We ate here twice. The first time was on a Tues. and they had a least 2 birthday parties going on in the evening that took up the entire place. We were told 45 min. wait but it was closer to 1 1/2 hours and after a long flight and no air conditioning it was brutal. Being from Arizona we can handle heat but not that humidity. At least the food was great! Burgers were good and we ordered half fries and half onion rings. We only got 4 onion rings and the rest limp and cold French fries. Second time we got seated quicker and service was considerably better. We had a full order of onion rings this time and we got a good amount and wayyyyyy better than the fries. The burger was a little annoying because it was supposed to have avocado and mayo with thousand island dressing. No mayo or thousand island ( dry) and the avocado was placed on 1/4 of the burger. The bacon was placed on only half the burger. I want to have the toppings in each bite of any sandwich or burger but it didn't happen this time. The "Duke" burger last time was amazing! The "Luna" burger" was good but not what I ordered or wanted. I would not order it again. Maybe I would if prepared as stated on the menu and prepared properly. Everyone else in our party was happy with their food on both occasions except for the slow service the first time and the cold limp fries. Otherwise great. I would recommend going here and I will go back next time I'm in Maui. read more

Great place!! Loved there Burger of the month with fried Mac n cheese and queso cheese, Amazing!!

The Duke burger is an absolute must have and the onion rings are phenomenal. Awesome milk shakes too!! Definitely worth the hype.

The servers were awesome. Pretty attentive when you needed something. Sat over by the open window over looking the banyan trees. Ordered the western style burger. The Don I think. It was good. Tasty. Shared it, wish I had ordered my own. read more

Restaurant on Front Street with a good view. They have a wide selection of burgers and drinks. Everyone liked their food and the kids enjoyed their root beer floats we got from a coupon. Overall: descent place. read more

Awesome food, grilled chicken sandwich were amazing. Nice thin breast cooked perfectly. Burger was pretty good too. We are here three times food and service was quick and amazing. Going to miss this place! read more

I ordered two burgers with my girlfriend just before close and had diarrhea 30 minutes after. The food tasted good but it was not worth the stomach pain. My stomach still hurts... read more

I can't say enough good things about cool cat café. Every time we go to Maui we have to go there and get their sticky rice with chili and cheese and onion one bowl is a meal for two people it's amazing. Also don't be surprised to see local fishermen trot upstairs with fresh fish slung over their shoulder. I've never gotten a bad meal there it's always fresh local and delicious. It has a retro 50s/60s motif but it doesn't matter what that's about... the foods awesome. read more

Great burger spot! We didn't have time to dine in so we took it to go but the service was fast and the food came out just right. They have a lot of burgers to chose from and they are definitely big and juicy. It's right in front street with the shops and all so you can walk off your burger afterwards (you'll feel like you'll need to). So, if you are craving a all American meal then this is the spot to go to. read more

We stopped in at the Cool Cat Cafe after walking around front street and looking at the banyan tree park. Once we were in the park we looked up and saw the restaurant from the trees and we just had to go! As we walked up to the second floor to enter the restaurant we loved what we found. Cool Cat is designed and makes you feel like you just stepped into the 50s. The restaurant doesn't try too hard to force you to feel that way it just genuinely has great design and the atmosphere feels like a diner you would see in the times. We had a nice waiter bring us to our table and they were nice throughout our meal. They brought us our drinks on time, gave us refills, and was pretty fun. One of the best parts of the restaurant is the view. We were placed right on the edge of the wall and we could see the park and ocean from where we were eating. We came at night and I bet it would be even better in the daylight. Where the restaurant shines is in the food and drinks. My wife got a blue hawaiian that tasted like candy and we had to get seconds! I got a mudslide that went down smooth and that was rich. We both got burgers and we enjoyed them a lot! Overall everything about our experience here was pretty great and we will be back if we are ever in the front street area again! read more

See all

Blackened fish tacos were some of the best I've had. Service was quick and friendly. My wife had the burger of the month, and hers was also really good. Good view and seating area. I'll be going back before I go back home for sure read more

After returning year after year, this is still my favorite burger place on island. I love the don ho burger! Onion rings are cooked perfect. They also have adult alcohol milkshakes and great cocktails. A must try! read more

We cannot have a trip back to Lahaina without hitting this place at least once. Last time, we went twice. This place always brings it with great service, food (burgers are epic), shakes and a great view. An all time favorite on the island of Maui. read more

This place is the best burgers in town!! The drink specials were good and very reasonable for Lahaina. Server was entertaining and very efficient with our orders. read more

Go there! They never disappoint. We eat here multiple times when in Maui. And have been for years. The biggest problem is deciding what to order. They will customize any item to your liking. The staff is always friendly and attentive. read more

