Spoon & Key Market Restaurant Review

Spook & Key Market

It’s official! We have a new favorite restaurant in Wailea!

We’ve been to Spoon and Key Market for lunch, and it’s been great. But dinner is a completely different deal. We ordered a few things off their Ala Carte and Sunset menus, and we also did one order of the prix fixe menu.

Spoon & Key Market
108 Wailea Ike Drive, Suite 1201
Wailea, HI 96753
(808) 879-2433
Spoon & Key

Spoon and Key Restaurant

We had heard from multiple close friends (now regulars) that the chefs were incredible, with a history of culinary accolades. Learn more about the Chefs below.

Caviar

We were told we had to try the caviar. malasadas, ice cream, egg yuzu with bonita. It’d be worth coming in just for this!

Wailea caviar

Sunset Menu, Ala Carte & Prix Fixe Menu

Off the regular menu, we had the country greens and the dry-aged wagyu steak. WOW! Perfectly cooked mushrooms, daikon, black garlic, and a delicious Molokai sweet potato puree made for a real treat. They asked if we wanted 8 or I think 12 ounces. We went with 8, and it was perfect.

Ala Carte sunset menu

First Course

Off the prixe fixe, there was so much incredible food! We loved the kampachi, ahi, and hamachi crudo dishes. Each had its own ingredients, flavors, and ingredients.

fish crudo

Second Course

For the second course (even though this felt like our 6th), we loved the bright heirloom tomatoes with goat cheese and yuzu over watermelon and cucumber. The housemate pasta was a leek and chili oil, cherry tomato ravioli with oxtail ragu. I could eat this every day for the rest of my life.

heriloom tomato and oxtail pasta

Entree Course

For the Entree course, we had local fish and fresh Hokkaido scallop, Moroccan green beans, mushrooms with acorn squash, and the most amazing chicken ever! Seriously. Chef Chris came out and explained the process to make his chicken, and it’s just too much work even for someone that loves cooking like I do. It was worth it, and I’ve sooo grateful he did it, but I couldn’t go through that at home. He told us some guests have come in multiple times in the same week just for the chicken. The wagyu was epic, so that just goes to show how good it was when a chicken can outshine perfectly marbled, dry-aged steak.

entree courses

Dessert

Just when we couldn’t eat another thing, they brought out this deconstructed banana tart and chocolate fruit dish. This was a bit off menu, as we have a gluten intolerance. Throughout the meal, they accommodated. It felt much like a private chef’s table experience. Unreal.

Spoon and Key dessert

The Service

Service was exceptional! They timed our food perfectly and recommended excellent wine pairings. We had 2 servers that kept our waters filled, made sure our drinks were flowing, and brought clean silver for each course. They knew the menu inside and out, which is a challenge considering it changes regularly (and has so many different ingredients.)

Spoon and Key service

I’m a little weird about service lately, because I believe, overall, service is going to hell across the planet. No one seems to care anymore. So when I get service that is well-beyond what I’d expect as perfect, it kind of blows my mind.

The Chefs

Chef Christopher Kulis, co-owner of Spoon & Key Market in Wailea with his partner Chef Tarah Principato, has built a reputation for warm hospitality and bold, locally driven cuisine. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Kulis found his love for food early and sharpened his skills at Bouchon in California before making his mark on Maui. As Chef de Cuisine at Capische?, he helped earn Hotel Wailea international recognition while championing true farm-to-table dining with on-site gardens and a “dirt-to-mouth” ethos.

Over the years, Kulis launched The Market Maui, led the culinary program at Mākena Golf & Beach Club, and even cooked aboard luxury super yachts. His range spans from fine French technique to Japanese, Hawaiian, and Latin influences, reflecting his global culinary journeys.

In January 2024, Kulis and Principato reopened The Market Maui as Spoon & Key Market, designed as Wailea’s neighborhood gathering spot. Guests can expect elevated yet approachable dishes, from small plates to Wagyu burgers, all rooted in seasonal, local ingredients. Recognized as one of Hawai‘i Magazine’s “5 Best New Restaurants in 2025,” Spoon & Key Market has quickly become one of the island’s hottest dining experiences.

Beyond the kitchen, Kulis invests deeply in Maui’s community, supporting nonprofits like Maui Food Bank, Grow Some Good, and the Boys & Girls Club, while serving on the Maui Health Foundation board. Featured in To Lahaina, With Love, a cookbook honoring those affected by the Lahaina fires, he continues to use food as a way to connect, uplift, and honor the island he calls home.