The Feast at Lele offers a refined luau and a welcome departure from the buffet lines and large tables. At the Feast at Lele, guests sit at tables to fit their group size, so you aren’t sitting with strangers. If you are looking for a more romantic luau, I’d recommend the Feast at Lele because you and your sweetie sit together at a private table for two.
Another distinguishing feature of the Feast at Lele is their table service and multi-course Polynesian dinner. While most luaus offer buffet service first and then the Polynesian show, at the Feast at Lele, a course is served that features the cuisine of a particular Polynesian island nation along with music and dancing from those islands. The Polynesian island nations of Hawaii, Tahiti, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Samoa are all featured. Servers bring three or four different dishes per island nation to your table in a family-style service. Here’s a selection of menu items:
- Pohole Fern, Asparagus and Heart of Palm Salad (Hawaii)
- Country Green Duck Salad with Poha Berry Dressing (Aotearoa – New Zealand)
- Fafa – Steamed Chicken and taro leaf in coconut milk (Tahiti)
- Shrimp and Avocado with Passion Fruit (Samoa)
The service was very good, especially considering that a large crowd was all being served the same food at the same time. We never really had to wait for anything. We ordered just about every cocktail on the menu to try and they were all delivered with very little wait. (Don’t worry, we didn’t get toasted. The drinks are very mild.)
Some other features of the Feast at Lele add to a great luau experience are:
- Guests are greeted with fresh orchid leis, which used to be the norm, but now most luaus only give a shell lei or no lei at all.
- The ocean front setting in Lahaina was beautiful and romantic. When the weather isn’t overcast, guests have a great sunset view.
- The raised stage is parallel to the ocean for good views. Tables for two are angled towards the stage. With many luaus, the tables are either perpendicular to the stage or round tables where some guests’ backs are to the stage. See this link for a photo I took from my table. For perspective, our table was in the very back row.
- The show lighting was excellent and made the costumes very vibrant.
- The grand finale of the show is a fire knife dancer, which is always a treat to see.
Andy and I took my parents to the Feast at Lele on our recent visit to Maui. This luau was my parents first, though Andy and I have been to others in Hawaii. We were all very pleased with our evening at the Feast at Lele. I would recommend this luau to friends and family.
If I could change anything about the Feast at Lele, I would make the Polynesian show segments longer. It seemed like they weren’t very long — maybe just five or so minutes at a time. Something else I’d change is that there wasn’t a dedicated restroom for the luau grounds. The Feast at Lele is located adjacent to a shopping and office complex. The restroom was away from the luau in the shopping complex. It wasn’t too far of a walk, but not within earshot of the show.
Here’s what to know before you go:
- Their Web site is www.feastatlele.com
- Location: 505 Front Street, Lahaina, HI 96761
- Call 866-244-5353 for more information
- The Feast at Lele is more expensive than the average luau. Check their website for current pricing.
- See the photos we snapped during our visit.
- See this link to see a list of all Maui luaus and how Feast at Lele compares.
- See this link to TripAdvisor for more reviews.
Have you been to the Feast at Lele? How was your experience?
Sheila Beal
5 comments
We attended in November 2009. The service & dancers were excellent. The food was very good compared to most of the options on Maui but it was not as good as we make at home.
Each set of dances also featured food from that same culture, including a main dish, side & salad for each. There was way more food than 4 of us could eat. If we had realized this at the beginning, we would have paced ourselves and eaten less in the beginning.
The drinks were all very good but very week. They also serve all the drinks virgin on request. I think we drank more calories than we ate, and we ate a lot.
It was nice to be served instead of a buffet line, they were super fast with all the service, we were never left waiting. Some items we would have liked more of, some less but we left very full.
Our view was not great, we were lost in the shuffle as far as seating goes. The people in the front had an amazing view. I don’t know if you can request a seat in the front or in the front of the platform area though. This put a huge damper on the evening for us.
We had a nice time but after a small tip & dinner, the evening was about $550 for 4 of us (2 adults & 2 teens). I think this is the last luau that we will attend, it is one of the best out there but still overpriced.
Jennifer – thanks for adding your experience.
Like you, I thought the food was good. Overall, I think that is it was well above average considering they were feeding such a large group at the same time.
I believe that both the Feast at Lele and Old Lahaina Luau (owned by the same company) seat on the first reserved, first seats. In other words, the earlier you book the better the seats. I think it’s a fair way to seat.
That was a really informative review! I appreciated the details that you included, as well as your photos. I haven’t been to the Feast at Lele yet, but it’s on my to-do list for the next time I’m in Maui.
We’ve been to the Old Lahaina Luau, and it was the best luau we’ve ever been to… since the Feast at Lele is run by the same people, I’m not surprised that it generally gets such great reviews! I can’t wait to see it for myself!
Thanks to Sheila for awesome review of the Feast of Lele and photos. Our daughter is getting married on Maui in August 2012. They are not formal/traditional and prefer a laid back beach wedding, and take their 60 guests to a luau. I’m so glad I found this review/Feast…as the others at the big resorts reveived horrid reviews about cafeteria style food/weak drinks/plastic lawn chairs in photos. I feel a bit better about this style of ‘reception’…not sold on it, but more positive about the possiblity of our wedding guests being fed well, and entertained too. How many people at a seating?
Thanks so much,
MOB(Mother of the Bride..or May Obliterate Before wedding). “_
Cynthia – I can’t recall how much seating there is, but if I had to guess, I would say it would more than accommodate your 60 guests. I’m sure if you called their toll-free number 1-866-244-5353, they could answer your questions. I would suggest you book very soon, though. Happy Maui wedding planning!