Ma"alaea Grill - Maui - Restaurants, Cafes & Food Reviews

My sister and I spent a week on Maui and had a hard time finding a restaurant that we really liked....until we found the Ma'alaea Grill. The food here is absolutely fabulous! The employees are very friendly. Once we found this restaurant, we ate here twice a day. Because I have to eat gluten-free food, I was more limited than my sister was to what I could eat.

Let's start with their salads. A great Caesar Salad to start your meal with. My sister tried the MacNut Chicken(I couldn't because it had flour). She raved about it. It came with the Casaer Salad, rice and this incredible garlic butter sauce that was fantastic! She also tried the MacNut MahiMahi and the Kal-bi Ribs.

My first meal was the Seared Ahi with a pickled ginger butter. It was very good. Since I don't eat a lot of fish, my next meal I decided to try the Kiawe Smoked Kal-Bi Ribs. OMG, this was the best meal I've ever eaten. From that point on, I ate it twice a day. It was tender, with a great flavor. The Kiawe wood really added such a great taste. I can't even explain how good this meal was. Just thinking about it, makes my mouth water. Because of my food allergy, they even offered to make me Mochiko Chicken, which isn't even on the menu. I decided not to try something that wasn't on the menu, because I loved the ribs so much, but it's nice that they would make something just for me.

We never got to try dessert. They were always out of the Coconut Cremem Brulee' which was about the only thing gluten free besides their ice creams and sorbets.

The bartender, Sarah, became a good friend after all the time we spent there. She got us trying some of their drink specialties. We both thank her for her hospitality.


Let's talk about ambience. They are right on the Ma'alaea Harbor and overlook the water. I got some of my best whale videos from inside the restaurant. So, come, enjoy lunch or dinner and watch the whales (during whale season). All-in-all this is a great restaurant. I can't think of anything negative to say. So, make sure you try them. For Maui, the price is very good. Let me know what you think.