Sunset Kai Lanai — Restaurant in Hawaii

Truly disappointing to see a location with that view be destroyed by a very bad operational model. We walked in to an amazing view. I saw a few folks standing in a cashier line at the front. I assumed that they were picking up to go orders... I was wrong. I asked an employee about the process at the restaurant. The young lady informed me that I order with the cashier, who would then give me a buzzer that will alert me when my food is ready to be picked up. Meanwhile, I could pick any table I wanted and someone would be over to take my drink order.... Strange... Why couldn't the person that takes drink orders be my waiter/waitress? Anyway, I went with it. I ordered the calamari appetizer for the two of us, 1 fish and chips for myself, and a duck soup for my girlfriend. I asked the cashier if i decided later that I wanted to order the key lime pie, would I have to wait in the line again.. The cashier told me that if I wanted pie, I could order it with one of the waiters/waitresses... wait a second,, why couldn't I just order the entire meal through one of the waiters/waitresses?

The cashier rang up the order which was approximately $40. I paid with a card, so I signed the receipt. Out of habit, I left a 20% tip. The cashier handed me 2 water cups, plastic utensils an a buzzer. He said I can get myself some water at the machine near the bar, and have a seat anywhere. I immediately thought about how pointless leaving a tip was at this point.. it is like leaving a tip at McDonald's or something. Wish I could have gone back in time and removed it.. Anyway, we picked a table with an amazing view. My buzzer went off 10-15 minutes after we sat down, but nobody ever came to get our drink order. Frustrated, I finally flagged one of the many waiters down; The restaurant/cafeteria was not busy. He was polite and took our drink order and turned the drinks around quickly. The food was not very good. The fish and chips were comparable (if not the same) that you would find in your grocery store (think Gordon's fish patties/tenders). The girlfriend said her duck soup tasted like chicken soup. The drinks were good. My advice would be to first fix the operating model. Use the bar waitstaff to be actual full service waitstaff. In a location like that with that view, I wouldn't expect it to be a self-service cafeteria-style venue. If it was meant to be that, then why have the waitstaff for drinks only? Just have me go to the bar and get my own drinks. The entire model doesn't make sense. Next, hire a menu analyst for guidance and business review on how you can improve your quality offering and customer experience. The business, the employees, and the customers will all appreciate it. Some food service distributors provide that as a free consulting service. In summary: Great location and view, just a bad customer experience overall. Needs to change operating model, and food quality is sub-par. This place should only be visited for the view and drinks. Think happy hour before having dinner...

Awesome spot for a happy hour cocktail. A bit of a climb up from the shops at Keauhou Shopping Centre, and well worth it for the view. Online menus didn’t match the current ones at the restaurant. Some popular cocktails are not included in happy hour pricing. Spring rolls were tasty, although they appeared to be dredged in corn starch before frying. House salad very generous, House dressing was delicious. Not sure whether they’re still serving in paper plates with plastic cutlery because it’s hard to find dishwashers, but a bit surprising. Perhaps moving to an Australian style ‘partial service’ model where you order at the bar and they bring your food to your table could free up some staff, and save money. Staff was welcoming and friendly. The ‘Please see Hostess’ sign was amusing, as the person doing the seating was named Jeff. Ample parking, clean bathrooms, and a relaxing vibe on the completely open lanai is the perfect start or end to a Hawai’ian holiday.

Update: March 21, 2025 climbed all the way up the driveway from the shopping centre and was glad that I did. Truly a spectacular view. Happy hour only goes from 3-5, and I missed it by about a half an hour. The happy hour menu is quite limited, with only the entry level Mai Tai discounted, and my new favourite egg rolls not on that menu. The service is always exceptional, with friendly staff, who know how to take care of customers. Even at $15, the most premium mai tai is excellent value, as it is truly the equivalent of at least two cocktails. The plates coming out of the kitchen looked exceptional: poke nachos, a noodle dish, fish and chips with slaw, and burgers. Several choices of salad on the menu were appealing. The current egg rolls with Thai sweet mustard dip are a huge improvement over the old Spring Rolls. Service standards have returned post Covid, with real cutlery and cloth napkins. For years, many restaurants have offered discounts to locals, with the hefty exchange rate, perhaps they should offer Canuck Specials to offset the cost to tourists from Canada. My rating was 5 stars for food quality, service and atmosphere, overall, I gave 4 (would have been 4 1/2 if I could) based on value. My $34 drink and appetizer came to US$50 including tip, but you really can’t put a price on wonderful memories. Couldn’t get the Sunset wifi to work to post my review or share photos of the sunset, although all of the former Sam Choy networks still pop up… I hear the key lime pie is incredible, and will save room on a future...

The good: The views were stunning, live music phenomenal (what I would think heaven sounds like), staff friendly/ attentive, and ambience was lovely. We started with the Truffle Wedges and Wontons, both of which were great and I do recommend. We also all ordered the Kai Lanai Sunset, which was refreshing and delicious.

The bad: We ordered a Kai Lanai Mai Tai and when I tell you it was pure unadulterated alcohol that is an understatement. It was honestly offensive how strong that drink was. Think straight 9 parts nail polish remover, with .75 tsp ice and .25 tsp pineapple juice for color. If you need to take paint off a car or make choices you will not remember, this is your drink. We also ordered the pork chops and steak, both of which were welllllllllll beyond well done. The pork chops in particular were so well done and dry I would liken it to a bunch of crushed salten crackers piece mealed together into the shape of a chop and grilled heavily. I was sincerely afraid to inhale while eating it because of how dry it was. It was also so hard to cut, I was concerned that my knife was going to slip and hit a family member across the table. Just terrible, take that off the menu guys, like now. The mashed potatoes were oddly spicy, and I love spicy food, but they were weird almost like it was masking a lot of salt or garlic. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but it wasn't something I would recommend. Veggies were cooked okay, but bland. Overall, dinner for 5 was $300+ before the tip and 3 out of 5 entrees where nearly not edible they were so overcooked. The whole dinner, also took about 2.5-3 hours. 30 mins to get our first drink order.

For this reason I currently, do not recommend it for dinner, but I do think a line cook and bartender overhaul or thorough retraining could do wonders for this place. It's got strong potential with the ambience, location and music The 2 stars are for the beautiful music, ambience, kind staff...