Garlic shrimp bowl. | Tin Roof
Maui’s best poke in the back of a low-key grocery store, decadent roast pork at a dim sum drive-in, salted caramel shave ice at a creative dessert shop, and more of the island’s best meals
Maui’s reputation for beauty is deserved: Strings of perfect crescent beaches give way to lush rainforests and rolling green ranchlands. Opulent resorts line the island’s leeward shore, each with a flashy restaurant offering front row seats for the nightly pyrotechnic sunset. But increasingly, the island’s best chefs have migrated away from big hotels to humbler kitchens. High rents have forced independent restaurateurs to maximize unconventional spaces, so many of the most righteous meals on Maui can now be found in plain-faced strip malls, food trucks, and farms.
This is especially true after the catastrophic August 2023 fire in Lahaina, which disproportionately affected the island’s restaurant industry. Overnight, chefs and waitstaff turned into emergency responders. Many lost their homes and businesses and have yet to find stable replacements. While some West Maui restaurants have reopened, like Leoda’s and Fond, others still hope to rebuild or are simply gone. Despite these considerable challenges, Maui’s sous chefs and shave ice makers continue to show up, tie on aprons, and nourish their community.
Nourishment is needed now more than ever, and if the fire prompted any change, it’s a deeper commitment to “eat local.” The trend, which predated the disaster, continues to blossom, resulting in dynamic collaborations between chefs, fishermen, and farmers. Menus routinely feature Hawaiian flavors such as ‘ōpakapaka (pink snapper), pohole fern, līmu līpoa (Hawaiian seaweed), and haupia (coconut custard). At Tikehau Lounge and Esters Fair Prospect, bartenders mix cocktails with local spirits and fruits. Farmers markets and grocery stores offer a plethora of Maui-grown products — macadamia nut butter, chocolate, and coffee — that you can pack in your suitcase to savor back home. Many local food purveyors donate a percentage of their profit to Lahaina relief agencies, so indulging serves a double purpose.
Shannon Wianecki writes about food, culture, and native ecosystems for publications including BBC, Smithsonian, and Hana Hou — the Hawaiian Airlines magazine. Growing up in Hawai’i, her favorite snack was raw opihi (limpet) fresh off the rocks.
