Don't take me wrong. I have no problem paying $200 a piece at a fine restaurant for a fine meal. But it has to be spot on. And our experience at the Dining Room, at the Koele lodge, was everything but spot on. I just can't stand these kind of restaurants which throw a bunch of glamorous words together, and make you pay $58 a plate but it totally is not up to what they promise. It started pretty bad with the hostess telling my friend that they had an enforced dress code, and that his (Tori Richards) aloha shirt, designer jeans and leather slippers were not ok. We are in freaking Lanai, in the freaking hotel restaurant, and you guys are enforcing a dress code? All the more stupid, that they accepted it when he came back with... jeans and tennis shoes. Unfortunately, it did not improve afterwards. The prices are expensive, an the description promising, but the execution? Blah. The complementary appetizer was a duck breast slice with smoked plum. Sounds good right? Well, no. The duck meat was super dry, with a greasy, chewy skin ( it should have a moist tender meat, with crispy skin). The plum was not smoked, but dried to death. All right, this stuff is free, just bring on the $50 plate, so I can lick my lips. I got the lobster crepe that was pretty good. Flavorful, moist and tasty. Ok, this one was fine, and I was happy of my choice. But then the "special" was dreadful, and I was very angry: Poha berry glazed duck leg, white truffle mashed potatoes and oxtail stew. Sounds good? yeah, I know. Well, no. The duck meat was super dry, poha berries and white truffle nowhere to be seen (not even a hint of flavor). And... the mashed potatoes were from dehydrated shit, and the oxtail soup was made with ... can vegetables!!! You are telling me I am paying $50 for canned peas and instant mashed potatoes?? Unacceptable. We were very disappointed by the cuisine there, and I will not advise anyone to eat there. Sorry, get some elbow grease, and peel these real potatoes. I deserve it.
(2)
Nobleza L.
My husband and I decided to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary and stayed at the Koele Lodge. When we asked the Concierge where to dine for our anniversary dinner, he recommended the Dining Room. It was very expensive, but overall worth the price. We decided on the tasting menu and the goat cheese ravioli and seafood stew were absolutely fabulous. My husband had the opah and I had the wagyu beef as our main entree...both were pretty mediocre. The dessert were okay too. The bread rolls, however, were really awful. They were cold and stale...like they were a couple of days old. Service was first class!
(4)
Dan G.
The dining room at the lodge was once again the best meal we had on Lanai. It is expensive, but it was also the best all around dining experience as well. Service was great, portions were large and the menu was creative. The dining room made me feel like we were back in Chicago at any of the fine restaurants here. It would certainly stack up with those. The dining room is an elegant setting with a large fireplace and dark wood interior. However, it did not feel at all stuffy and the service was welcoming and helpful. To start, we were treated to the only amuse bouche we had on our culinary tour of Maui and Lanai. It was a cold Butternut squash soup with dollops of truffle oil. So rich and savory. We continued our meal with a salad of Lanai Organic Greens with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette. Very tasty. We then moved on to the Venison appetizer, which seemed to be a popular choice at just about every table. Lava Rock-Seared Venison - Prepared Table Side, Green Apple, Celery and Candied Nut Salad with Cranberry Relish. Wow, so good. They brought out this cart with the rock on it and laid out some rare strips that just sizzled away until medium rare. Again, so good and quite the display. For our mains my wife had the Macadamia crusted Venison loin with brussel sprouts and au jus. A brief snafu as the meat was slightly overdone, quickly resolved with a rarer cut. The passionfruit sorbet they brought during the wait was fruity goodness. My wife loved the venison, as it was one of her favorite dishes on our last visit and again was excellent. I had Oven-Roast Colorado Lamb Loin, Crusted with Provençal Herbs, Roasted Baby Artichokes and Tomato Confit Ragout, and Black Olive Tapenade. I've really started to take a liking to lamb lately and this was superb. The artichokes and tomatoes were an excellent complement to this scrumptious dish. We had a nice Bernardus Pinot Noir from their wine list that went well with our meal. They had a nice selection of souffles to choose from and we were informed of their availability and cooking time requirements in advance. But we decided to pass on those and selected the Warm Bittersweet Valrhona Cake with Roasted Apple Bananas, and Kona Coffee Ice Cream. We had a nice pot of Kona press coffee and savored every last bite. Petit fours were then brought out for us to finish our evening. This meal was fantastic and covered everything. Menu was inspired, decor was refined, setting was romantic, food was delectable and service was outstanding. Particularly when it came to resolving an issue, they pounced. The GM even came over with the replacement entree to set things straight. Things happen, it's how they are resolved that I will remember. They comped our dessert to make amends for the incorrect temperature on the venison. Typical spot on FS service. Yet again the dining room was the best meal we had on Lanai. Be certain to make it one of your meals here. You will not be disappointed. The best Jerry, the best!
(5)
Lauren G.
While the Dining Room itself is beautiful and romantic.. I'm not sure if the food measures up to the price tag. They only offered a tasting menu of four courses for $95 per person. The dinner included a salad or raw hamachi appetizer, a seafood course, a meat course and then a cheese course for dessert. While each course was good, nothing was exceptional or really memorable. A little disappointing for what we spent on the meal.
(3)
Parker C.
This is bad hotel food gussied up to look like "fine dining". It is extremely expensive, and the menu serves a lot of "expensive" dishes - lamb, fois gras, lobster, etc, but the preparation is poor and uninteresting. My meal tasted like it had been cooked a few days earlier and reheated in the microwave. Save yourself the $100 + per head and grab poke to go at the local poke market in lanai city (get there before it closes at 5 pm) instead - the poke is delicious.
(2)
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Address :The Lodge At Keole,1 Keomoku Highway
Lana'i City, HI, 96763
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : No Take-out : No Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Dressy Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes
Catherine L.
