Ale House — Restaurant in Hawaii

Oh how I miss the Sizzler that used to be here, but this is a good replacement. Who doesn't love a sports bar? And they recently added a damn good sushi bar.

ATMOSPHERE: It's a typical sports bar that sports a big central bar, TV's abound, stage, booth & high top seating, and pool tables.

MENU: Nice mixture of typical apps, local entrees, burgers, sushi, desserts. They also have a late night menu which starts at 9:30pm after their kitchen dies down.

HAPPY HOUR: Available from 3-7pm! 4 hours!? Who does that?? They have a nice selection of reduced sized dishes, including their awesome pizza.

FOOD: Nachos - Decent portion for the price, and they don't skimp on the toppings.

Calamari - Mixture of cut rings and tentacles in a crispy and non oily batter.

Mushroom Swiss Burger - Loved it. It's hard for me to find a burger that is good all-around. I think I've found it, so far, in Maui. Bun is soft, burger big & juicy, and lots of sauteed mushrooms. This burger is NOT available on their late-night menu, unfortunately. Comes with lettuce, tomato, onions, a huge pickle and fries (the shoestring is my fav, sprinkled with seasoned salt.)

Fish & Chips - Huge platter of crispy & tender fish with tons of seasoned potato wedges, and a saucer of tartar sauce that never seemed to end.

Pastrami Reuben - Pastrami, swiss cheese, nixed the sauerkraut, all on top of toasted rye with a Thousand Island spread. H O L Y yum!? Warm (pastrami), crunchy & soft (rye) and delicious! Comes with fries and sliced dill pickles. Found me another fave sandwich!! If In-N-Out made a pastrami sandwich, this would be it!

Buffalo Wings - 10 big pieces in a medium-spiced buffalo sauce. For some reason the smell was an over-powering Tabasco nose clearer, but it wasn't so hot as to eliminate the flavor of the chicken. Loved it! A bit pricey at $14 though.

Lettuce Wraps - Hmm, unfortunately the filling looks similar to canned dog food, but the taste was alright. Not as pretty as PF Changs or CPK's version.

Pizzas - They must've changed up their recipe, because their pizzas nowadays are the bomb! The flavors are delicious and the crust is thin and chewy. What a turnaround!

Teriyaki Chicken - 2 huge pieces of boneless skinless thighs that were very tender and flavorful with a mountain of rice to the side. The mac salad is lifeless and needs better and more mayo.

Saimin - I had high hopes for this $12 dish as I saw quite a few locals ordering it. Unfortunately the clear broth lacks any sort of flavor which killed it. The noodles were good, as were the toppings of fresh mushrooms, char siu, sliced eggs, kamaboko, sliced ham, and shredded cabbage. Pass.

Onion Rings - They're battered, not breaded, which makes a world of difference. A little oily but super tasty. I opted for ranch dressing dip instead. Excellent app!

Cobb Salad - Available in small and large sizes, I naturally went for the big one, which was a perfect meal size and not just a stomach tickler, The romaine was topped with fresh tomatoes, chopped egg, avocado slices, crunchy bacon bits, blue cheese crumbles, and oddly with hot-off-the-grill pieces of chicken. I was wondering why salad was steaming at one point lol. It's your choice of dressing, so I chose ranch. Fret not, it wasn't the nasty Hidden Valley variety!

Potato Skins - Mmm my new favorite app dish! You get 4 good-sized halves that are neatly covered in melted cheese and fresh bacon bits with a side of sour cream. So simple yet so delish.

SERVICE: All the staff are friendly. Reservations can be made but usually aren't needed. The place is naturally jumping if a sporting...

The owner of this establishment has barred me from visiting because I gave a bad review. I understand his point, since I am a former employee and seperated on bad terms nearly 8 years ago. I do still work in industry and could be conceived as "slandering the competition" or whatever. So... Let me elaborate on my last visit.

I walked in at about 1840 last night (Saturday, 10/10/20). My girlfriend and I sat at the bar and waited for our drinks patiently maybe a few minutes. A lone bartender (Niki) seemed overwhelmed, maybe I'm wrong, there were about a dozen people on the bar. She made her way around, got my drink order (Modelo Especial for me, water for my girl). Got my beer, waited a few minutes for water and a menu. Then we waited maybe 10 minutes or so for our food order to be taken and a non alcoholic beer for my girl as she's not drinking right now. Niki had to track down another employee to ask if the even had a non alcoholic beer, which they do (they carry Buckler). The Cobb Salad is amazing, as always. The calamari and chicken tenders both feel way over breaded and possibly double fried. Not sure on either. I prefer to eat my calamari with chopsticks, so I had to flag down another server to get them. When our food arrived, I was ready for another beer, which came in pretty short order. As we neared the end of our food, I finished my beer and was ready for another. My glass sat empty for 7 minutes as the bartender walked past me, no less than half a dozen times, not even looking at me. So, I decided I wouldn't have another. I asked for my check, which popped up instantly. My total was $54.54. I paid with a hundred dollar bill. My received change was $40.46.... hmm.... I asked Niki to come back and count my change again, she did, and acknowledged that it was incorrect. She gave me the rest of my change and I left a poor tip to match the poor service.

Now with all that said, my review of one star might be unfair. In fact, the poor review was solely directed at the bar service. I will change it to 3 stars because the food really was ok, they do have all those really nice TV's and the restrooms are next level.

So, Brad, if you feel the need to 86 me, that's fine. But, here's your...

I visited Ale House in Maui over the weekend and unfortunately, it was a very disappointing experience from start to finish. The service was absolutely horrible — our waitress was incredibly rude and clearly had no interest in being helpful or polite. To make things worse, they automatically charge gratuity, which may explain the total lack of effort. Then, despite the poor service, she had the nerve to write “extra tip appreciated - mahalo” on the bill. Really? They crammed 8 of us into a booth that could maybe fit 4-5 people, and just expected us to squish in. There was no offer to bring extra chairs or set up another table. Eventually, two people from out party had to go sit separately at another table because it was physically impossible for all of us to eat comfortably. Staff saw this and didn’t care — in fact, they seemed annoyed that we had ended up using two tables, even though they made zero effort to accommodate us properly. I ordered a teriyaki burger that came with no teriyaki sauce, and a single sad pickle that looked like it had been pulled from the bottom of the jar. When I asked for a side of teriyaki and pickles, the waitress rolled her eyes IN FRONT OF US. We also asked for ketchup, and again got the same attitude — as if asking for basic condiments was some huge burden. And she never brought the Teriyaki Sauce. $25 for a burger that was bland and incomplete, served with a side of attitude. Honestly, by the end of the meal, we were scared to ask the waitress for anything else because of how hostile she was. This kind of treatment is completely unacceptable, whether you’re a tourist or a local, everyone deserves decent service. Unfortunately, Ale House failed on every front. The food isn’t worth the price, and the service is some of the worst I’ve experienced on the island. Be warned before dining here — the vibe is unwelcoming, the food is underwhelming, and the staff make it clear they don’t want to be bothered. Far from the "Hawaiian vibe" here.... Should rename to DICKS- because that's about the level of service...