Loved the outdoor and indoor seating options, with space for large groups. I appreciated that we didn't feel "cramped in" and you could "social distance". The menu was limited but yummy. We went for brunch so I expected more "typical" brunch items or a buffet. The staff was efficient and accommodating. Loved the views especially and the ambiance. If you have someone that has ambulatory issues be aware there is a slight hill and the restaurant is "set back" from the parking area through the gift store... so the restaurant is not obvious. We enjoyed all the "historic displays".
Lauren Corriher
This was one of the most wonderful dining experiences we’ve had in a long time. The food was amazing (we loved the huli huli chicken and the pineapple upside down cake) and the vibe was great. Our server Jonathan was probably one of the best servers we’ve ever had. He was warm, friendly, and extremely attentive. He anticipated our needs and really made it a top-notch experience. This place was awesome!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lauren C.
This was one of the best dining experiences I've had in a long time. The food was amazing (we loved the huli huli chicken and the pineapple upside down cake) and our server, Jonathan, was wonderful. He was so warm and friendly and anticipated our needs. He really put in the care to make our experience special. The mountain views are stunning, too. Loved it from start to finish!
W S
Gorgeous location.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cafe O'Lei Lettuce Wrap, Caesar Salad, Crab Cakes
Laura M.
This place is a gem! We went once for dinner and the food was delicious! Amazing service and beautiful ambiance as well. Definitely worth a visit! We loved it so much we ended up coming back for brunch another day after zip lining. The plantation is so cute with great shopping, site seeing, this lovely restaurant, and even cute and friendly ducks. You should go to Cafe O'Lei! Aloha!
Cheri Thurgood
Actually had a few fish dishes that tasted fishy. Calamari 4 stars, everything else below thatFood didn't sit well, had 6 in our partyAlcoholic drinks waters downNot worth the money we paid, will not return despite great locationChef served us old foodProps to the stylist - 5 stars
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 4
Rob M.
Amazing beauty and food all wrapped in one! I had the banana leaf wrapped Lau Lau with purple taro, breadfruit, starfruit, carrots, and other immediately locally harvested vegetables with green curry dipping sauce. Spirit free Loy lime, mint drink highly refreshing! Portuguese donuts for dessert.
May B.
We went during the in between time Just before dinner. Family gathering after a funeral.I called before we headed over and was given the green light for party of about 20, but instead of seating us at two tables near each other- we were separated a distance. I suggested this place because their cocktails are tasty. And everyone agreed. The food is ono- everyone agreed. Yes, this is a great place - with great service - but stick to having a smaller group.
Michael T.
Such a beautiful location! The food and service were top notch, especially the prime rib and seared ahi. Our server John was one of the best servers we've ever had. He saw my daughters were cold and brought them blankets. He was attentive and fun too. We came here before when it was The Millhouse restaurant and I don't remember being super impressed with the food back then but our entire party of 6 thought the food now that it's Cafe O'lei was fantastic. I would highly recommend this place and we will definitely come back every time we visit Maui.
Bryan L.
Food, staff and ambiance was all good, we enjoyed our meals. The rest of this review is for management: What I didnt appreciate was the "tipflation". They tack on a mandatory 3% "Kitchen appreciation fee" pre tax. The server rings you up directly at the table with a wireless credit card machine and hands it to you with 3 additional tip options 20% 22% 25%. Sorry, you dont get it from me both ways. I had to fumble through the custom tip option and do my own math on the spot to give a 16% approx tip, that plus the 3%+tax gets it to approx 20% all in. I get it, cost of labor, post covid, etc etc. But just raise the price of menu items, I still would have come spend money in the restaurant. If you raised the price of menu options and didnt try and double dip on the tips I would have just clicked the 20-22% tip and not thought twice about it. The restaurant would have got more money from me AND not left me with a bad taste in my mouth walking out the door. Its not about the money, after all, I am on vacation, but just because I am on vacation doesnt mean I am on vacation from my principles.
Excellent service, beautiful restaurant. I highly recommend eating outside the views are wonderful. The food is delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mike B
The service was great, staff was attentive. Very satisfied with the food. Walked around the area, historical rustic mill and pond with great views of the plantation with the back drop of the mountains and valley.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Pork Belly Kawali, Nachos
Susan Mattinson
We were very disappointed that we weren’t dining on the patio with the beautiful Mountain View. The large dining area we were seated in had no view and was very loud. Not the experience we wanted to share with our visiting guest who had never been to Maui Tropical Plantation.There was very little info anywhere about the Easter Buffet menu and no pricing.The food was good if it hadn’t been sitting for long and nearly gone.We had to ask for all water glasses to be replaced, they were very dirty.Service was great.When I read other reviews, the suggestion was made to bring cushions for the very uncomfortable metal dining chairs, so we did and were very glad we did.I don’t think we will ever attend a holiday type buffet here again.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Roast Prime Rib of Beef
Katie Hunter
Want a restaurant with stunning views, excellent food, great service, and other attractions on site? Look no further! We loved our visit to Cafe O’leiWe had excellent drinks, Maui onion soup, ahi nachos, the Maui that been on the menu 20+ years, and bacon and Brie Sammy, and passion fruit cheesecake.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ian Carrero
Spending two weeks in the road every month, I go through many restaurants that bore or plain disappoint me, specially if I ate something that I could cook at home better. It is easy to find mediocre restaurants in places were tourism is the main industry. Cafe O’Ley, however never disappoints. The atmosphere is perfect, a combination of laid back elegance and their dishes are really well curated. I had the Furikake Seared Ahi. It was perfect, fresh and lightly seared, delicious and simple.
