Kihei Caffe Lahaina — Restaurant in Maui

I’ve worked in hospitality for years, and this was a terrible experience.

I arrived at 5:59 AM, one minute before opening, to order breakfast to go. The employee inside looked at me and held up a finger to say “one minute,” without even a smile or a “good morning.” At 6:00 she opened the door, but still no greeting, no warmth, no courtesy.

I asked a couple of questions about the menu, specifically about scrambled eggs, and got a vague, annoyed gesture in response. I ended up ordering eggs Benedict, a yogurt, two cappuccinos, and an orange juice.

The eggs came out before the cappuccinos, which makes no sense — coffee should come first. When the cappuccinos finally arrived, they were scalding hot, had no foam, and were clearly made by someone who hasn’t been trained properly.

When I asked for sugar, I was pointed to an old jar where the sugar was stuck and wouldn’t even come out.

I was with my infant daughter in a stroller, and I asked if they had a tray to help me carry everything. I was told, simply, “No.” Not a single person offered help — even though I was clearly struggling to carry food, drinks, and a baby to the car.

I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for years — I know what real service and hospitality look like. What I experienced here was the opposite: cold, careless, and completely lacking empathy.

Despite everything, I still left a generous tip — because that’s how I was raised. But the way I was treated was completely...

Not wanting another pricey buffet at the Hyatt regency, we came to the Kihei Cafe when we found out that eating local, another restaurant was no longer operating because of the fire in Lahaina. There was a huge line out the door which spoke well of the place.

I'm not a huge breakfast person and ended up getting the pork fried rice, my sons had a surfer dude sandwich and an original breakfast.

Well my pork fried rice was just okay, it was greasy, not super hot and generally not super tasty, their surfer dude sandwich was a hit with my 15-year-old and the original breakfast was also a hit with my 11-year-old.

You stand in line to order at a counter, give them your name and wave when the server yells your name and brings your food to you. Service was fairly rapid.

As everything else in Maui in 2024, prices were fairly high for us mainlanders and the meal for the three of us came to $85 not including tip. Pretty high price for essentially a cafeteria service.

My son ended up getting sick after eating the surfer dude sandwich we think. Maybe from the very undercooked eggs in the sandwich which had the albumin still clear and runny. It could have been...

Had their phone number been updated to their new to go phone number I would have been able to order ahead and nurse my daughter in the car while we waited. Instead of having the stand inside and listen to her scream at me bc she is hungry. I mentioned it to the staff and all he wanted to do is argue with me and tell me it's not his job instead of just saying I'll talk to the manager. I stood there waiting for my order with my daughter in her body carrier everybody looked at me as if I was ridiculous or rude for just standing. It made me feel very uncomfortable and I probably won't go back anytime soon. Not to mention I had to listen to her scream the whole way home also. I don't get why phone orders are so difficult for local businesses, do they not consider we aren't like the tourist and don't always have the time to wait around? I ALSO ASKED FOR NO ONION ON MY BURGER BUT I GUESS THAT WAS TOO DIFFICULT OF A REQUEST AS WELL. We spent $50 on food and can't get it how we ask for it or polite service...??? I am nursing my daughter, onion gives me indigestion so I'm glad I looked before I...