Maile’s Thai Bistro is a relaxed little spot in the Hawaii Kai Towne Center. With both the Town Center and the nearby Koko Marina Center featuring mostly fast-food outlets, Maile’s is one of the few independent restaurants in the area, making it the only logical spot for pau hana.

Owner Maile Sengoura virtually grew up in the restaurant business, from working in a Thai restaurant as a teenager to joining family members at various Assaggio restaurants around the island. She opened her own place nine years ago and enjoyed enough success to open another at Ward Village in 2015.

THE EXPERIENCE

For some odd reason, the shops at Hawaii Kai Town Center are placed so that almost all of the businesses face the parking lot and not the water, which is too bad. Maile’s is no different, but it at least has the advantage of being located on the main throughway from the parking lot to the water, so there’s a bit of a view going into the restaurant. And you can easily take a pleasant walk before or after your visit to take in the views.

Inside, the restaurant is informal but elegant. The decor radiates a lovely Thai mystique, with a muted color palette and depictions of Buddha and other Thai artifacts sprinkled throughout. A single flat screen hangs behind the large bar, but there are plenty of small tables for those not interested in sports.

The staff is young and extremely friendly, as is the tone overall. We got there at 4 p.m. and a few people were at the large bar; one of them a regular who said a pretty good crowd of local people is usually there by 5 p.m. or so. Being in a shopping center, it’s not the kind of place that would even be known to tourists.

THE FOOD

Maile’s has a small happy-hour menu with some commonplace offerings like fries ($3) and calamari ($6) — and some unusual ones.

One of the most popular items is the cold tofu ($4). Being of Chinese ancestry, I know that when it comes to tofu, it’s the preparation that matters and not the tofu. This was a very simple preparation, with a large block of soft tofu doused with a sweet, slightly tangy sauce. Apparently people sometimes ask for additional sauce, which makes sense — it’s excellent, and dipping chunks of tofu in it provides substance without being overpowering. And on a hot day, it would be a particularly satisfying dish.

I also tried the spring rolls ($6), which come with a few leaves of lettuce, mint and cucumbers, along with sweet chili and vinegar dipping sauces. These were actually kind of a combination Chinese-Thai, with the spring rolls a deep-fried brown wrapper rather than the gelatinous, translucent rice paper that one often gets at Thai restaurants. The flavor of the rolls was distinctly Thai, however, with a slightly pungent taste, so it was good to have the veggies and dipping sauces. Wrapping the rolls up in the lettuce with a sprig of mint took the edge off while adding texture and taste.

I also had the fish patties ($6), which were nicely crisp on the outside while soft and spongy on the inside. Coupled again with vegetables and dipping sauces, they were a pleasant snack. The calamari, if rather conventional, was also pleasantly prepared, with the calamari battered and deep fried to perfection.

THE DRINK

Happy-hour drinks are simple: Sycamore Lane chardonnay, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon at $5.50 a glass; well drinks at $3.50; a well martini at $6.

All beer is $1 off, pricing common domestic brews like Bud, Coors and Sam Adams at $4 and craft brews like Kona Longboard and Sierra Nevada at $5.

THE VERDICT

If you’re on the eastside and need a happy-hour snack, Maile’s is definitely worth a visit. It’s comfortable, cool and friendly, and the food is tasty and interesting, without being “challenging.”

You can cozy up to the bar and shoot the breeze with regulars, or take an out-of-the-way table with a friend or two and be perfectly satisfied. And take that walk outside by the water. It’s why most of us live in Hawaii, after all.