Restaurant Reception Options

If you're having a dinner reception at a restaurant where are you having it?

 

After allll my research and suggestions I'm stuck between 2 places: The Plantation House in Kapalua or Leilani's in Lahaina.

 

I've received quotes from both places for the same price point per head and Leilani's has come in a little less which I like. But The Plantaion House is nicer but with more restrictions but seems more appropriate for a reception dinner. And Leilani's offers steak & lobster as one of the dinner options and my FI is all over that, and I was told Leilani's is a little more casual.

 

Have you been to either place? Are they both appropriate for a reception dinner? Any advice/suggestions would be helpful!

 

Thanks!

We always make a point to go to Leilani's at least once while we are visiting the island. That said, we go because 1) it's casual 2) it's not oober expensive 3) the food is great. It's a shopping center though (Whaler's Village) and was surprised when I read your posting as I didn't know they did weddings there. It's nice & water front, and the shopping center is indeed more "upscale" but I'm not sure that you'd be happy with the atmosphere. It's not very intimate and I have a hard time trying to imagine a wedding there.

 

That said, it really depends what kind of ambiance you are looking for, what you price range is, how many guests you will have, etc. etc. Without knowing any of those factors- my vote would be for The Plantation House. It is in a stunning spot and just screams "get married here".

 

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you might have.

Hi Attegirl! We had our reception dinner at Plantation House in Kapalua and ate dinner at Leilani's during our honeymoon. I couldn't agree more with Tovaqt. Leilani's is MUCH more casual and there is tons of foot traffic. I can't imagine feeling secluded even if they offered you a "private" reception area on the second floor. On the other hand, Plantation House is a mile or two past Kaanapali and shares a private driveway with villas/condos owned by the Ritz or Four Seasons (can't remember which one). Our reception dinner was at sunset and the ocean views were amazing. The Plantation House staff was a pleasure to work with. We received complimentary champagne, a card from the staff and the chef personally came out to greet us. We're hoping to return for our first anniversary. Congrats and good luck!

If you can afford it, The Plantation House is INCREDIBLE! I have been there a couple times, we have a family friend that works there, and I took my husband(still love getting to say that) there for his birthday dinner during our honeymoon a couple weeks ago. It is beautiful, the food is great, and the view is to die for.
We have also been leilani's for a drink one night of our honeymoon and it is pretty, right on the boardwalk and whaler's village shopping center, but it is a bit more casual and has been packed every time we've been by there at dinner time. I don't know if they have a separate area for wedding receptions but there are definitely a lot more people there then The Plantation House which is off by itself in Kapalua.

Please let me know if you have any other questions, I've been to that area of Maui many times and have friends there.

By the way, good to see more Nor Cal girls on here. My family lives in the Bay Area and hubby and I are moving up to San Ramon in September:)

Thanks ladies!

 

kellis, I grew up in San Jose but now live closer to Tahoe. I love the Bay Area but I'm enjoying small town living for now I hear San Ramon is very nice, haven't spent much time in the North Bay though.

 

Would you recommend any other restaurants that would be good for a reception dinner? I've done a lot of research but those 2 restaurants have had a good offering at the $55/head price. I'm not looking to go any higher then that, and it seems what I've found is most of the nicer restaurants have a higher price point per head then $55. If you have any recommendations I can look up their price. Thanks!

Oh I must tell you that DUKE's was great!! They just opened this year, so you might not find a lot on them. I was just there in June. It was sooo perfect. We were outside - and they had an area reserved for us. It felt like we were in our own room. The food was AMAZING - everyone loved it. It was about $35 per plate - so very reasonable. Included salad, dinner, dessert, pop/lemonade/coffee. They were so accomodating. They checked with us before they brought anything out - we got ours first to make sure it was right. We also picked 3 alcohol drinks and let each guest have 1 drink. Staff did a wonderful job keeping it straight. It was Beautiful!! (no kaanapali beach)

 

But if you're set on the other two - I know my family makes a point of making it to Leilanis every time they go to Maui. They just love it. But we have not been to the Plantation.

Here's the view from The Plantation House from DH's birthday dinner last month...

It was right before the sun went down.

 

Other then those two, we usually go to more casual places for dinner but I would definitely check out Merriman's Kapalua. I'm not sure what the pricing is since I haven't been there since they did some remodeling a couple years ago but the food was great and they've gotten great reviews since. It is also right on the water next to a great small beach that is always really quiet, we had a condo right on that beach once and there were never that many people there and it was an incredible place for pictures.~~~~~ Peter Merriman's ~~~~~

I was just married at Merriman's -- it was beautifull! The restaurant was pretty and the view was beautifull as well. The prices are kind of high with a large group -- there's a seperate "banquet" menu. I don't remember exactly - but we looked into it and the prices were higher than we were looking for. But if it's in your budget - very nice looking restaurant