Da Kitchen -- a low-key, local favorite for traditional Hawaiian food -- is an easy stop from the Maui airport. Owners Les Tomita and Mariah Brown opened with a mission to serve big portions of local food at reasonable prices. It has since become famous for its creative and diverse cuisine with an emphasis on traditional Hawaiian food. The menu incorporates local classics and Hawaiian favorites inspired by the myriad ethnic groups established on the Hawaiian Islands. While they are famous for the fried spam musubi, don’t overlook try their variety of loco-moco plates. The aptly named Notorious B.I.G. Moco has a hamburger, chili, two eggs, mushrooms, onions, spam, cheese, bacon, Portuguese sausage and fried rice. Other acclaimed favorites include the Hawaiian plate, mahi-mahi tempura, pulehu grilled steak, fresh fish and seafood, pasta, salads and lunch favorites like teriyaki chicken and chicken katsu.
A poke bowl place in Maui with the name of a candy company? The name doesn’t matter when the locals recommend it for the best poke on the island. Eskimo Candy Inc. is a small, kitschy shop serving amazing poke. After more than 15 successful years in the wholesale industry, the owners ventured into retail in 2003 and Eskimo Candy Seafood Market and Deli opened to serve home-cooked food at affordable prices. The Poke Bowl sampler, served over rice, is the best way to try this place as a first-timer, since you get to try all four varieties.
Leoda's is another popular spot, known for its pies and sandwiches. This casual, family-style restaurant features hand-crafted specialties. The menu is an assortment of sandwiches, salads, baked goodies, daily specials and, of course, sweet and savory pies. The owners work with local providers to procure the best produce. Their most popular sandwich is the Seared Ahi (grilled rye bread, seared fresh sashimi grade tuna, avocado, caramelized Kula onion, Jarlsberg cheese, local basil pesto, garlic aioli and watercress). And save room for their famous banana cream pie.
For locals, shave ice (again, “shave” not “shaved”) is an ever-present affair. Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice serves the version everyone falls in love with. The components - the syrup and the ice - are produced in-house. Made with real fruits, the syrups give the shave a delicious taste. The menu offers such Maui-inspired selections as No Ka Oi (coconut, mango and lilikoi), Kaanapali (grape, lime and cherry), and Lahaina (pineapple, coconut and banana). The epic Haleakala, though, may just be it's most gourmet and refreshing, featuring coconut and leche topped with sweetened condensed cream. This hand-crafted, perfectly shaped ice topped with syrups might take a little longer to make, but it is worth the wait to savor the lightest, softest shave in the islands.
Open since 1913 Pascals Manale is a family owned and operated restaurant. They invented one of the most prominent dishes of the local cuisine – BBQ shrimp. They serve it in a casual ambiance with paper-covered tables and French bread in brown bags. The shrimp is not actually barbecued but cooked in a delectable, peppery butter sauce. The taste has been consistent over the years. The dish has brought worldwide fame to the restaurant and it is a dish which both tourists and the locales flock for every day. Many restaurants tried to emulate the dish but no one had a success. Other dishes include Italian specialties, seafood, and steaks.
Closing hours are subject to change. Please contact the restaurant for updates.
Papa’s was established in 1912 by Giuseppe Papa (originally from Naples) on South Clinton Avenue in Trenton. It is the oldest continuously operating pizzeria in the United States and is now owned by Joe Papa's grandson, Nick Azzaro, a third generation Italian-American. Azzaro has been making pizza for over fifty years and has worked for Papa's since he was 14. They are best known for their Tomato pies. Papa’s Tomato Pies are made in crust-cheese-sauce order, and that sauce is not much more than canned crushed tomato with some signature seasoning. Toppings are many but the highlight is the tomato sauce base that gives a generous sweetness to the best bites of a slice. There are four brick ovens to bake and 5 gallons of water is used to complete the tomato pie recipe of Giuseppe Papa. On weekend evenings, there will be an assured wait for the table. The staff is friendly and accommodating. Italian ices are dispensed from a window — for dessert, or perhaps an appetizer.
Baklava, the thin flaky pastry filled with chopped nuts and garnished with ground nuts is one of the most popular desserts in Turkey. After baking it is cut into triangles and served as a dessert with ice-cream or sold in bulk from local pastry shops. The origins of baklava cannot be traced with certainty, but it is believed that the current form was probably developed in the imperial kitchens of the Topkapı Palace Museum in Istanbul. It served as the residence and the administrative headquarters for the Ottoman sultans in the 15th century. Till 1924 it served as a palace before being transformed into a museum. The Sultan presented trays of baklava to the Janissaries every 15th of the month of Ramadan in a ceremonial procession called the Baklava Alayı.
An iconic seafood place, established by the Garcia Brothers, has been serving fresh and delicious seafood since 1976. For the best experience here people order the Pan con Minuta, their signature dish. It is a fried yellow tail snapper fish sandwich, served in a standard Cuban roll. The tail is left on and sticks out of the bun, topped with some white onions and a squirt of ketchup and is served with freshly sliced limes. The roll melts in your mouth. It is as cheap as five dollars. They also sell a variety of other Cuban seafood dishes like Camarones Fritos(breaded shrimp) and cangrejo moro (stone crab).
Mala Ocean Tavern is a small Oceanside destination serving locally inspired Mediterranean and Pacific Rim cuisine is a Judy and Chef Mark Ellman creation. The water at 4 feet away kissing your feet while having your meal and the sea turtles moving right by your table makes you feel your Hawaii trip is complete. Try their house special whole wok fried fish but leave space for their signature dessert Caramel Miranda: A dessert having Melted Dark Chocolate and Caramel Sauce Covered Plate with Layered and Broiled Fresh Island Fruit, Macadamia Nut Ice Cream. It is just the incredible finish to any meal which you have here.
Peter Merriman is one of the founding fathers of Hawaiian Regional Cuisine. Although his original charming restaurant is on the Big Island, this Maui mega-titan is the flagship. It features many signature classics but served at scale on a spectacular but slightly corporate feeling peninsula. It is impressive that quality levels are maintained at this 300 cover gourmet theme park.