Betty’s Beach Cafe
This is a plum location overlooking the beach with a gorgeous ocean/sunset view. Unfortunately, the restaurant adage “the better the view, the worse the food” holds true here: commercial ingredients, sloppily prepared, and expensive considering the quality. The menu ranges widely and features sandwiches, seafood, and everything in between — including lobster for $13.95 on Wednesdays. Uninspired weekend brunches are buoyed by $2 glasses of champagne. The u-shaped bar is kitschy-cool to look at, but we wish they would live up to the location and serve a mai tai that isn’t filled with coca cola and pineapple juice.
They’ve made a nice renovation to the restaurant, and we like the super-over-the-top-fun Hawaiiana decor, but they are definitely relying on what the previous tenant also relied upon: a full view of the Feast at Lele lu’au show. The view alone brings in locals and tourists, but this doesn’t seem quite fair to the lu’au, which is working just as hard to serve fabulous food as Betty’s … isn’t.
Address: 505 Front Street, Lahaina, West Maui
Location: At the back of 505 Front Street complex
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hours: Daily 8am-10pm; Bar until 12am
Parking: Lot, Street
Phone: 808-662-0300
Website: www.bettysbeachcafe.com