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I am trying to decide if I am just getting old or what. We had family visiting and stopped here for dinner on Sunday. We were seated, before they started, about three feet from the sax player who was there with Maggie that night. My wife says we won't go back for a really long time now. We spent about $100.00 for six of us and couldn't hear each other or the waitress. I like the music fine and the food is reasonably good but the room just isn't big enough for both. I said as much to our server and she suggested we make reservations next time since they are seated further away. I guess another 10' might help but not much.
Jay
Jay
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Jay that has been a common complaint of ours as well...the music was awesome but we have had to shout at each other just to be heard...it was very frustrating. I had thought they made changes in those regards. I will say that we sat in the outter room once and it was lovely...we were able to talk and enjoy the food as well.
Carrie
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Carrie Rojo
"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future..." Galadriel LOTR
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Ditto dining w/ loud music means you are not talking to your guests or yelling at each other, ha. Why not a light strumming slack key guitar or something more Hawaiian anyways?
BTW say something to the manager cause if you don't they are probably thinking everything is just peachy
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Same thing happen to us. Company in from the Mainland (12 hr flight) We made the mistake
of going there on Jazz night. It was really bad. We tried to catch up on a year of things.
I agree light slack key or something soft. Do people go there to just drink and listen?
If so, I'll take it off my list for dinner w/company.
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It's not about Maggie and her sax player, whom I specifically go to listen to for our special days, it's that the whole place seems a bit on the noisy side. I wonder that they didn't do some sound-deadening on the walls before opening. Can be done... It was that way also under the previous ownership.
A note of about Maggie -- last thing I heard she'd moved to Oahu. While a good move professionally for her, sad for us that she won't be at Kaleo's to enjoy her jazz and blues along with good food.
You could also ask to be re-seated or specify that back area when making reservations.. We've several times been seated close to the front door or in the side room, and the music was not too loud then.
Jane
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I know that some from the restaurant have read Punatalk before and this thread is partly a reminder to them that maybe they cannot be both the high-end restaurant in Pahoa and a nightclub. I like both things but not at the same time. And it seemed to me that another table or two were added right in front of the music where at a previous dinner we have seen a server dancing a hula. I think that most of the tables should be good seating for dinner rather than good seating to listen. I suppose we could just do an occasional lunch. Or the owners could think about a different place in the building, or a different time, for Jazz.
Jay
Jay
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I worked in the industry with a band that made plenty o sound in southern California. We made sure we booked for music to start in a restaurant (a opposed to a bar or club) at 9 pm. People are more prepared for this to be not the dinner hour but the entertainment time and it serves everyone quite well. In the higher end places that wanted entertainment we even started around 10 PM and advertised it as after dinner entertainment. Then the restaurant could tell people that they seat for dinner up to XX time and that entertainment starts at YY time. If you had known and been told "It's a bit loud once the music starts" you could have decided if you were there to talk or listen. I hope their management gets the idea.
Also, for dinner entertainment, we had a fellow who played acoustic guitar and sang solo, low and calm. It enhanced dinner, didn't send everyone into a yelling match or digestive tizzy. Management of dinner and entertainment isn't rocket science but it takes a little thought. Hope they get it sorted out for everyone's benefit... performers, clientele and the restaurant itself. Success is the goal for everyone! This is such a small place I am guessing the restaurant manager does the entertainment instead of using a booking agent. it's a process. Hopefully they will figure it out, because the restaurant is known or quality and is a wonderful addition to Pahoa.
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Jane hit the nail on the head about the acoustics. I swear that conversations across the room bounce off the walls in odds ways so I can hear them better than the person sitting (and shouting) across from me. This phenomenon happens with or without live music playing.
Sometimes Kaleo's has an acoustic guitar and bass player performing. I love the music but it's still too loud. Sitting on the back porch solves the acoustic problem.
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
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I agree that Kaleo's is noisy beyond all reason, but am I the only one who has found the food and service to be not the greatest? I have consumed or sampled seven meals there, and two were very good, three were just OK, and two were simply awful. On one occasion the server brought us the wrong meals and argued with us when we said he had made a mistake. The same guy must have told us five times on that visit to vote for them in some "Best of Hawaii" contest that was running. He even handed us printed instructions on how to vote on line as we were leaving and said, "You're going to vote for us, right?" Wrong.
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Jerry, I've heard others tell similar stories. I guess we've been lucky; still haven't had a bad meal there--and I'm pretty picky--but definitely have had some crappy service in the past. In fairness the service has been much better of late, perhaps because they've come to know us? It also depends on who waits your table.
I tend to order the specials, not sure if that makes a difference in food quality. My wife can't live without their Buffalo wings.
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
