Pita Paradise — Restaurant in Maui

I have literally never been more disrespected at a restaurant. We had a group of 4 come in to have a drink or two while waiting for our table at another restaurant nearby. There was about 3 other tables total in the place, not busy in the slightest bit. All outside seating was open, and more than half of inside seating open. The hostess (who we found out later was the manager) overheard my group talking about our wait time and asked us how long it was (it was 1 hour) and was annoyed at this from the start. We sit down, have a drink, it wasn't a bad drink and then our waitress comes by after we're finished with our first drink and drops the bill. We are a little confused at this point because we didn't want the bill yet and didn't ask for it. So we waited for her to come by and asked for a second round because we weren't finished. She is obviously annoyed by this for some reason I have no idea why, and then gives us our second round. At this point, we feel very unwelcome and confused as to why they didn't want us there. We weren't rowdy, rude, nothing. We just wanted a drink or two while we waited, not knowing what a crime that was to them. As the person paying the bill, I was willing to forget all of that. I just wanted to have a nice time while visiting local friends of maui, so we just rolled with it. Things started to turn when my friends fiancé arrived. He would be the fifth person at this table, so I go to pull up a chair and hear "NO NO NO NO NO" from our waitress screaming across the restaurant like i'm a 5 year old child who put their hands in the cookie jar. I stopped, and said I was sorry, and tried explaining that another person arrived (who also wanted a drink or two) and she told us she can't add a chair because there needs to be a walkway. I thought okay, that makes sense, so i ask "can we move to another table so he can join for a drink?" and she sighs and says "no, I will not do that" and I ask why not? she said "we just can't" and walks away. So we look around the restaurant and again, not busy in the slightest. We are very confused as to why our waitress wouldn't even answer our question or anything, so we ask again. She gets mad and gives us a lecture about covid. We explain how we will go outside! there was a bunch of tables out there and not a single one taken. Again, she just walks away quickly as we're talking saying "no". Then walks over the manager. She said she heard what happened (she was standing right there during all of that) and she "was sorry about all of that, it's just that when people come here for drinks while waiting for monkeypod next door tend to walk out of their drink bill". I'm sorry, what does that have to do with us? We were paying customers at a table wanted a drink or two. The restaurant was not busy at all, now I understand why. So what the manager said just confirmed our suspicions that they weren't happy we came while waiting for a table somewhere else. I have never in my life left below a 20% tip, NEVER. I work in the restaurant business and customers can be tough, we were NOT those customers. We literally just wanted a drink or two. Jokes on you, Karen (yes that was our waitresses name) because had you been kind you would have gotten a nice tip, as I always go above 20% and never less. If this were a smarter business, they'd embrace the fact that people get drinks there while waiting for another place because i'm sure it's the only thing keeping them in business. If you want people to come for your food, maybe serve better food.

This was the first time in my life i've been treated like that at a restaurant. My local friends were horrified by this interaction and trust me, Karen, you will never have to see us come in again after that...

Let's start with the good things. The pita bread was fresh and soft. One of the best olive tapenade I have ever had and the hummus was fresh. The outdoor seating is really pretty.

As for the not so great experience, I am a vegan by choice. Also being vegan for over 5 years I also am intolerant to dairy. I also do not eat honey. My wife and I are cautious about asking for items on the menu that are vegan when not marked. When we were handed out the separate vegan lunch and dinner menus we were thrilled. We ordered the appetizer sampler, pitza and the falafel plate. We also said no balsamic vinaigrette reduction as it was made with honey. When the order came out none of them were vegan and everything was made from the regular menu.

After conveying that we ordered the vegan version, the manager apologized and mentioned that the waiter did not note that in the order and they would bring the vegan version. We got the vegan versions of the pitza and the appetizer platter. However I got the same falafel plate which had rice pilaf instead of roasted potatoes. I called the waiter nearby and mentioned that I was expecting roasted potatoes and the pilaf could be made with chicken stock. He said that the rice pilaf could be vegan but could check with the kitchen and get back. I lifted the falafel only to see feta cheese underneath it. He came back and confirmed that the rice pilaf was made with chicken stock and they would make the order again.

Third time is a charm, at least that's what I thought. I got the falafel plate with roasted potatoes. Eating through the waiter who took our order came and apologized for the mess up and said she thought no vinegar instead of vinaigrette and she missed the vegan part. It didn't occur to me until another manager came and said that the dips had honey in them. Fortunately I am not allergic to honey but didn't feel good that I was served something with honey when I asked them not to.

When the second manager asked if everything was ok, being very hungry and jet lagged, we neither had the patience nor the energy to reply to the question if everything was ok. We just nodded our heads and left as soon as we could.

I would assume that when a restaurant offers a vegan menu, the waiters would know what makes them not vegan. There seems to be a general lack of knowledge on this. We both were initially excited about their dinner menu but decided not to go after this experience.

For the vegans out there, just be vigilant about what you get served...

Overpriced!!! Rude service! Bad food! I’m from Europe ( now live on Maui since about two years) and know what Greek food is supposed to taste like. We have many greek restaurants in Germany ( where I was burn and grew up) and I have traveled all over Greece ( I have close friends in Athens, Santorini, Corfu and Crete). What Pita Paradise serves is not even remotclose to what Greek food tastes like. And the worse part is they significantly overcharge for their low quality dishes. I had a “Goddess Plater” last night. I actually just wanted to order a Gyro dish, but that’s not available at dinner ( Whaaat??? Why would a Greek restaurant not serve one of the most traditional item: Gyro??? ). Only for lunch - weird! Anyway, there was nothing goddess-like about my $25-plus Goddess Plater as it was just a cheap piece of ( microwaved ) pita bread ( the kind you can but at Costco ...) topped with a few leaves of welding greens, some loveless cucumbers chunks( with skin - not a greek thing at all!), and literally three pieces of chewy meet. The side dish was one small spanakopita ( again the kind you but in the frozen section at Costco) and some live less mush of cheese topped something that I could not even identify. Presentation was poor ( next time I take pictures) - the dish looked like a $5 dish at a mall restaurant. The skewers my husband ordered were small pieces of dry and chewy chicken. The “homemade “ hummus was clearly from a jar. We paid nearly $120 for this sad nonsense. The only reason this place is open is because the choices for restaurants on Maui are somewhat limited . This place would never survive on the mainland. Also, I find the staff repeatedly arrogant and rude. Every time we go there that’s something we notice - not just with us, but also with other guests. It starts already when you approach the place and check in... Not sure what that’s about, but the word “service” is not one the staff appears to have adapted into their vocabulary. The inside of this place is basic, nothing special. The outside hits the side of a parking lot. Also, not special. This place is not worth a visit. Not the PONO nor...