April 4, 2009
Great food, amazing view, great service
After our less than wonderful experience at Mala, we decided we'd have one nice dinner in Maui, damn the costs. Well, that's not entirely true. Although expensive by mainland standards, Merriman's was still less expensive than some of the other higher end restaurants on Maui, which were charging $50+ per entree.
As with most restaurants in Maui, where beautiful views can quickly be taken for granted because they are so common, the setting was spectacular. A nice, contemporary looking dining room area with glass windows opens out onto a patio with expansive, beautiful sunset views. There was also a live band playing instrumental music. Usually I think live bands in restaurants are kind of tacky, but here it was really nice, and the music occupied a place pleasantly in the background, rather than attempt to steal all the attention for itself. You only noticed there was live music there when you stopped to think about it, and in that moment of realization the effect was more impressive.
The food was great too, the best we had in Maui. For our appetizer we had a sampler plate with four different items. I don't recall each item, but I remember there was something like tuna poke (which was really good), and oysters (which were also good, even though I normally don't like oysters). For my main entree I had the sablefish (black cod). It's a really oily fish, and although it tasted great, I think I could have settled for the smaller portion, because each bite was so flavorful.
My only complaint about the food was the bread. It was an odd mixture of ingredients (including some beer flavoring), and I just couldn't get motivated to eat it, despite my hunger. Maybe it was an acquired taste.
The service was excellent. Our waiter, Davy, was friendly, attentive, and helpful with his suggestions for food. He was never in the way, yet was always there you needed something, a useful knack. As an example, right at the moment when we began wondering where our entrees were, he came out and said that they had just finished being cooked, and would be ready in a few minutes.
Overall, I'd highly recommend Merriman's for a pleasant, romantic, tasty dinner in Maui.
As with most restaurants in Maui, where beautiful views can quickly be taken for granted because they are so common, the setting was spectacular. A nice, contemporary looking dining room area with glass windows opens out onto a patio with expansive, beautiful sunset views. There was also a live band playing instrumental music. Usually I think live bands in restaurants are kind of tacky, but here it was really nice, and the music occupied a place pleasantly in the background, rather than attempt to steal all the attention for itself. You only noticed there was live music there when you stopped to think about it, and in that moment of realization the effect was more impressive.
The food was great too, the best we had in Maui. For our appetizer we had a sampler plate with four different items. I don't recall each item, but I remember there was something like tuna poke (which was really good), and oysters (which were also good, even though I normally don't like oysters). For my main entree I had the sablefish (black cod). It's a really oily fish, and although it tasted great, I think I could have settled for the smaller portion, because each bite was so flavorful.
My only complaint about the food was the bread. It was an odd mixture of ingredients (including some beer flavoring), and I just couldn't get motivated to eat it, despite my hunger. Maybe it was an acquired taste.
The service was excellent. Our waiter, Davy, was friendly, attentive, and helpful with his suggestions for food. He was never in the way, yet was always there you needed something, a useful knack. As an example, right at the moment when we began wondering where our entrees were, he came out and said that they had just finished being cooked, and would be ready in a few minutes.
Overall, I'd highly recommend Merriman's for a pleasant, romantic, tasty dinner in Maui.
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