When nothing else will do but a truly peaceful mountainside dining experience, set your sights on Kula Lodge Restaurant & Bar. Set 3,000 feet up in the hillside above Kula, this popular eatery offers incredible overhead views of the island from practically every table. Although the views are plenty enough reason to swing by, their homecooked food never fails to delight.
Before you can get a taste of what they’re serving up, you’ll need to decide where to sit, which can prove surprisingly challenging. You can either dine in their cozy circular tables on the garden terrace or chill in their glass-walled dining room. Although open-air dining on the terrace might seem like the obvious choice, talented keyboardist Francois Kie serves as a compelling reason to dine inside.
Making things even more complicated is the fact that they’re only open for breakfast and lunch. Plus, they don’t take reservations. So, you might end up waiting a bit longer for your seat of choice, although it’s worth it if you have your heart set on a particular spot. Once you manage to snag a table, it’s time to start digging into all their delicious culinary creations. They have all the Hawaiian classics, like Loco Moco and Grilled Ono, plus tons of additional items all their own.
If you cannot decide between all the fresh, local flavors on tap, go with their Build Your Own Artisan Pizza. Made in their Kiawe wood-fired brick oven, their pizza always arrives at the table perfectly crisp and bursting with flavor. You can mix and match all their most popular toppings, like Portuguese sausage, Kalua pork, poblano peppers, artichoke hearts, and pineapple. No matter what you choose, you can trust that it’ll taste fantastic over the San Marzano tomato sauce and their homemade pizza crust.
Their most popular items include:
The Haleakala Mountain of a Meal
Are you getting ready for a day of big adventure? If so, treat yourself to The Haleakala Mountain of a Meal. This fantastic breakfast offering features two huge buttermilk pancakes plus eggs how you like them. To that, they add either bacon or Portuguese sausage to perfectly round out your meal. Want even more deliciousness? Add mac nuts, bananas, or both to your pancakes for an extra charge.
Chicken Katsu Sandwich
For rich bold flavors in every bite, you cannot go wrong with the Chicken Katsu Sandwich. A twist on a great classic, this sandwich starts with fried chicken placed on a brioche bun. Over the chicken, they add katsu BBQ sauce, tomato, and lettuce. Sweet potato chips come alongside to bring everything together just right.
Lemon Garlic Shrimp
The Lemon Garlic Shrimp offers fresh ocean flavors in every bite, so you can revel in the island magic. To create this popular entrée, they sauté’ fresh shrimp in a bright lemon garlic sauce. Then, they put it over a bed of organic watercress. A scoop of white rice and potato mac salad serve as the sides to beautifully complete your meal.
Although they end their day with lunch service, dessert is always on the table anyway. You’ll just need to decide whether you want the Pineapple Cake or Chocolate Mud Pie to jumpstart your midday sweet treat extravaganza. If you’re not quite ready for dessert, don’t miss the chance to take your selections with you in a to-go box. They’ll be plenty good later on as long as you pop them in the fridge when you get back to your hotel.
Insider Tips:
-Their hours are limited at this time, but they could open their doors for dinner service again in the future. Reservations are on hold for now as well.
–Haleakala tour groups get priority seating for breakfast, so don’t be surprised to see it fill up fast as the buses come through.
-The talented keyboardist happily takes requests, so let him know what you want to hear if you get a chance.