Duke’s Beach House
The Duke’s scene in Waikiki is well known; famed Hawaiian musicians drop in for jams and blissed-out patrons clink cocktails and cry “hana hou!” (“Encore!”) all night long. On Maui, the off-the-beaten-path location of its sister restaurant, Duke’s Beach House, precludes that kind of spontaneity, but presents an even more relaxing ambience. The entry serves as a minimuseum celebrating the life of Duke Kahanamoku — the legendary surfer, Olympic champion, and “Ambassador of Aloha.” The patio’s thatched umbrellas, tiki torches, and teak furnishings are embraced by tiered rock walls. On a small stage, wonderful Hawaiian musicians send the sweet twang of slack-key guitar and falsetto melodies adrift on the warm breeze.
If this were a museum, we’d love it. But it’s a restaurant. And the menu fails to match the excellent ambience.
The “poke rolls” are an ill-conceived combination of a Japanese sushi roll and a Vietnamese spring roll, served hot … or at least warm. Raw ahi is wrapped with Maui onions in rice paper, and then seared. The result is a confusing, lukewarm mess.
The mango BBQ ribs might be tasty before they are burnt to a crisp (which they have been, twice). Our waiters, while both effusive and overly friendly, didn’t notice that we didn’t touch them on either occasion. Other dishes — even simple burgers — have been disappointments.
Cocktails are unimaginative (chip shots, beautifuls, and standard margaritas) and for dessert — surprise! The Hula Pie has found yet another home. The crème brulee trio — small pots of Kona coffee, Tahitian vanilla, and Hawaiian vintage chocolate — is unremarkable. And what do they mean by vintage chocolate?
We like the organic fruit platter and steel cut oats served at breakfast. If there were live music during this meal, and we were in the mood for oats, we’d be here in a heartbeat.
Address: 130 Kai Malina Pkwy, Honokowai, West Maui
Location: at Honua Kai Resort
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Hours: Daily, 7:30am-9:30pm
Parking: Lot
Phone: 808-662-2900
Website: www.dukesmaui.com
December 26, 2010 @ 10:35 am
We visited Maui in late October 2010 for a wonderful two weeks and enjoyed meals at Duke’s Beach House on two occasions. One evening we arrived late without a reservation and decided to order from the bar menu. Some favorites were the Mahi Grilled Tacos, Lobster Bisque Soup and Caesar Salad. Mai Tai’s were “OK” but very quickly became a little watery (too much ice!). Another evening we dined earlier and enjoyed the lovely sunset and their dinner menu. We dined on Sesame Wasabi Ahi Tuna and Seafood Risotto…both very good. We recommend asking for a table not too close to the live music or under a speaker if you want to enjoy conversation with dinner. Very nice place for good food, sunsets and live music.
September 4, 2010 @ 2:52 pm
waaaaay toooo expensive !!!
July 30, 2010 @ 3:39 pm
WHERE’S THE REVIEW?
Seriously, I want to read it and your page here says it’s in the book — but I can’t for the life of me find it within those lovely pages that I just got from Amazon this week.
Help!
July 30, 2010 @ 3:45 pm
Aloha Maya,
Thanks for your question. Duke’s Beach House opened up after the 2010 book published- so it’s not reviewed in the 2010 edition. That link at the top of the page refers to the book in general- but not all 400+ restaurants on Maui can be reviewed in each edition (164 are in the 2010). We’ll let Molly and James know that you want to hear about Duke’s, and maybe they’ll do a post of their first impressions.
May 11, 2010 @ 11:33 am
Great service, friendly staff. A great place to have dinner and watch the sunset.
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