Humble Market Kitchin — Restaurant in Maui

ATMOSPHERE: The eatery has taken over the former Migrant and Mala Wailea spots in the Wailea Beach Resort, AKA Marriott Wailea, so it's fairly large. A spacious lounge area greets you, followed by a mix of private rooms, lots of high top and booth tables, a good sized bar, lanai seating and designated buffet area with an open-view kitchen. The lighting is dim, the decor contemporary, which made for a trendy vibe with a gorgeous ocean view.

BEVERAGE: Lychee Martini - $14. There were no martinis listed on the menu but they'll make whatever your heart desires. Contrary to other joints, I can honestly say that the two I had here were consistent in the alcohol to flavor ratio both times. Props!

Upcountry Love - $14. This vodka-based drink tasted similar to a mojito. The lavender syrup, if anything, was easily overpowered by the mint. Very refreshing.

FOOD: Edamame - These took the place of house bread which is a great idea. They were perfectly cooked with sesame oil flavoring and "refillable".

Crispy Chicken Wings - $14. Very pricey for just five wingettes and drummettes. The wings were not battered or floured, very lightly salted and perfectly deep-fried. Garnishments were sliced jalapenos, limes and cilantro.

The Phoenix - $21. My spouse's app. Their version of a spicy ahi roll came topped with even more fresh ahi slices, artfully arranged and drizzled with a creamy aioli. Very tasty, he said.

Wedge Salad - $15. My spouse's dish. He reported that the lettuce wasn't dried properly, resulting in a watered-down blue cheese dressing that ruined the dish.

Yamaguchi Style Ramen - $22. This is the dish that led me astray from the restaurant week menu and which I bypassed when we ate at Eating House 1849 on Kauai. First off, NO ramen dish is worth more than $20. So why did I order it? Because I'm a ramen fanatic! This is a true tan tan (sesame seed) broth - creamy, with chili oil that gave it an orange color and a nice kick, just like my favorite version at Goma Tei on Oahu. But, it was overly salty which was its only downfall. The wavy noodles were cooked perfectly chewy and the entire dish came out just under searing hot. Garnishments were hearty; two pork-filled won tuns, pork belly, bok choy, fresh ginger, poached egg, green onions and oddly half a stewed tomato.

Fork Tender Braised Short Rib - $39. My spouse's entree that he really enjoyed. The forkful I had was insanely tender, but I personally prefer meat to be tougher. The savory sauce coated the meat and entire bottom of the skillet plate. Sides were creamy mashed potatoes with sauteed green beans, zucchini and carrots.

DESSERT: Chocolate Soufflé - $12. Thanks for the Yelp check-in offer! All of Roy's restaurants serve this signature dessert of his. The soufflé had a really tasty buttery-chocolate-y flavor with some chewy edges. A single scoop of vanilla ice cream came to the side.

Fruit Loops & Lucky Charms "Cake" - They ran out of chocolate-peanut butter ice cream on the restaurant week menu, so a couple of my friends settled for this odd cake-like concoction that looked like a Fat Boy sandwich yet was filled with some kind of thick filling that was mixed with soggy Fruit Loops and Lucky Charms cereal pieces. It was absolutely disgusting in texture and very boring in flavor. Avoid.

SERVICE: I made reservations via OpenTable which was a breeze.

Host greeting was smiley and friendly. I reserved hightop seating on OpenTable, but we were taken to a private room with a regular table in which we declined as we wanted to be in the main restaurant. We got seated at a gorgeous 8-seat high top carved out of wood.

Kari G. took care of the seven of us. She was very friendly, down to earth and professional. While the restaurant wasn't super busy, bar service took longer than normal.

TIP: If you've eaten at Chef Yamaguchi's Eating House 1849 restaurants on Kauai and Oahu, you'll experience a fairly similar menu.

OVERALL: Beautiful ambiance, pricey yet conventional cuisine, good...

Made a reservation for valentines for my wife an I a week in advance in which the hostess I spoke with told us we could choose to sit outside or inside. I informed her it was our honey moon an would love to sit outside and if not possibly one of their booths by the window. When we arrived the hostesses seemed very overwhelmed , we we're quickly brushed away to a table inside which was also not a booth and also located next to the bar where the food waiters pick up their cocktails.Within the first 30seconds my wife was dripped on in the face by an Airvent. Our waiter witnessed the water drop happening an asked what could be done. Well directly next to us was a booth with a window view,(the second option I was told we could have a week before). When we told our waiter no problem can we move to that booth he said he would have to check with the host stand..moments later I was told sorry but we couldn't move there was a 4 top reservation coming in. Instead they pushed our table directly behind a wall so we were out the way from the AC unit but now we had zero view.This wouldn't have been an issue had we not gotten half way through our entrees only to have another two person party seated in the table we were informed was taken for a four top. At this point there were multiple 4 tops available both outside an inside. One more thing that makes this one of the worst hosting experiences I've had is the fact the hostesses walked around on their iPads all night even approaching tables while people were eating with their faces in their screens. For this the hostesses get a zero out of 5 stars. Worst hosting experience ever.

Food quality was dismal. First our Szechuan spiced rib appetizer was cold, not sure if cold BBQ sauce was applied to the ribs( I hope a rookie mistake wouldn't happen At a "high scale" eatery) . The beef on the beef N reef roll was grey, not even an medium rare as a thinly sliced tenderloin should be. Not sure about you guys but grey beef doesn't scream high quality yumminess. Last but not least my wife's half chicken was under cooked on the thigh quarter section, we weren't able to get anyone's attention for a while so she choose to eat the veggies paired with it an let it go. For this the food gets a 1 star maybe a two if that.

Service wasnt that bad but not that good either. Our waiter at least kept us smiling with a few good jokes, and was very kind, an knowledgeable about the menu. I feel bad that the kitchen an hostess let him down so much....

Returnees disappointed this time around. We had last minute Valentine's day plans and decided to do dinner here again. We made the rez thru OpenTable and listed our dietary needs. We arrived and were lead back to a sparsely furnished room with an attempt to "decorate" using, what looked like, leftovers from a wedding reception. We were given a vegetarian menu, my partner is a vegan and I generally stick to a vegan diet when we're out just to make it easier. The staff is ill-prepared to answer questions about this "special vegetarian menu." It's unfortunate that the Chef couldn't be more creative in veganizing the non-vegan items. There were only 2 entrees to choose from and only one was actually vegan as is. The non-vegan, but vegetarian item, was a pasta. In most cases, a plain spaghetti noodle can be made with no eggs. Or at least offer an alternative like spiraled zucchini noodles. Or just even julienned zucchinis would be great with the veggie pasta sauce. We get that it was Valentine's day and perhaps it was busier than normal and maybe wait staff wasn't as experienced but why provide a mediocre and half-@$$ed attempt at decorating the banquet room for over flow? Why not just not overbook or if you do, don't make it look like a prom night gone bad. Perhaps just a couple tables with a table cloth and some nice floral arrangements on them. People pay good money for a dining experience in the restaurant, to be shuffled to the back banquet room just doesn't cut it. I should note that although the staff was not as educated as they should be on the menu, they were very polite and professional, and the food that we ordered was tasty. But again, the food would have tasted "fantastic" had the overall dining experience...