Loved the outdoor and indoor seating options, with space for large groups. I appreciated that we didn't feel "cramped in" and you could "social distance". The menu was limited but yummy. We went for brunch so I expected more "typical" brunch items or a buffet. The staff was efficient and accommodating. Loved the views especially and the ambiance. If you have someone that has ambulatory issues be aware there is a slight hill and the restaurant is "set back" from the parking area through the gift store... so the restaurant is not obvious. We enjoyed all the "historic displays".
This was one of the most wonderful dining experiences we’ve had in a long time. The food was amazing (we loved the huli huli chicken and the pineapple upside down cake) and the vibe was great. Our server Jonathan was probably one of the best servers we’ve ever had. He was warm, friendly, and extremely attentive. He anticipated our needs and really made it a top-notch experience. This place was awesome!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was one of the best dining experiences I've had in a long time. The food was amazing (we loved the huli huli chicken and the pineapple upside down cake) and our server, Jonathan, was wonderful. He was so warm and friendly and anticipated our needs. He really put in the care to make our experience special. The mountain views are stunning, too. Loved it from start to finish!
Gorgeous location.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cafe O'Lei Lettuce Wrap, Caesar Salad, Crab Cakes
This place is a gem! We went once for dinner and the food was delicious! Amazing service and beautiful ambiance as well. Definitely worth a visit! We loved it so much we ended up coming back for brunch another day after zip lining. The plantation is so cute with great shopping, site seeing, this lovely restaurant, and even cute and friendly ducks. You should go to Cafe O'Lei! Aloha!
Actually had a few fish dishes that tasted fishy. Calamari 4 stars, everything else below thatFood didn't sit well, had 6 in our partyAlcoholic drinks waters downNot worth the money we paid, will not return despite great locationChef served us old foodProps to the stylist - 5 stars
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 4
Amazing beauty and food all wrapped in one! I had the banana leaf wrapped Lau Lau with purple taro, breadfruit, starfruit, carrots, and other immediately locally harvested vegetables with green curry dipping sauce. Spirit free Loy lime, mint drink highly refreshing! Portuguese donuts for dessert.
We went during the in between time Just before dinner. Family gathering after a funeral.I called before we headed over and was given the green light for party of about 20, but instead of seating us at two tables near each other- we were separated a distance. I suggested this place because their cocktails are tasty. And everyone agreed. The food is ono- everyone agreed. Yes, this is a great place - with great service - but stick to having a smaller group.
Such a beautiful location! The food and service were top notch, especially the prime rib and seared ahi. Our server John was one of the best servers we've ever had. He saw my daughters were cold and brought them blankets. He was attentive and fun too. We came here before when it was The Millhouse restaurant and I don't remember being super impressed with the food back then but our entire party of 6 thought the food now that it's Cafe O'lei was fantastic. I would highly recommend this place and we will definitely come back every time we visit Maui.
Food, staff and ambiance was all good, we enjoyed our meals. The rest of this review is for management: What I didnt appreciate was the "tipflation". They tack on a mandatory 3% "Kitchen appreciation fee" pre tax. The server rings you up directly at the table with a wireless credit card machine and hands it to you with 3 additional tip options 20% 22% 25%. Sorry, you dont get it from me both ways. I had to fumble through the custom tip option and do my own math on the spot to give a 16% approx tip, that plus the 3%+tax gets it to approx 20% all in. I get it, cost of labor, post covid, etc etc. But just raise the price of menu items, I still would have come spend money in the restaurant. If you raised the price of menu options and didnt try and double dip on the tips I would have just clicked the 20-22% tip and not thought twice about it. The restaurant would have got more money from me AND not left me with a bad taste in my mouth walking out the door. Its not about the money, after all, I am on vacation, but just because I am on vacation doesnt mean I am on vacation from my principles.
Restaurantji Recommends
Excellent service, beautiful restaurant. I highly recommend eating outside the views are wonderful. The food is delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The service was great, staff was attentive. Very satisfied with the food. Walked around the area, historical rustic mill and pond with great views of the plantation with the back drop of the mountains and valley.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Pork Belly Kawali, Nachos
We were very disappointed that we weren’t dining on the patio with the beautiful Mountain View. The large dining area we were seated in had no view and was very loud. Not the experience we wanted to share with our visiting guest who had never been to Maui Tropical Plantation.There was very little info anywhere about the Easter Buffet menu and no pricing.The food was good if it hadn’t been sitting for long and nearly gone.We had to ask for all water glasses to be replaced, they were very dirty.Service was great.When I read other reviews, the suggestion was made to bring cushions for the very uncomfortable metal dining chairs, so we did and were very glad we did.I don’t think we will ever attend a holiday type buffet here again.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Roast Prime Rib of Beef
Want a restaurant with stunning views, excellent food, great service, and other attractions on site? Look no further! We loved our visit to Cafe O’leiWe had excellent drinks, Maui onion soup, ahi nachos, the Maui that been on the menu 20+ years, and bacon and Brie Sammy, and passion fruit cheesecake.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Spending two weeks in the road every month, I go through many restaurants that bore or plain disappoint me, specially if I ate something that I could cook at home better. It is easy to find mediocre restaurants in places were tourism is the main industry. Cafe O’Ley, however never disappoints. The atmosphere is perfect, a combination of laid back elegance and their dishes are really well curated. I had the Furikake Seared Ahi. It was perfect, fresh and lightly seared, delicious and simple.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5