Pulehu, An Italian Grill

We live in Maui and are regular customers. The place is well run and the food is the best Italian on Maui. The service is very good and we always request Barbara. Her customer service is excellent and I highly recommend her. She knows her stuff and makes great recommendations. The place seems well managed and is very consistent.
Great service, food and staff! Atmosphere is very good also.

This restaurant is hard to find. It is the middle of a Westin time share complex. The staff was very helpful in finding the restaurant. No signs etc. The restaurant is in a canyon of timeshares facing a pretty garden. The service was excellent. The menu shown as another reviewer stated does not correspond to what is offered. The wine list is good with the usual HAWAIIAN 250% markup. My Wife had a version of deconstructed lasagna (that is how the server described it) it was not good. Very little meat and cheese, fairly dry. It was cut up the way you would give it to two year old. I had a lamb dish that was average. There are better places in the area for the same price.

Food is good… fine for an upscale tourist place at a hotel resort, though Hula Grill down the road is way better.
Staff was wonderful.
Nice atmosphere for a hotel bar/​restaurant, a little chilly, bring a sweater maybe…
And THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE SEATING IN THE HISTORY OF RESTAURANTS. I’d rather sit in an airline economy seat for 6 hours than try to sit in their booths or chairs for dinner again.

I visited the Italian restaurant in my hotel during my recent trip to Maui. We made an early dinner reservation of 5:30 because the hostess said it was the only remaining available table for the night. We got there and it was empty, but it was definitely a full house within 30 minutes.
They offered a special prix fix menu or their regular dinner menu. I opted for the regular dinner menu because I wanted to order their burrata appetizer. I have to say that this dish was a disappointment. I am a big fan of burrata and was hoping for a heaping plate of fresh burrata, instead it came out on a hot skillet, melted down. It was also very sweet from the balsamic added that you really lost of flavors of the burrata. The crostini that came with the burrata was so hard for me to bite down on, so I dipped the burrata spread in the fresh bread served complimentary.
For my main course I had the short rib pasta. It is an incredible amount of food. I took almost half of it home leftover. The meat was very tender and flavorful, but I felt the rest of the dish was lacking. I would’ve liked if this dish was served with some type of red sauce instead of just olive oil. For all of the meat in the dish, it really needed a stronger sauce to hold the dish together.
I also had a taste of my mom’s tiramisu which actually looked more like its deconstructed counterpart. The lady fingers were on the side, not soaked in espresso, so they were very stiff. The cake itself was very small and dense. My recommendation is to go for the sorbet. Every flavor in the trio is delicious.
For the price, I would’ve expected better, but the service and view was exceptional.

When will we learn our lesson about resort dining?
Fried calamari with ‘melted’ cherry tomatoes /​marinara — cold tomatoes and bar food marinara. Long, octopus-​thick strips (no legs) — I’ve never eaten squid that thick and large in the body. Server told me it was because they cut it that way. Er, okay. Tender but texture and size reminded me of processed fake crab meat. Deep fried crunch like a mozzarella stick, it tasted okay.
Ahi carpaccio with shaved fennel, garlic aioli, lemon oil, guanciale chips — the ahi razor thin and good, the aioli bland, the lemon rind bits nasty, the sprouts under inspected, and the guanciale ‘chips’ were indistinguishable from pancetta pieces.
Margherita pizza with locally grown tomatoes, burrata, garlic, basil — tasted like something a preteen makes when she starts to learn how to cook. Black edges on basil (knife cuts), blunt one note garlic, a touch of sauce, fresh slices of bland tomato, weak crust — bland even with extra parm and hot pepper flakes added.
The details reveal everything in Italian, so I have little doubt that the entrées, all standard, all theoretically easy to be be good (bolognese, carbonara, short rib tagliatelle, fettuccini Alfredo, spaghetti and meatballs, risotto, lamb saltimboca, steak, snapper, chicken Marsala), will likely fail to impress.
Far too expensive for the skill-​set and product that you’ll be receiving from this kitchen. If this is some of the finest Italian food on the island, if I were an Italian chef, I’d be living large in Maui right now.
Go to someplace else like Star Noodle.

Loved it. The setting is looking over the koi pond and water features. Noise level was very tolerable and what I really liked was the room between tables. Speaking of tables, there were no candles or flowers on them. Still nice though.
Our server, David S, was very efficient and courteous. He right away introduced himself and let us know what the fresh fish of the day were. Our drinks were delivered quickly and cold. Hate it when the drinks are only cool.
Ordered the brussel sprouts and that was really good. Kids would probably eat them. The flavors were well balanced with sweet, salty and slightly tart.
Decided on the scallops and the Kauai prawns. Tasty is all I can say about these dishes. The scallops were cooked perfectly and tasted sweet almost lobster like. The pork belly added the right amount of saltiness to the dish. The prawns too were cooked perfectly. The sauce was very creamy and I liked the bacon with it.
For dessert we had the Zepolle and the Tiramisu. The marshmallow gelato was just right, not too sweet. The tiramisu arrived in a deconstructed state. If you take a piece of everything the familiar flavors come through splendidly.
This place takes care of the locals and we will surely be back soon.

Great location. It is after all inside the Westin. We made a reservation and requested a table by the Koi Pond. We love them Koi’s they’re very fat and healthy and super colorful.
The age dining in this location is very varied. This is a family friendly location. Most customers that dine in are owners like us or families of owners. So you will see a wide range of age bracket.
Our server was knowledgable but too impersonal. She made an effort to teach both of us how to take pictures of our food and drinks. We excused her meddling once and welcomed her «tutorial». Rejected her the second time. Sigh… why the need to «teach»?
My choice for this dinner was the Fettucini Alfredo with chicken. I am very picky with my favorite dish. So this is a 3 star for me. The sauce was watery. The entire dish needs more seasoning. The freshly grated Parmesan wasn’t able to help remedy the bland situation. I am disappointed. Salt was all it needed.
The drink of the night for me was the Tropical Bellini. This is good. Not much to ruin here.
I’d say this is a 3.5 stars place.