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Name: Kula Ranch
Address: 3295 Dunes Rd, Marina, CA, 93933
Telephone: (831) 883-9479
Price range: Under $11
Rating: 2.94

Kula Ranch

3295 Dunes Rd, Marina, CA, 93933

(831) 883-9479
Store is closed

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Kula Ranch Menu

Sushi

Deluxe Veggie Roll (Tempura Style)

Rainbow Roll (Reverse Style)

Dragon Roll (Reverse Style)

Una-Kyu Roll (Reverse Style)

Volcano Sushi (Molded Sushi)

California Roll

California Roll

Tekka Maki (Tuna Roll)

Kappa Maki (Cucumber Roll)

Island King Roll

Island King Roll

Train Wreck (Reverse Style)

Tiger Roll (Reverse Style)

Nigiri Sushi Sampler Platter

Tropical Roll

Lion King Roll (Tempura Style)

Poke

Spam Musubi

Hawaiian Power Bars

Angry Cameron (Tempura Style)

Wave Warrior Roll

Deluxe Spicy Tuna Roll

Deluxe Veggie Roll (Tempura Style)

Rainbow Roll (Reverse Style)

Dragon Roll (Reverse Style)

Una-Kyu Roll (Reverse Style)

Volcano Sushi (Molded Sushi)

California Roll

California Roll

Tekka Maki (Tuna Roll)

Kappa Maki (Cucumber Roll)

Island King Roll

Island King Roll

Train Wreck (Reverse Style)

Tiger Roll (Reverse Style)

Nigiri Sushi Sampler Platter

Tropical Roll

Lion King Roll (Tempura Style)

Poke

Spam Musubi

Hawaiian Power Bars

Angry Cameron (Tempura Style)

Wave Warrior Roll

Deluxe Spicy Tuna Roll
Happy Hour - Build Your Own Platter

Kalua Pork Slider (1)

Hawaiian Angus Slider (1)

Ground Turkey Slider (1)

Sweet Potato Fries

Paniola Chicken Quesadilla

Hawaiian Nachos

Teriyaki Glazed (2)

Loaded Jo Jo's (2)

Xtra Spicy Wings (2)

Kalua Pork Slider (1)

Hawaiian Angus Slider (1)

Ground Turkey Slider (1)

Sweet Potato Fries

Paniola Chicken Quesadilla

Hawaiian Nachos

Teriyaki Glazed (2)

Loaded Jo Jo's (2)

Xtra Spicy Wings (2)

Healthy Meal suggestions for Kula Ranch

Sushi

Deluxe Veggie Roll (Tempura Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Rainbow Roll (Reverse Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Dragon Roll (Reverse Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Una-Kyu Roll (Reverse Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Volcano Sushi (Molded Sushi) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

California Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

California Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tekka Maki (Tuna Roll) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Kappa Maki (Cucumber Roll) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Island King Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Island King Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Train Wreck (Reverse Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tiger Roll (Reverse Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Nigiri Sushi Sampler Platter [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tropical Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Lion King Roll (Tempura Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Poke [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Spam Musubi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Hawaiian Power Bars [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Angry Cameron (Tempura Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Wave Warrior Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Deluxe Spicy Tuna Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Deluxe Veggie Roll (Tempura Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Rainbow Roll (Reverse Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Dragon Roll (Reverse Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Una-Kyu Roll (Reverse Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Volcano Sushi (Molded Sushi) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

California Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

California Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tekka Maki (Tuna Roll) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Kappa Maki (Cucumber Roll) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Island King Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Island King Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Train Wreck (Reverse Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tiger Roll (Reverse Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Nigiri Sushi Sampler Platter [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tropical Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Lion King Roll (Tempura Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Poke [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Spam Musubi [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Hawaiian Power Bars [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Angry Cameron (Tempura Style) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Wave Warrior Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Deluxe Spicy Tuna Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Happy Hour - Build Your Own Platter

Kalua Pork Slider (1) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Hawaiian Angus Slider (1) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Ground Turkey Slider (1) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sweet Potato Fries [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Paniola Chicken Quesadilla [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Hawaiian Nachos [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Teriyaki Glazed (2) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Loaded Jo Jo's (2) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Xtra Spicy Wings (2) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Kalua Pork Slider (1) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Hawaiian Angus Slider (1) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Ground Turkey Slider (1) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sweet Potato Fries [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Paniola Chicken Quesadilla [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Hawaiian Nachos [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Teriyaki Glazed (2) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Loaded Jo Jo's (2) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Xtra Spicy Wings (2) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Visit below restaurant in Marina for healthy meals suggestion.

Marina Village Restaurant ( 215 Reservation Rd,Ste M )

Marina Donuts & Bagels ( 266 Reservation Rd,Ste H )

Burger King ( 200 Reservation Rd )

Visit below restaurant in Marina for healthy meals suggestion.

Burger King ( 200 Reservation Rd )

Write An Anonymous Review

Karen O.

I think we got the best table in the house, like our own little hut with private curtain that was tapered back. The food was delicious, the service was great, drinks were yummy and dessert mouth watering. We had a young kid come by the table with his ukulele and sang Rock Baby, it was very cool. Everyone was very friendly!
(4)
Sarah C.

This place could have gotten 3 stars but our waiter put a damper on our experience. When he greeted us and took our drink order he never made eye contact with us. He never gave us any real attention either. Oh yeah there was food... boyfriend got the ribs they were tender and good. I got the kalua pork and it was boring and didn't really have any flavor dimensions. We also had the pupu platter which was ok. The meals also come with a cold macaroni salad which if I had known I would tried to get something else. But boyfriend ate his and said it had no good flavors. So of you want food being kept warm or cold in big vats in the kitchen feel free to enjoy a meal here cause that's surely what I felt like happened with our food.
(2)
Boris S.

My family and I came here for dinner. There was something yummy for everyone. The food was flavorful, well prepared, and nicely served. Portion sizes are huge for dinner too! Their kalua pork was very soft and moist. My wife had the nachos appetizer and it was a perfect sized meal. The staff was smiling and they seemed happy to be there. I think there is enough on the menu to warrant a return trip. I ding them one star because they do charge tourist prices so the prices are a tad higher than they should be ($1-$2 extra per meal item). All the seating is in booths I think. I don't remember seeing any tables. So if you have a large group then you have to squish in.
(4)
Henry S.

I'm reviewing the bar side of things here, so keep that in mind when you read my review. In the outskirts of Monterey (Marina), there are not many options for dining and drinks, but Kula fits the bill perfectly and I prefer it over many of the other places on the peninsula. The location is convenient -- it's right off of Highway 1. It's never too crowded, and their bar menu is varied and very reasonable. They have tables along the edge, so it is also family and kit friendly. We bring our kids in on a regular basis and they seem to have no problem staying entertained. On Saturday night I did order off of the dinner menu -- had the skirt steak with vegetables and rice. The rice was prepared with coconut and really good as were the fresh vegetables. This is not really a sports bar, but they seem to have enough TV's to please their customers, so you can come in and watch the game. They have what I need/want, are close by and always friendly and that is important.
(4)
Loren H.

Well, assuming you're staying at the resort/timeshare surrounding the restaurant, you really can't beat the location. Good happy hour, GREAT Mai Tai. We never ate here, but we sure as heck will (as soon as we can get back up to Marine). The atmosphere is very tropical and fun, plus the owner is one of the nicest people I've ever e-met. I can't wait to try the sushi, but I also want to try their steak . . .
(4)
Adam B.

Sushi was great, it had a neat island flare to it. We loved the environment and will return for another visit. We had the Train Wreck sushi roll (enough for a whole dinner), excellent, and the chicken FaFa was out of this world. We took a break after dinner and walked around the resort next door. There is a wonderful beach a short walk away. Together we watched the sunset by a nice outdoor fire of the resort. Then back to the restaurant for desert. Topped the night off with the Key Lime Pie, Top notch. Thanks for the great service Kristina.
(5)
Danica N.

I am only reviewing their Happy Hour, which was absolutely stellar! The food was great and the prices were even better. The drinks were cheap and the service was great, which is pretty much all you can ask for in a Happy Hour. Our waitress was very attentive, friendly and helpful. The Rose Bowl was on and the TVs were all playing it. The beers on tap are great and a better selection than normal and our empty cups were refilled quickly. The food was good for Happy Hour and the prices they were at. We got the stuffed potatoes, chicken quesadilla, and 'nachos', which the nachos were hands down my favorite. They were delicious and the won-tons were an unexpected but delicious option. Overall, good experience, good service and good food, excellent prices at the Happy hour! Also, the Happy Hour is really long hours! :)
(4)
Kayla P.

It was very interesting ambiance. It was good though. The waiter did walk by our table more than once when my fiances water cup was empty, but that's not that huge of a deal. We went there because we got a gift certificate for Christmas. My food was really yummy, I got the rib eye. Their mashed potatoes were delicious along with the vegetables. I wish there was more veggies actually. My steak was cooked perfectly for me. My fiance got the steak burger, he said it was absolutely delicious. He got sweet potato fries with his meal, they weren't amazing, but they were decent. For dessert we got creme brulÃ©, it was yummy but I don't think I would get it again. They are on a resort in Marina, and they are quite expensive. If you go there and decide to split a plate, they charge an extra 6 bucks. And you only get one refill on sodas. We had a really good experience there.
(4)
Thomas D.

First time here staying at Worldmark. We came to Kula's for happy hour and we're not disappointed. New executive chef , the big kahuna suishi was great. We will be back before we leave the area.
(5)
Jeff A.

I had a couple of sushi rolls: California and island warrior. They were quite bland. My wife had the veggie stir fry, and she claimed it was really bad overcooked vegetables. She also had a mai tai that was undrinkable for her. I drank it, and it was really strong. My mom had fish tacos and she didn't complain but didn't clear her plate. Don't know of there is anywhere better in marina but this didn't seem like the best. On the plus side its located near the beach which is pretty. The staff is pretty nice. The decor is pretty cool as well. They just need to fix the food.
(2)
Elsie M.

Excellent place to have a dinner party! Mo, Joe and Trini were absolutely fabulous to work with! Food was excellent and great choices! We just had our parents 60th Wedding Anniversary there and it was perfect. Superior service! Highly recommend!
(5)
Brian H.

Very mediocre experience. Drinks were terrible, food was average. Glorified denny's food. Extremely over priced. I wouldnt come back if it were half price.
(2)
Erin C.

Fantastic for happy hour- just okay at any other time. Happy hour, in addition to the cheap drinks- includes 2$ appetizers. Good food, but otherwise overpriced.
(5)
Kim H.

We are so smart! We know: to encounter the best service, best food and best over all dining experience; you visit Monday-Thursday night very early. Early Monday night before 6:00 p.m., we had a fabulous $13.95 Sunset Dinner. A very tender, juicy, generous cut of Prime Rib with tasty veggies and baked potato. Since we relaxed in the lounge, I was able to order up Happy Hour treats. $4. and $5. appetizers such as chicken nachos, sweet potato fries, pulled pork sandwich and chicken (see photos). Knowing that Hawaiian sauces and marinades tend to be sweet, I wasn't surprised by the sweetness. Plenty of tasty original dipping sauces, too. The table besides ours, had some awesome sushi roll with real crab meat. They were very happy with their choices, too. Of course, we are all older Monterey county residents who can appreciate a well run establishment. Service was fine: hospitable, friendly, polite and efficient. Great Reggae music playing overhead, mom loved it. I liked watching the Giants win, again! It was a re-run of last nights WIN, but what the heck. We really enjoy the ambiance! We will be back!
(5)
Meagan W.

Ditto on the poor service. We started at the bar and ordered an appetizer but it took us reminding the bartender we hadn't gotten our food for it to come out. We had made reservations and got sat pretty quick but then we were never greeted by our server. She passed us several times and didn't even acknowledge we were there. Finally a manager came over and took our order. She eventually came and took over but wasn't very friendly. The food ended up being good and the manager came back to check on us which was nice.
(3)
Natalie Z.

As a local I eat at Kula's often. I have always had great service, friendly, fast, polite servers and hostesses. This is also a great place to have parties or company dinners. My favorite dish is the Asian Salad, as I am a vegan. Joe, who runs the place, is always open to suggestions and works to put more vegetarian and vegan dishes on the menu.
(5)
peter r.

We had our reception there, and besides some very minor hiccups it was amazing. The food was fantastic, the service was great and the owner JOE was willing to accommodate our every need. Besides the reception I've been there many times for dinner and its always been a great experience. Thanks JOE for everything!
(4)
Lissa S.

This was our second experience. We came back only because we had a living social coupon for 2 drinks and an appetizer. FYI, the 2 drinks were margaritas and the app was the Hawaiian nachos. Served on a bread plate. This was the only option and I don't like either. Poor service. Stale environment. Weird scene. No thanks!
(2)
Kathy A.

We had a birthday party for my daugher's 17th birthday. Samantha was sensational. She worked with me to keep within a budget and made sure everything went smoothly! The private room was decorated nicely. The ukeley entertainer made the dinner even more special!
(5)
Denise S.

I've been coming here for years, even when it was AJ Spurs. If you happened to like AJs, there are still some lingering decor and tastes (like the tequila beans). Since I've been coming here for so long and have given so many things a try, I'll note the highlights. The Happy Hour is killer! The best around. $3 for draft beers and a "build-your-own" food platter makes for great combinations. The sweet potato fries and nachos are great. The peanut sauce takes a few bites to get used to, but it grows on you. The pork sliders are good too, but the aioli that comes with it is the star and goes great with the sweet fries. As for the dinner menu, the cajun swordfish is the best. The rice au gratin that it comes with is so cheesey and full of flavor, you could order a side of that and be thrilled. The pan-roasted chicken is a welcoming dish that just makes you feel good. It's like a comforting Thanksgiving dinner all year round (and obviously, with chicken). The fish tacos also have a great cajun flavor (and come with those tequila beans we've longed for). If you mix the beans in with the tacos, the flavors are nice. The white rice it comes with is a bit boring, but if you don't eat the tortillas and then mix the entire thing together, then it's a great ricey dish. The sushi bar isn't a full one, but they make due with awesome spam rolls and original rolls made with salmon, ahi, eel, calamari, [real] crab, and shrimp. The Angry Camaron gets two thumbs up.
(4)
B C.

We came as a party of 7 for a birthday. Some of the food was good (fish tacos, steak/burger sandwich, broccoli, sweet potato fries). Some of the food was pretty crappy (STEAK, rice, beans). So, in a nutshell, everybody got something that was good, and something that sucked. Kind of like Christmas morning. Somebody also ordered a sushi plate and only got 4-5 pieces of sushi which was not enough food for a main course. The portions on the steak burgers were good, but the top sirloin steak was only about 6 ounces and the entire steak dinner would have fit inside a sandwich bag. The service sucked. Our waiter came back and refilled drinks only after we chased him down. Nothing like paying $25 for your dinner and still have to chase down somebody for water. Somebody ordered a beer and by the time the beer arrived it was warm. That's weak. The most annoying thing was that a 15% gratuity was added to the bill. It seems that a waiter who knows he will get his 15% tip will ignore the table that he is getting it from. At least we all felt that way. We would have tipped less had we been given the opportunity. Had the service been better we would have certainly tipped more.
(2)
A T.

Went there was for their SuperBowl Party because the menu that was posted their website looked great. $1 tacos, $5 Pizza and so on. Well got there and they informed us the website was wrong and they could do nothing about it. They also said they knew about the mistake two days in advance and did nothing about it. They did not give us any comp or discounts. Our first waitress took forever on getting us water and never came back to see how we were doing. The second waitress was much more helpful and concerned about us. All in all, this place is normally great, but as for their Super Bowl Party it was not good.
(2)
Mark W.

I live in Marina now and find myself here a lot more. The best deal is the Happy Hour. Cheap beers and drinks with great appetizer specials. I now recommend this place to all of our skydive students who want to get something after jumping.
(4)
Scott L.

Went here with a group and had no idea this place was here. The group enjoyed the sampler platter and what I had was good. I missed the Grilled Artichoke and will have to try that sometime. I had the BBQ ribs as a main. The ribs weren't exactly fall off the bone tender, but had good flavor. Our waitress did a pretty good job of taking care of our group, but I could have used some more water periodically. The owner, Joe, came out to see how everything was and it's great to see when an owner takes a personal interest in their business. He also caters events in the area. I didn't know about the fire pits outside and I'll have to go back to check them out some time.
(4)
charles b.

It's a cool layout kind of "hidden" away even though it's almost right off Highway 1 in Marina. If you happen to be staying down towards Marina (instead of closer in to Monterey) you would be foolish not to at least have one dinner at Kula Ranch. If nothing else, go for a drink. The bar has a wonderful layout. I am not expert on food. So I will just say I thought it was just fine. Service was excellent.
(3)
J. N.

Loved HAPPY HOUR. Sat outside by the fire . . . gorgeous night, great appetizers, yummy mai tais, & fabulous prices.
(4)
Michelle A. D.

We went last weekend with a party of five. It was a busy Saturday night with lots of screaming kids, but once they left, the atmosphere was very nice. Our server was very, very nice and attentive, even though service overall was super slow- but we were enjoying the company, so we didn't mind too terribly much. It took us about a half hour to receive our drinks (which didn't go over too well with our group) and a half hour before we ordered. Same time delay for appetizers and entrees. Speaking of appetizers, the tuna tartare with wasabi tobiko was super delicious. It was a very hearty helping, too. Three of us had it and all loved it. I ordered the filet rare (I like my beef still mooing if possible) and it was well past anything I'd consider to be rare. It was still edible, but it was a bummer. Overall, it is exciting to have an interesting place to dine in this area. It is HUGE and good for groups, and their sushi selection seemed more than ample. I plan to make a repeat appearance sometime soon to try other things on the menu.
(3)
Jim Chris U.

I went here to celebrate my 21st birthday and got me a long island at last! lol! Ooh that Pupu plate was a killer! yum! So this place had a nice ambience, warm. the people here are nice,and sang me a birthday song Lmao! and i got a free sunday from that nice lady bartender! awesome! there was also a guy with a ukelele playing for the tables! cool! and on the outside,they had 2 bonfires that looked classy. all in all,this place is awesome!
(4)
mellisa t.

Rip-off, on so many levels. Ultra cheesy atmosphere. Terrible location, so far for so little. Service, never heard of it. Worst ceasar salad EVER. It's a wannabe of a really good local restaurant, I think everyone knows what I'm saying. But seriously how do you mess up a Ceasar salad so badly. BTW, there were three of us - that's three more that will never go back.
(1)
Jimmy M.

Great find in Marina tucked away on sanctuary beach resort property. Good selection of menu items from steak to sushi - had both and Dishes were excellent on both counts. Have been for lunch as well and they do a good job all around. Also were very accommodating with special food restrictions. Reasonably priced, staff is friendly, good service and owner is very personable. We'll definitely be back when we're in the area.
(5)
Adrian M.

So I went there on New Years with my Family on New Years Eve for the BIG Chicano All Star New Years Bash the Bash was great the service was Sh*tty point blank period. Sal was our servers name he had a bad attitude all the was around when I would ask him a question he would give me unspecific answers. Not to mention it was about 40 a person + Gratuity so he made out no matter what.Al As far as the toast at the end of the night NEVER happened! "Champagne included" false ! false ! false ! If your looking for a good time DO NOT GO HERE!
(1)
S B.

After my 3rd experience here, I had to leave a review... 1st time: drinks and appetizers with colleagues. Good enough. Nothing to rave about. 2nd time: random drop in for dinner. Overpriced and not much flavor. Made the most of the situation. Convinced myself that it was edible. The young man that sang at the table side was entertaining. 3rd time: dinner for a friend's 40th. His choice. WTF? How do you screw up on chicken quesadilla? I ate half of the plate, however, I confess I spit out a few bites because the chicken had fat and cartilage. For some reason, it just didn't taste right. "Are you f***ing kidding me?" It's a quesadilla for god's sakes! I took the rest home. Call me crazy! Looked at it again today by dissecting it. There were perfectly cut square pieces of meat, some so dark it couldn't be chicken. WTF is in this chicken quesadilla?!?! Can it be canned processed meat? Will the chef please clarify what this mystery meat is??? How does one screw up a chicken quesadilla??? WTF??? Such a shame to have spent money here... I can go into my friends' dishes... Everyone was polite, "it's okay," it's good." But, I won't waste more time. Overall, nothing, absolutely NOTHING to rave about the food at this place. Rather boring, unremarkable, overpriced dishes. I will not eat here again. Maybe, a salad? Blah! Reading one of the previous reviews, they've even screwed up on salads... I DEMAND MY MONEY BACK... HERE IS MY THROW UP. TAKE IT BACK! WOW, I'M HARSH TODAY. BUT, DUDE, HOW ARE YOU STILL OPERATING AS A RESTAURANT??? "ARE YOU F***ING KIDDING ME?"
(1)
E N.

Fine if you're not concerned about an unprofessional staff. Reservations are useless since they are not honored. Had a reservation and watched a walk in party the same size as ours, be given a table even though we had small children. When we were seated, we were next to a large party of drunk people yelling profanities. Waited 10 more min to be moved. We had 7 pm reservations but because of an inept staff, didn't start eating until after 8:30pm. They get 1 star because the food was decent. Won't be going back. There are too many awesome places to eat at in in the Monterey/ Carmel area.
(1)
Daniel R.

Two stars is generous. Only tried the bar so cannot rate the food. Ordered Jack and Coke. Tasted like Jim Beam. Asked about and was told that their coke was a little off. Ordered another round and watched the girl behind the bar pour Devil's Cut Jim Beam as suspected. If you don't have Jack then say so. Don't lie about it and use a thin line about your Coke being "off". Use as a last resort only.
(2)
Kimberly C.

I came here with my friend this weekend. I have to give the place 5 stores for the decor, ambiance and vibe. The service there is beyond 5 stars..its AWESOME! Everyone there had nice happy smiles, greeted me with aloha, and was very attentive. The food was ok. We had the kalua pig and the kula chicken salad. The kalua pig wasn't the best that I ever had and the macaroni salad was very pickly mayo. The salad was pretty good, good sauce, macadamian nuts and all, chicken was a bit salty. I would still come back because the place was too cute and the service is awesome!
(4)
chloe k.

On the plus side, our service was friendly and timely. They also have nice decor if you don't mind a bit of kitsch. We went for the happy hour special and both our drinks were both overly sweet and too strong. The margarita had a strange aftertaste. The angus sliders are not bad (avoid the pork ones though) but their prices for happy hour have gone up and we end up with a $21 bill for just one drink and three tiny burgers each for two people. We both decided we'd be better off spending that on a nice sunday brunch, perphaps at Toasties in PG.
(2)
Jackie B.

