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Emily: Daraius and I had some delicious (and some not-so-delicious) food in Hawaii. Here’s what we sampled in and around the Hyatt Regency, Maui:- The Hyatt Regency Maui breakfast buffet
- Local Food for traditional Hawaiian plates
- Ululani’s for shaved ice
- Sonz at Swan Lake (in the Hyatt Regency) for dinner
- Hyatt Regency Maui Club lounge for breakfast
- Maui Swiss Café for crepes
- Merriman’s for dinner with a view
- Leilani’s
- Aloha Mixed Plate
- Introduction and Planning
- Alaska Airlines First Class & Getting Locked Out of Our Car!
- Hyatt Regency Maui, Ocean Suite
- Hyatt Regency Maui
- Eating Around the Hyatt Regency Maui
- Activities Around the Hyatt Regency Maui
- Hyatt Regency Maui Ocean Front Room
- Grand Wailea – Terrace View Room
- The Grand Wailea
- Grand Wailea Spa
- Eating Around the Grand Wailea
- Activities Around the Grand Wailea
- The Road to Hana
- United Flight From Hawaii
- Blog Giveaway & Conclusion
The Hyatt Regency breakfast buffet
Emily: On our first day at the hotel, Daraius wasn’t well and slept in, so we missed the free breakfast in the lounge (which we had access to as Hyatt Diamond elite members). So we went to breakfast at the Swan Court restaurant which is open until 11:00 am. The line was long, and we waited about 20 minutes to be seated.
The food was pretty good and included fresh banana carrot bread…
There was an omelet station with made to order omelets.
There was fresh juice as well, and Daraius loved the Pineapple, Orange & Guava combination.
My favorite foods were the homemade breads because they were so fresh. I also liked the selection of cheese, and the banana pancakes. I got my pancakes with their coconut syrup. Yum!
The birds were also busy enjoying their breakfast!
Breakfast was very expensive (~$27 per person without tip), and not worth it. I would much rather eat in the lounge for free or have a granola bar and some fruit instead.
Local Food
The next day, Daraius and I went to “Local Food”, a restaurant in Lahaina which specializes in traditional Hawaiian plate lunches. Here’s a map from the Hyatt Regency to Local Food (~10 minutes drive).
Daraius: I read about Local Food on chowhound, but while the price was reasonable, I didn’t like the food.
I ordered shoyu chicken…
we both preferred my chicken! The pork wasn’t up to Kansas City standards!
Ululani’s for shaved ice
After lunch, we stopped for shaved ice at Ululani’s on Front Street in Lahiana Daraius read about this on Chowhound as well. It is about 10 minutes drive from the hotel.
They had lots of flavors from which to choose.
It was fun to watch the employee make it.
I had mango, coconut, and passion fruit flavors with a crème sauce on top and mochi. I really like the mochi balls on top, which are like sweet rice balls. The serving size was huge…we should have opted for the kids’ size!
Sonz at Swan Lake (in the Hyatt Regency) for dinner
Daraius booked us at the Hyatt Regency’s fancy restaurant for dinner, called Sonz at Swan Lake. He was tired from just 1 excursion out of the hotel, so we stayed in for dinner.
The restaurant had a view of the garden with swans, and the waiter said that they sometimes swim up close to the window. We made reservations late so did not get a table with a good view.
That evening the temperature dropped and it rained, and the hotel a/c was on full blast, so I was a bit cold!
The menu prices were expensive. It was about $15 for an appetizer and ~$25 to $50 for an entree.
We ordered a Yukon Gold Potato Gnocchi Caprese served with Olowalu Tomatoes, Mozzarella di Bufala, “Mean” Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 25 Year Balsamic for an appetizer, which was delicious! The ingredients were all so fresh, and the tomatoes tasted like they had just been picked from the garden.
Daraius doesn’t like anything green, but even he liked the salad!
Next, Daraius had fish for the main course.
