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Nalu's South Shore Grill

The easygoing open-air grill in the middle of Kihei where breakfast runs all day, the loco moco arrives under a proper flood of gravy, and somebody is usually playing music while you eat.

Type All-day island grillKnown for Loco moco and breakfastFrom the bungalows 8 minute drive
Michael Oswald / Public domain
TypeAll-day island grill
Known forLoco moco and breakfast
From the bungalows8 minute drive
Price$$
ReservationsWalk-in friendly
AreaCentral Kihei

Some restaurants you plan a night around. Nalu’s South Shore Grill is the one you end up at twice in a week without meaning to. It is an open-air grill in the Azeka Shopping Center, eight minutes from the bungalows, where breakfast is served all day, the fish is fresh, the portions are honest, and live music turns an ordinary Tuesday dinner into the good kind of loud. This is our default answer when guests ask where to eat in Kihei.

What Nalu's South Shore Grill does best

Nalu’s cooks the Hawai’i comfort classics without cutting corners: the classic loco moco is a grass-fed beef patty over rice with two eggs and gravy, served any hour of the day. The island pancakes come loaded with pineapple, banana and roasted mac nuts under a citrus-rum syrup, and the acai bowls pull their weight on hot mornings.

The fresh catch is the quiet strength. Mahi mahi shows up beer-battered with green bean fries, grilled in tacos, or over rice, and it tastes like somebody in the kitchen cares where fish comes from. Chicken and waffles, big salads and burgers cover the rest of the table’s moods.

It is genuinely all-ages, billed by the owners themselves as a family-style restaurant, with enough happy patio noise that nobody notices a toddler being a toddler. After a morning at Kamaole I or Sugar Beach, you can walk in sandy-footed and nobody blinks. That is most of why locals keep it in rotation.

The loco moco formula: rice, a beef patty, eggs any style and plenty of gravyPhoto: Zheng Zhou / CC BY-SA 4.0

When to go and how the patio works

Nalu’s runs morning to night, and because breakfast is all-day you can have pancakes at 6 pm with zero judgment. It is walk-in friendly, and the open-air room means the trade winds do the air conditioning.

Evenings are the show. There is live music most nights, usually one musician with a guitar and a long list of island covers, and the patio fills with a mix of visitors and Kihei regulars. If you want a mellower meal, aim for the mid-afternoon lull between the lunch and dinner pushes.

Weekend breakfast is the busiest window, which says something in a town that takes breakfast as seriously as Kihei Caffe across the street does. If the wait is long, put your name in and browse the shops in Azeka; the center has plenty to poke around in.

A classic Hawaii plate lunch, mac salad included. Nalu's plates run in this comfort-food traditionPhoto: christian razukas from Honolulu, Hawaii / CC BY-SA 2.0

Making a Kihei day of it

The location is the most useful in Kihei. Azeka sits mid-town on South Kihei Road, so Nalu’s slots into beach days without any driving gymnastics: morning swim, lunch at the grill, back in the water by 2. The where to eat in Kihei guide maps out how we rotate it with the other regulars.

Dessert is a two-minute drive or a pleasant walk: Ululani’s shave ice makes the natural second stop, and sunset from any of the Kamaole beaches closes the day properly. In winter, order the fish tacos to go and eat them watching whales spout offshore.

For our guests the math is simple: eight minutes door to door from the Best Ocean Views bungalow, kid-proof, wallet-friendly, and consistent. Every vacation needs one restaurant you do not have to think about. In Kihei, this is ours.

Good to know

  • Breakfast is served all day, so pancakes for dinner is a completely legal move.
  • Go at the mid-afternoon lull if you want the patio quiet; evenings bring live music.
  • The classic loco moco and the island pancakes are the two orders we hear raves about most.
  • Weekend breakfast draws the biggest crowds; put your name in and browse Azeka’s shops.
  • Parking in the Azeka lot is free and usually easy compared to the beach lots.
  • Fish tacos to go plus a Kamaole sunset is a five-star dinner for the price of a casual one.

Questions

Nalu's South Shore Grill FAQ

Very. Nalu’s calls itself a family-style restaurant and lives up to it: open-air, casual, and loud enough that kids blend right in. The all-day breakfast means picky eaters always have pancakes as a fallback, and the wide-ranging menu covers everyone else. It is one of the easiest family dinners in Kihei.

Yes, Nalu’s hosts live music most evenings, typically solo island musicians playing through dinner. It gives the patio a fun, social feel rather than a concert volume, so you can still hold a conversation. If you prefer a quiet meal, go mid-afternoon between the lunch and dinner rushes.

All-day breakfast and Hawai’i comfort food. The classic loco moco, the island pancakes with mac nuts and citrus-rum syrup, acai bowls, and fresh mahi mahi in tacos or beer-battered with green bean fries are the signatures. Portions are generous and the fish is a step above typical casual-grill quality.

No, it is a walk-in spot. Peak windows, especially weekend breakfast and sunset-hour dinners, can mean a short wait for a table, but turnover is quick. Arriving before 9 am or in the mid-afternoon usually gets you seated immediately. The Azeka Shopping Center lot has free parking.

Keep exploring

Restaurants

Kihei Caffe
Restaurants

Coconut's Fish Cafe
Restaurants

Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice
Beaches

Kamaole Beach Park I
Beaches

Sugar Beach
Parks

Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge

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