Kula Bistro — Restaurant in Maui

I have been thinking since Friday night if I should contact Kula Bistro about our dinner experience. We have been customers since Kula Bistro opened years ago. We always had a great time; the food was great, waitress or waiter had excellent knowledge of the dishes and preparation. We always take our family and friends when they visit the island. Friday night was another evening of me taking my friend there for supper. It was busy but manageable. Wrong night for good service?? The hostess looked ready for the gym instead of a restaurant. She gave us the menu and the special menu and left. We waited for water and Our waitress for about another 10 minutes as she floated around. From the beginning, we noticed this waitress's attitude looked like she did not want to be there. To our surprise, She turned out to be our server, never asked if we wanted an appetizer or maybe bread or if we had any questions about the menu ?? Our order was simple 2 pasta dishes. Well, I thought it was simple; 40 minutes later and 2 tables closed to us getting their dishes right away (these people got there way after us), I approached the waitress and asked her about our order. Our water glasses were empty, by the way. She sounded so surprised (apparently we were just ghosts there), or we were part of the decoration?. Our waitress slowly went to the kitchen, brought our dishes, and said they were in another station?? Whatever that means. I am sure you guess by now, The food was cold!!. Once again, I had to find her; I said the food was cold, and what did she mean by a different station?? I calmly stated that if she could not handle the tables, she had to get help, and boy, what a nasty reply I was informed of YES, SHE CAN HANDLE. We waited more time for the food to come back. Oh yes, this time was hot (microwaved, I am sure). She never once apologized for the experience or stopped to at least pretend to be concerned about the service. The food tasted good even though we knew it was re-heated after 30 minutes of sitting and getting cold. She dropped the check, and we paid. Yes, I still left 20% gratuity because I still have faith in people, but it will be a long time before we will be back. The 2-star review is about the service Only. The food is still good. However, I will have to take it out...

Too bad they stopped serving pizzas as they were really good!

ATMOSPHERE: Very quaint and simply decorated space. Fresh upcountry air, very open feeling overlooking Lower Kula Road and the natural foliage.

FOOD: Alfredo Rigatoncini is like a larger penne but cut straight at the ends. I'm not a fan of tube pastas but the only alternative would be parpadelle which is too wide for my liking. The dried rigatoncini was cooked nicely al dente. The alfredo sauce was thin, smooth, and not heavy, with good creaminess. The spinach flavors marry well to this dish. My only complaint is that there was not enough sliced & grilled chicken. It's a huge portion, so we took it home and doctored it up with fresh mushrooms, onions and more chicken. Nice dish but it needs more fillers and toppings.

Lamb Meatballs Arrabbiata is a spicy sauce made from tomatoes, garlic and red chili peppers. Spice level was about a 1.5 on a 5 heat scale, very mild though the sauce had a strong zing to it. We substituted the rigatoncini with penne to give our two pasta dishes some difference. The lamb meatballs were really good - tender, no gaminess, great flavor. I didn't touch the arugula topping. Good for the tomato lover but I'm more of a white sauce guy.

Beef Tips Boy did I have high hopes for this dish. It was alright unfortunately. First off, all of their pasta is fresh pasta, not dried, so it's difficult to get fresh pasta to cook al dente. It was very doughy and there was A LOT of pasta. And it's a wide pasta too; too big for an entree dish and would be better off in a lasagna. Beef tips were tender and mushrooms were good, but the sauce is very, very mild. It definitely needs a kick of some wine, butter or spices. The sauce is a creamy brandy but there was no flavor of cream. Big portion but very lacking in the flavor and texture areas. Home-made garlic bread was lacking...

We didn't know what to expect from my research about the place online. It is kinda pricey, but my rule is always to add $5 to what you would expect to pay because it is Hawai'i. I was intrigued by their Lobster Mac'cheese and their crab cake panini. The place looks like it is more frequented by locals when they are celebrating a special occasion. Everyone knew to bring in or go to the store across the street to purchase wine. I did hear a waitress say there is a $5 per bottle corking fee. My husband ordered a hamburger and it was so big he couldn’t get his mouth around it even after squishing it. The fries that came with it were done just right. My crab cake panini was good and came with a huge Cesare salad. I ate the very good salad and brought the rest of my panini with me. I was a little disappointed with The Lobster Mac’n cheese. It tasted excellent but the choice of Mac noodles surprised me. They were huge and long rolls of pasta. It was difficult to eat. I would have preferred a smaller noodle with more surface area to soak up the delicious sauce. The cheese sauce was a bit soupy. It was a little loud inside when all the tables were full. Our waiter didn’t seem like he liked his job, but he warmed up to us by the end. The hostess and the gentleman with the beard were very very friendly and attentive. I’m not a fan of eating with dogs, so I’m guessing they are pet friendly. They have an inventive way of handling dessert. You will be definitely full at the end of this meal, so they had individual desserts wrapped to go in a refrigerator showcase so you didn’t have to miss out if you saw something appealing. One person was celebrating a birthday and the waiter brought the cake over in a container with a lit candle poked in the top. We’ll be back next year, with our...