Ulu Kitchen by Merriman — Restaurant in Maui

We have been to Ulu kitchen over seven times now. Both for lunch and dinner on various days of the week.

We can generally say that every dinner experience we hear is beyond fantastic. The food quality is amazing, the ambience matches, and the music and tranquility of the venue really just hit it out of the park. The waitresses that we have had every time we’ve eaten, dinner have been extremely warm and welcoming, making sure that our water stays full, our questions are answered, and we are served attentively.

However, when we did come for lunch today, Monday, our experience did not meet our expectations based on our historical visits here. The ambience was of course, amazing, but we ordered a wrap, and a poke bowl. The wrap came missing ingredients that were included on the menu… When we inquired about the missing items, the waiter told us that he did not think that was included and I asked him if he could check with the kitchen. He proceeded to wait 15 minutes plus until he came back and said our menu does not reflect the ingredients on the items.

That really did perplex us because in what world does your entire menu not reflect what’s on the item, and you as the waiter should let us know any deviations if you’re switching the menu up. So we were baffled, did not receive water service, and we purely neglected for over 30 minutes. We were planning on having multiple drinks and relaxing and enjoying, but we ended up just having one drink and calling it quits with the lack of attentive service at lunch. We will of course try it again for lunch since we are staying at the hotel here, and we will see if we have a better experience any of the other days for the lunch service.

I do want to reiterate again that generally, this is the only experience that we’ve had with poor service and lack of attention. We did notice that the same server was also serving dinner and heard a nearby table commenting on how attentive the server was being. So maybe he was just having an off time With lunch earlier that day.

Other than that, the playlist in the venue matches the atmosphere, and really just puts you in an overall positive vibe. They did have some amazing specials on the menu, especially the ice cream sandwich, which honestly I hope they never take off the menu and they put it on full-time. We got several people around us to order the ice cream sandwich every night that we’ve come for dinner, so we’re essentially food influencers here.

We look forward to coming back and trying out other service times to see how it matches our...

Disrespectful Staff, Disappointing Experience — Please Read Before You Go

We had one of the most unpleasant dining experiences here, and I strongly urge others to read this before deciding to visit.

My wife, our toddler, and I arrived around 4:40 PM, seeing that the restaurant offered happy hour until 5 PM. The place was nearly empty, and we were seated outside right away. However, over the next 15 minutes, several staff members passed by us without acknowledging or taking our order. It became clear they were intentionally stalling until happy hour ended. At 4:55 PM, I approached the front desk and explained that we had been waiting for 10+ minutes and would like to place our order in time for the happy hour. I was assured someone would come — but no one did until after 5 PM.

That alone was a red flag.

When our food and drinks finally arrived, we were midway through our meal when two staff members came over and abruptly informed us that they needed to close the umbrella at our table due to “windy conditions.” They did this without any consideration, forcing us to awkwardly duck mid-meal as they closed it. Once it was down, we were left sitting directly under the harsh sun, and our toddler became visibly uncomfortable.

We asked to be moved indoors. The staff said they’d check — and then disappeared for another 4-5 minutes, leaving us in the heat. Meanwhile, other umbrellas around us remained open, with other diners comfortably seated under them. The selective nature of how we were treated made us feel singled out, and looking back, it felt like blatant discrimination. Whether racially motivated or not, it was deeply upsetting and entirely uncalled for.

To top it all off, the food was overpriced and not worth the experience.

Overall, this was one of the worst dine-in experiences we’ve ever had. Poor service, disrespectful staff, and a complete lack of basic hospitality. We left feeling disappointed, disrespected, and disturbed. I would not recommend this place to anyone, especially families or anyone expecting fair and...

Stayed at the Westin Valentines Day weekend and because of convenience we tried Ulu twice. Once for dinner and then the very next day for breakfast. Both days we had to wait about 25-45 min for an open table because we just walked in vs having reservations. There are two chairs right outside the hostess stand to sit but no other seating.

Dinner the first night was just ok. I got the mushroom pot pie and my mom got the lobster ravioli. She enjoyed the ravioli but described it as a small portion for a big price. It was $41 for 6 ravioli noodles. More like an appetizer vs an entree. I had the mushroom pot pie and it was ok but not my favorite. The crust was nice and flakey but the inside left much to be desired. It was just mushrooms, sauce, lots of grilled onions and about 6 potato chunks. I wish it had more vegetables.

The next day we came for breakfast. We sat with menus for about 15 minutes before a waitress came over and asked if we had been greeted yet. She said she didn’t know who was assigned to our section but she would get us drinks. She did and then no one ever came for orders. Eventually she ended up taking care of us the whole stay.

I ordered the eggs Benedict which was actually very good. Very fresh and the eggs were perfectly poached. It came with a small salad but having spinach on the Benedict already I would of preferred potatoes. My mom got a classic breakfast (eggs, bacon, potatoes) and a side of toast.

Our coffee was comped for the inconvenience which was a nice gesture.

The location is great. You can both people and ocean watch from the outdoor seating area. Overall enjoyable with room...