Makawao Public House

Honestly some of these reviews are ridiculous. Your service was a little slow? I’m guessing you showed up on Saturday night without a reservation. To go portions too small? In those giant containers everything looks small. The food has been consistently delicious, the service quick and friendly. Is this 5 star dining? The food: yes but the service is small town comfort. Servers are kind and knowledgeable without feeling unapproachable. The “bad attitude” referenced in some of their older reviews is just how kind folk talk to each other. Instead of “yes sir” you have “absolutely brah”. If you don’t like that go to a mainland style restaurant and leave these awesome people alone. Thank you for the awesome service and wonderful food. The kalbi boneless ribs on mash is one of my all time comfort foods now. Mahalo nui for your kindness

Good food - local greens in the salad, perfectly dressed. We had burger and fish sandwich. Bread was soft. Meats flavorful. Fries crispy. Guiness well-poured. Loud due to lack of sound absorption but good company made up for it. No room for dessert, but the choices sounded good. Short menu makes decisions easier.

The appetizers were a wonderful way to start the evening, especially with a storm rolling in. The French onion soup was particularly comforting for the weather, and the steak skewers were flavorful and well-prepared. At the current price point, an additional skewer would make the dish feel more balanced. My husband ordered the smash burger, and it was clear that a lot of care goes into the details. Even the pickles tasted house-made, which added a thoughtful touch. The Kanaka beef stew was another highlight—the texture of the meat was perfectly tender and cooked just right. I would highly recommend it. While the service could use some improvement, the quality of the food more than makes up for it. Overall, the dishes were thoughtfully prepared and very enjoyable.

The food here was better than most five star restaurants. The manager and staff were very friendly and helpful. Most items can be made gluten-free. The stew is gluten-free and very tasty. The Ahi bites were out of this world.

This place is awesome, the staff is attentive and very knowledgeable about their dishes, the food was absolutely amazing (House steak & Smash burger) and the dessert...you have to try the cheesecake, it was fabulous. I would suggest grabbing a reservation if you're planning on stopping by during dinner hours as it was quite busy when we were there. We will be back!

Love coming here. An absolute gem upcountry. Da pupus steak is broke da mouth. Tried the mochiko ahi bites was amazing. The seafood dishes tend to be a little on the sweet side very miso heavy on the sauce. Da steamer clams were off da chain (small kine sweet) but amazing.

Who knew Makawao had a gem like this? Had dinner here with friends and it was wonderful. Menu is full of delicious options and the beverage list will satisfy drinkers of all varieties. The service here was friendly and attentive from the time we arrived until we left. We decided to dine family style so we could try a bunch of dishes. The oysters, pork buns, lechon, roasted vegetables, and steak were so delicious. We finished off the night with the chocolate tort and cheesecake. I’m not a big dessert eater but these were amazing. I’ll definitely be back again. Make a reservation on OpenTable and be ready to find street parking. It’s definitely worth it. 🤙🏼🤙🏼🤙🏼

Great little restaurant in Makawao. I army dinner right when they opened. Our server was great. Very attentive and friendly. We ordered several happy hour dishes and entrees. Started with buffalo wings, had the smash burger with truffle fries, wedge salad, truffle Mac and cheese, Kanaka stew and Fish and chips. Only disappointing thing was their malt vinegar too was missing and I didn’t notice it until I poured a ton of it on my fish 👎🏼. I would recommend a Hispanic you are in the area though.

Delicious food, quality ingredients, and genuine staff! 10/10 everything we ate. The sashimi with the sauce drizzle was drool worthy, both the fish and rib-eye special were juicy and perfectly paired. Great wine selection as well. Looking forward to trying the ramen on our next visit. So Intentional and thoughtfully curated, mahalo! 🙏🏼🌺

99% of the time when a Maui restaurant closes, the space will sit empty. Thankfully, this is the 1%. Opened in late 2023, Makawao Public House has taken over the sadly defunct Makawao Steak House. ATMOSPHERE: I can’t specifically say what renovations were done aside from the removal of the carpet, but it’s now a lively and loud environment. The bar, while always occupied, got more crowded as it got closer to closing time. We got seated on a four topper near the front of the place. My seat had food and oil on it, forcing me to head to the restroom to fetch wet paper towels to perform housekeeping duties. RESERVATIONS: Definitely recommended. PARKING: Good luck with finding street parking. MENU: Intimate selection of local, American and British fare. Well-rounded alcohol offerings. BEVERAGE: Coconut Girl - $15.00 Smooth but oddly flat, vodka-based recipe of sweet, savory and citrusy flavors. Alcohol volume was very low. In need of a kick! Resting Spritz Face Unfortunately not available. Public House Daiquiri - $15.00 I have to remember that there are traditional daiquiris and frozen ones. This is the former. Strong, tart and sweet. FOOD: Chowder - $12.00 The seasonal bowl was New England, my favorite. Beautiful homemade flavor with the addition of fish meat. Excellent! Pupu Steak - $23.00 The sliced New York strip was simply seasoned which brought out its wondrous, natural flavor. I tried it plain and with the “Asian crack sauce”, reminiscent of a chimichurri, and the latter was definitely the winner. Highly recommended. Chopped Wedge - $15.00 Visually colorful and appealing, this was a great presentation as every piece of lettuce was coated in ranch dressing. Kanaka Stew - $24.00 I was torn between this and the ramen. Both sounded good especially with the crisp outside air. The venison was tender and not gamey, with dissimilar veggies of uala (sweet potato), ulu (breadfruit), kalo (taro) and carrots. I opted for mashed potatoes over rice. Enjoyable but it simply needed more salt and acidity. DESSERT: Mud Pie I’d prefer the absence of caramel as that made it too sweet. Also, the coffee ice cream could’ve been more frozen. It wasn’t melting but soft ice cream is just not texturally appealing. Cheesecake I believe the monthly flavor was caramel to my dismay, which made it also overly sweet. Density-wise, it was almost as airy as my benchmark at Cheesecake Factory. SERVICE: Female server was friendly but once food & beverages were dropped off by runners, there was no follow up. She eventually came around to ask for beverage refills, but it wasn’t attentive at all. TIP: No coffee or tea is currently available. OVERALL: I’m positive they’ll work out the kinks. A definite return. Bangers & mash next?