Service less than desirable. Took 35 minutes just to get drinks. The staff was confused and offered us 3 different meals, appetizers and drinks that weren't ours. We waited about 1.5 hours before our food came. My steak was alost raw but edible. The manager was apologetic and offered us free desserts,but for $97.00 we could have gone somewhere nicer with better service. If you have 3 hours to spare for dinner, then try it, but bring your patience AND your credit card.
(2)
d a.

Alicia our waitress was the most friendliest and helpful person we've met in a long time at a restaurant. Place has a Hawaiian menu and ambiance. Wine excellent. Even a singer with a ukulele playing Hawaiian songs.
(4)
Lo S.

Trainwreck sushi roll as an appetizer was fabulous and served promptly as we were starving and ordered on the waiters first visit to the table, before we decided on drinks. We ordered a burger (delicious, giant, and served with sweet potato fries), the cheese tortellini alfredo with chicken (tasty, but kind of pricey when the chicken is added on), and the Fa Fa Chicken (served over rice with spinach and red onions and a coconut cream sauce... very flavorful, but the chicken was dry). More than enough food in all the dishes to bring home leftovers for a late night snack or breakfast the next day. I have read the happy hour is the way to enjoy this place on the cheap, but we had a very nice dinner for a fair price.
(3)
Katie S.

Went for lunch with friends. Really bad service, waiter didn't know much about the menu, couldn't answer questions, left us with empty water glasses and seemed like he was avoiding our table. The lunch food is also bad. Frozen fries, bland burgers, over sauced rice dishes. Do not recommend and will never go back.
(1)
Kelli L.

Happy hour is great! Angus sliders were fab, service was lacking needed to be more efficient.
(3)
Lia S.

The nachos are delicious!!! It's a must. The food is slightly overpriced for the portion that you are given. But delicious. Again, try the nachos!!!
(4)
Jeanette M.

Last-minute decision for dinner yesterday evening as my boyfriend and I arrived in Monterey at about 8 PM after a three-hour drive. Thankfully, it was right across the street from the hotel we stayed at. I ordered the red snapper, he ordered some sort of steak burger, and as an appetizer we split the Hawaiian nachos which were AMAZING, absolutely to die for! Both meals were also FANTASTIC. The sauces were super flavorful, the portions were good for the price, and our server (I believe Katie?) was very sweet. Little bit of a wait for the food, but it was a busy Friday night so it wasn't unreasonable. The reason I can't give five stars is the bar service. When we arrived, we were told there was a 25-30 minute wait for a table for two, but we could take advantage of the open seating bar and still get full menu access in the meantime. We walked into the bar, grabbed a table, and never ever got service. We waited probably ten minutes (before we got a table, thankfully), and nobody ever approached us, EVER. There were two waitresses for the entire section that kept going to the same two or three tables and seemed to never step foot beyond a certain point. I'm glad we got our table when we did, or else I seriously would've told my boyfriend that we could just go to McDonalds, we were THAT hungry.
(4)
Jeremy J.

Let me start by saying I am a local of the area for the past 30 years and have been here more then once regrettably. But this time was something special when my party of four arrived I should have ran when I noticed the flies all over the restaurant. But against better judgement I decided to stay and eat . I ordered a New York strip and figures that would be an easy entree to prepare, but after 10 minutes my waitress informed me that they were out for the evening. Ok no big deal moved on took things in stride and ordered a ribeye. When I received my ribeye 10 of the 16 ounces were fat and gristle, the steak look like something that a door to door meat salesman would sell. My wife ordered the sirloin and it was about as flavorless as it gets. My oldest son ordered a pepperoni pizza that made little Caesars look gourmet. I just figured for 114 dollars I would get more then two flavorless steaks a kids macaroni and cheese & a grease covered pizza. That location in a top notch location for a nice restaurant, bring back AJ Spurs if this is the best product Kula ranch can produce. PS : I watched a customer open his own wine bottle after the server could not seem to get it open.
(1)
Veronica H.

Decided to come here with my family since the first time I tried, the restaurant was closed. I will never visit this establishment again! The food was good, the drinks were good but the incident that took place when it came time to pay was so shady!! Our bill was about $200, not the problem. We asked our waiter to apply $60 to the bill and split the rest on two cards. Pretty straightforward right!? No, the waiter took the $60 as a tip, A TIP!!! Then put the rest on the cards. A typical tip would've been $40 for the amount of our bill. My brother in law is a nice guy and didn't want to make a stink about it and told us after we left the restaurant! We are not cheap people but that was honestly like stealing and he didn't deserve a $60 tip
(1)
beth s.

For the love of food, do not eat here. If you insist upon eating here order the sushi. That and the drinks are the only things worth consuming at this restaurant. Not that the drinks are special, it's just that nobody in the kitchen had to prepare them. It was such a sad way to end a wonderful vacation in Monterey Bay. We love the sanctuary resort so much, and against better judgment, we had our last meal of the trip at this establishment. It was deplorable. We had decent service and there was no wait- nor should there ever be. Our meals which included the special and the swordfish were completely flavorless. No one finished their meal and my husband and his father boxed up their steaks to bring home for the dog. I'm not sure he was able to consume them either. For some very regrettable reason, we order the chocolate eruption cake. I am very familiar with the style chocolate cake. It's supposed to take 20 minutes to do the way it's supposed to be prepared. I should've known when I asked how long it would take to prepare the cake. The waitress replied quickly, oh just a couple minutes! It was a disgusting dry chocolate cake with a hard top. No eruption, no flavor, just an eight dollar waste of money. Make that a $160 waste of money. I don't get it. Running a restaurant is a tough business. If you're in the business of selling food, and we're not talking about cheap food, make it good. Why do you make all these vacationers eat bad food? It's awful. Fix your business or close yourself down. Have some respect for food.
(1)
Charles K.

We stopped by Sanctuary Beach Resort on the way back to L.A. from Mendocino to break up the drive and get an oceanfront room to relax and catch the sunset. After sunset, we went to this restaurant out of convenience being the only one on property. We should have gone off property... 1) The decor is just plain tacky. If you've been to Hawaii, you know this is not what Hawaii is really like. 2) The service was slow. Like molasses slow. 3) Despite the server's strong endorsement of the food, it was pretty bad. The fish taco was pretty plain. The ribs were overcooked, were poorly seasoned, and drowned in sauce (everyone knows that when ribs are drowned in sauce, it's because they aren't good to begin with). The coleslaw was like warm, wilted cabbage...gross. And the fries tasted like overcooked frozen fries. Do yourself a favor. If you stay here, do NOT go to dinner here. Get in your car or grab an Uber and go somewhere that has good food. There are a few places in the area that do food right...this is definitely not one. They stay in business out of convenience for hotel guests by being the only restaurant on property. If they were in downtown Monterey or Carmel competing against other choices, they would be out of business in a month. The Sanctuary Beach Resort would help themselves by getting another restaurant on property and forcing these guys to get better fast or close down.
(1)
Rachel O.

This was not a good experience. The only thing saving this was the staff who helped us while we were there. We ordered take out on a Friday night since this was across from the hotel we were staying at. We ordered pizza and the Hawaiian nachos. The pizza wasn't too bad but the Hawaiian nachos were just plain gross. The sauce was super salty and made the overall taste just undesirable. The chicken used on them was also chewy. Next time we are in the area we may give it another try but definitely not the nachos!
(3)
Nicole B.

My plus one and I decided to eat here because we were staying at Sanctuary Beach Resort. The atmosphere is really nice, casual. We were greeted very promptly by the friendly hostess. Our waiter was at our table shortly after being seated. He was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. I had the Caesar salad and my boyfriend had the soup of the day which was vegetable beef. The soup needed salt and pepper. Under seasoned. I ordered the rib eye with potatoes and veggies. Everything needed salt. I'm not normally a salt adding kind of person but everything was under seasoned again. My boyfriend had the loco moco. He said it was just ok. They served it with a white gravy not the usual brown gravy. He wouldn't eat it again....it's one of his favorite dishes and he said it's the worst one he's ever had. Bummer. We probably won't come back anytime soon. The service was excellent but the food isn't worth it.
(3)
Brittany N.

Food wasn't bad. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised, especially considering the other yelp reviews. The food was decent, service was a little slow, but the waiter was nice. There were 6 people in our party and everyone though the good was decent. Not great, but decent. I had a teriyaki burger - pretty good, but fries were just okay.
(3)
Kumi V.

We were staying at Sanctuary Resort so the choices for food are limited unless you want to drive, so we tried dinner here. Was very pleased with the food overall, my burger was EXCELLENT, the deserts were only average, I wouldn't waste money on ordering them again, but otherwise worth a meal there.
(3)
Phil H.

Everything was under seasoned. We had the rib eye and sword fish both dishes were not tasty. I would never come back.
(1)
Angee P.

Ugh. So much for an enjoyable birthday dinner with my husband. Service was lousy. I had to get up and pour my own iced tea refill, potatoes were hard and the bugs! Yes, the bugs were awful! I had ants on my feet and legs and fruit flies buzzing all around our entire meal. The waitress delivered our food... Stood in a corner talking our entire meal and then brought our check. That was it. Will not be retuning.
(1)
Kim C.

We brought our daughter here for "Date Night" and were disappointed with our meals. I had the Maui Skirt Steak, yes it was rare but it wasn't tender with lots of gristle. I asked for extra veggies instead of the coconut rice and they were raw, just tossed in sauce, not good so I asked for mashed potatoes instead. My daughter had the pock chop with mashed potatoes and asparagus. All 5 of them (very small serving) were over cooked and slightly burnt. As she kept eating her pork chop she discovered it was raw near the bone. My husband had the Rib eye with the bone, this was good but they only gave him 5 tiny pieces of again raw broccoli. We like this place but when you pay at least 22.00 per plate they should at least get the veggies right. Husband says we won't be back for a while.
(2)
Anthony G.

I've gone back and forth with ratings.... Today was good. We'll leave it at that.
(3)
Mike M.

Kula Ranch is next door to the Sanctuary Beach Resort in the Marina Dunes. There is not a lot of dining close to the sand in the Monterey area that is not on Cannery Row and this is one. Late lunch for three and we were the only diners in the restaurant. We experienced extremely slow service. The food was slow to arrive and the quality was on the whole, not very good. Our dinner guest loved the salad she ordered and we all enjoyed the 'Native Hawaiian Nachos' starter. My wife's chicken tortilla soup was watered down and my 'beer battered fried calamari' sandwich could have come straight from the frozen food section of a grocery store. Ordinarily this combination would preempt any consideration of future visits but it is an oddly inviting building in a very nice setting. Instead of a late lunch we might try dinner or a beer on the patio.
(3)
Luz L.

This dish didn't have all the seafood from description, nonetheless it was tasty. Will try something different next time I come. Overall very relaxed environment.
(3)
Edna G.

I really expected fantastic food here since this was by a golf club and World Mark condos at the Marina; right by the water. The price of the food on their regular meal was a little over priced (took pictures of their menu). We went here for a reception on a Sunday. My cousin reserved for I believe almost a hundred people at hundred dollars per person but it was a buffet and not a sit down? He should have gotten a discount. The place was not even packed with regular customers. Don't get me wrong, I was not judging my cousins selection of food or location but the restaurant. The location was awesome if it was sunny. The food could have been something unique or presented better but the price was maybe, for the location? It was Hawaiian slash, Japanese and American food. The first course was sushi rolls that were nothing extravagant; regular tuna roll with cucumber; no flavor unless you have wasabi and soy sauce. The rice served was coconut milk consistency; too sweet for me, breast chicken was pretty good with gravy and mushrooms; it was tender and not dry. There were mashed potatoes and veggies were sautÃ©ed, the roast was a little over cooked but flavorful, they served sodas and lemonade in pitchers? The way they served the food could have been better for what was paid....the servers were nice but seemed to forget our requests/needs because they were distracted or they lack servers for our party. Nice place and not overly crowded ....but they overpriced my cousin for what they got; not sure I will come back for a meal...
(2)
Cynthia B.

We stayed at The Sanctuary and went to Kula's on the property for happy hour. Over the years, this has been many different restaurants and Kula's is by far the best incarnation. We sat in the bar and where we created our own platter with $2.00 items including kaulua pig sliders and quesadillas. A young man with a ukulele went from table to table strumming and singing. He was absolutely fantastic and made the experience feel authentic Hawaiian. Locals seem to love this place and we did too. Their dinner menu looked delicious and reasonable.
(4)
Carrie F.

Hawaiian Nachos were okay. First set came out cold. Kids pizzas are HUGE. My kids (2 & 5) could have shared. Super convenient to Worldmark at Marina Dunes. Not sure it was worth the money.
(2)
Jonathan M.

We decided to give this place a try. No bread, Waiter came by the table and told us what he didn't have on the menu before taking drink order then left before taking our drink order. Took drink order and walked away waited 10 mins before we flagged him down to order our meals. Asked if we could order bread, waiter said it's frozen but will put it in the oven for you. 25 mins later meals arrive, dad had spaghetti and meatballs took one bite and had to send it back, meatballs were bad. Spouse order skirt steak, overdone, no seasoning, teriyaki glazed veggies had no glaze and undercooked. Dad reorder the same dish I had came out way spicier then mine. Would save your money and go somewhere else! This was so bad this is my first review ever....
(1)
Jenny L.

The food is so so. I got a spice crusted swordfish and it over spiced.i waited over an hour to get my food. My asparagus was under cook. Paid $20 for a fish that I couldn't eat. Couldn't eat the rice or the veggie because of the spice. Don't come here if you are hungry. Come of you want alcohol and want to see a fight happening. Some guy next to me almost got into a fight. The manager didn't apologize to us when we could have got hurt if the fight broke out and the fact that people is just screaming next to us....
(1)
Michael L.

Had the boneless rib eye steak. It was soooo fatty and tough. Came here for a work event and if it weren't for all the appetizers that we ordered, I probably would have had to go somewhere else afterwards to get a second dinner. The fire roasted artichokes were good.
(2)
Lorena R.

My fiancÃ© and I came from out of town to celebrate our birthdays and engagement. This place was beautiful. The food was perfectly cooked and brought to our tables fairly quickly. The drinks were fresh. Our waitress was attentive. The Ukulele guy was awesome and sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow for us. We usually don't order dessert but decided to go for the pineapple upside down cake and we were pleased. For us, it was a 5/5 experience. We will come back whenever we are in the area.
(5)
Brenda C.

Our service was great, the drinks were great, but the food needed some work in the menu. for example, my prime rib was cold and too fatty. And my friend had kalua pork and it wasn't very flavorful. We felt our dinner was over priced. I don't think we will eat there again, maybe just drink there. ..
(3)
Sarah C.

KOLASSEL BURGER PINEAPPLE Drink (forgot the name but was delicious) Pineapple upside down cake Everything was amazing!
(5)
Angel C.

We moved to the neighborhood a few months ago and had a bad experience on the first weekend of being in town . They were out of steak that night and my daughter had the pizza and it was not anything special . I had a mahi mahi dish and could not finish it because it was so salty and over powering with the coconut. So a few months later my husband and I were home and wanted to stay close and decided we would give Kula another chance . Again they were out of menu items ... I just wanted some calamari... Also the service was very slow not only for us but for the tables around us . I had to get up twice to get items that we ordered from our server that she forgot .Very disappointing because we would love to have a local restaurant to visit often for drinks and apps
(2)
Kaitlin M.

The food was very good! We had the prime rib, lobster bisque, and the blue cheese wedge salad, the chocolate cake for dessert. Everything was wonderful. The service was super fast. We came on a Friday night without a reservation and were seated within 10 minutes. Out server was friendly and efficient. Our food was out super quick too. Highly recommended!
(5)
C C.

Awesome, awesome food! I had the Swordfish and my guy had the Prime Rib, both were excellent! Made our Valentine's day dinner even more special. The only complaint was our server who seemed to have an "attitude" toward the lovey dovey mood between my guy and I (nothing inappropriate, just PDA's). She seemed to be jaded and made little side comments that were noticed and not appreciated. Don't hate on us because were are in love, lol!
(5)
Angela M.

We were surprised at how good the food was here. We were staying at the Santuary Resort and road our golf cart over. We had no expectations. My hubby had the steak sandwich and I had the fish tacos. The kids had a hamburger and quesadilla. I don't think we have ever been to a place where everyone enjoyed their meal so much. The fries were delicious, my fish tacos were the best. The service was good. The waiter was pleasant. We would certainly go back if we lived closer.
(5)
Holly O.

I live in the area and have had numerous lunches and dinners here. My experience is that the food is hit or miss. Their chicken curry salad is good, for instance, but the turkey salad is below par because they use a commercial chopped pressed turkey rather than natural turkey breast, which would be so much fresher tasting. The fish tacos and French dip sandwich are just okay, and the Asian mandarin orange salad and steak dinner are among the better items. I haven't tried their sushi, but my Japanese friend doesn't recommend it. Service is about average. I actually like that they don't rush me, but if you're in a hurry this may not be the place for you.
(2)
Heather M.

We showed up to the beautiful Sanctuary Resort for the first time and expected to have a great meal. Boy were we wrong! If it wasn't for the great service then we would give one star. Our waiter was excellent but that's where it ended. The coconut prawns were way over cooked and chewy. The ceviche was nothing but chunks of white fish, no shrimp even though the menu said it had shrimp. My husband ordered the Mahi Mahi and it came drowned in sauce, you couldn't even see the rice on the plate. The Mahi Mahi had no flavor at all. I ordered the Mongolian beef and prawns with noodles, once again the noodles were drowning in sauce and not the sauce they say it is on the menu. We paid steakhouse prices and we got fast food.
(2)
Jess Y.

I've been here before and it has always just been okay. We seated ourselves in the bar. No one stopped by to let us know that they would be right with us or if another staff member would be with us. Staff walked by but it wasnt their section so ehy should they stop to help. Today we ordered calamari, the mixed pupu platter, and the piggy fries. The calamari was tender. The pupu platter needed work. The egg rolls are frozen and the veggies inside are mush and tasteless. They were hot but not as crispy as they could be. The sauce was made with plum sauce and was blah. It could have been so much more flavorful- sweet and sour or a sweet chili sauce. The teriyaki chicken wings were cold and over cooked. The kabob was good and the steak was cooked well. The piggy fries were saturated in fat and grease. The fries were soggy. The pulled pork was good. There was a ginormous puddle of grease on the plate. I tasted some garlic but mostly muted. The issue I had the most was when the sushi bar was told to close down and then the sushi chef griped about it. Then offered the staff who told him to close down if he wanted some food made before he closed. I kept seeing staff standing around or chatting with each other. I understand that it was close to closing, but there was no differentiating management from other employees. Plus the TVs in the bar area all of issues with their screens. There were not many people there, but we had to request more water. Other than that our waitress was good.
(3)
R V.

Kula Ranch- Same as Kula Ranch Island Steakhouse- next to Sanctuary, but in no way related other than to share a common driveway... near, or should I say on Monterey Bay, where all the fresh fish would otherwise be available. BUT NOT HERE - all of their fish is fresh frozen, or IQF, that stands for individually quick frozen.. as the manager explained....none of their fish is fresh. True they are in Marina, a couple of miles north of Monterey - but frozen??? Anyway, Tried Kula tonight. Ordered drinks, salad, and the special-fresh, okay individually quick frozen halibut. The fish was buried in a thick lemon caper sauce, served over mashed potatoes, which tasted like instant. The fish was black-burned on the bottom, and so dry it was inedible. Even the manager who comp'ed the fish meal agreed it looked unpleasing. The manager tried to explain they had hired a new chef. Our other fish, sand dabs - looked and tasted like "go to the freezer and get the box". Not quite as dry as the IQF halibut, but not even near fresh tasting. Hiring a new chef does not account for serving frozen food at the edge of Monterey Bay. I will drive the distance to get a quality meal, and never stop again for frozen food at Kula Ranch. One star-for mercy. Where is Robert Irving when Kula Ranch needs him?
(1)
Alan R.

First of all let me say that I live about 1.5 miles from this restaurant and when it was AJ Spurs visited it frequently. When I heard that a local restauranteur was buying it for the manager of one of his other restaurants I thought......Anything Billy Quon puts his hands on is a success. Well it was, at first. The problem was that after totally redecorating it and re-opening it with a Hawaiian/Polynesian theme....he left it in the hands of Joe one of his former Restaurant managers. Apparently Joe has had some problems of late and does not spend much time at his eatery. This was quickly apparent by the condition of the place! The food is still slightly above average, however the fare is a bit pricey, but not excessively considering it is in the Monterey Peninsula and Marine Sanctuary area. The Dinnerware is a mishmash of something you'd expect to find at a HomeTown Buffett or American Legion dinner. A trip to the rest room which used to be fine totally disgusted me! First of all the entrance door is filthy with black from peoples dirty hands (The ladies room is the same and not clean as my wife informed me), Being a man I had to used the 3 sided tile inset where the Urinal is. Forgive me for being graphic, however there is only one way to state it.....The tiled walls were covered with snot where filthy men had repeatedly blown there nose. As it was only 5 PM and the restaurant just opened at 4PM it was not from that a day and it was quite evident that it had been accumulating for awhile. All of the Brass tarnished fixtures in the entire restroom were in need of a cleaning! I went to the front desk and asked to see the manager. The fellow that showed up did not impress me as a manager, with a wrinkled shirt and a several day growth of beard. A Bar manager maybe, but not a so called fine eatery manager. I showed him my concerns and he agreed that the cleaning crew was not doing their job. I could not believe it when it took a paper towel, wet it say, "I'll take care of this right now, and proceeded to attempt a half _____ cleaning of the walls Missing half of the aforementioned,. He than proceeded to Open the Paper Towel dispenser with his key and say,"see they are not even keeping the paper towel dispensers clean!" I revisited the Restroom a couple of more times during the next two hours only to find that the Paper towel roll had still not been replaced. Apparently he was too busy leaning agains the wall in the Bar chatting with other employees as Observed from my Booth. The only highlight of the evening was a lovely young College student, Erika P., who was our server. She was super efficient, attentive and had a remarkable personality and sense of humor....Ergo the $25.00 tip I left her for a $100.00 tab! I was not looking for anything free as I had a $300.00 gift certificate which was a Birthday present from an associate of mine, however Erica was the only one that said Happy Birthday! I did not expect the entire staff to sing happy birthday to me, however a complimentary dessert would have been a nice touch in so much as even other waitresses passing by commented on the excessive amount of fat, At least 4 - 6 ounces that I had to cut off a $28.00 Boneless 16 Oz Ribeye steak. In summation I'll just say that I'm sorry if Joe is having Health or other issues, however in the winter, off tourist season, it would be nice to have a steady local crowd. I would suggest that he acquires a professional Restaurant manager who knows what even averagely good customer service is, And one that can express apology for unacceptable cleanliness and dime store silverware......Invest in some paint....Fire the cleaning crew and acquire a reputable service and start spending more time at his business. If it were a free standing Restaurant instead of one on the property of a WorldMark Vacation Resort I doubt it would still be in business!
(3)
Adam P.

