Spring means cleaning, longer days, and of course vacations during school break, and in Hawaii, it also means refreshed hotel menus.
A plethora of properties on Maui, specifically, have upgraded the menus at signature restaurants or added other new food and beverage options as the weather starts to warm on the islands.
Mauka Makai Restaurant, at the Westin Nanea Ocean Villas Kaanapali, recently launched a new tapas-style dinner menu. Dishes are intended to be shared, and there is a focus on highlighting local ingredients and products. Chef Ikaika Manaku has created new modern Hawaiian items for the menu, including seared scallops with uni risotto, roasted duck, black pepper Kona lobster served over crispy cake noodles, and a ribeye with a Hawaiian rub, red chimichurri, Hamakua mushroom poke, and Maui onion jam.
Over at another Westin property, the Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas, they just launched a new, romantic dining experience. The "Taste the Stars Dinner" at Pulehu, an Italian Grill, offers diners an outdoor table adjacent to the resort's koi pond garden. The dinner includes a five-course prix fixe menu from chef de cuisine Jesse Pita, served with a selection of five wine pairings. Guests can also enjoy a champagne toast at sunset with a flute of vintage Dom Perignon. Pulehu, which means grilled in Hawaiian, features Italian dishes cooked over an open flame. The restaurant was recognized with the 2017 Aipono Maui Restaurant Award for best dessert, and won the award for best Italian restaurant on the Valley Isle from the same organization three consecutive years, 2013-2015.
Also on Kaanapali, the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa has refreshed the menus at two beachside restaurants. The Cliff Dive Grill, situated near Puu Kekaa (Black Rock), now features a new array of frozen cocktails, such as the Frose Bite, sparkling rose and pomegranate liqueur, the Peachy Keen, Maui-made Paniolo Whiskey, peach, lemonade and rosemary, and the Gin and Bear It, with Maui's FID Street Gin, cucumber, passion fruit and mint. The Cliff Dive Grill is a good spot for catching the nightly torch lighting and cliff dive ceremony, and there is also hula dancing and live music before the sunset presentation.
At the resort's Mai Tai Bar, which has a view of the lagoon-style pool, the menu has been updated across the board. Additions include starters of prosciutto and papaya, Maui Gold pineapple spears, and taro chips and dip, and larger dishes such as poke bowls, grilled sandwiches and a half-pound burger.
At Kapalua Resort, on Maui's north shore, casual lunch and dinner spot Pineapple Grill has announced a new menu. The restaurant, which features a lanai overlooking the 18th fairway of Bay Course and views of the island of Lanai across the Auau Channel, now offers an 8 oz. filet mignon, chimichurri-crusted ahi, seafood risotto with fresh catch and grilled prawns, and pineapple upside-down cake, among other new items.
In Wailea, on the southwest shore of Maui, the Fairmont Kea Lani [http://www.fairmont.com/kea-lani-maui/] has kicked off a new wellness options for its restaurant and bar menus. Tied into the resort's "Inspire Your Energy" wellness program, they are now offering menus highlighting healthful options at all of the property establishments. For example, at the Fairmont Kea Lani's signature restaurant Ko, they now offer ti-leaf wrapped steamed island fresh catch with coconut, mango salsa, Molokai sweet potato and asparagus. The lobby bar, Luana, is featuring a low-calorie cocktail menu.