Don't take me wrong. I have no problem paying $200 a piece at a fine restaurant for a fine meal. But it has to be spot on. And our experience at the Dining Room, at the Koele lodge, was everything but spot on. I just can't stand these kind of restaurants which throw a bunch of glamorous words together, and make you pay $58 a plate but it totally is not up to what they promise. It started pretty bad with the hostess telling my friend that they had an enforced dress code, and that his (Tori Richards) aloha shirt, designer jeans and leather slippers were not ok. We are in freaking Lanai, in the freaking hotel restaurant, and you guys are enforcing a dress code? All the more stupid, that they accepted it when he came back with... jeans and tennis shoes. Unfortunately, it did not improve afterwards. The prices are expensive, an the description promising, but the execution? Blah. The complementary appetizer was a duck breast slice with smoked plum. Sounds good right? Well, no. The duck meat was super dry, with a greasy, chewy skin ( it should have a moist tender meat, with crispy skin). The plum was not smoked, but dried to death. All right, this stuff is free, just bring on the $50 plate, so I can lick my lips. I got the lobster crepe that was pretty good. Flavorful, moist and tasty. Ok, this one was fine, and I was happy of my choice. But then the "special" was dreadful, and I was very angry: Poha berry glazed duck leg, white truffle mashed potatoes and oxtail stew. Sounds good? yeah, I know. Well, no. The duck meat was super dry, poha berries and white truffle nowhere to be seen (not even a hint of flavor). And... the mashed potatoes were from dehydrated shit, and the oxtail soup was made with ... can vegetables!!! You are telling me I am paying $50 for canned peas and instant mashed potatoes?? Unacceptable. We were very disappointed by the cuisine there, and I will not advise anyone to eat there. Sorry, get some elbow grease, and peel these real potatoes. I deserve it.
(2)Nobleza L.
My husband and I decided to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary and stayed at the Koele Lodge. When we asked the Concierge where to dine for our anniversary dinner, he recommended the Dining Room. It was very expensive, but overall worth the price. We decided on the tasting menu and the goat cheese ravioli and seafood stew were absolutely fabulous. My husband had the opah and I had the wagyu beef as our main entree...both were pretty mediocre. The dessert were okay too. The bread rolls, however, were really awful. They were cold and stale...like they were a couple of days old. Service was first class!
(4)Dan G.
The dining room at the lodge was once again the best meal we had on Lanai. It is expensive, but it was also the best all around dining experience as well. Service was great, portions were large and the menu was creative. The dining room made me feel like we were back in Chicago at any of the fine restaurants here. It would certainly stack up with those. The dining room is an elegant setting with a large fireplace and dark wood interior. However, it did not feel at all stuffy and the service was welcoming and helpful. To start, we were treated to the only amuse bouche we had on our culinary tour of Maui and Lanai. It was a cold Butternut squash soup with dollops of truffle oil. So rich and savory. We continued our meal with a salad of Lanai Organic Greens with Toasted Pumpkin Seeds and Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette. Very tasty. We then moved on to the Venison appetizer, which seemed to be a popular choice at just about every table. Lava Rock-Seared Venison - Prepared Table Side, Green Apple, Celery and Candied Nut Salad with Cranberry Relish. Wow, so good. They brought out this cart with the rock on it and laid out some rare strips that just sizzled away until medium rare. Again, so good and quite the display. For our mains my wife had the Macadamia crusted Venison loin with brussel sprouts and au jus. A brief snafu as the meat was slightly overdone, quickly resolved with a rarer cut. The passionfruit sorbet they brought during the wait was fruity goodness. My wife loved the venison, as it was one of her favorite dishes on our last visit and again was excellent. I had Oven-Roast Colorado Lamb Loin, Crusted with Provençal Herbs, Roasted Baby Artichokes and Tomato Confit Ragout, and Black Olive Tapenade. I've really started to take a liking to lamb lately and this was superb. The artichokes and tomatoes were an excellent complement to this scrumptious dish. We had a nice Bernardus Pinot Noir from their wine list that went well with our meal. They had a nice selection of souffles to choose from and we were informed of their availability and cooking time requirements in advance. But we decided to pass on those and selected the Warm Bittersweet Valrhona Cake with Roasted Apple Bananas, and Kona Coffee Ice Cream. We had a nice pot of Kona press coffee and savored every last bite. Petit fours were then brought out for us to finish our evening. This meal was fantastic and covered everything. Menu was inspired, decor was refined, setting was romantic, food was delectable and service was outstanding. Particularly when it came to resolving an issue, they pounced. The GM even came over with the replacement entree to set things straight. Things happen, it's how they are resolved that I will remember. They comped our dessert to make amends for the incorrect temperature on the venison. Typical spot on FS service. Yet again the dining room was the best meal we had on Lanai. Be certain to make it one of your meals here. You will not be disappointed. The best Jerry, the best!
(5)Lauren G.
While the Dining Room itself is beautiful and romantic.. I'm not sure if the food measures up to the price tag. They only offered a tasting menu of four courses for $95 per person. The dinner included a salad or raw hamachi appetizer, a seafood course, a meat course and then a cheese course for dessert. While each course was good, nothing was exceptional or really memorable. A little disappointing for what we spent on the meal.
(3)Parker C.
This is bad hotel food gussied up to look like "fine dining". It is extremely expensive, and the menu serves a lot of "expensive" dishes - lamb, fois gras, lobster, etc, but the preparation is poor and uninteresting. My meal tasted like it had been cooked a few days earlier and reheated in the microwave. Save yourself the $100 + per head and grab poke to go at the local poke market in lanai city (get there before it closes at 5 pm) instead - the poke is delicious.
(2)