Do not go here this place is terrible. I wish yelp would let me leave 0 stars for this place. We ordered our food to go and when I got it back to our room I noticed the avocado on my roll was black (rotten), the kula pork was mostly fat and unflavored, my wife's fish tacos were ok, but, we expected better for the amount of money we paid. Save your money and just eat the seaweed off the beach, it's cheaper and taste a whole lot better.
(1)
Brian A.

The server was great. The food was overpriced. I ordered a NY strip and it was over cooked.
(3)
Stephanie B.

Definitely coming back for the food! So delicious and the service was good. I had the Mahi Mahi over rice with a coconut sauce. My goodness it about made my tongue slap my forehead, it was so good. The Mahi Mahi was cooked perfectly and the Macadamian crust on it was scrumptious. The rice and the coconut sauce paired extremely well with it. (I reserve 5 stars for only the best of the best). While this place was yummy it lacked a bit in some areas, such as customer service. Our waiter and just about everyone else was good, but the hostess seemed to be having personal life issues that affected her in a way that came off as rude and disconnected. There was a smashed tomato beneath our table that you could plainly see walking up to it, ew. They charged my husband an extra $3 dollars to make him a turkey burger (we went during dinner hours). Out of all the crazy meals they have, wouldn't this be one of the easiest, not sure what that was about. Was someone working overtime or extra hard making this turkey burger? Strange. From reading other reviews my advice would be to have some customer service training as well as look into the morale and well-being of your employees. Better organization of employees and management is needed. This place could really be a hit, if yall were to work on those things.
(4)
Rachel C.

I was so disappointed with the food here. 2 nights in a row I went here, and the first night I sat in the bar area with a friend and we ordered the calamari and it was delish! Best calamari I have had in a very long time. We also ordered the Piggy Fries and they were good as well, but they need some sort of sauce. This first experience was good and the staff was nice. This evening I chose this as my Mother's Day dinner because I had such a good experience the night before and I wanted to have a plated meal. I wish I would have gone somewhere else. We ordered the nachos and the won ton chips were cute and tasty, but the peanut sauce is so overpowering and salty that it just ruined the experience. It says that the chicken was supposed to be pulled(if I remember correctly) and the chicken was large chunks that were very chewy with no seasoning. I ordered the "Pan Roasted Chicken" and the minute it came to the table I was turned off by it. The chicken looked as if it were boiled and it was so chewy and bland. I thought maybe it was just me, but my husband said the same thing. The gravy had a chemical taste to it, but the mashed potatoes tasted good. I asked to have another entree and so I decided to try the Mongolian beef and prawns. Bad choice. It was so sweet with no salt or pepper and no heat to cut through all that sweetness. The steak was actually tiny pieces of beef that were so chewy and flavorless. Our waiter was wonderful and understanding, but I just couldn't handle ordering something else and being disappointed again. The service was great, but the food was really just gross. I don't know if the kitchen staff have changed in the last few years or what. My husband and I came here once before for a Christmas party, and the chicken(not sure if it was the same) was one of the most delicious things I have ever had, but it has changed so much. My husband had the Moco Loco?(sorry I am not too familiar with Hawaiian food) and he said it was good. So because he had a good experience, I gave them 2 stars instead of 1. Advice, if you want to come here, stick to the bar and the choices they offer. Table service was so expensive for horrible food.
(2)
Katy D.

We are locals and are normally OK with Kula's. The service is never great however when family came and stayed at the sanctuary we took them to Kula's for dinner. The young man that waited on us was horrible. Asked for sliders and were told it would be 15 for 2 they are on children's menu for 5. Family ordered steak, it was cold. Ordered fish tacos and were unable to eat them. Terrible down to the drinks that were not the same on second order. Horrible and embarrassed to have taken family here
(1)
Julie J.

Amazing dinner Happy Birthday to me! Loved the service, loved the drinks Love the meal! We will for sure be back- can't wait The restaurants island flavor put it over the top for me. Have to give a shout to our bartender Liz my lemon drop was also fantastic
(5)
Dave B.

We have lived in Marina for a little over a year, and finally ate here for the first time recently. We were a bit concerned about the reviews related to service and food but we didn't find them the night we went (Thursday). Service was attentive, and they wanted everything to be perfect. I had the ribeye and my wife had the Mongolian Beef and Prawns with pasta. Both were very tasty, the ribeye was fabulous. The desert was the only negative, the Upside Down Cake - didn't seem to live up to what was listed on the menu, missing the caramel (and something else)...but it was tasty none-the-less. We will be coming back very soon.
(4)
Chris C.

Yeah, okay, but not great. I see "steakhouse" and I think "I'm from Omaha; this is ethnic food". But then the food is average, the price is a little higher than average, and the service is slightly below average. I wouldn't go back. In fact, I'm living in a bungalow for three days and it's 150 yards away. Yet, I still won't go back.
(2)
Loy M.

Walked in for a late lunch around 1pm and we were never greeted. Waited for 5 minutes. Made eye contact with one of the servers twice. Looked for someone in the bar. No luck! Happily drove into Monterey to spend my money at Bubba Gumps.
(1)
Catherine F.

Just a quick review. Drinks very expensive and weak. $11.95 bacon wrapped prawns were a joke, 5 little shrimp with bacon bits and bottle bbq sauce. $ 34.95 surf and turf another joke, 4oz lobster tail and 4 oz tuff ass steak. I will say the sushi rolls are very good and the service is bubbly and fun. Overall it was just ok.
(3)
Amy V.

We've gone to Kula Ranch a few times. Most recently we went for dinner. It wasn't busy at all in the restaurant because it was a weeknight. We were seated right away and the restaurant was quiet. The food was pretty expensive and so-so. My husband got a steak which was not cooked correctly. I had fish which was kind of rubbery. The vegetables were not cooked enough and the rice was sticky and a bit dry. We have popped in after work for happy hour a couple of times. The drinks and sweet potato fries for happy hour were pretty good. The pot stickers were alright.
(2)
Aaron B.

So my wife and kids decided to eat here while on vacation. We were very disappointed from the moment we walked in. First we noticed there was a gentleman standing at the host desk on the phone staring right at while still talking, then after a few awkward seconds of just looking at us while still talking, he goes and turns his back to us on purpose as if to say, my phone call is more important than your business. Wow, dude, I really hope he was not the manager because first impressions are really important! I am a manager where I work and I work in hospitality and if it was really that important to ignore your guests, then you should have taken that phone call somewhere else where guests are not present. Our waiter was a nice guy but wasn't the greatest. He took our water order but before we could order anything else, he quickly left us without asking if we would like anything else. The food then came and it was all horrible! I ordered two sushi rolls, they were just okay, nothing to write home about. My wife ordered a steak and it had literally no taste. It was cooked pretty good as far as the temperature went but it just was very bland. Even my daughters pizza was disgusting, it tasted like ketchup with cheese. Then the mac n cheese tasted like it was right out of a box! It's too bad because this place has a lot potential. It's located in a great place at what looks like a beautiful hotel and the views and patio are gorgeous but the kitchen and management team need MAJOR training on basic customer service and food quality. Prices are not at all comparable to food quality. It's too bad we will never be coming back here. Tourists beware, find a better place!
(1)
Laura B.

I wish I could say it was better, but I can't. The food was not worth the price, my margarita was too sweet and my silverware was dirty. I ordered the prime rib which is supposed to be one of their signature dishes. It was bland even with the horse radish I ordered it medium but it was extra pink and the texture was gooey. The service was the one bright spot. My waitress got me clean silver ware and everyone was very friendly and attentive.
(2)
Shalee G.

My favorite place to eat!! Service is wonderful and the food is amazing. Happy hour is a great value. The Salmon is perfectly cooked and the teriyaki chicken is juicy.
(5)
D G.

We thought we'd try something new (to us), so Kula Ranch was our pick. Let me put it this way...between the "boiled" looking, gray colored prime rib and the over saturated teriyaki Molokaii sautÃ©e veggies with tiny, over-salted strips of skirt steak, we'll definitely pass on this restaurant from here on out. Sad but true as Marina needs a good food and drink gathering place. Unfortunately, Kula Ranch isn't up to it.
(1)
Kristie B.

Had awesome drinks here, but the service was very slow, even on a slow Sunday evening. The waitress did not write down our order, which consisted of four items, so she only brought 3. It took another 20 min to get one order of sushi. It was already 8pm so I'm not sure what the delay was, but it also took me asking two people 4 different times for water. Too bad we could not go back for dinner this evening, the fire was a beautiful touch. But since that was our first dinner on our honeymoon, I was extremely disappointed. The couple sitting next to us chewed out the waitress in front of us and told us she treated them the same way last night. Just save your money!!
(2)
William B.

I expected better, probably because of the beautiful setting. But the food was above average and wine list was not bad. Prices were lower than other comparable coastal restaurants, so overall value was very good. 3.5 stars.
(3)
George C.

This review is about the bar area and not the dinner experience itself. Unfortunately I hate to say it's not a good review. I'm going to put us in as little as words as possible so that I don't cause anyone any grief. The service was slow. Me and my friend waited 15 minutes for them to bring us menus and even acknowledge us. All he wanted was simple food to take out and drink a piece. We weren't even given waters or hello at the door. I am sad to say that I cannot recommend this restaurant or this bar area for late-night drink or bite to eat. It's a shame. Bad service, bad attitudes and a bad night. Bummed
(1)
Stephanie V.

Waited for 10 minutes while numerous servers walked by us and just stared as opposed to helping get us a table. When the host finally showed up she asked us to wait and picked up the phone, said "hello? Oh well she hung up! F*ck it!" And then asked us, "Are you ready to go?". Couldn't even stand to attempt to eat there. Considering its a steakhouse attached to a Wyndham, one would think the level of class and service would be a lot higher. Enter at your own risk.
(1)
Robert G.

Fish tacos and coconut shrimp were good, sushi and calamari were just ok. Service was wonderful
(3)
Mamma C.

It was quite good. Sat in bar and enjoyed it. We had the pu pu platter and stuffed mushrooms. Recommended.
(4)
Kelly G.

Menu needs an overhaul for the locals who come here often
(3)
Sylvie S.

Horrible customer service. Manager takes no responsibility. Staff has an attitude of its your problem not ours. Ran out of food on mothers day brunch and refused to serve more. It was only 1:00 pm.
(1)
Joe R.

I went here for Christmas dinner with the family. There was a limited menu, and I ordered the ribeye ($27). I requested it "medium". An hour and 20 minutes later (seriously!) it arrived. This was one of the biggest disappointments of the Christmas season. The steak was small, about 1/2 inch thick, and riddled with fat and gristle. It was cooked "well done", not even close to what I ordered. The steak barely even "held together", and the taste was akin to cardboard...really bad. In their defense, my son-in-law ordered the skirt steak, and enjoyed it....which may be related to the Mai-ties ingested on an empty stomach! I've been to this restaurant many times, and the food is typically "mediocre", which is actually a step-up from this experience, but the service is usually good...this time...90 mins to get your order!?!? C'mon, I could have prepared it, ate it, and done the dishes at home in that amount of time!
(1)
Mike S.

Really wanted to like it more. Service was outstanding. The bar area is a lot of fun. The decor is very cool. Love the tiki man statue things. My steak was a poor cut of meat, it was a ribeye you would expect to buy at a supermarket not at a steak house for $30. The garlic potatoes were yummy and my wife loved her coconut rice. Not sure they deserve lower than 3 stars but I feel they could easily get more. Again service was great. Food average. I would probably go back because I can drive a golf cart there from the Sanctuary Resort. Which is awesome.
(3)
Kim T.

Ugh, food here was not good. For such a lovely location, the meal was totally disappointing and totally overpriced. I would never go back.
(2)
Chris K.

Meh... Expensive and it was much better as AJ Spurs...
(2)
Caitlin M.

My husband and I ate here while staying at Sanctuary Beach Resort and are so happy we did. Our appetizer (artichokes) were amazing...like better than any artichoke I have ever had and I loved that they gave us time to eat it instead of our meals arriving 5 min later. I had the skirt steak and my husband had the prime rib. The skirt steak was fantastic (amazing flavor) and the coconut rice was to die for. I could have done without the vegetables but ate them because I believe in a balanced meal. My husbands prime rib literally melted in your mouth and his potato came with all the fixings. You must try this place!
(5)
Ebony A.

Convenient if you are staying on the Sanctuary Beach Resort property however the food is just mediocre. I ordered the bbq ribs and my hubby ordered the prime rib. Both meats were super fatty and way overpriced. The portions are hearty but I was not fulfilled. I did have a Mai Tai which made up for the meal. They didn't skimp on the alcohol. Don't get the margarita unless you like the mix alone. Management wasn't very friendly and was very selective on the tables he would visit. Overall great ambiance but would drive into Monterey for other options.
(3)
Rita K.

On our way home from Big Sur we were searching steakhouses for dinner. I had no clue this was located near a resort and next to the beach, it was cold and foggy towards dinner time. I recommend getting reservations (you can do so via yelp or call in), it will get pack. There will be a wait without reservations. We had no clue what to expect, but was blown away at the end. It was not only a steakhouse but they had sushi and other fusion dishes as well. The interior had the typical "tiki" decor with tiki huts, Hawaiian decor, and whatnot, nothing fancy. I ordered one of the steak dishes and my bf had one of the beer battered sushi roll. They were both amazing, and came out in a nice presentation. My steak was cooked medium like I asked for, placed on top of a sea of creamy garlic mashed potatoes, with a side of broccoli. The mashed potatoes were probably the best garlic ones I've had. The sushi roll was in large portions! For less than $15, he got twice the size of what regular sushi places normally give. From his words, he thought it was really good and would order it again. I had the pina colada at the end and was afraid it would taste too sweet. It came out just how I wanted it, very tasty, just the right sweetness, and stronger than usual! A great balance. We also had the combo platter (with egg rolls, wings, kebobs, artichoke). Don't get it, overpriced and tasted subpar, my mom makes better egg rolls and wings and kebobs than that. I'm bumping this review up from 3.5 to 4 stars because of the guy walking around with a ukulele singing for tips. His voice was GOOD, I'm surprised he can pull off a Bruno Mars cover on a ukulele. To all the boys bringing dates, do request him to play a song for the ladies!
(4)
Kari D.

I am writing this review in REAL TIME. It's 9:50 pm we've been here since 7:30 and only got our appetizers about a half an hour ago. I wouldn't be so upset but this is the 2nd time we've received bad service from this restaurant. The first time, I didn't bother to write a review, now since they have seriously upset out party, it's time to let everyone know how much this place is so unprofessional and disorganized. The owner didnt even come over to apologize and offer any comps even after 4 people from our table complained. We have a 3 year old who needs to get to bed pretty soon. Ridiculous. They need some major changes. I would rate this place -10 if I could. I wouldn't blame the wait staff, they are working really hard. Management needs to really step up and become accountable for their lack of professionalism and customer service. Update: the owner did end up giving us a discount plus a gift certificate it's almost 11:00 pm. Update to 2 stars.
(2)
Marky M.

We were hesitant to go to this place to celebrate my fiancee's birthday with our family. Because of bad reviews. Shout out to Alex! Excellent service! Twas a wonderful birthday dinner experienced with my family and fiancee! Sometimes not all negative reviews are accurate definitely coming back!
(5)
Harry M.

Please do yourself a favor and do not eat here. This place is a joke. Ordered the rib eye steak for $27 and have had a better cut of meat at a Ponderosa. No flavor, full of gristle. Side dishes equally bland and tasteless. A true rip-off!! Wife's burger was also dry and uninspired all for the bargain basement price of $16. Our lunch at Subway was delightful in comparison.
(1)
Courtney P.

I wish I could give this place zero stars. Went here bc we are staying at the sanctuary beach resort. Ordered a cocktail (burned cowboy) which was so watered down and mixed with something so vile that I actually sent it back. Thinking maybe this was just not a good bartender I requested a Bulleit old fashioned. What they brought to the table was almost all water. And the whiskey was not Bulleit. I decided to suck it up and drink the shitty drink. But then the food. This place is in desperate need of a Kitchen Nightmares intervention. Nothing was made fresh, everything was heated up from some kind of premade thing. So gross. I cannot say enough negative things. Stay. Away.
(1)
Michelle P.

Atmosphere was great. Service was excellent, friendly and quick. Kalua pork was very good BUT the Salmon and filet minon was over cooked and dry. Drinks were nice and strong!! Owner and co-owner were very hospitable.. I would come back again. . Good enough for a second chance
(3)
Gina A.

My husband and I are staying at the Sanctuary Beach Resort, and this is right on their property so A+ for convenience. We didn't have a reservation, but we were seated right away ... on a Saturday night! The staff was very friendly, and our waitress Katie was excellent! She let us taste the soup before ordering it and was very attentive. The food was delicious! I had the Mauka skirt steak, and my husband had the Kula Kolassal Burger Steak Sandwich which we are now calling it the Brontosaurus burger because it was so huge! We had a great night there. Very satisfied.
(5)
Colin B.

Went here twice on honeymoon, got to try the various appetizers and the kalua pig and combo platter. Kalua pig fried rice wasn't very well seasoned, just tasted like alot of shredded pork on some white rice (having had kalua pork fried rice in hawaii and it was amazing, that was my comparison). Appetizers were good though, I enjoyed the chicken nachos. Overall it was a decent steakhouse sports bar, onsite for our hotel.
(3)
Neen M.

Thank GAWD for the recipe of the sauce on the ribs because the actual "meat" part of them tasted like they sat out all day and were microwaved and heated up by the time I ordered them. If it wasn't for the sauce I would have definitely not been a decent happy camper. Overall the ribs were pretty MEH and average but I will say the sauce makes them standout in terms of taste. The main room seating area is way more comfy and inviting that the side room.
(3)
Toni L.

I really enjoyed my Polynesian dining experience! My steak was cooked to perfection, the garlic mashed potatoes were creamy and the vegetables were healthy! My mom was proud! My brother loved his chicken tenders and fries! Kula offers a great kid's menu! The delicious food, the beautiful view and excellent waitstaff will keep me coming back for more! Bravo, Kula!
(5)
Molly R.

Great food and atmosphere. Never too crowded. The happy hour is the best time to come in for the deals on apps and drinks.
(4)
Marnie C.

I have been to the resort twice now and Kula Ranch three times. Love the resort but the restaurant is awful. We had several sushi rolls and nigiri the first visit as well as the second. It was okay the first time and we thought we would try it again. It was terrible. I had to spit out a piece of tuna because there was no way I could get it down. We paid good money for frozen fish we could not eat. The miso soup was okay but the waiter felt compelled to tell me, on three separate occasions, that you drink miso soup and that is why he did not give me a soup spoon. I never asked for a spoon and who gets $60+ worth of sushi and doesn't know it is customary to drink miso soup? Now for dessert. The waiter gave us our dessert menu and proceeded to tell us the half of the items were unavailable. We decided on the key lime pie. It was served hot. FYI, key lime pie is supposed to be served cold. No doubt they took it from the freezer and nuked it. The following day we decided to go for an appetizer. Nachos. You can't ruin nachos, right? They did. Won tons with a handful of chicken and a tablespoon of cheese topped with soy sauce. Nasty. We ended up eating cheese, crackers, and salami after our "nachos" for dinner. And lastly, the hostess. We asked for a booth. She told us none were available. There were booths available our entire dinner. When we went for the nachos mid-day, we asked for a booth again. She said none were available and proceeded to pass by in open one, and Surprise! One just magically opened up! She reluctantly sat us and every time she passed us shot us a dirty look. Uncalled for. If you go to the resort, skip this restaurant. Bring your own food or go to one of the many great restaurants downtown or in Monterrey.
(1)
Iron C.

Three days after the owner contacted me via private message was nice enough offered whether to refund my money or to have another dinner with an equable ant value on the house. Which I declined both as I wasn't writing my review to blackmail anyone, or I'd go back and try the same horrible food.
(1)
David M.

I went two days in a row, while staying at sanctuary resort. It's very convenient while staying here. The service was great. The drinks were great. The food was ok. My $28 steak tasted like a refrozen Applebee's steak. Everything we ordered was overcooked. Order a burger here, that's what they are good at.
(3)
Tim B.

Ate here for the first time recently and I must say it was pretty good! We came in specifically for their happy hour and did not leave disappointed. My biggest complaint was they opened late! We were there outside the door at 4pm and they opened up their doors at nearly 4.15. I even called (nobody answered) to see if they were going to open. Once inside we were glad we waited, the bar area was very comfortable and the patio has 2 beautiful fire pits and has some nice wind blocks to diffuse the wind. Food was good we tried a lot of different dishes, we liked the wings best and the won-ton nachos with peanut sauce. Our server was very attentive and friendly and the joint is kid friendly! We will certainly be back
(4)
Katrina M.

Overall horrible experience. Food is overpriced for the quality - it looks amazing but tastes something I'd pay half price for. I'm rating this place so low mostly due to the service. Server didn't split the bill and we had a party of 10! We were all college students, obviously, no one person wasn't about to pay over $200 worth of crappy food. We asked for the bill to be split, he made up excuses and said he couldn't do it. Finally, one of us talked to the manager. Waiter came back with obvious annoyance, making a point to take a deep breath and roll his eyes at us before asking who has going to be charged for what item. THEN he called out the girl who complained and argued with her for a few minutes before backing off. We may just be a group of college students but we were paying customers. We paid for the overpriced crappy (& skimpy) food and the automatic gratuity forced upon us despite the horrible service. If you're rich and got money to WASTE on a place lacking of authenticity and flavor, this is the place to go. The entire table was dissatisfied.
(1)
Willa H.

We ordered at 8:00pm. Food arrived at 9:00pm. I think we are going to be leaving after the waitstaff!
(2)
Francee O.

