here today ... going to maui

[Bob Musa]

we're heading off to maui in a few weeks for the first time in several years and wonder if any members have any restaurant recommendations for us. we are especially looking for holes in the walls on this trip. on previous trips we've tried:

general store - 4 times total (2 times great 2 times merely very good)

joes - very good and great service

nicks - good

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a - disadisadisadisappointing (mediocre $500 meal for 4)

roy's (in the safeway parking lot) - very good and great service

mama's fish house - best fish ever in my life and we are always trying to duplicate. here's a picture of our effort from last night

[Really Nice!]

Chez Paul; four miles south of Lahaina.

Edit to add: it's not a hole in the wall. It's the best meal you'll have on the island. Cost is about $300 for two.

Edited May 27, 2005 by Really Nice! (log)

[glossyp]

I have not been there personally but friends who recently returned from a visit to Maui and a cousin who lives there can't say enough good things about Cafe Sauvage. They highly recommend whatever is the daily seafood special.

BTW, great fish dish! Looks yummy.

[Laurie Woolever]

For anyone else who's looking for Maui eats, I just got back and can recommend Mark Ellman's Mala Ocean Tavern, in Lahaina (on Front Street). Not a hole in the wall but also not flashy -- just very, very good, fresh, smart, tasty food.

And there's an excellent natural foods store, Mana Foods, on Baldwin Avenue in Pa'ia.

And I know they already got a shout-out but Mama's Fish House (also Pa'ia) is worth mentioning twice. Chef Perry Bateman's cooking is as soulful and smart as it gets. He knows how to cut his fish and tweak his flavors. Not cheap but well worth the price.

[kaukaulesa]

I've heard good things about Tom Selman's Main Street Bistro in Wailuku. Tom was formerly corporate chef for D.K. Kodama's restaurants, and was Vino's original executive chef.

[reid]

Personally, I like Gerard's in Lahaina. It's located at the Plantation Inn. Definitely not a hole-in-the-wall, but the food here is excellent. I always stop here when I'm in Maui.