Old Lahaina Luau — Attraction in Maui

Old Lahaina Luau ... dont let the name put you off .. its not old, its authentic, it's timeless, and fresh as ever! Authentic experience. Beautiful grounds with terraced seating in the round, focused on raised stage. Table spacing allowed for comfortable intimate feel. Starting just before sunset, the attentive and energetic personal server kept food and drink coming nonstop while the pre-performance ran. Multicourse meal served as a mix of family style and personal plates . . . EVERYTHING was perfectly prepared, exquisitely plated, and delivered at a pace matching consumption, then when main course was served the lights dimmed and a robust professional athletic and artful performance began documenting the islands' history in narrative, chant, song, and dance. The entire event felt authentic but did tread lightly on the truths about the struggles during the tribal wars, severe impacts of colonization and imprisonment of the queen and the major difference between how US mainland first / native peoples were treatied, treated, cheated, and to some degree compensated and the island native peoples were stollen from, taken advantage of, treated, cheated, religoously manipulated, and to no degree compensated. This is an important part of their history and omlngoing daily life and it woukd have been good to hear these things first hand as a fair and natural part of the presenting of their history. The food was amazing. This is post covid so it is NOT A BUFFET, but rather table service. The food was authentic recipes fuzed with modern approaches, delivered in nicely plated well complementing groupings, with portions big enough to satisfy yet allow room for the next and next after that, then the next and the next, and then of course, the main course, and lastly dessert, and oh yes, one last take home treat of banana bread. What was odd was that you were expected to take the banana bread home but no other leftovers were permitted ... this was a crime as the food was superb in taste and quality but there was sooo much waste and at our table I just about put myself into a food coma finishing my two daughters entrees so as to not waste any of it. This was a premium dining experience. Only to be outdone by the performance. The evening was 5 star professional affair . . . not campy, but wonderfully executed story telling through music, narrative, chant, dance ... delivering a perfect blend of athleticism and artistry in perfect synchronization. The dancing was real Hawaiian not Tonganeese fire dancing or other hybridized styles. Only minor disappointment was that non drinkers ( teatottlers and aged 15 to 20) paid the same fee as drinkers and we all know how expensive booze is ... to be equitable non drinkers should have paid 10% / $25 less ... or maybe be given 5 loaves of banana bread to take home. Then having to park across the street at the mall / not having vallet service was not nice for me because after dropping the group off by the time I parked then walked back they had been lei'd and seated so I missed that. But had they had vallet then I'm sure i would have been unhappy waiting 20 minutes to get my car at the end of the night as 100s of people let out at once ), but mostly not being able to take leftovers was a bummer. Worth the full cost ... every penny ... plus we left a $20 a head tip for our awesome server and the dancers and though we would not be likely to repeat it anytime soon, I would highly recommend doing it at least once and trusting your experience to them. Mahalo for the family...

I was worried about being underwhelmed or disappointed given the price point before I got there. But there was no need to worry. My husband and I had a lovely time and it was totally worth it! If you enjoy dinner theatre, this is a place for you:) I am a huge fan of musicals and it gave me a very similar feel.

The service was just excellent. One of the best :)

I like the performances, too. Live music, live drummers, and dancers were great. I loved the performance sort of followed Hawai'i's history and heritage.

How it went: They let you in at 6:15. We were seated at a traditional seating at our own table (for 2). There are a few hula dancers and introductions to the event while the food is being served (all 5 courses!) and the meaty part of the show starts around 8:15 when everyone is well stuffed.

One word of caution! PACE YOURSELVES WITH FOOD & DRINKS! I can pack myself but I was totally full to the brim after the 3rd course and I had an active day of SCUBA diving early that day (we can deduce that I was ready to eat big dinner) and I didn't have a huge lunch, either. I wanted to eat the main course but I just couldn't. So (hopefully this wasn't a big faux pa) I secretly packed my main course in my ziplock baggie and took it home. This made an excellent lunch the next day! I really hate to waste good food knowing how expensive it is to deliver food supplies is here.

If anyone at the Old Lahaina Luau is reading this, may I suggest having a little box or baggie at each table to start so we can place food we enjoyed but couldn't finish?

I was fortifying myself for mediocre food given the size of the crowd but the food was also really delicious. Some of my favourites from the menu are: The yum roll with guava whipped butter (I have mild allergies to guava but it was totally worth suffering an itchy tongue!); The taro chips with taro hummus; Taro leaf covered pork! Yummy!! Take the outer most leaf off but eat the pork with the softer inner layer leaf. So good. Some kind of mix between salsa and ceviche with salmon.

The only thing I wasn't super crazy about was how sweet the 2 drinks I had was. But this is definitely subjective. I generally love Pina Colada but it was a bit too sweet for me. I can only have a few drinks (I am a light weight), so I would have loved a better quality blended drink but I know it is super hard to do so with so many people and with an open bar. If you are picky about your drink, just be aware.

The banana loaf they gift you at the end to take home was absolutely delicious as breakfast over coffee the next day. All in all, a very...

Attending Old Lahaina Luau is an absolute must. Put it on your bucket list.

First, location is amazing- a beautiful property right along the ocean. Absolutely incredible sunset view. The buildings and landscaping are a whole vibe.

The customer service here is just phenomenal. Very warm and welcoming. We could feel the aloha and felt like VIPs the entire time- from the greetings upon arrival and receiving beautiful orchid leis through the time we exited with our thoughtful gift of fresh-baked banana bread. Our servers, Chris and Jackie, were amazing. They were incredibly attentive, efficient, friendly, thoughtful, and patient. Chris was great about thoroughly explaining all of the food items to us and was so good to our toddler. Jackie was so sweet and helpful. Open bar. I don’t drink but family says the cocktails were amazing. I really enjoyed all of the fresh fruit juices. I could not believe how quickly Chris came back with our drinks each time we ordered. So awesome.

The food- WOW. Authentic and absolutely delicious. Seriously- if you are attending, have a light breakfast and don’t eat for the rest of the day until you arrive here. This is a FEAST. You will not finish it all, but nothing goes to waste. All the food is composted on to a 300-acre farm. Everything was so good, but my personal favorites were the poke ahi with sweet Maui onions, the tarot and sweet potato chips with kalo (taro) hummus, the pipi ko’ala (flat iron steak), laulau (pork wrapped in taro leaf), and the i’a (Maui style fish - ours was mahi mahi with an incredible sauce). Everything was just incredible, and it was really fun to be able to try so many different local, traditional dishes.

The music, dancing, and story-telling was really special. Beautiful traditional music from a live band and live pahu drums. The dancers and very detailed costumes were so stunning. The story-telling and hula dances move through Hawaii’s venerable and rich culture over time. The ancient chants gave me chills, and the dancers’ pride and love for their Polynesian culture was so apparent and vibrated deeply into our hearts. I feel honored to have had this opportunity to listen, learn, and to share in these traditions.

Cannot say enough good about Old Lahaina Luau. Thank you for having us. Thank you for providing a very special and treasured memory for my family for the rest...