Malia's — Restaurant in Aiken County

New Ownership. Greeted by Wendy. Requested a table on the wall, host offered the PDR, we declined. Sat in the middle of the room across from the PDR - table for 2. Celebrating a birthday. Wait person greeted us, his name Nathan. Water glasses filled water was room temperature no lemons offered with waters Menus were already stacked on the table? The two items we were interested in were not available (Delmonico ribeye and New England clam chowder). We started with a glass of King Estate “Inscription” Pinot Noir and it was room temperature to warm. We ordered baked feta which is one of the menu favorites. The appetizer landed at the same time as the Caesar salad (We had waited over 30 minutes before the order arrived). The salad was over dressed and heavy on strips of Parmesan cheese. It did come with white anchovies as requested and it was layered very odd salad preparation. My dinner partner ordered another menu favorite the steak salad, She ordered it medium. I ordered a medium temperature filet and frites. We waited what seemed to be 45 minutes for our entree’s. As everyone around us, who came in after us, were already being served their entree’s. Our entrees landed and the steak salad was medium rare - cool (not hot) - the salad over dressed with a heaping layer of cheese on top. My filet was not even warm and frites were under cooked with a heavy dusting of “goat” cheese. After 15 minutes we were able to get our servers attention. We explained to him that the steak salad was undercooked. French fries were undercooked and coated in cheese. He apologized and asked if my dinner partner wanted to keep the salad? She looked at him puzzled and she said no. The proper thing would have been to pick up the salad and have the dish completely remade. Oh no, he brought her back just a plate w a piece of meat on it?! Frites now were over cooked and greasy. I was so upset with the lack of proper training. We asked to have her salad remade and brought back. We decided we had enough. I asked for the check, paid the $115 plus gratuity and left. Not impressed.

Our friend highly recommended we stop in and try the Chilean sea bass is sadly not on the menu. Delmonico ribeye not available. Clam Chowder not available subbed in a lemon chicken soup. No longer offers a bread service. The table was not set with flatware. Steak knives were an afterthought. We were given a palate cleanser of a lemon espuma & tea “Arnold Palmer”. A hand towel was offered but it was cold. We had to ask for spoons for the palate cleanser. I would highly recommend the wait staff be properly prepared and trained for front of the house service and how to fire off items with proper timing to ensure the guest experiences what the chef wants the guest to experience. Thank you

We miss...

As I was catering event on Valentine’s Night, it was only last night that I was able to take Brian out for a Valentine’s Dinner. We had so enjoyed a post wedding dinner at Malia’s in Aiken last month we decided to return to try some more of their dishes. They seem to change us their menu frequently, about 20% of the menu was different from last month.

Again, we found Malia’s to be an absolutely wonderful place. Lovely décor, not too noisy, friendly staff, amazing food, (at a price less one would except).

Appetizers… Butternut Squash Tart – Roasted Butternut Squash, Shitake Mushroom, Gruyere Cheese, and Shallots, in Puff Pastry. This was both of our favorite starters of the night. There was a bit of a sweetness/fruity flavor that I am not sure where it came from, but it played very well against the earthiness of the squash and mushroom. The creamy gruyere contrasted nicely with the crisp pastry.

Short Rib Stuffed Portobello Mushroom – Tender Braised Short Rib, Ricotta Cheese, and Basil in a Roasted Mushroom Cap with Toasted Garlic Tomato Sauce. A really enjoyable dish. The pork was full of flavor and the ricotta very creamy, and the tomato sauce brought a brightness to the plate.

Soup… Mushroom Bisque – we both agreed this was the best mushroom soup we have ever had. Very creamy, full of rich deep flavor and full of mushroom pieces. My only question was in presentation, the underplate was had a slice of lemon. I am not a fan of superfluous garnishes. What was it’s purpose?

Entrees… Black Jack Pork – Grilled Pork Ribeye finished with Jack Daniels Molasses Glaze, served with Sweet Potato Mash, Asparagus, and Tempura Onion Rings. This was fantastic, by far the most tender piece of pork either of us had ever had. the glaze was as rich and deep as it was sweet. The sweetness of the potatoes was restrained. The onion rings hot, crispy, and light.

Crispy Duck – Sous Vide and Flash Fried Maple Leaf Farms Duck Half, finished with an Asian BBQ Sauce, served with Fragrant Jasmine Rice and Asparagus. The best duck I have ever had (outside of China). It was most, flavorful, not fatty, and the skin was super crisp. The BBQ sauce was great. The rice was just sticky enough and very flavorful. The asparagus on both our plates were nice large spears and cook leaving just the right amount of bite.

Dessert… Le Bete Noire (Flourless Chocolate Cake) with Mixed Berry Compote and Whipped Cream. A great really rich slab of chocolate. The berry compote was full of fruit flavor, however I would have picked a sauce that had a better color contrast...

My daughter-in-law took us out for Mother’s Day on 5/11/2025 to Malias for their special Mother’s Day lunch. I had not been back to Malias for quite some time, but in the past, I had enjoyed some really good dinners there. However, time has really changed this place. Before we went, I tried to find an online menu for this “special” lunch with no luck. If I had found it, we would have never booked the reservation. The choices were not very enticing and it was difficult to make a decision. First of all, it was explained that we could choose one from the appetizer, the entrée and dessert for $40 or go a-la-carte for $15 per each chosen separately. We decided to go a-la-carte because nothing appealed. There were very little actual meat choices. When we arrived by the way, at 1:30 PM the place was more than half empty. As soon as we were seated the wait person brought two biscuits and the menus. I noted on the menu the biscuits come with butter and preserves which was not served with the biscuits so I had to wait until I could get their attention and finally the butter and jam were brought. Then, there were no utensils and we had to get their attention once again to get utensils. Reminder, the place was not busy but I think they only had two servers running around. We finally ordered and each got one appetizer because we decided we were not going to stay for the entrée. So, for $15 each, I ordered the mini quiches and my daughter-in-law ordered the burrata salad. The quiches were like eating cardboard…very dry and crumbly and basically tasteless. (I think they were frozen bought in bulk) The burrata salad came with barely any greens and was extremely stingy. To sum it all up, the service was not good, the food was terrible and costly to boot. Also, when we asked for the check, the server blew the candle out as she left to get the check and we were still sitting there. We will never go back. From there we went to La Parisienne and had a really great lunch for half the cost.

PS I just found out there is a new owner. I guess he does not believe in quality and just wants to cut corners. It was a very...