My wife and I have been there many times and I hosted her 60th birthday party there for about 60 guests. We went there on tuesday, July 8 for a late lunch/early diner. The food was alright as usual but the service was terrible. We ate at the bar and talked to a couple of other patrons there who also found the service terrible. Two ladies from the bay area who were staying at the resort told me they would never return, nor would they stay at the resort again. NEITHER WILL WE. The worst service I've had ever. It's too bad since we used to enjoy or visits there. Guess we'll drive the few extra miles and eat in Monterey !!
(1)
S N.

Some of the food was hit and miss. We enjoyed the won ton nachos and the sushi was okay quality. The calamari wasn't good at all. Prices are affordable and convenient for those staying at the Sanctuary Beach Resort.
(3)
Kristin H.

Place is good. I sat in the bar along with some family and ordered drinks, appetizers, and entrees. 90% of the sushi rolls are deep fried (or have some kind of deep fried something in it) and are way too overstuffed. The crab bisque was delightful and not too... Dairy-like. Note: don't ask the bartender to change the channel to a Lakers playoff game when the majority of the people are watching the SF Giants game. I mean, there are only 10 televisions or something, so 1 television wouldn't hurt...
(4)
Terry T.

Just had our company holiday party at Kula Ranch, and it was great! Kudos to the staff, especially Samantha (the event planner), for providing wonderful service during the party. Room was beautifully decorated, food was delicious, and service superb. I hope our company continues to hold the annual holiday party at Kula Ranch...it was a wonderful experience!
(5)
Heather K.

We came here for a post recital dinner. Very cute decor, warm and inviting. To be fair, it is less than 2 weeks before Christmas, so quite a few parties going on in the restaurant. We were seated at a very nice table in a room with 2 other large parties and a third who was on the other side of a tall wall. We sat for a bit before our waiter came to take our drink order. When he came, we suggested that he break us up into separate checks right away before things got confusing. He spent 5 minutes telling us why he couldn't, and if we REALLY wanted it broken down at the end, we would have to be patient because it was hard work. huh? We eventually got our drinks, then it took awhile to place our order. Then we sat, and sat and sat. The kids in our party were starving. The table behind us were screaming and hollering and swearing. It took 30-45 minutes to get our food, and the kids items were wrong. From the first person who got their item to the last it was 15 minutes. Food was cold. I ordered the prawn and Mongolian beef with soba noodles. It was tasty. Hubby ordered the kalua pork. No flavor on the pork at all. Daughter ordered skirt steak medium. It came bloody. Son ordered Mac and cheese and it was noodles in a sludgy pool. Needless to say, we will not be back. Too bad, place had potential.
(2)
Tiffany P.

Sushi David!!! Need I say more???? This has totally redeemed this place!! Do you love sushi??? Then YOU MUST eat here!!! Seriously.... We say make us something he tasty... He never disappoints! Trust your sushi chef. Want a lesson in Japanese culture? Or history? He will help you understand more about your food... Just a great experience, a staple of our Sunday! Domo Arigato!
(5)
Erik G.

Cold beer, great wings, excellent sauces, Kuala lollapalooza burger is absolutely a perfectly pairing of flavors for my buds. Service was slow but they take care of you when they know it happens. Great HH prices.
(4)
Linda G.

Food was great and abundant. Waiter was not very attentive and got my husband's order wrong. Although it was delicious when we got the bill it was a more expensive plate. Seemed a bit disorganized. Service was not so good.
(3)
Greg L.

I'm sitting at the kula ranch for the third straight night as I am working in Monterey for the week. Speaking only for the bar , the happy hour is perfect, good happy hour food , great sushi and cold beer at a great price ! If your staying in the Marina area check this place out , I travel weekly and this place will remain on my go to when in the area .
(5)
Scott F.

Fantastic setting with great view.Very nice happy hour with great drink prices . Trinidad and Liz are great bartenders with a great variety of drinks to choose from like an amazing Pina Colada or Bloody Mary.Oso buco is recommended on menu also great appetizers for grazers.
(5)
Brenda B.

My father passed away last year in June. my cousins came out here to see me I suggested we meet at Kulas. They love the food the service was good at that time. I see a connection here if it's just one or two people, service is very lacking in quality. And service. If you come in with a group of people like six. for some reason they do more to make the food more palatable and more appetizing. It all depends on the time of the evening. My cousins really enjoyed the food. But my cousins did not know that I have frequent this place a dozen times and study their times of quality service and quality food or lack of. Like I said before it's all about the time of the day or the time of the evening. Before it was kulas. It was a cowboy themed restaurant which was a little bit better and more down to earth. If I'm not mistaken it was called AJ's Spurs. Or RJ's Spurs??? Anybody remember correct me if I'm wrong.
(2)
Teto S.

Went to "enjoy" a couple beers and appetizers with the family. Food was below average and cold, the service was atrocious. Not sure how this place makes it at all. My guess is because it is attached to a resort and the majority of customers are too lazy and desperate to venture out and find some decent food. Oh, and our total bill was 44.37 and I gave the server $60...she returned with $15 dollars in change so I assumed the .63 cents she shorted me was her tip. Even at that much I over payed her. Do yourself a favor and NEVER enter through the doors of this pathetic excuse for a restaurant....you're welcome in advance.
(1)
Svetlana R.

Appetizers were awesome (artichokes, calamari, pot stickers). Drinks were OK. Main entries were not up to the resort level. Steak ordered medium-rare came medium-well done. Fish was overcooked. We have not tried the sushi menu. Next time might try only appetizers and sushi. They need to change the chef. We love the resort it is located on and there is no other place to eat nearby.
(3)
Jynae C.

My husband and I ate here last night for the first time. We went around 6pm and were seated right away. Alex was our server and he was wonderful! Very knowledgeable about the food selections and willing to substitute to our liking. I had Chicken Fafa and my husband had the large Sushimi. They were both excellent with great flavor and presentation. The ambience was nice and we'll definitely return!!
(5)
Rikki T.

The food and the service were fantastic. Alex provide excellent service. The food was delicious. And we were completely done with dinner in under 45 minutes. I don't have even one criticism. Thank you for a great experience.
(5)
Jeff G.

Well.....I should have known better. It takes a lot for me to write a review. After staying at the sanctuary a few times I got lazy and came to this restaurant after hearing bad things even from the staff. When we walked in it was ok but you could tell something was up when all the servers where at the server station leaning and almost looking annoyed that customers came in on this Sunday night. We decided to go with sushi . That was bad choice #2. The food came and we had a few pieces and then I decided to order something else as the sushi is hardly sushi. I should have known when they don't carry fresh salmon . So bad choice # 3 was ordering then house special grilled artichokes . I pulled off a few and ate them and my face must of been bad because my wife started laughing at me. The third one was cold. I then tried another as I like to torture myself. It was stone cold and hadn't even been grilled . We were done at this point and our waitress came over and asked how the artichokes were. I told her they were cold and she said ohh....would you like a box? Wow- that's all I thought. Garbage service and terrible food experience for me today. I do not recommend. If you do brave it as it is convenient if you are staying on the premises please just order drinks .
(1)
Yves S.

We stayed at the Sanctuary and were absolutely excited to finally try Kula Ranch. I made a reservation at 7:30 but right when we got in, there was a big group already waiting for their table. We waited for another 10 mins before we got seated. We sat at a corner table where we have a good view of the TV (football game)- the server was kind enough to accomodate us and seat us where we want to. Our server was nice and was thorough with our order but took for our drinks another good 15 minutes. We ordered diet coke, water, beer and cold sparkling sake-- what could have taken so long, we didn't order any mix drinks at all! So that alone is an indication that the service is slow even if the servers were quick to take your orders. I saw another server walking around in his cell phone- not sure if he works in the bar or the restaurant area but I thought that was a bit unprofessional. We ordered california roll sushi and that was pretty good, it wasn't the best but it was better than our entrees. I had the skirt steak with a side of mushy sweet coconut rice which didn't go well with the steak. The veggies were cooked right however the I absolutely had a problem with the rice- I had few bites and that was it. I din't think the coconut rice would be too sweet. I had coconut rice before and I absolutely love it, however this one is a disappointment. My boyfriend had the flat iron steak and he said it lacked seasoning and continuosly put A1 sauce (he typically doesn't do A1 at all). Overall, our experience at Kula Ranch is A-ok.... It didn't leave an impression and we can definitely find a better restaurant in Fisherman's Wharf or Cannery Row area. Kula Ranch has an advantage of being inside the Sanctuary Resort and that's about it. The bar closes at 9 on Sunday and 10 on other nights. A bit too early for those that wants to hang out at the bar-- we didn't get to enjoy it (as well as their little bon fire outside the restaurant).
(3)
Monica V.

We visited this place since we were staying at Sanctuary Beach Resort. We has lunch at this place while waiting for our room to be ready. We ordered carnitas and chicken tacos. They were very good. The place got busy fast, but I think it's because of the FIFA soccer game. Anyhow, lucky we were there before the wave of patrons since there was only one waitress. We also visited this place for dinner given we didn't want to drive to Monterey for dinner. We had Mahi Mahi, Steak sandwich and California rolls. The Mahi Mahi was ok. Would I order it again, no, I'd try the Mongolian Beef next time. This place should open up for breakfast - American and Hawaiian style. I'd think it would be a hit since Sanctuary Beach Resort charges $10 for bagels, yogurt, hard boiled egg, coffee, OJ which is silly.
(3)
S J.

This place is amazing the food is top shelf and our bartender Liz is the best in Monterey County Manhattans were awesome. We recommend the Artichoke app and the Ribeye, Salmon or Skirt Steak dinner! We also stayed at Sanctuary the Golf carts make you feel like you are living in a private community! We went to Monterey Fish House for lunch then a massage at Comfoot ! Best weekend ever
(5)
Matt M.

Came here while staying at Sanctuary and loved the meal here. The three dishes that really stood out to me were the Japanese Panko Crusted Sanddabs, Cajun Spiced Grilled Swordfish, and this chocolate lava cake thing that I can't remember the name of. The sanddabs had a nice texture to it - the panko crust was nice and crispy and the fish was still flaky underneath. The Spanish Rice Au Gratin that came with the swordfish was to die for. I've never had that combination of flavors on a rice very similar to risotto, and I have never been able to find another place that does it like Kula. The flavors were so strong but well balanced, and went great with the swordfish on top. Didn't really care for the asparagus, but the starch and protein were the best! The dessert was excellent as well - the chocolate just came oozing out after we broke the top layer of it - yum! Unlike some of my fellow yelpers, the service we received was really good. Maybe it was because we stayed here during the weekdays, at a random time of the year, but the wait staff was very friendly and courteous.
(5)
Jessica M.

From the reviews, it looks like service here is hit and miss. For my visit, it was a hit. I was seated immediately, and at a good table. I have had a lot of experiences lately where I got a bad seat, or service because I was alone and attention was paid to bigger tables. That was not the case at Kula Ranch. I was well attended to with friendly smiles and quick service. The place was not super busy, but not empty either. Thge food was good. I had the equivalent of a Philly roll, though I can't remember their name for it. It was a good portion and with my seaweed salad, plenty for one person. My only wish was that it was raw salmon, not smoked. I took a tiramisu to go. It was awesome with a glass of wine later in the evening. Bear in mind that this place is a little touristy since it is on a resort property, but overall it was a good dining experience.
(4)
Rick H.

So here is the deal. We were staying at Marina Dunes and did not want to go out to dinner. We had heard both good and bad about this restaurant. We had passed earlier in the week because when we grabbed a to-go menu we did not receive any interaction from one restaurant person. Tonight I decided to call in my order and was politely asked if I could be put on hold. Not a problem! except it was for 5 minutes. To me, that is unexceptable. I hung up and decided to walk over to the restaurant and order live. I expressed my frustration to the hostess, and received excuses and not an apology. I sat at the bar and waited for my order. The bartender was great. Our order was processed in a timely manner (the Kalua BBQ pork and some sushi), and off I went back to my property to eat. When I got back to my room we discovered there was no sauce to go along with the dry pork. I had to walk back over to the restaurant to get the sauce. What if I would have driven and could not walk? Should 'do you want some extra sauce' be a standard question? My take on this restaurant is good food but clueless service. If management would put some focus on the service and how to interact with the customer, they would have a gold mine. I will be challenged to return unless I don't have a choice. I just can't handle the lack of attention being paid to the customer in the restaurant. The bar was great.
(2)
Malia W.

I really wanted this place to taste good. Its in a beautiful location and very cute decor. We came here after my friends graduation. We all ordered a cocktail which tasted fine. Except they were out of strawberries, and coconut shavings, oh and raspberry ice tea. Which never is a good thing when your selling tropical food. We ordered from the lunch menu which was about a third of the size of a dinner menu. I ordered the sliders, and my friends ordered a few fish dishes and fish tacos. Ive only had sliders once before but they are always creatively done with the lettuce and other toppings. I thought for sure they'd make it Island-y. Boy was I wrong. The sliders were beef, cheese, on a Kings Hawaiian roll with fries on the side. No toppings.. no garnish.. :l I think the worse part of the meal was the not fully cooked rice given to the graduate! Of all people. On her special day she had to send back her food. The waitresses and other staff were very nice and accommodating. But I wish the food was a little more on par with the staff.
(2)
Matthew B.

Drinks good - food not so good Staying at the Sanctuary Beach hotel there's only ONE option if you don't want to drive so we gave it a try. Drinks were good and inexpensive but the rib-eye was thin and tasteless, the wife had the tuna which was just OK. We'll be taking the 10 mile trip into Monterey tonight
(3)
Xoleil X.

We happen to discover this restaurant while staying in hotel nearby during the Thanksgiving holiday break. We had sushi, miso soup, and cocktail for lunch there on Thanksgiving day and we really enjoyed it. I think that was one of the best miso soups we ever had, and both my husband and I like the cocktails. We came for dinner another night, and the food was pretty good too. Service and the staff was professional and friendly. I would typically give a place like this 3 stars, but given the atmosphere and how we enjoyed dinning here, I give it a 4 stars.
(4)
Cara D.

This place is going downhill or at least it has since my previous visits. What no Mahi Mahi at a Hawaiian restaurant and it took them 10 minutes after I ordered to tell me. Food looked really good but lacked flavor.
(1)
Moe T.

This place is way overpriced for what it is. Came in b4 last call server saw me and my friend walk in and still took about 10min b4 she greeted us or asked if we wanted a drink. Wouldn't come here other than for happy hr dishes bistro is a way better call!
(1)
angie b.

I'd been wanting to try this place and when a friend stayed at Sanctuary, we met for dinner/happy hour. The happy hour menu was not very good. The prices were a bit cheaper than the normal menu, but the portions were tiny. The service was SLOW and the food was mediocre. I ordered the crispy spring rolls since it was the only vegetarian option on the happy hour menu, they were super greasy and cold inside. I should have sent them back, but didn't. The salmon was ok, not something I'd eat again.
(1)
Daniel M.

Took a chance with this place after reading mixed reviews. We went for the sunset dinner special & I can't tell you how disappointing it was. Besides them being out of a few of their menu items at 5:45, the Sand Dabs I ended up having were breaded & were worst than any store bought fish sticks. But the worst thing about our dining experience was the fact that there were tiny flies constantly busing around our table & food. When we brought it to the attention of the wait staff, they just made light of hit & pretended to try to "shoot them down". Absolute waste of $$!
(1)
Fred D.

We were very pleased with the quality of the food and service we received last night. I had the Salmon and it was fantastic. We also ordered the Mongolian beef and it was very good and they prepared it without the spicy sauce as we requested. Our appetizers and main courses arrived fairly quickly the server's timing was excellent as was her service in general. All in all we enjoyed ourselves very much!
(5)
Jireh H.

[3.5 stars; review is *ONLY* for their dessert] Summary: - Service - very friendly and attentive [wish I remembered her name] - Cost - higher than average for just having dessert - Food [dessert] - just okay - Ambiance - interesting, lol; great for conversations ******* We were a tiny party consisting of four; yet, we consumed the equivalent of a farm's produce in a year. We thought our lives were complete and that there is nothing more than we could possibly need for the rest of the night. Yet, there is always one person - who like a songbird initiates a melody among many other birds - who piped... "What's for dessert?" Yes, the gates of hell opened. Suddenly, everyone was stricken with zombiefanaticism of wanting to pillage a sugar cane field or a 7/11 or something just to fix that incited hunger for something freaking SWEET. Great, I looked at the crowbar [aka demolishing bar now] leaning on the side of the wall and glanced at the shotgun on display trying to remember where the shells are. Yes, I will have to be ready when they "turn" [into zombies]. "LET'S GO TO KULA RANCH!" Someone screamed with excitement and before I knew it, I could heard a tiny stampede towards the front door and the shuffling of shoes and the disappearance into the night. "What's this?" I thought...zombies like dessert now? I'd be...$%#*%&!!! ******* Service was exceptionally friendly and attentive throughout our dessert experience. I guess she made sure they never "turned" as they all had their individual desserts. Key lime pie, tiramisu, and creme brulee... NOOOOOOOOO...I must fight the sickness...I can't...caaaaaaaaan't... "Can I try a little of each?" I asked knowing full well that I'm being "turned". Ahhhhhhh, they were all just okay. Nothing spectacular but then again, I guess it's just dessert. Phew, I'm safe...I'm still not a zombie after all!
(3)
Samantha S.

We visit Monterey on weekends we're racing at Laguna Seca. Last night the boys wanted steak so we headed over to Kula Ranch. Service was 'interesting' ... the waiter seemed like he would have been comfortable overseeing his family dinner table in the Old Country. We started with the pupu platter which was okay. Nothing stellar. Grilled artichoke, egg rolls, fried chicken wings, a couple kebabs. For our entrees, I had the macadamia nut encrusted mahi mahi. The fish was dry, the coconut sauce was too rich for even me and really bland. No interesting flavors here at all. SO had the short ribs which, along with the great company, redeemed the meal. The short ribs were seasoned well in teriyaki and paired well with the macaroni salad. Needless to say, I ate most of SO's dinner. Would have given Kula 2.5 stars but the ribs pushed it up to 3. We'll go back again sometime for drinks and sit outside by the fire pit. I'll try the Kalua pork.
(3)
Jake H.

2 stars only because it could have been worse. We came for lunch at 12:15, the place was empty. We waited for almost 45 minutes for our food, which would have been average at best if it was served before it went cold. Our waitress seemed preoccupied with things other than taking care of guests. We waited without knowing where our food was without a refill on a drink or an acklowdegement that we had a longer than normal wait. Once the food was out it was okay, nothing to rave about though. My steak was cold, and the macaroni salad was so watered down that the rice had absorbed a ton of liquid so the rice was all soggy. Nobody else was impressed with their food either. I could understand a long wait in the kitchen if it was a busy hour however there were more empty tables than full ones. With service and quality like this I understand why!
(2)
Jon B.

Ok my wife and I visited this place with our daughters 8 and 10 during our stay at The Dunes. The food was great in addition to the table side music solo by staff. We had the artichoke appetizer , ahi tuna with won ton chips , and Cesar salad. Loved the balsamic reduction drizzled over the Cesar and on the grilled artichoke . Chokes were on the small side compared to what I'm use to but they were good and a total of 3 came on the plate. I also loved the house mixed green salad with the blue cheese dressing . Blue cheese dressing is house made with a hint if ginger and not over powering blue cheese flavor. Our daughters loved the Key lime pie and chocolate cake for dessert as did I. Also if you want one of the best margaritas in Life this is the place; ask for Liz to make it!!! Last but not least it was nice to be greeted by Joe, the owner ensuring that we were pleased with our meals. This will be a place we come back to when visiting the area.
(4)
Renee C.

As a regular, we just cant get enough of this place. Liz and Dorleen in the bar are great. Celebrated our wedding anniversary and just went back for my birthday. They make us feel like we are home!
(5)
Bill J.

This restaurant is located on the property of the Sanctuary Beach Resort. However, it is my understanding that this restaurant is owned separately. We were able to cruise over here in about 2 minutes on our personal golf cart. This restaurant has a Hawaiian style theme to it. There are some Kona Longboard lager signs on the wall. A few surf boards. The menu has an island style flare to it. HAPPY HOUR The happy hour here is awesome. They have many items for only $2 including sweet potato fries, beef or turkey sliders, pulled pork sliders, and some Hawaiian nachos made with fried won tons wrappers that are very good. The ginger dipping sauce was amazing!They have $3 pints of draft beer including Lagunita's IPA which was a steal since I usually pay much more for a pint of good beer. The draft selection can change from time to time. They also have really good $4 Mai Tais that were fairly strong for the price. The service for Happy hour was good depending on who the server was. We had two different servers on two different days. They were polar opposites. The first server was amazing. She took our order and got everything 100% correct. She had a great attitude and seemed patient and helped suggest some very good stuff. The second server was dreadful. She took my order for a beer and totally forgot about my beer.She asked me 15 minutes later if she could get me something. "You can get me that beer I ordered 15 minutes ago, I said." No apology or anything. You can also order sushi there. My wife had some California rolls. They were decent. DINNER The dinner here looked pretty good from the menu. It had the same "Island Style" theme that the bar area had. I ordered the Colossal burger. I guess that I forget that colossal means "Very large" . This burger was full of bacon, cheese, avocado, and a huge roll. They served it with a side of sweet potato fries. I felt like I was on a episode of "Man Vs. Food". Thankfully I won. Great burger! My wife had some sushi and awesome salad with fried won ton pieces in it. The service was perfect: Friendly, and everything was perfectly timed. The hot food was served hot and the cold food was cold. No one got sick. We didn't see any flying cockroaches. No rats or mice to be found. Very clean place I must say. Gordon Ramsey would be proud! What more could you ask for? We will come back as long as our favorite server is working that day. :)
(4)
Tom B.

It is in a spirit of generosity that I am giving a two start rating. I made reservations for 7:30 Feb 14 and was not seated until 8:40. Now I realize it was a busy night and can understand and even expect delays. However, when I pointed out to the hostess that two parties that came after us were seated before us she tried to say they were there first. My wife and I sat for over an hour and saw everyone who entered. This was also confirmed by two other waiting couples. When we were finally seated at a small table overlooking a booth our server was very inattentive. Not once did he offer to refill our drinks. I also observed another server frequently visit a table while letting another dinners' food grow cold. My wife's steak lacked any resemblance of flavor. I wish we had gone to Denney's At least there I know what to expect going in. On the plus side, my swordfish was very good.
(2)
Junichi A.

