Food & Drinks

When it comes to dining in Maui, all we can say is: Come hungry and bring a fat wallet. Dining has never been better on the Valley Isle, home to numerous enterprising and imaginative chefs. The farm-to-table concept has finally taken root on this bountiful island, where in past years up to 90% of the food had been imported. Today chefs and farmers collaborate on menus, filling plates with tender micro-greens and heirloom tomatoes picked that morning. Fishers reel in glistening opakapaka (pink snapper), and ranchers offer up flavorful cuts of Maui-grown beef.

A new crop of inspired chefs is taking these ripe ingredients to new heights. At Ka‘ana Kitchen, Chef Isaac Bancaco nearly outshines his celebrity neighbor, “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto (who brought his high-octane Japanese fusion cuisine to Wailea). Both are outstanding; make time for each if you can swing it. On the other side of the island, at Chef Gerard Reversade continues to plate up perfect French cuisine at Gerard’s, while Jojo Vasquez adds exciting Filipino accents to the gourmet dishes at the Plantation House. Stellar dining experiences all, with prices to match. You don’t have to spend a fortune to eat well here—Maui does have a few budget eateries, noted below. Among the best is Tin Roof, by Top Chef star Sheldon Simeon. If you want to feast, there’s never been a better time to do so on Maui.

Central Maui

Kahului and Wailuku have a few tasty finds. Minutes outside of the airport in a windy dirt lot across from Costco, you’ll find an array of food trucks dishing out everything from pork belly sandwiches to poke (seasoned raw fish).