It’s been 3 years since I was last in Maui so I was insanely happy to be back there. Last time I went, I published 10 Eateries in Maui That Will Blow Your Mind and wow, to this day, it’s the most read post I’ve ever written here on Life in Wanderlust, followed closely by a fellow Maui post, 10 Things To Know Before The Road To Hana. I’ve also received so many emails and photos from readers that let me know they read my post and visited those spots, which of course made me so happy! Let’s talk more about the best Maui food spots!
Naturally, I had to share more places (TEN this time) from my trip to Maui. I was there for a week so I had plenty of time to try new places and below are my favorites from this time around.
Let’s do this. If you’re looking for the best Maui food spots, keep reading!
Tinroof
Oh, Tinroof. My mouth quite literally watered thinking about their food. Tinroof is located in a small strip mall close to the airport, so it’s a great place to stop by after you land or before you take off. If you’re in a time crunch though, keep in mind the most likely long line and wait for your food. Do I think it’s worth it? Hell yes. We ordered their classic dish, the Mochiko Chicken with rice and their Garlic Shrimp with garlic noodles. The garlic shrimp and noodles were great but the mochiko chicken was phenomenal. I can totally see why it’s so popular! Crunchy crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. Ugh, seriously though, my mouth is actually watering for some Tinroof Mochiko Chicken and rice!
Tip: You can order by calling in advance and that actually may save you some time waiting in line. There’s nowhere to sit (it’s a tiny place) so you’ll end up standing or sitting in your car like we did for 30+ minutes. Mind you, we went on a Monday so it’s not even like we went on the weekend!
Island Vintage Coffee
I’m not sure why I didn’t mention Island Vintage Coffee in my last Maui food post because I’ve been obsessed with their coffee since forever ago! This time though, I got to try their food and it was amazingly delicious considering it’s a chain coffee shop. Every morning, we walked from the Westin Maui where we were staying to the Whaler’s Village Shopping Mall where Island Vintage Coffee is located (again, it’s a chain so there’s tons all over Hawaii!) to grab coffee to start the day right. The first day we went, we saw other people ordering food and got intrigued. The next day we decided to try out their food and I’m kicking myself for not trying years ago! We grabbed the acai bowl and the Island Breakfast Plate. The acai bowl was amazing topped with strawberries, mangos, papayas and passion fruit. The breakfast plate had portuguese sausage, mixed grain rice, fried egg, salad and half a papaya – sooooooo good! Highly recommend with their fresh drip coffee or my personal favorite, the coconut mocha.
Lahaina Fish Company
Lahaina Fish Company is located right on Front Street with incredible views, almost anywhere you get seated. They’ve been operating for over 25 years and serves local, organic seafood and meats. We had the Artichoke Heart Fries and the Macadamia Nut Crusted MahiMahi. The fries were ok but the mahimahi was delicious, especially with the sweet mashed potatoes! It was perfectly fried and truly the freshest mahimahi. Highly recommend for a romantic dinner, especially with a beachside table!
Leoda’s Kitchen
Of all the emails I’ve received about my previous Maui food post, Leoda’s Kitchen & Pies was by far the most frequently recommended spot, so thank you if you recommended it to me! Leoda’s Kitchen was just the most charming place! It was one of our final meals in Maui, so we got there hoping to grab some food in addition to their famous pies. Now this could be an #unpopularopinion but we both ended up agreeing that their sandwiches and fries were better than their pies?! Am I allowed to say that? Haha! We got the Patty Melt and the Reuben! As for the pies, we got to try 3 slices of pies thanks to an error on the order (the manager felt bad and gave us an extra pie slice – such friendly and great customer service there!). We tried the Macnut Chocolate Pie, the Mango Pie and the Haupia Pie. The Macnut Chocolate Pie had a lot caramel inside which I’m not a huge fan of but the rest was to die for! The Haupia Pie was delicious if you’re into coconut and the Mango Pie was flat-out the best. Yum! Wish we could have tried a bite of all the pies!