Cool Cat Cafe is on the second floor, like a patio area with a lot of ceiling fans but it's still pretty warm. I ordered the luna burger, my husband the fish sandwich, and frings. The onion rings were the best, crispy and lightly battered. I was a disappointed in my burger because it was pinker that I'm comfortable with. The buns are thick slices at room temp. The sandwiches are large, hearty portions to the point the insides might fall out on the other side of where you bite. The servers are very nice. read more

The burgers here are DELICIOUS! There are several different burgers on the menu. I had the Don Ho burger which had pineapple in it and it was great! Everyone in my family had a different burger and they all LOVED their burger. My sister who is a vegetarian liked how they had a selection of veggie burgers as well. The burgers here are a la carte, so you do have to order fries or onion rings separately if you want them. I would give this place 5 stars, but one thing that turned me off about this place is the restaurant itself. The table that we were sat at was very dirty and sticky. The table was very wobbily and service was a little slow. The restroom is incredible small and untidy. read more

I really debated on how many stars to give Cool Cats. Everyone on Island calls this spot the 'Best Burger on Maui', so I had to give her a try. Killer sandwiches, price was not too shabby for touristy Lahaina. What got me was the waitress and 'their' policy. Advertised on their website as $3 Happy Hour drink of the day. We went on Thursday, which was $3 margarita day. The waitress corrected me by saying, 'oh no it's $4 now.' I didn't want to fight about it, but it's the principle. It clearly says on the Cool Cat official website. She still said they wouldn't honor it, because 'we have to keep up with price increases...' You've got to be kidding me. After talking to the manager, they said they would do it, after a long fight. Then when it came time for the bill, our margaritas were marked at $4 a pop! Trying to be sneaky, Cool Cats. I don't give a rats a** about the measly dollar. It's about the principle, YOUR website pricing and customer service. A star for the food. It was good. But negative 4 stars for your bait and switch tactics, and unpleasant 'customer service' about the whole thing. read more

We were walking/shopping with herds of tourists and stumbled on to this place. My girl had read a sign that said something like "Voted Best Burger on Maui for 6 years in a row/running" Luna Burger: bacon, melted jack cheese, avocado, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions and thousand island dressing. Bogy Burger: bacon, cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, sweet maui onions and thousand island dressing Both these burgers were Freakin' Perfect in their own way. Burger patties were cooked with experience and tasted extraordinarily divine! All the vegetables looked and tasted Fresh! Frings: half fries and half rings. the fries were perfect but the onion rings were superb! Their rings had such a airy/light batter yet held a soft crunch to bite. Wow, these got my vote for some of the best onion rings I've ever had! If your Craving Burger, stop by here and you won't be let down! don't forget the onion rings! read more

Cool Cat Cafe lured me in with it's promise of the "Best Burger on Maui" and its scenic view of Banyan Tree Park. And while the food was good, they didn't handle any of our special requests well. For example, they brought my celiac mother a cheeseburger on a bun - major fail! Also, they don't use Maui Cattle Company beef, much to my disappointment. http://www.mauicattlecompany.com/locations.html The biggest turn off for me was that the place was overrun with loud tourists - many there to get their drink on. It's just not the vibe I look for whilst on holiday. I'd rather have a more authentic local experience. To sum up, it's like Johnny Rockets meets In-N-Out Burger. read more

Just burgers, yes difderent kinds, but not so well flavored that its special. Fries are well spiced and so are the onion rings. Great location on Front Street. Good server. Overall, no reason to be back. read more

This was the worst experience my wife and I had the entire time we were in Maui. The prices are highly inflated, the burgers don't come with fries, but are served "à la carte." And to top things off the waitress was incredibly rude. She had a serious attitude problem and deep sighed every time she did anything for us. We asked for waters to start out *deep sigh*. "Oh, the burgers don't come with fries? How much are fries?" *deep sigh, slap the menu down on the table and open it up* "$4". We left without ordering. This stands out as the worst experience we had. There are plenty of other diner experiences on the island and they have all been pretty good. read more

I can't tell you how many times we've walked past this place without even thinking about going in. Man were we missing out! I'm always caving a good burger and boy did they deliver. I was with 3 other people and all of our meals were exceptional. I love the diner aspect. The service was great. They have a huge menu with so many options, you could have something different every time. Milkshakes, onion rings, and fries also phenomenal! I'll definitely be stopping here AT LEAST once every time I visit Lahaina! read more