I had beef tenderloin with Maui Coffee Marinade, Loaded Baked Potato, and Asparagus. My beef was a little dry, and it was cooked medium well, rather than medium rare, as I requested. But I ate it without sending it back.
My favorite part of the meal was the Caprese salad, followed by the baked potato.
Hyatt Regency Maui Club lounge for breakfast
The next day, Daraius and I had a light breakfast at the Hyatt Regency Maui Club Lounge. We were Hyatt diamond elite members so we got access to the lounge and breakfast for free.
The menu selections included apple crepes, oatmeal, cereal, homemade banana breads, pastries, fresh fruit, cheese, and bread.
But breakfast was free so we ate a late breakfast and skipped a few lunches to save money!
We sat out on the patio and had a nice view of the Ocean and the green hills.
Maui Swiss Cafe
Another day we were back on Front Street and went for crepes at Maui Swiss Cafe. We hadn’t planned on going there, but the thought of crepes attracted me!
Here’s the menu.
I ordered the “England” crepe with ham, cheese, and tomato…
I absolutely loved my crepe, but Daraius thought it was “okay.”
Afterwards, we went out to the Lahaina Ice Cream parlor (also on Front Street) for ice cream before heading back to the hotel.
Merriman’s for dinner with a view
Another night we went to Merriman’s (reservation needed), which Daraius read had good sunset views and food on Chowhound. It was about 15 minutes by car from the Hyatt.
There was a bar outside to watch the sunset, which serves small plates and drinks only.
Instead, we sat indoors so that we could relax and enjoy dinner. Seating inside is first come first serve (once you have a reservation) so you can’t reserve a seat by the window.
We were soon served a welcome appetizer and we placed our order.
While we were waiting for our order, we went outside to take pictures.
The sunset was absolutely gorgeous and I was so glad to spend it with my honey!
It wasn’t as chilly tonight as it was a few nights ago, so I left my jacket at home.
Here’s a link to the menu. It was ~$15 for an appetizer and ~$30 to $50 for a main course. I liked that they had an option for smaller portions.
We ordered the Upcountry Organic Kale and Butter Lettuce Salad which consisted of Hana Hearts of Palm, Roasted Beets, Big Island Goat Cheese, Crispy Maui Onions, and Miso Citrus and Smoked Macadamia Nut Honey Vinaigrette for our appetizer.
Daraius had Crispy “Day Boat” Mahi Mahi Ponzu.
and Half Butter Poached Lobster.
I had the filet mignon which consisted of Spicy Caramelized Maui Onion and Roasted Hamakua Mushrooms, Creamed Kula Corn, and House Whipped Potato.
I loved the creamed corn, but my meat was served medium well to well done, instead of the medium rare as I requested.
For dessert, we ordered White Chocolate Filled Malasadas, or small white-chocolate filled doughnuts, served with Maui Oma Coffee Caramel Dipping Sauce. The doughnuts were served in a brown paper bag.
These were out of this world and the highlight of the dinner!
Leilani’s
If you walk towards the beach from the Hyatt Regency Maui and then turn right and walk along the path, you will eventually come to leilani’s restaurant in about 15 minutes in the Whaler’s village. This is another option if you want to not eat at the Hyatt.
Daraius went here by himself while I was laying by the pool and had fish tacos. He said that the prices were reasonable for lunch, but I can only find a link to the more expensive dinner menu online.
Of course he had to get dessert too!
Aloha Mixed Plate
On our last day we stopped at Aloha Mixed Plate for traditional Hawaiian lunches. It is about 10 minutes from the Hyatt Regency by car.
This time, Daraius enjoyed his plate lunch!
All seating is outdoors.
And the views are very pretty!
The food was reasonably priced. We ordered fried chicken…
To drink we had a mango pina coloda smoothie.
I loved the fresh smoothie and the view, but the fried chicken was okay. Daraius said the shrimps were better.