Aroma D’Italia Ristorante
Aroma D’Italia is a good choice for an affordable Italian meal. Located in the Foodland shopping center in Kihei, they have a corner location and a nice outside seating area that they’ve screened in and lit with fairy lights. Inside the restaurant is also a comfortable choice, although some find the lacey curtains, plump-Italian-chef salt and pepper shakers, travel posters, and the Eh, Paisano! -style music a little too much.
We feel that this is a familyowned restaurant with homemade food, and if it is dressed a little like your Italian-American grandma, that’s OK. Grandma makes good pasta. Actually, Chef Konrad Winder makes good pasta. He also makes decent marinara sauce, fine meatballs, delicious (but very cheesy) lasagna, passable sausages, and many other Sicilian classics. His daily dishes are particularly worth looking into. The fresh fish is usually perfectly and tastefully prepared, and the lamb and beef specials are similarly tasty.
We like the Italian sodas; perfectly flavored, bouncy on the tongue and creamy going down. Italian and American beers are also available, and there is a limited wine list. The homemade tiramisu is very nice. Service is consistent; many of the servers have been working here for a while, which is the sign of a good gig on Maui. This is a clean, affordable restaurant serving admirable, consistent family-style food, and our go-to restaurant when we’re craving pasta in South Maui.
Address: 1881 S. Kihei Rd., Kihei, South Maui
Location: Kihei Town Center, Foodland’s shopping center
Meals: Dinner
Hours: Daily 5pm-9pm
Parking: Lot
Phone: 808-879-0133
Website: www.aromaditaliamaui.com
July 6, 2009 @ 10:48 am
We loved the food at this simple Italian with a friendly greeting and a comfortable setting. Sitting outside on the patio sort of puts you in the parking lot but it’s not bad. Sitting inside is cozy and quaintly decorated with a little Dean Martin and Jerry Vale favorites playing in the background. The caesar salad is their specialty and it was especially yummy! They kindly split both the salad and the hearty spinach lasagna for us and it was plenty of food for both of us. The foccacia bread they bring to the table is warm with a delicately crunchy crust great for dipping in a bit of olive oil and balsamic. This is a great pre-movie or post-movie dinner since the Kihei theaters are just north. We checked out the bambino menu and we’ll be bringing the kids next time!