Haliimaile General Store Review

Reviewed by cookie_mama from Nevada on 1/13/09
We were there in November. Husband and I and our two young daughters had a nice dinner there. Heard about it from this site and thought we better give it a try. A bit of a drive for us, but gave us a chance to get off the beaten path. The food was great. My only complaint, was our server wasn't fantastic. Seemed a bit annoyed with our daughters, even though they are/were extremely well behaved. I would also agree with a prior review of the staff seeming to be a bit disorganized & sloppy. Overall, cute place and I would go back. Oh, and as a bonus we did receive a pretty significant discount for bringing in canned goods for the restaurant to donate to the local food bank.

Member Rating: 4.4
Ratings details: Food: 5.0 Atmosphere: 4.0 Service: 3.0 Value: 5.0

Reviewed by gehmana from New York/ Philadelphia on 2/17/08
We found our Hali'maile General Store experience so incredibly awful
we are shocked it is rated at such a high referral. Our experience was seasoned by the staff experience and the atmosphere.
We came across so many restaurant nightmares in our evening that it
was laughable.
We had every restaurant faux pas in the book occur at the table: miscommunication as to seating arrangement, frequent
mix up with seat numbers and waiters putting the wrong beverage, knife,
plate, appetizer and dessert in front of the wrong guest not once...but EVERYTIME.
We were being served by a waiter who had little to no knowledge of the menu.
AROUND us, waiters were dropping ramekins, glasses and at one point a full tray
of sugar packets and glass ramekins!
Dropping the occasional plate or a minor fumble happens in restaurants, every
15minutes is unacceptable. To be perfectly blunt we found that engaging with
the staff was similar to trying to get service from butter fingered oafs.
We were VERY impressed with our food, we had several courses, sampled
the beverage menu and ended with some lovely desserts. AMAZING food!
The atmosphere is the worst I have seen in any four star? reviewed restaurant...
ever!! The 'banquet hall' of a hotel is more accommodating than the interior design of this restaurant. We feel that if they have secret shoppers or up for a new review in Zagat...the atmosphere and service is sure to catch a snag.

Member Rating: 2.4
Ratings details: Food: 4.0 Atmosphere: 1.0 Service: 1.0 Value: 2.0

Reviewed by auntiemaria from Kaua`i on 2/6/07
Loved our first meal at Hali`imaile so much (dinner), that we moved our lunch reservations later that week -- sending us back to Hali`imaile again.
Fresh, innovative food served in a very unique environment by cheerful, informed, efficient waithelp. Not cheap -- but not overpriced for what you get.
I'd give this place a higher score, if Fodor's would permit!

Member Rating: 5.0
Ratings details: Food: 5.0 Atmosphere: 5.0 Service: 5.0 Value: 5.0