I've read several reviews on Yelp regarding Cool Cat's where the members enjoy a good meal, specifically site nothing wrong, yet still give 3 stars. Huh? Cool Cat's is the best burger on Maui. Period. Great upstairs open-air atmostphere, GREAT selection of tasty burgers, shakes and fries. Fun, outgoing youthful servers. What more do you need? Oh and for the Yelp reviewers saying that eating out in Maui is expensive, and Cool Cat's is among the expensive restaurants, give me a break!! Yes, its not cheap to eat out in Maui. This is true. You are in Hawaii. But Cool Cats is a bargain! And they hand out coupons at almost every business on front street. Stop being such a tightwad and go enjoy a fantastic burger! Hooray for Cool Cats! read more

I LOVE COOL CATS. I work on one of the dive boats out of Lahaina and this place is one of my favorite places for a good burger and friendly atmosphere. read more

CCC is a staple of Front Street. It's at the end of the main portion of the strip across from the Banyan Tree. It's a fun spot to grab a quick burger, do some shopping and people watching, while enjoy the views of the beautiful Maui sunsets and views of the Banyan Tree. There's usually someone jammin out live music in the middle of the dining area. With classic named burgers of all shapes and sizes. I've been here dozens of times when I used to live here - came back here recently for a visit and they haven't skipped a beat. Still a fun place to eat and have a good time. read more

Absolutely the most horrible food experience I had in Maui. The burgers: Don Ho and Duke are similar to red robins in term of size, however in terms of quality it's tough and not as tasty. The duke became such a workout for my jaw, I had to take breaks to stretch. The service: I have never experienced such blatant ignoring of my table. From going to every table but ours to: refill waters and asking how they were doing to bad talking about us 15 feet away from our table, we felt completely unwelcome and shunned. Best burger in Maui? Lies. read more

See all

A lot people we met said Cool Cat has "the best Cheeseburger in Maui." How many people fly to Maui for a burger? That doesn't mean much. We tried the local favorites, the Don Ho and Porky Pig. The Don Ho burger was nothing special and the patty was drenched in sweet sauce. The Porky, aka pulled pork sandwich, was over-toasted. The flavor was ok, but it was runny and made the bread underneath very soggy. My root beer float didn't really float - they only filled up half the glass (but it came free with a coupon). They were out of fresh fish that day, which was a shame. Lesson learned: Unless you are stranded, never eat a burger on an island. Seafood, maybe. read more

Apparently, this place won Best Burger in Maui six years in a row, but I did not experience anything to make me believe this fact when I ate at Cool Cat. I had the Jailhouse Rock, which had mushrooms, thousand island dressing, and all the other fixings on a French roll. The burger patty was too dry, too big, and not seasoned well. The French roll also turned out to not be toasted at all even on the inside, and all the sauces and juice from the patty made the roll very soggy very quickly. The burger quickly became unmanageable. My husband had a burger that was also humongous and forgettable. The french fries were pretty good with excellent seasoning and spice, and the onion rings were crispy, but the batter on them was a bit too thick for my personal taste. Not sure if the ranch dressing was housemade, but it was pretty good. When I asked for barbecue sauce, they gave us some regular barbecue sauce and their house barbecue sauce which had mango or something in it that was much sweeter, tangier, and lighter. Liked it a lot. We also had a root beer float, which was delicious. Milkshakes were oppressively expensive, so we did not imbibe. Great location overlooking the center of town. Eating on the patio is ideal! Eh, maybe we'll be back. Good prices when most food on this side of the island is pretty expensive. read more

If this is the best burger in Maui, then I hate to think what the others taste like... These burgers are pricey as hell. I think around $14 for one? Goddamn. Not sure if it's cause i'm from SF/CA but if i'm paying that much for a burger it better taste like a burger from Super Duper or Umami Burger. Or one from In-n-out AT LEAST. I'm by no means a burger elitist. I'm happy with the burgers from Burger King and Jack In the Box, and tbh even those tasted better than what I had. I had the bogey burger and bf had one of their popular ones (can't recall the name). Both of us were extremely underwhelmed. The patty was quite small on bf's burger and okay sized on mine but both were a little dry. The bacon in mine was hard and chewy as well. The most MEH burgers I've ever had sadly. Also got an oreo shake which was also pricey ($7), but pretty good. Big oreo taste but it was well blended so no large chunks of oreo! Service was also quite slow and our waitress was nowhere to be found most of the time so we couldn't even flag her down. The place was a little busy but there are a ton of workers so I don't know why service is so bad. Most of the restaurant is on an open patio (there is a small AC room inside), and we got a booth right next the railing so we got a nice view down Front St with all the holiday decorations. This was probably the only redeeming quality (and the shake) about this place. I would rather eat elsewhere in Lahaina. We did have a voucher for free root beer float which waitress said we could take to go which was nice. read more

Great place, good food and wonderful atmosphere! We love sitting on the deck looking out at the harbor!

