Makai Island Kitchen Groggery

Wanted to try this place since I saw it on Instagram so we tried it when we drove down from SJ for a half day excursion. We were seated at the rotating bar with a great view. The drinks were fantastic and Tad was warm, attentive and so fun. Tiki bars that do drinks well tend to strike out on food, but this place has both going swimmingly well. I had the poke bowl on mixed greens and it was delish! Flavors and portions are right on target. Will definitely come back when we're in town.

Explain to me how this can possibly be rated at four stars! I read the reviews and looked for health violations. All was positive so I chose this restaurant for lunch. I was happy to find parking across from the restaurant. From the outside I never would have thought it's as large as it it. Walking in, it looked fun. It reminds me of Hula's and I was hopeful for the same experience. I was seated at the rotating bar. So far, so good. There were boats, sea lions, and kayakers to watch. Great view by the window. Just after sitting I realized the table hadn't been wiped down. Certainly not with a clean towel and certainly not sanitized. It was sticky and had left overs from, well, who knows when. I took a look around and quickly took note of how filthy everything was. The floors are carpet and hard surface. There's a step at the bar. I guarantee it's not been vacuumed since the start of the pandemic. Gross. I sat at a table across from the kitchen. Between the faux bamboo shoots I saw years of dust and filth. At this point I'm wondering if it looks this way in the front, what does the kitchen look like?! Gross. The Spam Masubi as an appetizer wasn't very flavorful but it wasn't terrible. The main courses, however, were inedible. The Pad Thai did not sit on noodles (okay, there were a few buried) but rather a bed of sprouts and possibly cabbage. Everything was soft and mushy. There were five, spongey, overcooked shrimp. The Loco Moco was prepared with the lowest quality choice beef over rice (rice was good) with a sweet, thin gravy. The gravy was lacking flavor to balance the sweetness or create body that is necessary to a comfort food. Our server was super attentive. I should have caught her name. She was the other positive in the experience (second to the ocean view). I don't ever give a harsh review. Even if I don't love a place, I'll give honest feedback back with constructive criticism. I cannot in this case because of the lack of care to cleanliness, especially after we all had to endure two of the hardest, most sanitized years of our lives. Almost everyone hopped on board with sanitizers to reopen our world. This is an establishment that did not. And for this reason, I'm out.

I was excited to try out this restaurant during my weekend at the boardwalk. Along the wharf there are a couple of nice casual dine-in restaurants specializing in seafood and cocktails. This place reminded me of Duke's in San Diego, which I loved, so I wanted to experience this place as well. You are able to make reservations online via Open Table or over the phone, but they do not allow same day reservations. Either make your reservation the day before or take your chances with a walk-in. My party decided to beat the dinner rush just a bit by going in at 4:00PM. There was a 15 minute wait and during that time, a flood of customers came in. If you want to try this place out, the earlier you go, the better. This restaurant has a lot of seating indoors, outdoors, and a rotating bar. We noticed a window panel on the floor which lets you look below at the seals. It was very entertaining while waiting for our food. The menu is a mix of Hawaiian, American, and Asian inspired food. There were a lot of good looking options on the menu. As for the drinks, this menu is even larger than the food menu. Tons of choices for fun cocktails in souvenir cups, rum, non-alcoholic drinks and more. Beurre Blanc with choice is Salmon or Mahi Mahi: We chose the salmon and this was our favorite dish. The sauce was delicious. We switched out the mashed potatoes for fries for an extra $2.50, but for that, you only get a handful of fries on the plate. Pad Thai: The menu has Asian inspired food such as this, but the pad thai is not very good. It includes some ingredients you don't expect in a typical pad thai. Because the dish included cabbage, the texture was very watery, as if I was having a noodle soup. Poke Stack: Seaweed salad, avocado, and ahi tuna to pair with wonton chips. This appetizer was okay.

I have been missing the food and atmosphere in Waikiki lately, and this place truly brought me back to the relaxing ocean breeze, comfort food, and tropical vibes of Hawaii! I had a lovely time here with my family, and we all loved the food, drinks, and service! Shoutout to Danielle for being such a wonderful server. FOOD Chicken lettuce wraps: These were a bit messy to eat but very good! The lettuce was very fresh and was a great way to start our meal. Papaya salad: We LOVED this dish!! The balance between the greens, papaya, lychee, and macadamia nuts was so delightful and refreshing. Hawaiian Mochiko chicken: The chicken was so tender and well seasoned! The veggies on the side were also great, and my grandma really enjoyed the healthy option. DRINKS Mermaid's Kiss: This drink was refreshing and strong! It wasn't super sweet, which was perfect. Painkiller: This drink was also pretty strong, and I really enjoyed it! Would highly recommend ordering both of these drinks. SERVICE The service here is amazing, and what I was most impressed by is that they knew we would be doing family style rather than having individual entrees. They brought out extra plates for us, no questions asked. It made me feel that the staff here are culturally competent and mindful, and I really appreciated that! Thank you for a fantastic experience, and I'll definitely be back!

The moving floor was ok. Good atmosphere. Hawaiian themed. Great view of ocean. 7/10 food quality.