Paia Fish Market
Hands down my favorite from this list is the Paia Fish Market. My blogger friend Melina from Coffee Fernweh recommended it to me and I’m forever thankful! Other than Island Vintage Coffee for morning coffee, Paia Fish Market is the only place we returned to multiple times during this trip. We even considered squeezing in a final visit the day we left! It’s that good, guys. Their fish is so fresh and I love that they don’t douse anything with sauce or salt. And trust me, I’m born and raised Japanese. I know fresh fish! We ordered the Fresh Catch Plates each time with a side of fries and coleslaw. The portions are huge! I highly recommend the Opah grilled. Also, it doesn’t hurt that their french fries are bomb. Definitely one of the best Maui food spots of all, IMO!
Monkeypod Kitchen
A few of my friends couldn’t stop talking about Monkeypod Kitchen’s Monkeypod Mai Tai so naturally, we had to give them a try. First, the Mai Tai truly is unique, delicious and dare I say worth $15. The Mai Tai is made up of kula organic dark and silver rums, house-made macadamia nut orgeat, orange curacao and the best part? The honey lilikoi foam and pineapple to top the cocktail. Mmm mm mmm. As for food, we let our waiter tell us what to get and ended up with the Hamakua Wild Mushroom and Truffle Oil Pizza, the House Cut Fries and the Chocolate Pie. The fries were just okay but the pizza and pie? Nom nom nom.
Leilani’s
Dining at Leilani’s was a combination of forgetting to plan dinner for one of the days and it being super close to our hotel, the Westin Ka’anapali. We’d walk past it and it was always busy, so we decided to make reservations. Oh and after reading about their famous Hula Pie! We had the Roasted Beets Salad, the Maui Onion Sirloin Steak and the Kimo’s Original Hula Pie. While the salad was delicious, I would recommend something other than the steak. I was so excited for it to come with tons of Maui onions because of the name but as you can see in the photo, it came with maybe 2-3 peels of it? Very disappointing, in my onion-loving opinion. The highlight was their Kimo’s Original Hula Pie! Chocolate cookie crust, macadamia nut ice cream, hot fudge, toasted mac nuts and whipped cream. How can you go wrong with that choice, right? If you’re able to score a beachside table at Leilani’s, you’re in for a gorgeous view!
Feast at Lele
I actually wrote a full blog post reviewing the Feast at Lele which you can click here for. If you’re kind of tired of the typical luau with tons of kahlua pork (don’t get me wrong I love kahlua pork but if you’ve been to Hawaiian luaus, you know what I mean) and often held in large hotels, give the Feast at Lele a try! Again, you can read and see more on this blog post but it’s much more intimate (your own table!), literally on the beach and a 5 course meal!
Lappert’s Hawaii
Another spot I’ve been eager to try is Lappert’s Hawaii located on the end of Front Street in Lahaina. They’ve been serving handmade ice cream since 1983 but they also have delicious baked goods and coffee that’s roasted on the island! I just had to try their famous Lappert’s Hawaii Kauai Pie ice cream; Kona coffee ice cream + coconut flakes + dark chocolate fudge + Hamakua macadamia nuts + vanilla cake crunch. With a freshly made waffle cone, of course! Totally dreamy on a humid day (I would eat it any day, though).
MauiGrown Coffee Company
Bonus entry if you love coffee! I only found out about MauiGrown Coffee Company thanks to my colleague. I visited this tiny little coffee shop and was so impressed with their coffee quality! They grow 100% of their coffee in Maui, specifically in Lahaina. As we were browsing their small shop, the employee there was so kind and gave us several samples along with explanations of each. I loved the Maui Mokka which is one of their most popular varietals.
What do you think? Did you enjoy this new list of best Maui food spots? Don’t forget to check out my other post that has another 10 best Maui food spots and the best Maui Luau review for you to consider for your trip!
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