Been there twice but not so impressed with their food or service. Nice location and atmosphere though.
(2)
Dan H.

Wasn't sure about this place after some of the reviews, but we decided to try it on our last night at Sanctuary Beach Resort since we wanted to drink lots of sake and didn't want to drive. We're really glad we did try it! We drove our golf cart from our room (about 100 yards away) and got rock star parking. Nothing like a golf cart in the front spot... it's sooo money, baby. ;) We were craving sushi and sake and are complete snobs when it comes to our raw fish, but we were adventurous that night and were willing to take a change so we didn't have to drive anywhere. We sat at the sushi bar (maybe 4-6 seats in front of the fish fridge, but the bar itself is very long). There were about 25 people in the bar area watching the NBA playoffs, so it was a bit lively and fun. The sushi chef is a middle-aged white guy doing everything. My first thought was "Oh no... he's not even Asian, let alone Japanese. This should be interesting." He's apparently been there 7 months and is VERY passionate about his fish, cooking, and food in general. After a brief conversation with him, I got the feeling that it was all going to be ok. We asked a waiter about what cold sake's they had, and the sushi chef (David, I think his name was) gave us a look and said "You like infused sake? I make my own if you want to try it..." So, we did, and three bottles later... yea, we like it a lot. I think is was an unfiltered Gingo that he infused with something fruity, and he wasn't about to tell us what was in it, but wanted to know what the notes were (felt like I was at a wine bar.) He also makes his own miso soup, which was really good to. The fish itself was amazingly good. Actually, some of the better yellowtail and albacore we've both had. We got a couple of rolls as well, which were good. He also threw a couple of chef special fried spicy tuna balls at us, which were really tasty. Everything was light and fresh and clean, not overly salty or saucy, which I expected at a resort touristy place like this. This guy definitely knew what worked and didn't cater to the masses. It was more traditional Japanese tasting than I expected, which was perfect.
(4)
Trellie C.

I only ordered the panko crusted prawns, but I was surprised to discover that they had not de-veined the shrimp before preparing it! Who wants to sit there and dig shrimp poop out of their meal?!?!
(2)
D V.

We walked in and got seated. She gave us the lunch menu. Very disappointed on how small it was. Barely anything on the lunch menu. No sushi which I was hoping for. So I ordered a cocktail and my husband ordered a soda. He then showed me you only get ONE refill. WTF! So his glass came and it was a very small glass. Not the typical size you get at other restaurants. Really? Soda is soo cheap out of the tap. Come on. My mixed drink was real good at least. I got the French dip which was good. He got the rice/chicken bowl which he didn't like. He isn't a picky person at all either. The macaroni salad was decent. Overall it was bad but the little things like only having one refill per drink is dumb. Change that and or get bigger glasses.
(2)
Erik H.

Great food selection and friendly service. Happy hour menu, kid friendly, outside patio with fire pit. We stayed at the Sanctuary Beach Resort and ate at Kula for 3 days straight, no reason to go anywhere else, it was perfect.
(5)
Renee C.

The food was good and service was the same. Worth the effort once but not twice...Beer is cheap durning happy hour....
(3)
Joshua H.

The food is amazing. We are staying at the Sanctuary Resort and did not expect the restaurant to be this good! The waiter, Alex L, was phenomenal. He was very knowledgable of the menu and checked in on us frequently. We ordered the artichoke and potsticker appetizers and were very impressed. We are already planning our next trip to the resort!
(5)
J F.

I bet this is a fun place to hang out on the deck when it's warm even though the view is pretty much of the parking lot and the cottages and not the beach, which is really a shame because this hotel is right in the dunes. The sushi chef spent a lot of time talking with us about the special variety of rice they use and he really is proud of his craft. The sushi was, as expected, first rate. Steak was excellent too. Drinks are good too, and the only reason they don't get more stars is because sitting at the bar near the sushi are we were constantly fending off the fruit flies from the bar. Not so cool and a romance killer. We stayed at the hotel and ordered room service and it was super fast and still hot. Nice!
(3)
Sam C.

Ate there last night. Took about 10 for the server to get to our table. The place was mostly empty. Not a good start. My wife and I ordered the Kulu Ranch Pork and the Mongolian & Shrimp noodles. The Kulu Ranch Pork was dry and luke warm when it came to the table. It had almost no flavor and needed a sauce. The Mongolian & Shrimp noodles, had this weird sweet sauce on it. The beef was over cooked and the shrimp was as well. Wife and I switched half way thru out meal and I had her pour some of that weird sause on the Kulu Pork which made it taster a little better. All in all, I would say avoid this place. I so miss AJ Spurs that was at this location about 5 years ago.
(2)
Robert L.

Must have come at a bad time. Service was terrible, good reflection of the overall experience. All in all, we decided to skip dessert just to get out, ended up celebrating the birthday elsewhere. We were friendlier than the servers-service makes a difference even when the food is barely okay. First time I write anything negative, it was that bad.
(1)
Bryan A.

I love this place! The atmosphere is very comfortable and the service has always been good. I usually get the ribeye and have never been disappointed. This is a staple for my wife and I on date night.
(5)
Casey C.

If you have the patience of a saint, then you might have only a moderately terrible experience here. The food doesn't suck but the service does. It's comically horrible.
(2)
Cheryl G.

Start with the positive. The pork slider, beef kabob and artichoke were great, everything else just ok. Service is not good, the staff is more interested in talking with each other and hanging out in the bar than waiting on customers. Came in 7 mins before 4 pm their dinner time and was told thy were still serving lunch. Had to ask for a dinner menu nod explain by the time we sat down and ordered drinks it would be dinner time. Still no offer to seat us in the restaurant in now five minutes. . Only one other person in the bar, the staff (7 in plain sight) were hanging out in the bar while the waitress/bartender chatted at some length with the other patron before bringing our drinks ( ice tea which tasted very old). If their service was decent I would return as I am local but at this point Bahamas Billy's in Carmel much much better.
(2)
Lauren S.

The two stars here is mostly for the food and beverages- they were actually really good! The service however, is SLOW. Slow to clean up the table we sat at on the patio which was dirty from previous occupants, slow to bring take our drink orders then to actually get the drinks. Slow to then take the food orders and then another 45 minutes to get the food! Thankfully the food was actually warm. Another 10 minutes to get silverware, which they wouldn't even hand me when I walked back inside after more than 5 minutes. I think the only thing quick to come out was our check. The server was nice- but I don't understand the lack of urgency. There was only a few other tables with people outside, and the bar area wasn't all that full. As a party of 4, we got there at 3 and didn't leave until just before 5. I think a couple of us were actually able to get more than a single drink but no appetizers were ordered, just entree's. There was absolutely no reason to have been there for so long with so little.
(2)
Jose M.

We had our wedding here after being mislead by the Sanctuary about prices. The manager was very helpful and made us feel welcome for such a low price to have the wedding there. The food was a hit with our guests, the set up as well. We enjoyed everything but the way the bills were handled. We were promised by the manager that the guests would be issued bills by group as it was a no host meal since we were paying for dinner the following day at the reception. The day of, the manager was nowhere to be found and the head server flat out refused to split the checks. Our guests were left in confusion and we actually got stuck with a $400 tab on top of everything for unpaid food. While we appreciate the set up for the ceremony, the follow through from the manager was a bit disapointing.
(3)
Karen L.

Whole patio needs a power washing and the windows cleaned. Furniture needs refreshing as well (paint and new upholstery). I suppose the salty air takes its toll on everything. Tossed salad is fresh but boring. My food was pretty gross this time around, the rice was overcooked and the sauce the chicken was served with was overpoweringly sweet. The sushi was also not fresh as I remembered it being when I first visited here last year. The service was friendly but slow. What a difference a year makes.
(2)
Rick S.

Terrible! All the negative reviews are spot on! For those staying at the resort, drive 10 minutes an grab some food. Don't be lazy, you WILL regret it. Attention Management! We walked into your restaurant, greeted and promptly seated(8pm weds). Then it went downhill fast. Looked like two waiters were serving the booths. Waited 20 minutes, not one waiter acknowledged us. Two waiters walked by us maybe 7-8 times not one looked at us. So 40 minutes later, still no attention, your staff walk by like they're too busy. They seemed busy but really just walked around a lot pointlessly. Other neighboring tables were sighing in relief for long waited food. It was a long trip, me and the wife didn't wait to venture out, so we waited and waited. Then we gave up! Left to grab dinner in Monterey. Your staff is clueless. Your booths are filthy! Yes, go look at your booths and all that food jammed in between crevices. Power wash that whole place!! Oh, and talk to your bus boy/man that uses a damp towel to wipe down the seats then uses that same towel on the table, gross. So we left after an hour, no attention! No water! No one cares! You don't deserve business! If I have to go find an demand service from your staff, you don't deserve my money! We love the Sanctuary resort! But this is an embarrassment to the property
(1)
Rick S.

The place is in a nice location and was very close to our hotel. The staff is very friendly and are eager to make you happy. The food is very good, my wife and I both had the prim rib dinner and it was very good. They are generous with the portion and was cooked to order.
(4)
David V.

Not dying to go back. The food and drinks were OK. For the price I would expect better.The menu could be more authentic. Service was slow. There were 3 kinds of music playing at the same time. Classic rock from the bar, some top 40 music playing in the dining room and a 20 yr old kiid serenading tables with a ukulele. They need to see how Duke's does Hawaiian cuisine and copy that.
(2)
A B.

A little disappointed. A group event affected the service and the availability of tables with a view. Even the unique Hawaiian nachos weren't enough to make up for the unremarkable food. It's only been a week and I can't even remember what we ordered. Oh yeah, the skirt steak and macadamia crusted mahi. Maybe it's better with a decent view???
(3)
Michelle M.

Food was good but average. Waitress Danielle was very sweet and attentive. I would come here again.
(3)
Chris G.

Two of us had tasty fish tacos. They were good. Thought the black beans were a bit boring. Wife had kollasal burger which was huge and very good. Daughter had chicken fafa which was large, 2 breasts, a sweet and creamy sauce. She liked it. Their Hawaiian nachos are a yummy appetizer.
(5)
Scott P.

Absolutely the worst food ever. Only ate here because it was close, big mistake. Our family of five only ate a few bites and left the rest on the table. I ordered the steak and had never had a steak so tough. My jaw was fatigued from chewing. Paid for our over priced dinner and left all our food on the table. The staff was friendly and even asked if we wanted to take our left over home, we politely said "no" . Definitely not coming back again. Don't know how they stay in business.
(1)
Andrea V.

Although we were there for a long time before the food came, it was soo good I'm giving it 5 stars!! Yummy wedge salad. Good garlicky herb bread. Amazing pot stickers! Yum!! I got chicken fafa. Holy crap soo good!! It was cooked perfectly with a lil salty and peppery seasoning and the rice all was in an amazing sweet coconut sauce. Actually gonna eat my leftovers now!! :) friendly staff. Great food! Have eaten here before a few times in the last 4 years. Always a treat!
(5)
Nicole D.

Tucked away in the Marina Dunes, Kula Ranch is a nice place to grab some lively libations, Island-inspired dishes and catch some sea breezes come off the Pacific. My boyfriend and I sat on the sun-drenched wrap-around patio; bedecked with comfortable cabana seating and firepits. Happy Hour was in effect even though it was Sunday. Our server said whenever there are football games on, they bring out the Happy Hour menu. All appetizers are $2 and there are great drink specials!!! Score!! Good portion sizes too. The Hawaiian nachos were very nice...chicken, cheddar cheese and salsa on crispy wonton chips. My macadamia crusted mahi-mahi over rice and macaroni salad was delicious. Big piece of mahi-mahi coated with coconut curry sauce. Perfectly cooked fish and the perfect lunch portion size. My boyfriend had the fish tacos with a side of rice and beans. He wasn't overjoyed with them but said they were pretty good. This might become our new lunch spot on Sundays. Relaxing, friendly, great specials and reasonably-priced menu items. We're psyched to try the burgers and calamari steak sandwich and some of the other appetizers next time.
(3)
Julia C.

Before I left Marina some of my girl friends took me to Kula Ranch. I was so happy they chose this place, because one, I always wanted to check it out since it changed from the steak house and two, it was really close to my house. We ordered soooooooo much food: coconut shrimp, pu pu platter, oysters, sushi... and then our dinners... I ordered the panko crusted sanddabs. And then we had about $150 worth of wine and drinks. LOL. Our waiter was really friendly (I think he was hitting on one of my friends..hehe) he even moved us to a private reserved booth. But now that I think about it, I wonder if he moved us because the four of us were so loud. The other girls live quite a bit away so we chilled outside. Kula's has a lovely outside area on the dunes, beautiful way to end the evening with good friends, full belly, free coffee and the sound of the ocean.
(4)
Sheri R.

The only reason I gave them 2 stars was because the food was good, but the service was really bad. REALLY REALLY BAD, it took forever to get the drinks and then forever to get the appetizers. We sat in the bar but I might give them one more try and sit in the dining area....
(2)
Theresa M.

I manage a hotel across the street from this place and because I REALLY LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM, I am always referring my guests to go in and have sushi, a drink, watch sports in their bar or try out the incredible sliders. Joe and all his staff are the best and its a must see while on the Monterey Bay visiting and especially if you're a local like me.
(5)
TS N.

For my husband we went to Kula's to celebrate one of those all-important 'divisible by 10 with no remainder' birthdays (like for most people, a Big Deal for him). We were warned by local foodie pals the place had slid seriously downhill in recent years but we didn't believe them. This was a very-bad-decision. The dÃ©cor is still Hawaiian hip and it works. But wow, what happened to this place? The rib eye steak tasted weird and cheap (and not cooked properly), the silverware was greasy and our surly waiter frowned and audibly growled when we pointed this out, the fish tacos were greasy and over cooked and the margaritas...OMG! Seriously. We didn't think it was possible to produce a 'margarita' quite this bad. They must have mistaken us for astronauts from the 60's because the margaritas tasted like Tang with a mere glance at an off-price tequila bottle. And, on top of everything else, the dinner was expensive. All that said, the lettuce wedge was ok and was, actually, the best part of the meal. Everything else (other than the dÃ©cor) would have displeased a hungry hobo. Never, EVER, again. Ever!
(1)
Heather K.

Okay....Kula's I gave you a chance and was disappointed. Matthew the waiter is awesome though! Let me explain....the first of my disappointment was that when I was finally able to make my reservation the manager told me that one of the New Year's Eve dinner options was steak and lobster, which we were TOTALLY craving, well, they didn't have steak and lobster they had steak that was covered in a sauce that didn't look very appealing, looked like something you would find in a diaper, served with langostino (hint folks: langostino is NOT lobster!), broccoli rabe and frozen corn! Not a meal worthy of $65. Like other yelpers, my bf and I ordered our steaks medium rare and they arrived well done, not an ounce of pinkness. The 2 mini toasts with caviar were yummy and the ahi was delish.....our saving grace! The service was awesome, our waiter whose name escapes me was very nice and attentive. Matthew, the waiter that responded to my previous yelp review and who asked me to give them another chance was phenomenal! He came by our table multiple times to make sure our champagne glasses were full and to make sure we were okay. Even after our dinning experience Matthew sent me a message on Yelp thanking me for coming in and to wish me a happy new year......what customer service! And speaking of customer service.....not only was it a cluster for me to make my NYE reservation but when I was finally able to make it via the manager, who apologized about not calling me back 3 times, I made our reservation for 8PM. At 7:35 PM on NYE I recieved a call from the restaurant asking me if I was still coming as I "missed" my reservation for 7PM. Hello people! Get it together! Here's a suggestion Kula's, you need to step up your game not only by making your meals of better quality and higher caliber but you need to promote Matthew to manager! A lot can be learned from his customer service and desire to make your establishment a better place to dine!
(2)
Kathryn L.

We came here for dinner one night and did lunch the next day. Overall, this place is just OKAY. Obviously, if your'e staying at the Sanctuary Beach Resort, it's definitely convenient. AMBIENCE: not tikki lounge, but tropical. Dimly lit with a strolling ukelele player/singer visiting tables and taking requests - a nice touch. DINNER: presentation is pretty, food is fresh and alright. We had a party of 6, and got to try a bit of everything. For appetizers, we did some sushi rolls and gyozas. Didn't like their Paradise Roll (cream cheese, mango, eh...) but their Train Wreck Roll wasn't bad (reverse roll with spicy tuna, avocado, crab). **Please be advised they only serve sushi rolls after 4pm. Their rolls are mediocre. Their gyozas ($7/6 small pieces) were alright. When a place calls themselves a steakhouse, they should serve some stellar steak. This place's NY strip is mediocre, nothing super special in seasoning, tenderness, or portion size. We did love the ahi tuna steak platter...2"x4" size seared perfectly on top of seared sushi rice with some sauteed veg. Delish-us! For dessert, I tried their tropical creme brule. I thought the tropical fruits would be in the actual custard, but it's like a regular vanilla bean creme brule with mango/pineapple and mint chiffonade spooned over it. Eh. For 4 adults and 2 kids, our bill was over $200. LUNCH: was a better experience and definitely bigger bang for your buck. We did fish tacos (served with spicy black beans and rice), grilled BBQ chicken sandwiches with sweet potato fries on the side, and sliders. All were tasty and average priced. I would definitely come for lunch again.
(3)
Brooke G.

This place was absolutely incredible! I ordered a new kind of sushi that I didn't care for, but never said anything. I thoroughly enjoyed the steak I ate off my dads plate! Without making a fuss or asking, the waiters discounted the sushi off my bill. The owner of the restaurant introduced himself and was very easy to talk to and made sure our expectations were met. I will definitely be going back!
(5)
Mark S.

Vastly overrated. If you want a nice evening with your wife or date, go somewhere else. The server did not know the difference between Sashimi and sushi and the sushi chef was not much better... serving Unagi cold with all the skin still on it and dripping the fat was gross, and when we complained, the server could not have cared less. Having a school prom party with a 100 screaming kids, very loud music and a DJ about 10-20 feet away from a dozen tables with the door left wide open by the staff and manager over half the time was awful. Spent $150 for the two of us and the only thing I can say positive about this place is that it is convenient if you're staying at Sanctuary Beach Resort.
(2)
Steve S.

Booked a large group for a family event, and ended up showing up 30 minuets early with 115 people instead of 70! The manager and staff clearly had to scramble to get us seated and eating, but they gave it 110% and we ended up having a great time. Staff was very friendly, management very responsive to our needs and the food was yummy!
(5)
Stephie B.

I'm really disappointed in our experience at Kula Ranch last week and we will not be returning. We came for Mother's Day for their brunch buffet. The buffet was unimpressive for the price (29.95 a person) Maybe I'm just picky......Okay, I am picky but the only thing that I really ate was the bacon and fruit because nothing else looked all that appetizing. My mom tried the french toast casserole and she said it didn't taste very good; I didn't try it because it didn't look very good. Our waiter was not very attentive at all, but I guess he didn't have to be since his 18 percent gratuity was already included (lucky guy). He never brought us refills or even asked us if we were doing okay. He even gave a little attitude when I questioned why we were being charged for my 4 year old sons food when the sign at the front said kids 6 and under eat free. Kula Ranch is a really nice looking restaurant in a beautiful area but the food and customer service is not that great and you leave feeling like you were ripped off. Go somewhere else.
(1)
Alex M.

We are locals and decided to give Kula's a try. Very bad experience. For an appetizer ordered a bowl of soup, when it came out it was very cold. We ordered one special, which when we walked in the board read "sirloin with lobster tail and crab rice pilaf for $22," panko crusted sand dab, and the st louis style ribs. About 10 minutes after taking out order the waitress came back and stated the board was wrong that the special is "filet mignon, lobster tail, and vegetables for $30." So we changed it to that. When we received our food it all seems fine, until we started to eat. The sand dabs tasted like frozen fish sticks. Within the first two ribs I pulled out a long piece of plastic then after checking discovered two more pieces on the ribs. The filet mignon was way overcooked and bland. We told the waitress about it all and she offered to recook the filet mignon. I had totally lost my appetite with the plastic in my food but my boyfriend decided he wanted them to recook the steak. The second steak came out and was cooked better but still very bland. The manager never once came to our table, but the waitress was very apologetic. Which it was not her fault. They did comp the ribs but we ended up paying $70 for a few bites of food. Needless to say we will not be going back again.
(1)
Shawn S.

Just awful. Waaay over priced! We had the pan seared Chicken and tasted like Retirement Home food. Bland even with the red pepper sauce. Service was good. Waiter comped our drinks when we said we didn't like the food but we paid $45 for food I could have gotten at a bad chain restaurant. Cheesy Hawaiian decor. Don't do it drive down the road and look for something better. Not sure why this place has OK reviews. We tried it because we were staying at the Sanctuary. Never again!
(1)
Kristina K.

Joe C. and I came up to Monterey Bay last weekend to see his sister graduate from CSU-Monterey Bay (congratulations, Sarah!). We decided to have a family meal at one of her favorite restaurants, Kula Ranch. Upon entering, you are basically slapped with a Hawaiian atmosphere and ambiance. I liked it. It was cute. The dinner menu is pretty straight forward, which I also liked since I am so indecisive and get overwhelmed by lots of choices. There was a few options for sushi rolls, appetizers, steaks, seafood, chicken/pork dishes, salads and pastas. The six of us decided to split an order of the California Roll and then order our own individual entrees. The California Roll was definitely not what I expected or am used to. They use fresh crab, not imitation crab, and there was not that typical sweet mayo sauce. It had avocado, cucumber and sesame sprinkles. As fresh and different as it tasted, I really thought that it tasted more bland than anything. I never thought I would say that I enjoy the "Americanized" version of the California Roll, but there. I said it. For my entree, I ordered the Seared Ahi Tuna seared medium rare. I loved this entree. The tuna was seared to perfection and the tuna itself melted in my mouth. IT was set on top of grilled sushi rice medallion and topped with fresh mango-papaya salsa. It also was served with a pineapple puree sauce and teriyaki glazed vegetables. The sushi rice medallion was crispy and grilled - I loved the crunchiness of it. I liked the vegetables too because they were season with teriyaki which gave it a nice sweet touch. I tried a bite of Joe's Island Grilled Salmon, and normally I am NOT a fan of salmon but his was really tasty. It wasn't dry like most salmon that I have tried. I also tried a bite of Sarah's Maui Skirt Steak, which was delicious! The steak was cooked with a lot of different flavors and the smokeyness was awesome. I didn't care much for the coconut rice, as it was much too sweet and tasted more like it should be for dessert. I guess a lot of people aren't very big fans of Kula Ranch, but I really enjoyed it!
(4)
Melissa M.

