Isana Restaurant

Gosh there is a lot of dramatic reviewing going on about Isana - it is absolutely FINE.
The food is good actually - and yea it is a Korean Restaurant with "sushi" so what lol...

It must be okay = I have been twice and the place was full and um 50 percent Asian customers... yea I said it -

Not a cute guy in sight though : ( gay/straight nothing - one old Asian guy was rocking his fitness but - just saying....

This place should get a full bar and then I could rock here every night!

Ha Ha and yea I thought the food was Awesome - if the night in my to go box they put all the  Korean "sides/small-plates" Thought that was BONUS!

If you want a table at dinner time DEF call ahead this place books UP!

And the service was friendly and cool! And the place is clean LOL oh oh yes it is pricey - welcome to HAWAII

I'm a fan, but the prices are why I didn't give it 5 stars...I'm from the bay area, so I have access to alot of Korean restaurants...Isana is really up there price wise, no lunch menu...no specials, $20 - $25 per entree. Only a few side dishes, which included potato salad... say what?..We ordered the short ribs which were great, only 2 bones and alot of great tasting meat, on a sizzling platter...also got the marinated beef, on a sizzling platter..good taste..be aware, a few items on the menu are not marinated..you can also cook at your table...too hot for that...Service was outstanding, fast and friendly..besides fast food, this appears to be the only sit down Korean restaurant on Maui. They do have sushi, but way up there on the price...

As far as service goes, this place was not outstanding. We arrived and waited at least 5 minutes before anyone came to seat us. And keep in mind that there were only 2 other people in the restaurant at this time. Then, once we were seated, our waitress did seem to have some attitude with us. It was our first time and we weren't sure what to get and she seemed very impatient with us. We had a 6 year old with us, and once the adults were finished ordering their alcoholic beverages, she shot away. We didn't even have a chance to order for the little guy. Then, when it came to food, if we asked any questions on specifics of the dishes, she seemed put out. It was a very unfotunate serving situation.

However, I do have to say the food was great! There were 8 of us and we got such a variety of food to all share and we all loved everything. The shrimp and vegetable pancakes were amazing! A little greasy, but great flavor! The ahi poke was also delicious! We also ordered some sushi. It was our first time trying octopus and salmon eggs, but were pleasantly surprised by both! We got the eel and avacodo, salmon and avacodo, and shrimp tempura rolls for sushi. All tasted great! For a Korean restaurant, the sushi was just as good as any Japanese restaurant. Although, we didn't get any wasabi with our sushi, and trying to track down our waitress to get any was a chore. My dad doesn't do raw, so he got a Korean BBQ pork dish and it was great! The only thing we didn't like was the edmame. We weren't used to cold edamame, and it took us back. Wasn't horrible, but not my favorite.

All in all, GREAT food! Highly recommend in that aspect. But as far as service or atmosphere, don't go in expecting too much.