the manager, who never showed up! 3) French onion soup has a teaspoon of cheese, should be called onion soup. This is my first time at a review. Sherry
Cafe O lei has always been our favourite restaurant in Maui. We could not wait to have my Birthday Dinner there. The server was pleasant enough but our order was not fulfilled correctly and we had to wait for one of our ordered appetizers. We did enjoy the crab cakes though. They are always the best here. When our main meal came my fish was undercooked and I had to send it back. They decided to make a new dish which meant that my husband had to eat or his would get cold. The meal itself consisted of two small pieces of MahiMahi on a mountain of sticky rice with two limp Bok Choy. It was an expensive “rice” meal. We did not stay for dessert.
I gave up searching for oceanfront restaurants in Kihei. But was happy to find very favorable reviews for Cafe O'Lei for our final evening meal while in Maui. This restaurant was our best way to end our vacation. Delicious hawaiian cocktails, wonderfully prepared Mahi Mahi for me and delicious Pork for my partner. We shared a brownie with ice cream desert that was a great ending to our meal. Service was top notch! In the area that we sat, there were opague curtains seperating tables so each table had privacy from other customers.
Absolutely delicious! We are visiting from Las Vegas and my friend suggested Cafe O'Lei Kihei for their short ribs. We had the prime rib and the short ribs. Loved it! Would highly recommend coming to eat here.