One of the best dates my husband and I have had for a long time. Their Seared Ahi was the best I have ever had, anywhere. The ambiance was really nice and even though there was a 49ers game going on in the bar, the way that the booth was shaped, we were not distracted by the noise and able to have our own conversation. We are definitely going to be returning for all of our nicer dates... even informed my husband that when we do "surprise" dates... we will definitely be going to Kula Ranch!
(5)
Marissa M.

Service here sucked. Our waiter with an accent named, I think, Saol, was rude. When we asked to have our bill split, he gave us attitude, probably because he wanted that $37 tip that was automatically deducted in our group of 10... Or because he was too lazy to separate our orders. The manager Joe was unhelpful and once consulted, his way of handling my request was to talk to the waiter instead of doing it himself. The waiter, irritated and irrational came to our table with our bills in hand, called me out for talking to his manager and he and I got in a little argument. If you're coming here with a big group, request not to have the same waiter as us. He doesn't know good customer service, seems to get stressed and overwhelmed easily by large masses, and doesn't know how to work adequately as a 35 year old waiter. The food was nothing to praise. Actually, skip Kula Ranch all together and enjoy your vacation dinner, family meal, night out with friends someplace else!
(1)
Vince R.

Spent the same money as last night and got much better food both in value and taste. Full cut rib eye done to perfection. Ordered the grilled artichoke hearts, I thought they were very good and others said they were too sweet. The calamari strips were very tender. My wifes ahi tuna was very good. They do need a lesson in how to make a Margarita.. Yuk! This from a bar that has a bottle of Don Julio Real on the shelf! Yum! I don't know how Hawaiian this place is but for a steakhouse it's not bad at all. To top it off we were the second large group that night. First was a group of sixty and we were a group of thirty. I could not tell at all. We wanted for nothing and waited for nothing. A very well run place. Also.. Outside they have three large fire pits and comfy chairs for enjoying cigars!
(4)
Jenny M.

Nothing like sitting down and being ignored for 10 minutes. We were in the bar at a table so figured let's sit at the bar to get service. We moved and same thing, except this time the bartender was busy entertaining her friends. Another 10 minutes and we finally got a drink. The sushi man was nice and the sushi was ok. I could understand if it was busy, but it was not. The fact we had to make great efforts to flag someone down for anything was horrible. They have a good wine by the glass selection and fun drinks.......if you can get service.
(2)
Marlene R.

food was awful , service was good would not recommend to anyone looking for a good meal, and the prices are not cheap
(1)
Heather H.

Making the reservation was easy. We made it for the Easter Brunch Buffet. We get there and the staff was very friendly and welcoming. The food was ok. The down side, the price. It was like 30 a person. Which is alot for a buffet. And then on top if the price, they ACTUALLY charged us for drinks! No buffet I have ever been too charges for the drinks.
(3)
McLazerso N.

I have been to Kula Ranch a few times for lunches, dinner, and drinks, and while the facility is themed well, and the furniture is nice, last time I went will be my last forever. I went in for happy hour drinks, and upon arriving I was given the dirtiest looks by the security staff, they did more ID checks on me than I have ever seen anywhere (im 24). the margarita was awful and had little to no tequilla. I tell everyone i know now how rude their night staff is, and i recommend you skip this establishment.
(1)
Ann D.

Happy hour was good. Cheap food and cheap beer. Service was terribly slow with an empty restaurant. Sushi was delicious and fresh. Would go back.
(4)
M F.

Kula Ranch? More like Kukai Ranch! (Hawai'ian for doodoo). Stayed next door at Sanctuary Resort. A local merchant recommended KR. Said it has a "great happy hour." Of course it does because if the restaurant had to solely rely on the food then it would've folded long ago. We should've known to turn around at the front door when the blalah asked if we were there for the Tuesday taco bar night or brush us off with "you know, the dining area will be closed in 15 minutes." While seated, we watched the owner, whom resembles Richard Branson of Virgin, walk the floor. What must go through his head as he clearly relies on the college crowd to survive. I'm not pake, but geez is this place a rip-off. Ordered coconut-panko prawns. Breakdown was a little over $2 a piece. No slight hint of coconut whatsoever because it was served burnt brown. Definite $11 waste. What was worse was the $27 filet mignon I ordered. The blue cheese risotto sounded interesting. OMG. It was unbearably disgusting. Hubby ordered the $20 Lomi-Lomi flat iron. Menu states "grilled to your liking" - really? You sure? Interestingly enough the STEAKhouse screwed up our STEAKS. I asked for medium rare, however my filet came out medium well. He ordered medium well, but it was bloody enough that it could've moo'd itself off the plate. And, the cuts were shamefully tough. The only enjoyable consumption I had came off the drink menu: the $9 Mauna Loa Lava Flow. I can see why our waitress kept pimping the bar. It has nothing else going for it. If you want a REAL dining experience worth your stay in Marina then go to Dishes Bistro & Grill across the highway (which was also recommended by the same local merchant & which I've Yelped, too). Kula is not remotely close to ono kine grindz. Even kanaka style Zippy's fares better than this crap.
(1)
Fred W.

A place for my wife to have decent sushi and I can have a steak, very rare to find. Prime rib was good, nacho app was very intriguing and would order again. Wife said sushi was fresh and good, she had the poke and Philly. Dessert was chocolate cake and pineapple upside down cake, both worth the calories. Service was adequate but slow. The live music was a bit loud to have a convo to.
(3)
Emanuel A.

We went to Taco Tuesday and it was NO BUENO. We had a drink and a taco but it was dead. So when we decided to leave it was obvious why this place was empty, there were 6 or 7 cops at the door. Total buzz kill. Why don't you just bust out the breathalyzer already so you can arrests me.
(1)
Daniel M.

Love the food and the service. Parking isn't great.
(4)
Melissa F.

Been here several more times and have been more impressed each time. The service has gotten much better and the food is good. It's still a bit pricey for some things, but some of it is really good. They have a lot of specials during the week evenings, and you can get some great deals. They also have good lunch prices. The view is great. In fact, I like this place so much now, and the views, that we're getting married there in September and they've been super helpful during the process.
(4)
Lily Z.

Don't come here for lunch. Dinner is a crapshoot. We come here occasionally for dinner since it's just down the street and it has a decent atmosphere. Sadly, the food and service is usually nothing to write home about. I will say that we've enjoyed the teriyaki skirt steak and sand dab entrees, but that's it. I'm giving 2 stars for the following reasons - nice location, good bar, and great outdoor fire pit area. Today I tried going there for lunch with three coworkers. Our waitress was very sweet, however after bringing our drinks, it took almost 20 minutes for her to come back and take our order. We all ordered chicken salads - and when our food came out (another 20 minutes later), it was brought by two other people (not our waitress) and my salad was missing it's chicken. I don't have a problem with different staff bringing out the food, but if it had been our waitress, maybe she would have noticed that my order was wrong. Anyways... the problem was immediately rectified but after that, we didn't see our waitress for another 30 minutes. None of us thought our salads were good. I had the asian salad and the lettuce was wilted and very bitter tasting. It didn't contain any of the romaine that I had been promised (I had to ask since it wasn't listed on the menu for that particular salad), and my coworkers who had both had Caeser's thought that their salad dressing was too thick. I inspected it and concurred - it looked like tartar sauce. Anyways, we were already running late to get back to work and stressing a bit, and had to sit there waiting for her to come back, drop off the bill, and then wait another 5 minutes for her to come pick it up. Bottom line - we WON'T be coming back for lunch. The food was not good, the service was bad and they are just too slow to handle people that are on a 1-hour break. And, I'm not sure if I will be returning for dinner. Probably leaning towards no.
(2)
Erika R.

Cool environment, great service AMAZING food! My parents and I had a great time. Our waitress was attentive and had a great personality, and I adored the food. The calamari was perfectly cooked--I didn't even want to dip it in the sauce because the flavor on its own was so great. My mom, a notoriously picky eater, loved her meal and my dad enjoyed his as well. They also had excellent and unique alcoholic drinks. Best of all, the CrÃ¨me brÃ»lÃ©e (my favorite food) was amazing. Mango and papaya flavored with a thick crust, it gave me goosebumps!
(5)
Sarah J.

We were staying at our timeshare nearby and decided to try the Kula for the sushi for my son. Unfortunately, the description for the California Rolls my son got failed to mention they were drizzled with some sort of sauce. He didn't like the sauce but they exchanged them for a new serving without sauce with no problem. My son also ordered the pot stickers and he said they were both yummy. My mom and I ordered the chicken quesadilla to share and it was pretty yummy! I ordered the Asian Salad and it was really good! The dressing was kind of strong but it was a perfect light dinner to have in addition to the appetizer we already had. My mom had the Crab Bisque but she said it wasn't too good. It was all rather expensive, over $50, but worth it for a treat (my son's birthday trip).
(4)
Mary D.

A nice spot in the bar. Lobster bisque was terrific. Nachoes, ok , not great
(3)
Irene S.

I love coming to Kula Ranch! It is one of my favorite restaurants to go to and I believe the nicest one in Marina. I love the Hawaiian theme which is all throughout the place including the bathrooms! In the bathrooms, there are flat televisions that play the movie, Blue Hawaii starring Elvis Presley. It is fun to be washing my hands while watching the movie!!! Anyhow, the food is very tasty. I love the sweet potato fries and the Hawaiian nachos. The happy hour has great deals on drinks and appetizers. A person can eat a complete dinner there just having appetizers all for under $10. Quite a few times, that is what my boyfriend and I have done. This can be truly romantic sharing the food in such an exotic restaurant as this one. I have never been to Hawaii. I hope someday I can go there but till then, I can experience it with the food and atmosphere at Kula Ranch.
(5)
D. Mark H.

My wife and I were staying nearby and went to the Kula Ranch Island Steakhouse for dinner. It was a beautiful spring (April) evening, so we sat outside to watch the sunset. Imagine our chagrin to find no heat lamps. But, since we live on the Coast we figured we could tough it out. It took about ten minutes before a server came out to take our drink orders. We ordered martinis and the Hawaiian nacho plate appetizer. The drinks and appetizer arrived about ten minutes after that, but without utensils. We were so hungry we dove into the dish, anyway. Won ton crisps covered in some gelatinous chicken goo topped with a large dollop of sour cream. We finished it, but as I mentioned we were hungry. Finally did get napkins and utensils, but it was a tad late. Our entrees were a top sirloin steak, medium rare (good) and the St. Louis-style pork ribs. The ribs weren't cooked long enough so you had to fight the meat off of the bone and they were drenched in a sugary sauce so you couldn't taste the meat. Barbecue sauce should bring out the flavor of the meat, not hide it. Oh, and did I mention the french fries were limp and lukewarm? We had a bottle of Zinfandel to accompany dinner and it was the best part of the experience. Forgot the vintage, but it was reasonably priced at $30. By the end of our meal it was downright cold, so we sat down at one of the tables that has a fire pit in the middle. Romantic looking, but the wind was so strong we only got occasional flashes of warmth. Long story short, Kula Ranch needs to shell out for some heat lamps to create a true kama'aina experience. Inside as we exited it was extremely loud. Somehow I don't recall Hawai'i as a place of raucous sports bars. I am sure they exist on the Islands, but to me a place that bills itself as tropical ought to be more relaxing (hey, how about some slack key guitar instead of Jimmy Buffet covers on the Muzak?) and the food more inviting. Will we go back? If we do, it will be for the view and a couple of drinks. On a much warmer night. Skip the food.
(2)
Ramiro F.

I have been here four times and I loved it the first three(but I was drinking those times) and took my family here and there food was low quality. The Calamari was great but the main courses were not restaurant quality.
(2)
Wayne C.

pretty good food here. the night that we were here they were severely understaffed.
(4)
Yamona M.

The service was fine, the place was fine. We went for Happy Hour. There are a few offerings that you can pick from at $2.00 a piece and "build your own plate". We chose the Pulled Pork Slider - boiled meat on a crushed bun, another hamburger slider - the small patty was completely raw on the inside, chicken wings - basically jerky and a quesadilla - I have never had a quesadilla that was inedible. Ever. I know it was the Happy Hour food and it was only $2 each, but had it been good then we would have ordered off the menu since we were starving and we got there at 6:29 pm one minute to spare from the Happy Hour deadline end time. Alas, we could not bring ourselves to try anything else and we left. Thank Goodness it was only $23.00 for two beers, a glass of Chardonnay and the plate of apps. Won't go back - ever.
(1)
Lark M.

My husband took me to dinner here. I had the skirt steak coconut rice and teriyaki veggies it was the best ever!!!! My husband had salmon with veggies and his was delicious too.service was excellent .I was very happy. Loved the atmosphere. You cant go wrong here.I say 5 stars for sure ...Our waitress was amazing a young blond girl.she kept checking on us.very nice .my mai tai was a bit to strong for me and she had the bartender weaken it for me...tasty drinks too this place cant wait to go back. THANK YOU!!!
(5)
SonD B.

Wow talk about not what i was hopping for at all. We came here on Thursday for my birthday. It took them awhile to seat us even though it wasnt busy. As we sit down i was enjoying the nice island decor and couldnt wait to order some birthday cocktails. So fist we start off the the won ton nachos which were good, and the pot stickers which were even better. I didnt care for the garlic bread they give out. It kinda messes with whole Asian style food. Wasnt a good combo for me. I could of done without for sure. My first cocktail comes and its good but not strong enough for me. Well that was problem #1, problem #2 was after the apps came the waiter never came back til our food came out and the food took forever. By then i could of been on my 3rd drink. So then problem #4 was the food, when it did finally come out it wasnt flavorful at all. My kalua pork was just sad, and the mac salad to go along with it was just gross. So since i had my food i got a chance to order another drink. Wow i was beginning to think that maybe they thought i was ordering a mocktail. Either way the waiter didnt come often enough for me to try anything else and when he did come over he was in such a bad mood like we where taking him away from standing around. So over all this place has bad service, bad food and weak ass drinks. I must say i would come back ONLY to sit at the bar and try some more drinks and apps. And only if i was in the area. Next time i want some strong tropical drinks i will stick with my fav place Hulas and when i crave some Kalua pork or any kind of island food i will go to Aloha Island Grill.
(1)
Phil M.

Very nice ambiance, excellent service and wonderful food. The only reason it misses out on 5 stars is because I do feel most of the dishes are a tad over priced. But not so much as to prevent me from going back.
(4)
Matthew P.

A group of Friends and I have been coming to Monterey each year for the past 5. Our fav restaurant hands down was AJ Spurs. Unfortunately last year we arrived and saw there was no more AJ Spurs. We figured we'd give CHOLO ranch a try and wow were we dissapointed. We sat outside around 8pm group of 7 and there was only 1 waitress doing the outside patio. We felt bad for her so gave her a chance. Then when we saw her socializing to the group next to us and pretty much ignoring us. It was over 45 minutes before we were even ASKED to order. We all ordered, the food took another 45 minutes and I had to flag her down to get my second beer. The service was so frustrating it made the food taste bleh. So after we ate noone stopped by to ask how stuff was or refill any drinks on our table. Another 45 minutes goes by... So at this point we've been there for over 2 hours of the most frustrating restaurant experience of my life. We never saw our waitress so I went inside to find someone that looked like they could help us get our checks. He said "Oh well get the waitress right on that" so I come back to the table and Sit. ANOTHER 15 minutes goes by, and at this point my frustration is beyond livid, I have never walked out on a bill before, but I about did. Just as all of us were talking about walking out the waitress brought up our bill finally. The bill was for the wrong table and nothing matched anything. I took it immediately inside and said I wanted to talk to the manager. The manager looked like he was 15 and I explained to him what happened. He said "oh sorry about that, well get that fixed" so he brings me back the right bill and finally I was able to pay for it and leave no tip (which I've never done before). Hopefully they got rid of those turd burglars cause I saw this place going up in flames after that experience. I WANT MY AJ SPURZ BACK!
(1)
Kay C.

I now totally love Kula Ranch. They have the best happy hour around - and the beer does actually come in a real glass when you aren't there for a party (although that whole thing was still annoying...) At the hour of happy, you basically customize your appetizer plate ($2 or $3 per little item), and everything is totally yummy. Pints are $3 and they have some good ones on tap, and well drinks, mai tais & margaritas are $4. If you don't pig out too much you can come away with a nice little experience for like $10. I've also eaten here for dinner and the price was not exactly as forgiving! But the food was good and the atmosphere is fun.
(5)
Angela G.

I must say Joe (Owner) help me and my fiance with the wedding of our dreams. Our original plans were with the Sanctuary Beach Resort but they totally dropped the ball and left us with no other options. It has been so challenging planning the wedding from Washington, So I took a chance and called Joe and he accommodated us and made everything work so that we could have our dream wedding. The pricing is unbelievable too! We recommend Kula Ranch Island Steakhouse if you are looking to have a beach wedding. Call and talk to Joe you can not go wrong. Thanks Joe for making this happen for us!
(5)
Steve P.

So we made the decision to stay in Marina for a few nights. Why? Well we are still not quite sure as even in the midst of summer, Marina is, as all locals confirmed, the coldest place on earth. Sanctuary is lovely, but bring a jacket.....a heavy one! So resigned that we could not do a darn thing about the weather (except drive inland), we tried to make the best of it. So this is not a review of the weather, but of Kula Ranch, a steak/sushi/fusion restaurant & bar located on the Marina State Beach with Sanctuary. The place is cool, even a little kitschy. We stopped for their happy hour the first day we arrived, and were not blown away by the food, but, hey, whaddya expect for happy hour anyway....drink deals were plentiful and service was good, so after a long day in Carmel Valley, we decided to walk over for some dinner. A pretty good salad and Tuna Tartare got us rolling with pretty good results. Salad was simple, but well prepared, and the tartare was even better. Tuna was fresh, topped with a layer of wasabi tobiko & served with some tasty wontons. I do not eat any meat, but the sushi was calling my name. They do not offer sashimi or sushi per se, rather, a wealth of rolls, most of which had a Tempura component. We opted for the rainbow roll & train wreck roll. Both were quite large (actually biggest rolls ever) and delivered solid results. Rainbow was quite good, with plenty of fresh fish, avocado & more. The train wreck was even bigger, and featured plenty of real crabmeat and tempura shrimp inside, with lots of rice & Ahi spread on the top. While it was a bit difficult to eat due to the massive nature of the roll, the flavors were really good. Also a highlight, and contrary to other reviews I read, we thought the service was great, and their attentiveness likely added that 4th star. Not sure I would come back to Marina in summertime, but I would go back to Kula anytime.
(4)
chip b.

Food was ok drinks were good. I stayed at the hotel that is on the same property. You will laugh at my problem! First day I order a burger with fries. As soon as they put it down I could tell it had set under a heat lamp for to long, but it was ok. Here is my problem. I ask for ketchup three times and the server never brings it. Day two order turkey sliders. Yep ask for ketchup and they never bring it. Very annoying. Sorry food is ok but come on. Bring your on bottle!
(2)
Glenn K.

This was the second visit for us. First time wasn't bad, but, this time was disappointing. We got there on the early side for dinner and the place was still pretty empty. The waitress was pleasant, but, it seemed like it took forever for our food to come. When you have a toddler in your party, long waits are not ideal. The food came and the steaks were cooked to order, but, seemed dry and over seared on the outside. I have to say that there are better restaurants than this closer in to Monterey.
(2)
Mike H.

I've been here on a few occasions while staying at the Sanctuary Beach Resort. I'm hardly a sushi connoisseur but I enjoyed a great spider roll and some awesome sashimi here. I've also tried the ha pay hour offerings which I think are a great bargain and were pretty tasty! On one occasion I had the sand dabs for dinner and they were wonderful. My favorite though was a salmon offering they had on the menu that was some of the best I've had outside of the Pacific Northwest. All in all, a pretty good place!
(4)
Shiho F.

This place is so random. I guarantee you if I came for dinner I would give them 2 stars or less but because I came in for lunch (which they are only open for on the weekends I think) I was semi-impressed since I wasn't expecting much. My Blue Hawaiian Cocktail was $9.95 as was my half rack of pretty good ribs that had a kick of pineapple-ness that was served with french fries and coleslaw. Garlic/Seasoned Bread was served too. I ate in the bar, had a chill surf-y vibe and kind of wanted to eat on the patio (it was nice out) but I wanted to do some work. Asked about WIFI and they said yes but it didn't work. The dinner menu didn't look very appetizing and was a bit pricy... for Marina.
(3)
Monica E.

My husband and I ate there on a Friday night. The atmosphere was great and very romantic. My husband and I shared the crab bisque and the California Rolls. I ordered the seared Ahi Tuna and my husband ordered the flank steak. The food was amazing. I could have literally licked the bowl that the soup was in! The service was wonderful! The eukalele music was wonderful and really made the place that much better! The guy even came to our table and serenades us with two great songs! I LOVED THIS PLACE. It was simply fantastic! Thank you Kula Ranch. :)
(5)
Courtney S.

Ok, I've been to Kula Island a few more times since my last review (including yesterday). I'd have to say that I am more impressed than I was my first night. Instead of being seated in the main dining room I ate in the bar. Much more relaxed atmosphere there. Kiwi, the bartender is amazing. She will openly admit that she has a "heavy hand" when it comes to drink mixing. The last few nights I Ieft thanking my lucky stars I walked to the restaurant instead of using my golf cart. If you don' t want to travel very far and are looking for a place to hang, this place fits the bill nicely.
(4)
Jeni D.

Pretty good, I'd go back. Had better sushi, but the flavor here has the Hawaiian twist to it making it pretty good and the calamari alone is a meal, for me at least :)
(3)
AhLin C.

it's not good at all. I have no idea why my friends wanted to try this place. Unimpressive and the food is just blah. The only thing good were their sweet potato fries, but then how can you mess that up? I had the half ribs and the bbq sauce was way too sweet. The sides were way overcooked and there were some part of the rib that was hard and i couldnt even chew into it. ugh. Their fish taco looked just as unappetizing and both my friends didnt even finish their order. For $10 bucks it's a ripoff.
(2)
Brother B.

