Maalaea General Store & Restaurant — Restaurant in Maui

I was here years ago when they still sold their heavenly mushroom burger...

ATMOSPHERE: It's still the original building though I have never been in before today. Open-air with no a/c. There are seats & tables and counter seating on the spacious and covered front entry lanai with views of the harbor, main drive and coast guard building. There is a small enclosed room off to the side with more tables and chairs if you want more of an indoor effect, still open-air and with a tiny window. There is a tiny seating area inside by the front bay window that can seat 3 at best.

They're still mainly a general store, so you can grab things like beer, liquor, wine, groceries, canned goods, OTC meds, etc.

The takeout counter was the main purpose of my visit. They offer a pretty extensive coffee menu, also breakfast items, fresh ahi pokē, lunch sandwiches, salads, hot dogs, quesadillas, burgers and tacos.

FOOD: Mushroom Burger Wow. THE BEST mushroom burger I've eaten so far, but unfortunately no longer sold. The burger was thick, hot, very tasty and juicy and had that hard to find broiled flavor. It's topped with Swiss, tomatoes, lettuce, red onions, lots of sliced pickles and mushrooms. I loved the bun! It was hinged on one side which helped the burger stay in perfect shape while eating it. Fries are optional shoestring and were delicious and full of flavor.

SERVICE: Everyone was friendly. You order your food at the counter and pay at the main register.

OVERALL: The word of mouth and reviews are all true! I can't wait to try their...

Okay if you’re in a pinch. Gave them a second shot after waiting for what seemed like an irrational amount of time for two bagels with cream cheese, to find they didn’t even spread the cream cheese for you. Since we didn’t know, we didn’t ask for utensils and ended up dipping our bagels into the container while on the road. We tried again for lunch after discovering the other deli like option tradewinds has closed down. The ladies that work there don’t seem to be very well organized and the cashier wasn’t sure if they could make me a ceaser wrap without the chicken…even though it’s an option on the menu. Sadly, I wasn’t surprised to find a ceaser salad in the container rather than a wrap when I got home. I don’t normally leave reviews, unless the service is stellar but this place seems more like a money grab for tourists than a reliable spot to grab a bite. You have to consume the alcohol on-site too, which is weird seeing that they have the drinks in a cooler for self serve and they close pretty early.

If you’re looking for local hospitality and some affordable food options this probably isn’t your best bet. But if you’re a relaxed eater that doesn’t mind being served whatever they feel like serving you, you should...

Pretty terrible experience. Customer service was terrible, the food wasn't very good, and far too expensive. We waited for a long time for our food after the young man at the register stated he would bring everything out when it was ready. He did not. We went back in to find some of our food sitting in the kitchen window. We were forced to send my daughters burger back 3 times because apparently the staff has trouble understanding "plain cheeseburger'. The young man at the counter was more interested in chatting with his friends than assisting his customers in correcting our order. On my 4th trip back to the counter there was a woman, presumably the owner. While she did refund the check, she also stopped just short of name calling. This is not the level of customer service one would expect. Even with the above, close to $100 for lunch is ridiculous. Regarding the response below, we absolutely DID specify plain cheeseburger the 1st, 2nd AND 3rd time we tried to order. My daughter had much better luck with her order at Carl's Jr...