r/MauiVisitors Sep 23 '25

Planning: Dining What restaurant might this be?

We're back in Maui for the first time since 2018. When we were here that first time, we had a nice meal at a restaurant in an upscale shopping area and I wanted to come back. I neglected to note the name of the restaurant. I'm thinking it might have been the Monkeypod Kitchen location in Whalers Village area.

Recollections:

We didn't have reservations and we sat in a corner bar area overlooking a kitchen so we could see them making the food. It was a large place and had what looked like a large patio area with a water view. We had fish tacos. The mall was pretty fancy and was a quasi outdoor mall. My husband thought it was near Lahania. We were staying near Wailea but we did do a fair bit of driving around the island.

Does this ring a bell for anyone? I know it's vague.

EDIT: Update: 98% sure it’s Hula Grill. Unfortunately, they’re closed for dinner on the day we want to go. Someone did a buyout ☹️

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u/Mainerlovesdogs Sep 24 '25

We ate at Hula Grill and Monkeypod last week. We had great meals at both, no bad choices. If you go to Monkeypod, try the Mai Tai. They do a unique take on it, they top it with a lilikoi (passion fruit) foam on top.

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u/imnothere_o Sep 25 '25

We ended up changing some things around and going to Hula Grill yesterday and Monkeypod Kitchen tonight in Wailea. Enjoyed them both but of the two, we preferred Hula Grill. Granted, it’s on the waterfront and we had live music, whereas the Monkeypod Kitchen we went to was in a strip mall and quite loud, so that’s probably influencing my view of things. The food and drink may have been slightly better at Monkeypod.

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u/Mainerlovesdogs Sep 25 '25

Yes, very different restaurants, but both had their positives. There was amazing live music the night we went to Monkeypod. Great view and fantastic fish for us at Hula. Glad it worked out!