A quasi Hawaii- anna, steak house immediately makes you think identity crisis. The place reminded me of the kind of steak houses my dad liked when we were kids. A bit kitsch, a bit tacky, lots of meat. The food isn't great. The food is decent and edible. That's about it. Everything was heavy- heavily sauced, heavily glazed, heavily buttered. I would expect this kind of cuisine to be big in the mid-west but in 'healthy' California; it was a bit surprising that the place was packed for a 7 pm dinner on a Tuesday night. I had a pulled pork platter and the bbq sauce tasted like a cheap teriyaki glaze- sugar laden and very brown. Even the garlic bread was too much- it tasted like a stouffer's frozen entree garlic bread. The service was just ok- they were certainly nice but don't have the finesse down of timing, refills, checking on people. It must be the only option of its kind on the area and certainly benefits from the hotel clientele (it's the official restaurant of the hotel and does their room service. which they charge a 20% delivery fee for- that could be quite a pricey delivery fee. On the night we ordered desserts for our room, we hopped in the cart to pick them up)
(3)
Lisa H.

This restaurant is somewhat of a disappointment, b/c it is on site for a luxurious hotel. Thus many of the hotels guests visit this place for the convenience. The food though is not that great...I would recommend going here only for happy hour, b/c otherwise you are overpaying.
(2)
Mike G.

Went to Kula Ranch again; this time for appetizers and drinks in the bar. The bar was NOT crowded or busy and it was a Wednesday night. Service was slow; the bartender didn't even acknowledge us for about ten minutes. We had the pupu platter and we found that, no surprise, the quality was random. The steak bits and wings were excellent, but the coconut shrimp was flavorless and seemed overcooked; the calamari was cooked very nicely and was tender, but the seasoning was bland. Suggestions to Kula Ranch for the pupu platter: 1. Use less of the beer batter coating and more of the panko and coconut on the coconut shrimp. Try not to overcook it. 2. Serve the calamari with a good marinara sauce; the other sauces that came with the pupu platter just don't work that well...in fact, it seemed that the only usable sauce for the calamari was a tartar sauce. Not everybody likes tartar sauce so it seems that a nice marinara would be a great option. 3. Lower the price! Seriously, $25 for an appetizer plate that barely feeds two people?
(2)
Lisa B.

Visited this place with a friend for her birthday. Loved it!! Very nice bar atmosphere and the Mai Tai's were delicious. Enjoyed dinner in the dining area. The skirt steak and garlic mashed potatoes with teriyaki veggies was perfect. Service was superb. Ill definitely eat here again when in the area.
(5)
Rob S.

I normally don't give a one star on a review but this place gets one only because I can't give it a ZERO! A coworker and I were on a business trip and were looking for the steak house that once was at this location. Obviously it is now Kula Ranch so we thought we would try it anyway. The gorgeous woman at the front door seated us in a great location so far everything was perfect but that's where it ended. A male waiter (I wish I remembered his name) wearing geeky glasses slender and very young came to our table trying to be silly & funny greeted us but in a very annoying kind of way. So we ordered 2 bar drinks and a soda water. 10 min. passes and he comes to our table and says your drinks will be right up. Another 5 min. and he has to ask what it was that we had ordered for drinks as though he never put the original bar order in. We blow it off but it only got worse, food wasn't prepared the way requested and his comments were offensive and even more annoying. then came time to pay. We each have to pay separate and are limited to $25 on our corporate account so we both pay out of pocket for drinks and any food over $25. When each charge slip came back it became apparent he had pocked the cash and reversed the cards and really messed everything up. We had to ask for the manager to straighten out the mess. I almost never tip less than 15% but We both agreed that this service didn't deserve a tip at all. We laughed about it being the worst service we had ever had, EVER! My partners food wasn't all that great the Mahi-Mahi was bland and needed something to give it flavor like salt & butter or a pinch of spice or something. I ordered prime rib. It was a little tough with lots of fat & gristle. I had soda water with dinner since I was designated driver, normally club soda is free, be prepared soda water runs $3.
(1)
Will B.

We were at the Sanctuary resort next door to the restaurant and had dinner here one evening. The waitress - Brandy - was outstanding and did a fine job. My wife had a wonderful teriyaki flank steak with veggies and coconut rice. My braised ribs, however, were overly-salted and quite dry. Brandy offered to replace the entire meal and talked with the owner - Joe. Joe came to our table and talked with us for a full 20 minutes...an interesting guy with a real interest in making his restaurant one of the best. He repeated the offer to replace the meal and apologized for the quality of my dish. I didn't take him up on his offer, but the gesture was enough to insure that we'll be back in the future. Give it a try. I think you'll like it!
(4)
Jess C.

Date/Time: Saturday Evening - 7:30pm Occasion: Dinner Party of: Two Ordered: Ahi tuna tartar, 14oz New York strip steak, 16oz prime rib Location: Fun ranch-like kinda retro look Total incl gratuity: $85.00 We came here on a Saturday evening with reservations because I had a hankering for steak. The tuna tartare was good size, topped with green tobiko. It was pretty strong with wasabi so if you're not a fan of wasabi, steer clear of this dish. The meat dishes came with potatoe and mixed veggies. The meat was decently prepared though it reminded me of the steak you could order at a place like Carrows. The prices, a little out of the norm (ie. $19.47, $26.86) are very reasonable. The portions were large so you didn't have to worry about leaving hungry. The service was nice but nothing terribly special. Probably not worth another visit as I'm not from the area.
(3)
Kaneisha W.

Should be a zero star. This place sucks. The dinner menu doesn't have many options. The staff is very bad. We went for dinner tonite just ordered potstickers and dragon roll. The sushi was placed on a counter on the back of the bar in a walk way area uncovered (we timed it sitting for 3 mins) the potstickers were the frozen store bought kind (waitress brought it out with the order ticket sitting on the plate touching the food). After we finished eating waited over 10 mins for the waitress to come back, she didn't even check back while we were eating. The happy hour menu seem to have some nice choices. And my glass of Mascoto was very tasty.
(1)
Allen N.

Not the greatest place to get your drink on. On Taco Tuesday they have $1 tacos that stop at 11pm but they still charge a $5 cover to get in, and don't even offer drink specials? I might have to try the food again next time to see if anythings different.
(2)
Dmitry D.

Strong three stars. The place with ok food and ok prices. Would recommend to eat there if you happened to be at Marina.
(3)
Michael M.

Kula's Ranch has the best and most economical buffet's in the county. This is especially true for Easter, Mothers Day, Christmas. They also the best New Years Eve party and dinner package on the Peninsula at the best price bar none! Their regular dinners are equally great at a reasonable price. I highly recommend Kula's Ranch in Marina!
(4)
Janene A.

Party party party....if only it wasn't so foggy in Marina!!! Held a graduation party here for in July. The staff was great to work with, Darroll was very attentive, informative, and professional. We set up a variety of appetizer platters and hosted an open bar. The final bill wasn't as much of a shock as I had expected, especially for hosting 40-50 people. Mary, our waitress, ROCKED! She didn't have much help and had lots of people to deal with....I'm used to the 18-20% gratuity thrown in with a large party, but Kula only includes 12% so if you have a large party make sure you take care of the waitstaff!
(4)
Lee D.

Provided you go early evening (before 6pm) and during the weekday it's generally pretty easy to get in, and you can take advantage of their early bird special pricing too. Otherwise I probably would not recommend going otherwise. The last time I was there I had the early bird special panko crusted sand dabs with wasabi which was OK, but I probably wouldn't get it again. I was much more envious of our fellow diner's sushi rolls that looked (and sample tasted) much better! I'm also happy to see they kept two menu items from when this place used to only be a steakhouse: the bbq artichoke hearts appetizer and the steak bites are both fantastic and worth coming back here (at least for me) just for those two menu items.
(3)
Tonya F.

My sister and I took our mom here last Friday night. The manager was very unfriendly to my mom and my sister when they requested a table on the first floor. My mom uses a walker and was more comfortable staying ground level. We saw the manager servel times throughout our dinner and he was snarling at his staff openly in front of customers. Needless to it made us uncomfortable. Our waitress and and the hostess were very nice though. The food was nothing to write home about. I was just in Hawaii and this food was no where close. We had ordered the Crispy Spring Rolls and they were so greasy that we couldn't eat them. We let our waitress know and she did remove them from the bill.
(1)
Mary Jane H.

We had an outstanding meal last night. First off the atmosphere was awesome love the Hawaiin decor and booth seating is wonderful. I ordered the St. Louis Style Ribs they were so good and the amount of food is crazy couldn't finish my plate. My husband ordered the Spare Ribs they just fell off the bone, unusual for him to bring back a doggy bag, so much food. We will definitely come back and bring the rest of our crew.
(4)
Amy M.

I work in the area and my mom and I wanted to go somewhere different for lunch so we tried Kula Ranch Steakhouse since we hadn't been there since back in the AJ Spurs days. The service was extremely slow...and they didn't even appear to be that crowded. It took us forever to get seated. Forever for our order to be taken and then even longer than forever for us to actually get our food. The calamari lunch sandwich was alright. The sweet potato fries were awesome and really the only redeeming quality about the entire meal. My mom had the teriyaki hamburger. It wasn't anything to write home about that is for certain. For teriyaki it was pretty plain. Again the sweet potato fries were the best part of the meal. The ambiance of the restaurant is a little forced and it was FREEZING in the main dining room which also took away from the meal. I don't plan on going back but if I do it definitely won't be for lunch because the service is too slow for a working girl.
(1)
Dylan E.

This place is a bit of hit and miss. I love the grilled artichoke appitizer and the steaks are okay. That have a Mexican menu that my husband and grandpa said was okay bit nothing steller. It's super expinsve so u would expect something much better than u get. I've been there a few times and sometimes the food is amazing and sometimes its a disappointment.
(3)
Alan F.

I'll give them two starts for ambiance, cleanliness and waitress attentiveness. But sorry, most of the food was not good. We started out with a couple of margaritas and sent them back because they tasted bland. The replacements were the same. The artichoke heart appetizer was tasteless which is inexcusable considering we were in the artichoke capital of the US. The manager later told us how they were prepared: cooked and then left to sit a couple of days in balsamic vinegar. I believe this is where they lose their freshness and taste; you have to serve a vegetable as close to harvest as possible. We did not finish them. The Caesar salad had an off flavor and the waitress offered to deduct it off our bill. I enjoyed the fish tacos: nice chunks of fresh fish with an excellent and fresh taco filling, but the beans served with it were undercooked. My girlfriend and I are not picky eaters, but both of us stopped and looked at each other when we realized the drinks and food were not up to par. The waitress was very nice and regularly came by to ask us how our meal was and frankly, we were embarrassed to complain so much. Finally, she offered to have us talk with the manager and we accepted, thinking that he should know how we felt and when he came over, we told him about our experience. Now, I would not have written this review had not the manager been so defensive. He defended all the dishes, saying that no one else had ever made any complaints. It seemed as though he was taking nothing to heart and I was quite flabbergasted. Even though we may have been the first ones to complain, I don't believe it's good for business to discount anyone's complaints. What would I have done? I would have told my customers that I was sorry they didn't enjoy the meal and that we would try and make it better the next time they come in.
(2)
Cc M.

The food is great we go allot for happy and diner and the food is always good. The Hawaiian nachos are my favorite and the chicken breast with mashed potatoes are great! The service is always pleasant the host is always ready and the servers are always on too of it. Joe the owner is such a nice guy he always speaks to the customers and has a smile on his face. They have great drink specials for football games which is great too! I love coming here and I tell people about it all the time. I had my graduation diner here and I love that I got to pick the menu and my 65 guests all loved the food, the wine and the service!
(5)
Melanie C.

Food - 3 stars +1 star because it's a big, happenin place in the middle of nowhere. Plus, they have a great outdoor patio and bar. And, it's a short walk to the beach.
(4)
Diego M.

to me its just like any ordinary modern steakhouse dinner to me, i just feel like i have seen alot better and when you go to a hawaiian steakhouse to be a little more interesting, and the place... well i felt that it needed a little more cleaning to be done. the service is not so good the people in the front desk were very rude, and it took us a long time just to even get our menus and we ended up getting what we didnt order.... so i had a horrible experience there so please try to make things betterbefore you start loosing bussiness.
(1)
Jason H.

Get the sword fish. I would have given it 5 stars if the rest of my party enjoyed Thierry meal as much as I dis.
(4)
chris h.

The food was okay, the service was so poor! I ordered the Big Island Fish Tacos and salad for my girlfriend and I to share. I also ordered a beer from the waiter, midway through my sentence the waiter interrupted me by saying "Were out of that!" He didn't even let me finish my sentence! I proceeded to order a Kona longboard instead. Now I fancy myself a beer drinker and I do like the Kona beers, especially fire rock, but longboard is almost as good. Well the food arrived, and the food was okay, not worth the pricetag though, the beer came and it tasted like they had left the keg out in the sun for a while (warm beer) I asked the waiter about it. He's a hispanic man in his 30's with an earring, if you see him, RUN AWAY!!!! The combination of average food, sub-par (rude) service, and bad beer makes this joint a two thumbs down!!! My biggest regret is leaving a tip at all.
(1)
David R.

We were staying at the Sanctuary Resort and were looking for a place to get some drinks and watch MNF after dinner. The bar had a good laid back atmosphere and a nice big screen projector set up. The bar was serving $2 Bud Light drafts, which is no Coors, but it'll do. =) Bartenders were Raiders fans which was a big plus. Fun, good atmosphere for drinks and football, can't comment on the food except that everytime a waiter walked by with a plate it looked delicious!
(4)
Emily H.

Beyond excellent customer service. I reiterate. Beyond excellent. We went to Kula for dinner on our way home from Laguna Seca. We were looking for some specific accommodations and thought Kula served what we were looking for. Unfortunately, they did not. The owner overheard our discussion and went MORE than out of his way to accommodate our needs. This restores our confidence that customer is is not a lost art. Thank you!
(5)
Kim A.

Tonight we visited Kula Ranch. This was my second visit to this restaurant and both were surprisingly wonderful experiences. The staff and food are both outstanding. The only reason I cut one star out is that I'm a bit picky about the restroom experience and they need to upgrade in this area. Highly recommend the big burger, chicken and potatoes or taco plate! Ambiance was nice and the pricing very fair.
(4)
Dale W.

Good value dinner- I went back for more. We ate there on a Friday and a Tuesday 'Mexican' night. The waiter was friendly he even took the time to help find out that "Kula" is a family name and the name of an area on Maui. The owner 'Joe' came around to talk to us and made us feel welcome. The guacamole on Tuesday was very good and there was plenty of it. Sushi was fresh and tasty.
(4)
Kate P.

Went there with some friends for my graduation dinner. It's just too big. Its like they tried to make the normally charming, intimate Billy Kwan restaurant, but 4 times bigger, and it just doesn't work. The food wasn't up to par, either. I felt as though the same cooks and waiters had been hired from A.J. Spurs and just been slightly retrained to a different menu. Even the drink wasn't as good as the ones I've enjoyed at Bahama Billy's. Overall, I would rather drive the additional 15 mins to The Barnyard, and enjoy the great food and atmosphere of BB rather than this. Its just not worth it!
(2)
Jessica V.

We chose this place for dinner as we were staying at The Sanctuary and wanted to have dinner (and, ahem, drinks) somewhere within walking distance, which this was. We got there early for our reservation and sat out on their patio around a glowing fireplace and had cocktails (Lemon drops - good, Maker's Mark - always good) and appetizers (sweet potato fries - good). The service was great and the waitress was very sweet and helpful, even given that we were the only ones outside to serve. We were rounded up for our reservation promptly and escorted to a table by the window, as requested. The service inside wasn't as great - pretty slow and disinterested - and the music was a little raucous and cheesy for our tastes (I get it! This place is Hawaiian themed! Enough already!). The food was just so-so. Really over-sauced like one commenter mentioned and just not all that remarkable. I had the pulled pork, which was interminably sweet, but essentially edible and my husband had the flank steak which he found to be, "Meh. Fine." We shared the wedge salad, which was probably the highlight of the meal, if that tells you anything. We didn't order dessert, but the offerings look like you'd expect. They don't have espresso or anything - and the coffees they list on the dessert menu both include some type of liquor (Bailey's, etc), but the waiter had no idea which included what. Good times. Overall, for the location, this was fine and it was nice to be able to walk to dinner, drink as much as we wanted and not have to worry about driving home. But if we were interested in a decent, interesting or otherwise remarkable meal, we'd have made the trip into Monterey for something better.
(2)
Laureen C.

A group of my friends and i went here to celebrate a birthday. We unfortunately got the WORST waitress i have ever encountered. ever. The seating waitress took us to the outside lounge. We asked if they could turn on the heater. No one ever did. A waitress came out and asked us what we wanted to drink but no one ever brought out menus with drinks on them. We had to ask. It took a while to get out food out to us. And our waitress left without giving us silverware. It was good, a little on the skimpy side for the price range. THen one person in the party went to the restroom and she overheard our waitress talking shit about us. When our bill came she got no tip. Mediocre place and extremely shitty service. I might give it the benefit of the doubt and come once more and it might restore my standings of it are greatly diminished.
(1)
Shirley B.

Food was pretty good and our server, Jackie was very attentive. Nice selection of food and alcoholic drinks!!!! Little pricey but nice for a special night out. Will go again but this time I plan to have a drink!!!!
(4)
Jessica F.

the patio is very kid friendly. the happy hour is a great option if you have kids.
(4)
Sammantha M.

Great experience. Went for my birthday while staying at the resort they are located at. I had read previous reviews and was expecting slow service. But they must have heard what people were saying, because we had our orders taken and food was on our table in no time flat. But on he flip side, the food was nothing special. Had a couple drinks and our 2 person dinner total was over $100, before tip. A bit steep for what we got.
(3)
k h.

Their rolls have way too much rice and are very filling (which can be a good or bad thing). Service was great and the bartenders are super nice, even when my party took forever to make a decision. We stayed at a hotel nearby and got a coupon for free nachos. They were okay, but I would not have gone out of my way to order them. They used crispy noodles as the nacho and it was weird because they fell apart too easily to handle the toppings. My party sat in the bar area to watch a game and one of the screens was out of commission. I don't even know why it was on showing a blue screen; they should have just turned it off. We had to turn around to see the screen that had the game on it and there was a very noticeable line down the middle, which was kind of distracting. Get those tvs fixed, man. Their takeout boxes also suck and fall apart easily.
(3)
Greg V.

Need to set your expectations - good dinner place for something quick and very casual. Similar to an Elephant Bar. Sushi and fish taco were good and service was very prompt. PLUS it's a block away from the beach which made for an great night watching the sunset over the ocean.
(4)
William P.

This place is located at a little Beach Resort which we staying at... so I was kind of hesitant to try the food. My girlfriend and I weren't expecting to eat there... but we had already started on so we decided to order room service which comes from Kula Ranch. We ordered some sort of Wasabi Ginger Salad, Ahi Tuna Roll, and Crispy Egg Rolls. The Wasabi Ginger Salad was really good. The Ahi Tuna was okay and Crispy Egg Rolls were crispy but just okay. It's everything I expected it to be. I wouldn't make any special trips there... but it will hold you over if you want some room service and can't drive anywhere else.
(3)
J-Me ..

OMG! The BESTEST food I have ever ever had! I really enjoyed the skirt steak! My mouth waters just thinking about it, and that delicious coconut rice, even the veggies were amazing! My kids got a GREAT deal on the kids meals! So awesome! and fun!
(5)
Laura T.

Went there today with my daughter after her MPC graduation and 2 of her friends. Even though we sat in the dining room, the bartender was our server and she didn't do a very good job of serving. The bar was busy and I think she was spread too thin. The interesting thing was there was staff all over for the banquet room, but not the dining room. The drinks were so so and the food was disappointing. I've been here at least 5 or 6 times, but it's been awhile, so I was really disappointed that I was disappointed. The server (bartender) never came back after delivering the food to check if everything was OK. My daughter's rice was not cooked (crunchy) and she asked for another menu item after we flagged down someone who walked by. It never came until the other 3 of us were done with our meal - so we took it to go. I will say that the manager, Brandy, comp'ed that meal and came to our table to apologize. The bartender/server never even acknowledged we had a problem. I doubt I'll be back.
(1)
Andria C.

My husband and I had a wonderful, relaxing lunch on their patio. The drinks were delicious, service was good. We went for a great walk on the beach right outside after lunch. We will be back!
(5)
kathlene t.

i came here after a wedding ceremony on the beach.. my party wasn't too big. we had our own private room with a deck as well.. likes: 1) really nice interior decoration interesting paintings and sorts 2) the deck/patio had a beach view !! awesome :] 3) the restaurant had cool looking booths i was very tempted to sit down just for kicks and giggles 4) a guy came to our room and performed two songs..! A for effort LOL loved his enthusiasm :] dislikes: 1) the food tasted so-so :/ the miso glazed salmon was pretty bland 2) waiter wasnt too friendly. i felt rushed just ordering.
(3)
Glen G.

Sucks. Big time. For the second worst steak I have ever had, order the rib eye. It was half fat. The other half was a skirt steak. Almost totally without any redeeming quality. Order the Fat Monk Pinot. Wonderful.
(1)
Amie M.

Went to Kula Steakhouse for Dinner. The location is set about 10-15 minutes from Monterey, but we thought the drive was worth it. The decor and atmosphere was very nice, Hawaiian and Cowboy themed. The menu was diverse, we had the Hawaiian Chicken Nachos to start with, very flavorful and loaded, the chicken was tender and prepared well. I had the skirt steak, which is a signature menu item--again, flavorful and tender, well marinated. My husband had the fish tacos which were very savory. We would definitely go again. recommended for families and couples.
(4)
Nicholas C.

It could have been soooo much better, i had terrible service when i went here. My dad literally had to get up and get our food himself and bring it to our table! How bout that for service? The food was alright nothing to write home about, dont think i will ever go back again.
(2)
Vi N.

I had the pulled kulua pork and it had no flavor. The macaroni salad tasted like it was bought from Safeway. The bf had a steak sandwich and he enjoyed it. The next night (stayed at the Sanctuary Beach Resort and this restaurant is on site) I had the Caesar salad and it was ok, nothing special. The bf had the swordfish and he did not enjoy it.
(2)
Allison M.

Tucked away in a hotel in Marina, this place does not get the attention it deserves. For those in the know, it is a go-to for all different occasions! The steak is some of the best meat in the area! The place is super cute, with Hawaiian decorations that make you feel like you on are vacation! If you can find it, you should try it!
(5)
Marina M.

