You might not go to Maui for the beaches, but while you’re there you gotta eat! Why not eat someplace great? Want to know the best places to eat in Maui? Read on to find the best fish tacos, pulled pork, burgers, coconut shrimp, & pizza in Maui. These are the best places where we ate – actually ate, not just read reviews – in Maui.
Be sure to check out all 23 posts in my Maui Hawaii – First Trip Travelers Guide!
Best Places to Eat – Maui
We found most of these places to eat on Maui through Maui Revealed. In absolutely every case, the descriptions were spot on – from “fantastic” to “usually good.”
Best place for lunch on Maui
The Flatbread Company, Pa’ia, Central Maui
This organic pizza restaurant at the start of the Road to Hana was our absolutely favorite place to eat.
The pizza crust is incredibly, uniquely, good. In fact, we ate there twice!
We got pizza and flatbread to go when we started on the Road to Hana. We liked it so much, we had it again on the way back. Parking can be tricky, but we lucked out both times. For parking tips see Maui Revealed. Cost for a meal for 5, $43.00, 2 extra large pizzas or flatbreads (thin crust).
Best restaurant on Maui for dinner
Da Kitchen Cafe, Kahului, Central Maui
This doesn’t look like much from the outside, but don’t let that throw you. This was our second favorite restaurant and our last meal on the island. I had the pulled pork and oh, my goodness. So juicy! Best pork I’ve ever had Tasted like the sweetest pork ribs ever, pulled off the bone into a huge mound!
Our girls got the 5 cheese macaroni and cheese special and it’s the best macaroni and cheese we’ve ever had. And that’s coming from a family who always makes macaroni and cheese from scratch. (We do NOT eat the orange stuff out of a box.) It’s also where we tried homemade taro chips.[link] It was the closest we got to poi (made from taro) on this trip and they were a fun twist on homemade potato chips. The only problem was there was so much none of us could finish all our food!
Best restaurant near Maui airport
Bonus! Da Kitchen Cafe isn’t too far from the airport.
Best places to eat on the Road to Hana
Road to Hana fruit stands
You absolutely have to stop at one of these. They are known for fresh banana bread, fruit smoothies, and fresh fruit. It was this fruit stand that introduced us to coconut custard ice cream.
These are the only places it’s even possible to get any food or drinks on the road to Hana, so keep an eye out for ones that are open. If you travel at off peak hours, most of them will be closed. Quality will vary, but it’s worth the gamble! Around $6 for a small loaf of banana bread, but that compares to $6 for a tiny loaf of mango bread from a fruit stand close to the resort area of West Maui. Given that there was no middleman, we decided the price was worth it. It was!
Best Maui beach restaurant
Ka’anapali Grille & Tap Room
At the Marriott next to the Hyatt Regency – Close to the beach with outside covered and uncovered dining. We ate there twice because of convenience, but in the evening is really nice! The night we ate there it was really relaxing with an absolutely fantastic live acoustic guitar musician. The burgers – we had Island style Cheeseburgers and Bacon avocado burgers and they were amazing.
The coconut shrimp we had were really good! The Caprese salad was pretty tasteless and we didn’t enjoy the fish and chips.
Price per plate – $14-$16 which seems expensive for a burger but not bad considering it was a resort, beach-side in Hawaii no less.
Best lunch Maui
Coconut’s Fish Cafe
Another local restaurant, these tacos weren’t fancy but they were fresh and the kids thoroughly enjoyed their crispy coconut shrimp.
The servers were super nice as well. It’s a counter service restaurant but they easily accommodated an elderly man who walked in expecting sit down service, who couldn’t read the menu, without skipping a beat. I much preferred the slaw with the mango relish like it comes on the taco, otherwise it’s just cabbage and mayo.
More great places to eat in Maui
Stewz Maui Burgers
These grass-fed burgers with homemade buns were a tasty and fresh change from your average burger.
If you haven’t had grass-fed beef before, it does help to know it will taste differently. Make sure you wear your sunscreen! There is only outside dining here, with plenty of umbrellas.
UPDATE – Since we’ve been there, they’ve added inside dining.
Fabiani’s
Lacking in ambiance, but the pastry counter looked inviting.
The foccacia bread they brought us with our food was fantastic! The pizza and pasta we had was fine, not great, but good.
The Whaler’s General Store Mochi Ice Cream
A general store Hawaiian chain, We stopped at the Shops at Wailea location – Mochi is a sweet bean paste used to make Asian desserts.
With mochi ice cream, the slightly chewy, sweet mochi covering it lets you hold your ice cream in your hands to eat it! There were lots of different flavors, like mango and chocolate coconut.
Be sure to check out all 23 posts in my Maui Hawaii – First Trip Travelers Guide!
So there you go! Let me know where you went and what you ate in Maui!