I'm sorry cool cat, you weren't that cool for me. I have to say that service was really good but our food was mediocre at best. The cheeseburger just tasted dry, cold even, and just not satisfying. The onion rings were good but a few had not so great onions in them. We got the drink special and it was super sweet and barely had alcohol. My husband couldn't even finish his drink and we hate wasting food/drink. Based on reviews and our bike tour guide, we came here w/ high expectations and left disappointed. It honestly tasted like a fast food hamburger at best. Sorry cool cat, gotta make your burgers hotter. read more

1.5 Stars Was craving burgers after not having any for the whole week. Advertises fresh not frozen angus beef - so I was excited. I shouldn't have been! Restaurant is dirty. Unfortunately we were placed at the dirtiest corner of the restaurant. I understand its an open-air dining area. That doesn't mean you can't mop/cover your trash cans. My seat stank of garbage with flies buzzing about in our musky corner. Nothing like the sweet smell of waste in your nose while attempting to eat a meal. Our drinks were watered down - both my coke and her diet coke. The waiter was only around for the required checks. Take order. Bring drinks. Take check Burger was decent. Fries and onion rings were meh. Restaurant was meh. read more

My wife and I had lunch there today. It was the worst service we've had in years. Poor service, my wife's hamburger served raw. Way to much to go in to, but in summary, I'd say this place is overrated. read more

Great burgers! I love the Don Ho, a pineapple bacon burger paired with a good ale and fried onion rings. They often have live music just outside, and stunning sunsets. I have enjoyed many a golden afternoon basking in Maui Rays while listening to the lastest local band play covers of songs we all love. read more

We only ate here after it was recommended to us by the skipper of our boat we had chartered. I assumed he would know good food and where some of the better places on the island were...unfortunately for us, he did not. This place was incredibly sub-par. The only reason that they keep in business is the endless amount of advertising, coupons, promotions, and kickbacks to local business owners. I almost feel scammed. I ordered a Lava Flow, which tasted like a powder mix, with very little strawberry. My fish tacos were quite possibly the worst I have ever eaten. I had tried to keep myself neutral, since we had just eaten at Coconuts in Kihei the day before (whose fish tacos are BEYOND outstanding). Even with low expectations these tacos were terrible! It was nothing more than one old corn tortilla with dried out fish, chunks of lettuce, unripe tomatoes, and CHEDDAR CHEESE! Living in Cali, we have our fair share of tacos. Some good, some not so good...but there's plenty of variety. But fish tacos with cheddar cheese?? It was like trailer park fish tacos! My fiance had a burger, which he said was overcooked and not very flavorful. The onion rings were very greasy and portions were tiny. For a group of 4 our total was $75. Do yourself a favor and avoid this place...along with all the other restaurants on First Street. read more

This place was pretty dang good. They had a million burger options on the menu, and every single one of them could be made vegetarian (except the bacon ones of course). I would recommend this place over Cheeseburger in Paradise any day of the week. It's a little set back from the main drag, so we just happened upon it while looking for a bathroom. It's by the movie theater on Front Street. I had a veggie burger topped with a big onion ring and BBQ sauce. We split a huge shake too. Yum! read more

One of the best burgers I've ever had! I had the Don Ho and it was sooo flavorful! Must visit this place!

Excellent burger and onion rings. We had the Luna burger and an adult milkshake called the Kona Bomb which was a lot like an Irish Car bomb but with coffee ice cream. We would definitely recommend this place. read more

First meal in Maui and we headed down to the Cool Cat Cafe. 2 stars may appear harsh, but 3 just seemed to many to give them. We arrived and had to wait as they were pretty full on a Friday night. We were told about 20 minutes but I think it ended up being closer to 30-35. We waited at the bar and had a a beer. The bartender was great, moved quick and was friendly. We were seated eventually and took a look at the menu. We were told the burgers were great and they have about 12 different ones to choose from. I went with the Don Ho burger and my wife the Luna. One thing that is lame is everything is a la carte, so burgers don't come with fries, you have to order them separately. They do have an order of Frings, which comes with some onion rings and fries. Cool name, but wish it wasn't an extra. The burgers were ok. I didn't think they were anything special. The Don Ho was our favorite as the pineapple and sauce was tasty. The Luna was a typical burger with some avocado. Service was a little stand offish. Our guy was nice but didn't really put any care into us as guests. The place is in downtown Lahaina and I bet 99.9% of guests are tourists, so I can understand hearing where everyone is from might get old. But I felt like he just wanted to get us in and out and hit the bar after a long Friday. Not sure if the Arcade right outside the entrance is a part of the place, but it was irritating hearing air hockey noises for most of the evening. This place seems like a standard tourist spot in Maui (albeit probably better than Bubba Gump shrimp down the road), but I probably won't be back. read more