This was my first and last time going to this hell hole. I went out to Kula Ranch with my 4 girlfriends. Two were having dinner and the rest drinks. After the server took our order, the manager storms over and tells us that we can't sit in the dining area if we're not having dinner. After telling her we placed our order for dinner she said those of us not having dinner need to leave. My friends said they would rather cancel their dinner order than sit and eat alone. We asked for the owner who then asked us to stay. We made our way to the bar area which was crowded beyond control. Most were dressed in large hooded sweatshirts and sneakers. Frankly, it appeared to be a gangster's hangout. I later visited the ladies room where I encountered three underage girls bragging about how they managed to use the same ID to get in. They said it belonged to one of their sisters. I wondered who else in that bar were underage. After ordering and paying for a round of drinks at the bar, it took approximately 20 minutes for the bartender to hand us the drinks. As we made our way to our table at the bar, a group of large men would not let my friend pass. She attempted to go around when one very large man elbowed her in her ribs. After finally sitting down with the rest of our party, another large man in their group thew his drink at the same girl who was elbowed, only it landed on my other girlfriend. They then demanded that I pay for their drink that they spilled. After reporting this to the bouncer, he did nothing. The large men were able to stay at the bar and continue to terrorize petite women. My girlfriends and I went home and swore we would never return to that classless and dangerous place.
(1)
Lara B.

Would have thought it could have been better . . .Got there for a 6:00 reservation with a large party at which time forgot write down the reservation even though it had been confirmed earlier. Finally, got seated an hour later with no apology from the manager for the wait. I ordered the Mahi Mahi - ugh! Very dry and overcooked with overly sweet cocunut rice - I know it was supposed to be cocunut but just a hint not drowned in it. Husband got strip steak that was grisly and not seasoned at all. Would we go again . . . .nope and wouldn't recommend it.
(2)
Amanda B.

Drinks were good, food was ok-- nothing remarkable. The crab bisque barely tasted of crab and wasn't even worth the calories. The veggie sushi was good but over fried. The salad greens were ok, but the balsamic dressing was too salty. Save your money and go into Monterey!
(3)
C B.

We ordered food from this restaurant as room service when we were staying at the Sanctuary Beach Resort. My husband had the pan friend chicken and the mushrooms in the sauce were CANNED. That was the first bad sign. The sauce was also fairly bland. I had the Kalua Pork; the meat was kind of dry and not very flavorful. The best part was the mac salad but I probably could have gotten a pint at the local grocery store for less than $5. We also ordered the burger for our daughter and it wasn't anything special. The fruit they provided with the kids meal was good. Seems like a good restaurant for older folks, but if you like good food don't waste your time eating here!
(2)
Damion A.

So here it goes, this is why I would've gave them 0 stars if it was an option. My wife and I had been talking about going to Kula Ranch for the longest time because their menu online looked good. Considering all the bad reviews online we finally gave them the benefit of the doubt. We went there Saturday 4/28, it wasn't busy all. The server (Breanna) was very nice BUT very un-attentive. I only got 1 refill on my drink and when I'm done I always put it towards the outer table so the server can refill it. She kept forgetting to bring items to our table such as a spoon for my 2 yr old sons macaroni dish, A1 sauce for my steak and more napkins like we asked for. So, to get to the nitty gritty. My wife ordered the "Mauka" Skirt Steak which supposed to be marinated in Soy Sauce, Orange Juice, Fresh Ginger, Garlic, Sesame Oil, Shallots. I bullsh*t all of you NOT It tasted like a cooked piece of meat. Plain ol piece of meat like they just pulled it out the fridge and just cooked it. We didn't taste a hint of seasoning on the meat. We are really into BBQ and I am a huge food fan, I have never been so disappointed. I ordered the Boneless Rib Eye Steak which supposed to be marinated in Balsamic Vinegar, Honey, and Fresh Garlic with garlic mashed potatoes. One positive thing I will say is the steak was cooked to perfection BUT just like my wife's skirt steak, I could no taste one but of seasoning. I swear I was going to ask them if they ran out of salt. So i asked for A1 sauce and it took her like 10 minutes to bring it out, at the same time my 2 yr old son cant even scoop his watered down macaroni n cheese because she hasn't even brought out a spoon for him yet as we requested shortly before. At this point I am just over it, the service, the food, the total experience. The food was so bland and the service was so slow. I think Kula Ranch has potential but they really need to step it up and not just rely on their bar and tourist sales. I also hope the managers see's this review too. On top of all bad, our bill was 75.00. I honestly would of been much more satisfied going to Denny's right down the street. At least the food would have been "decent" and the servers do serve you !
(1)
Robert K.

We went to the Kula Ranch Island Steakhouse for lunch on a Saturday. Despite being a little hesitant about going there due to the other reviews that I read all talked about poor service I was pleasantly surprised. Our server was very attentive and the drink and food service time was good. Two of our group had the ribs and found them delicious. The ribs were well cooked and ready to fall off of the bone. The BBQ sauce was delicious. I am looking forward to going back to Kula again soon.
(4)
Glenn M.

Only good thing is the location, Service is slow, u pretty much have to wave down ur waiter/waitress everytime u need something, they never check up in how u doing or how is the food. It was noon and they told me they dont have any Kula Pork ready, macaroni salad dont taste like Hawaiian more like store bought. i expected better, but was very disappointed.
(2)
Christopher S.

Yummy inventive food. Good stiff drinks. Walking distance from the Resort (er golf carting distance) is priceless.
(4)
Gail S.

This is a hard one to label with stars. I would give it 5 stars & more if possible for the food! There were 5 of us, and we all loved our food. We had tiger prawns, fish tacos, calamari sandwich, chinese nachos, and a HUGE hamburger. Years ago, I was a waitress so I tend to rate them on how I used to or would have done something. And when I was waitressing, I absolutely loved it! Our waitress while friendly& was able to take our orders without writing it down, started out good. But things went downhill from here.I have to admit we were in the bar (none of us drank), but it took 1 hr to bring 5 sandwiches. It was 3 pm so not that busy. We had to keep asking for things, like silverware, napkis. Once we got our food, we didn't see her for quite a while. When she said she was going to prepare our bill & split for us, I asked for a box. It took her about 10 min for her to bring the bill. I had to askf for the box again, she had a look that if I hadn't, I would not have received the box. My husband had been visiting with the people at the nxt table. Good thing, too because the woman knows the owner of the restaurant, and was telling my husband the other waitress is much better. So, although we had a terrible time with the waitress, we will definitely go back....
(3)
Jim H.

We enjoyed our meal. OK. Not super special for the price. Service was great. Didn't like the Caesar Salad (bitter lettuce, not a good Caesar dressing) Prime rib had great flavor but was served cool. Nachos were great! All in all, ok place. We're staying at Sanctuary Beach Resort and the restaurant in on sight.
(3)
Corrie C.

My boyfriend and I stumbled apon this place while in the area for our anniversary and the seaotter classic. We loved it soooo much the first night we were there we went back the second night. The service was amazing. The prices were reasonable and the outside firepits were really neat! Also the sushi was AMAZING!!! You must go! I can't wait to go back.
(5)
Cynthia P.

Located on the property of Sanctuary Resort. Mostly I just want to recommend the fire-roasted artichokes because they were to die for! It had a delicious sour taste and I couldn't get enough of it. For dessert, the creme brulee was yummy too. Overall, a nice restaurant especially if you are already staying at the resort and don't want to venture too far away.
(4)
David B.

My wife and I had dinner here while we were staying at the Sanctuary Beach Resort (restaurant is on the resort's property). For the most part everything was just ok. Nothing really exciting. We sat on the patio arond the fire, which ws the nicest part of the experience. My wife had the chicken quedillas, which she enjoyed, and I had the fish tacos. I expected the fish tacos to be really good since the ocean was about 200 yards away but I was pretty disappointed. The fish was pretty greasy and bland. Service was good but not good enough to overshadow the just ok food (especially since the tacos were $16). It's a good place to have some drinks on the patio but there are plenty of other better places to eat for dinner in Monterey.
(3)
Fumblewuddly Q.

Hmm. I was also a guest at that roller derby party and I ordered a pint of Newcastle. Kay's comments here interest me because I too was disappointed to receive my "pint" in a 12 oz plastic cup. While I commend the manager for replying to her comment here on Yelp, even if the cup really holds 14 oz, since when is 14 oz a pint? Screwing the customer on a few ounces of beer for the sake of using a certain size plastic cup is penny wise, pound foolish. First of all, real pint glasses are a nicer experience to drink from, and they are pretty sturdy--really, how rowdy do these DJ events actually get? And secondly, plastic cups come in larger sizes. "Pint" glasses aside, the decor and atmosphere seemed nice and I hear the food was good. I wish I could say the same for the service. The first bartender that we talked to when we showed up and were curious about the drink specials had a blase, rude look on his face and his tone indicated he couldn't care less if we were his customers or not or whether we ever found out the information we were looking for. Then there was the bar supervisor (?) who was snooty about the glass size. And at the front when we were leaving, a waitress or hostess was snide when we asked a question about the artwork on the walls. I manage employees whose main job function is to interact with people, and I know good customer service when I see it. I also can tell when employees are unhappy and don't give a crap about the work that they do. Unfortunately the latter was my experience at Kula Ranch and it really reduces any chance I might want to return.
(2)
Roberta E.

One of my organizations had a private party at Kula Ranch in one of their rooms set up for a group of 35. Because we were dining early, we all ordered from the Hawaiian Sunset Dinners menu, which includes soup or salad, entree, and beverage for $13.95. Ordering took awhile. Once the orders were in though, the service was excellent, and served in a timely manner. The group all raved about the salads and the crab bisque. Most of the group ordered prime rib, sand dabs, salmon or skirt steak. All of us felt the food was delicious, and an excellent value. We are anxious to return.
(4)
M R.

Thank goodness for the price fix 3 course menu, because the regular menu was kind of high $$. They claim a Hawaiian theme, but I'm not paying over 15 bucks for anything with macaroni salad. The sushi menu was extremely over priced. I'm also glad I was there with a friend because you had to get 2 price fix dinners for 30 bucks (15 each.) We both had steak, and it was really good, but it came with french fries instead of mashed potatoes that was on the normal menu. The desert was ice cream, not very exciting and neither of us eat dairy, so they were nice enough to give us a bowl of fresh fruit which was very good. Their taco Tuesday deal didn't start til 9PM which is a bit late, but I think that caters to a younger party crowd. It has a nice patio and view, but the fog was coming in that night. It was a cute, right off the main freeway into Monterey, but tucked away giving it a more intimate feel.
(3)
Rachelle D.

Kula Ranch, formerly AJ Spurrs, is a hidden secret in Marina, CA. I have visited this place once as AJ Spurrs, and three times as Kula Ranch. My family and I first "re-visited" this place and to my amazement, I was very impressed with the ambiance, decor, staff, and food! Majority of us ordered the Royal Hawaiian Prime Rib, cut and prepared to our liking, and we LOVED it! My husband ordered the "Dukes" BONE IN Rib Eye, and he said it was one of the best rib eye's he's EVER tasted. Other family members had filet mignon, salmon and sushi. No complaints from any of them after they devoured their meals. The presentation of each dish was SUPERB! I really wanted to give this place five stars, but the only reason why I didn't is because of this one bus-boy that ruined it for me, not ONCE, but TWICE from 2/3 visits. I used to be in the restaurant business, and my husband used to be a bus-boy. Not that there is any particular etiquette to bussing a table, but I just think it's REALLY rude when they hover over your table, checking to see WHEN you're gonna take your last bite, and when you put down your utensil. Anyhow, that's exactly what happened on these two visits. My mom finished her meal, and within the blink of an eye, mr. bus-boy came in and swooped her plate away. Mom wasn't even finished with her dish! But my mom just let it go, but boy did I give some dirty looks to this bus-boy. After dinner, my family and I usually converse and have "after dinner" conversations, and WHILE we were doing this, mr. bus-boy was cleaning every inch of our table, not even excusing himself when he would inch in between the person right next to me. Instead of conversing with my cousin eye to eye, I was conversing with a belt buckle in my face for two seconds. NOT cool. After we thought mr. bus-boy had finished his job, he came right back and sweeped the floor. Again, he didn't excuse himself when he inched his way through ALL of our conversations. He even moved my 20 month old daughter out of the way to pick up her mess on the floor. Again, NOT cool. Second visit.....same as the first. Mr. Bus-boy attacks again. Overall, this place is really great! The staff was very polite and very accomodating, the food was delicious, but someone really needs to check that bus-boy!
(4)
Sheila O.

Thank god it's not AJ's anymore! Kulas is great! I love that we have a place in marina to sit outside on a nice day, or on a not so nice day, since they have firepits, heaters and music outside! Many times we go and sit in the bar area which also has a couple fireplaces and enjoy a cocktail and sushi (great little sushi bar) just as nice in the dinning area for lunch or dinner. The owner and employees are always very nice, attentive and the food is way yummy! it's also a fun place to go and watch football, flatscreens all in the bar and a huge screen set up just for football days....again, love it!
(5)
donna d.

We went here while staying at the resort. We had margaritas and appetizers. It was really good. I was suprised after the so so reviews. I would definately eat here again. The Nachos were great.
(4)
Lelay P.

swordwish was awesome, steak was cooked to perfection and the vegetables were fresh and still has some crunch on it. ambiance was good, noise level was average, staff was friendly, but just on the "too pricey" side for me. sorry.
(4)
Elizabeth E.

Total and utter disappointment! The food was expensive and not great. My salad was way over dressed and my husband's steak was super chewy. The service was fine, but there was only one other party in the restaraunt when we went in, so what should I have expected? And hey, this place is right on the beach, right? Too bad there's no view whatsoever. Disappointing all around. We won't be back.
(1)
Lisa A.

We just had our wedding there and want to report how awesome it was and how well they handled one of the most important days of our lives! From all levels they were marvelous! From meeting with Chef Rose for an afternoon of food and cake tasting, down to every detail of the event planning to being personally driven to our room by GM after shutting the place down. The Owner met with us at our home with color samples! The whole day of our wedding, the whole crew (including owner!) worked their areas of expertise, going the extra mile, making it the perfect fairy tale wedding! OH--and the Food is Fabulous! We had tasty Pupus, juicy Roasted Pig, mouth watering Salmon with Coconut Rice and perfect Stir Fried Veggies! Chef Rose truly loves what he does--success for him is seeing the smiles on customers' faces after they have enjoyed one of his creations! Fresh Veggies, Seafood and much more! What else could you ask for? Located right on the sand near the ocean is this hidden jewel of the Monterey area! Coming Soon: Visit their website to see photos of our wedding on September 26, 2009!
(5)
Cathy W.

We have been to Kula Ranch twice and both times we really enjoyed our meals. The Mai Tais are absolutely fantastic! The sweet potato fries and the coconut shrimp are our favorite appetizers. We've enjoyed the crab bisque and the Asian chicken salad. For an entree, we highly recommend either the ribeye or the skirt steak. We found the meat to be extremely tender and the seasonings excellent. In addition, the presentation was very well done. The service was excellent! (Our waiter was Sal both times). He took the time to explain the menu, make recommendations and come by often to check on us and ensure that we were having a good time. Without question, we will return and encourage our family and friends to try Kula Ranch!
(4)
Catherine M.

I thought the food and atmosphere was awesome! Went for an early dinner and got the prime rib..came with a salad and baked potato with all of the fixings. All for I think $16.95. It was an INSANE amount of food, and all really good! The only negative thing I do have to say is that it took FOREVER to get our food.
(4)
Anne N.

We stopped in for the convenience (walking distance from our lodging) and had a very positive experience -- great service from Cloe, attentive help from the owner, tasty food that was very plentiful, good cocktails. I had the sand dabs because I don't find them often, even though they are a local fish. They were really delicatey prepared with coconut rice and vegetables. My husband had pulled pork, which he seemed to be enjoying a lot.
(4)
James P.

I suspect the proximity to the hotel is what keeps this place in business. The decor and layout is horrible. The restaurant area has tiered levels, kinda like stadium seating, so you either are looking down onto the next table or they are looking down on you. Hard materials are used throughout, so there is considerable echo and the place is LOUD. Forget about having a conversation. Add to that the traveling ukalele player and I started to get a headache. We moved to the bar area and it was actually much quieter, even with several sport events on the screens. The only reason this place got two stars was the food. I got the St. Louis ribs and my wife got the flank steak- both were fine.; tender and flavorful. Otherwise this place is a loud, expensive, quasi-Hawaiian nightmare.
(2)
Tina L.

I went to this place for the first time for lunch with a group of 50+. Ther were accomodating as to create a special menu for our group to make ordering easier. We had a few selection that were with a set price to include tax and tip. They seated us in their Dune room which was nice and had two electric fireplaces but was still cold it was very cold outside. It had a few of the Dunes so you felt like you were on the dessert but inside it is decorated like the islands so a bit deceiving no water in site. The service was just okay, even thou I know it was a big group the rest of the place was slow so I would have thought they woule have a few more servers assigned to our group. I am not saying they did not do a good job but I think a bit overwhelming for the young waitresses who may not have much experience. Drink orders were taken slow and delivered slow then meal orders took some time and then when food was delivered there were no condiments and we had to wait awhile to get them while the food got cold. The food was okay very small portions for the price and not that flavorful. I had some soup that was luke warm but okay was loaded with vegees. My Bloody Mary tasted like straight tomatoe juice with out any of the flavors it should have had. No tabasco, no worchestershire, and I am not sure it even had vodka in it. It did have onion, olive, lemon, and a lime slice looked more like a salad then a drink. I would have done with out all the trimmings if it has some flavor. All in all the experience was ok and they were able to take a group our size but I would not rush back there. We have many group lunches and it is always interesting to see how the service varies and the quality and flavor of the food.
(2)
Traci L.

I went to Kula's when it first opened and the service was a bit slow ,but what place isn't when it's new? The food is great, halibut was fresh and excellent! We came back for lunch a few months later with the inlaws and service was great and very friendly. The manager is really nice and came over to check on us and then gave us a tour of the restaurant after lunch. What a hidden Beautiful place. A great place to have a party in one of the private areas you can reserve in the back. This is a must try!
(4)
Leigh-Anne B.

This place was a disappointment overall. I've definitely had better, especially for the price. The wait time for food or even a refill on your drink was absolutely ridiculous. There were 8 of us and the bill was over $400, Not cheap at all. I don't mind paying for good food, but the food and the service weren't worth the price. We had reservations for 7 on a Monday night, and the place wasn't exactly hopping if you know what I mean. They were quick to seat us, but that was the last we saw of anyone for a good 15 minutes. We were there for over 2 hours, the first hour was spent just getting drinks and salads. If we needed anything, we had to literally get up and go find a server. When you did find them, they were standing around chit chatting with other employees. The food was okay, not any better than that. It was a little on the pricey side. The dessert wasn't very good at all. I know this because between the 8 of us, we tried everything on the desert menu. I don't think any of it is actually made in house. The cheesecake was pasty, the creme brulee was runny, the molten chocolate cake was cold. The only thing that was good as far a dessert goes is the ice cream, because you can't really screw that up. I won't go back any time soon, that's for sure. Be prepared to wait a long time, and have mediocre overpriced food. Start out in the bar and have a couple cocktails, the buzz will pass the time quicker.
(2)
Scott H.

We were staying at the Sanctuary Resort and decided to try Kula. It looks nice and has plenty of parking. We went around 6:30 on a Friday night. There was a 10 to 15 min. wait and no room to wait in the bar. We were seated at right about 15 min. They gave us the very 1st small booth up front. I'm a bigger guy and had a hard time getting into the booth, the table teeter-tottered anytime we moved. They had people waiting right by our table as it was in the main walkway. It was quite akward, since they were close enough to be seated at our table. We waited and waited for our server who never came. The hostess was quite nice when she apologized both times she came by to ask if we had seen our server. Then we began to smell cigarette smoke from outside the bar. That was the straw that broke the camels back, we went back to our room. Still being hungry we ordered room service which comes from the Kula Ranch. It arrived in a timely manner, and the guy delivering it was nice. With the tip we spent about $100 (they add a 20% charge for room service). We had a steak, some ribs and a quesadilla, it was ok. Nothing remarkable, I've had better at a Chili's or a Chevy's (Marina didn't seem to have either). Might get better service on a off night or time. We won't be going back.
(2)
Veli M.

I am a fan and would go again but sadly, It's not because of the food. Its the decor and relaxed atmosphere that added to the dining experience. I ordered the grilled calamari as a starter and the fillet Mignon with bleu cheese risotto as my main course. The calamari was OK. I was disappointed because I have tasted this appetizer three times before at different restaurants. I held out hop for my entree but was again left feeling disappointed. I ordered medium rare and received medium. The risotto was overcooked. I have worked at a Mediterranean bistro and Italian steakhouse. I have tasted different variations of risotto but that was the worst I have ever had. I was on a dinner date with my wife and her company can make any occasion bearable. That's all Kula was. Bearable. I'm saddened to give this review since I live so close by and really wanted to fall in love with the place. I hope that if I ever return the food will be at the level it should be for the price that is asked
(2)
Russ F.

It was the first time that my YELP! community led me astray. When we decided to go yesterday Saturday it was rated as 3 1/2 stars and that is usually pretty good food and service. It didn't live up to it. First of all no self respecting Hawaiian would claim minute rice as rice at a Hawaiian steak house. The rice was HORRIBLE. Institutional at best. Food was cold and rushed. Quality was not a management goal but apparently table turning was. My family of 4 had various things from the pork tenderloin sweet and sour special, to sand dabs to miso steak bits. Tenderloin was noting special and a little on the red side. Sand dabs were cold, again rice was bad. Miso steak bits were OK but expensive for an appetizer. The rice medallions were very oily, in fact all you can taste is the oil. It could have been rushed, since they missed delivering it on the original order. Wow, it was sad. There seemed to be a Hawaiian looking manager so we had high hopes. Man I was hoping I would be giving a great review, because that would mean I would have had a great meal. But no. Kettle One are $8 drinks and water with gas is $7.50 So I wouldn't recommend going here, but I don't have a good alternative in the area. Hopefully someone will find a place because we are in the Monterey area frequently.
(1)

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Address : 3295 Dunes Rd
Marina, CA, 93933
Phone (831) 883-9479
Click To Get Directions

Opening Hours

Mon :4:00 pm - 9:00pm

Specialities

Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dinner
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Full Bar
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : Yes
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes

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Kula Ranch

3295 Dunes Rd, Marina, CA, 93933

Kula Ranch Menu

Sushi

Happy Hour - Build Your Own Platter

Healthy Meal suggestions for Kula Ranch

Sushi

Happy Hour - Build Your Own Platter

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