Mama's Fish House: My Trip Report
 

Wow! When I walked into Mama's Fish House I actually got tears in my eyes because this was our anniversary dinner and I couldn't believe my eyes...Mama's Fish House looks like a tropical dream come true...and this was on a rainy early evening! Saw it a couple days later on a sunny afternoon and it was just as exquisite. Go when it's still light because you have to see this place...we had an early dinner reservation. Lunch would be beautiful as well.

Mama's Fish House is built with lots of open space and windows so you can see outdoors and you can see the beach. A beautiful small beach that is amazingly picturesque. Very nice grounds/beach. Small enough to feel intimate, big enough to feast your eyes on. I had heard the food was good but I had no idea it would be so romantic.

Don't even think of going without making a reservation several days in advance. We had our hotel make the reservation and still didn't get our choice of days. A couple who tried to get reservations for the same day ended up sitting in the bar, wheras we got a prime view table as our reservations were made several days in advance. I recommend making reservations a couple weeks in advance.

Excellent food. I had the macadamia-covered mahi-mahi stuffed with lobster and shrimp and it was excellent. My husband ordered the duck and loved it, said it was good and lean. We shared a dessert with banana and macadamia nuts, but although it was great tasting it turned out to be too rich and buttery and gave us both heartburn. Very expensive but worth it for a special occasion or a special memory. Entrees around $40, mixed drinks around $10.

And this is where?

Sorry forgot to poste location. Mama's Fish House is at Kuau Cove on Maui. Not far from Paia. Mamasfishhouse.com

Melissa, my future DIL loved this place on her trip to Maui last summer. I'm sure they will be going back on their honeymoon trip in a few months. :D

We're considering Maui for our 25th anniversary trip. My husband's family is starting to miss the island life. It's time for a visit! ***kim*** ((r))

Kim, enjoy your anniversary trip!

Wow, I thought this place was fairly good, but jeez, I definitely missed something...

Good food, definitely not great food.

frankie, sorry your food wasn't as good as ours. We eat out a lot and are pretty critical. Mama's Fish House definitely pleased us both. I also think it helps to get a good table anywhere, it really adds to your total enjoyment. So revervations are important and ask for a good table especially if it's a special occasion.

What did you order at Mama's Fish house?

Thanks Melissa! :D Its' a little over a year and a half away, but it's never too early to start planning a trip to Maui, right? =D>

BTW, loved your review. I love mahi mahi. There is a place by where I live called Ducey's on the Lake that serves macadamia-covered mahi mahi that I love, but I can just imagine how wonderful it would taste in Maui. ***kim*** ((r)) Where did you stay? I'm considering the Kea Lani Fairmont.

We're leaving 4 wks today for 2 wks in Maui - can hardly wait! These Cdn.winters are brutal! Initially we weren't planning on spending so much for a dinner since our Cdn $ would make this meal around $250. After reading so much about Mama's I'm thinking this might be too special to miss! How about drinks and appetizers in the bar at sunset time - how much would that cost us??

Melissa5,
Glad to hear that you had such a great experience there. It is a lovely location which does add to the experience. I had lunch at Mama's and thought the food was okay, but terribly overpriced and overrated. It was a bit of a mob scene as well. I'm glad I went for lunch and not dinner.

I am really enjoying reading all of your reports. Sounds like a great trip.
-Bill

Melissa, thanks for asking!

Was there 5 years ago, and don't remember what I ate. Just that it was fine, not memorable!

Glad you had a wonderful anniversary dinner.

Not sure if drinks & appetizers at the bar is how you want to spend time here. We spent the holidays in Maui, and had a lunch and dinner at Mama's, and it was well worth it. Very friendly and professional staff, best mai tais in the world.

kimamom, you asked where we stayed. We stayed 5 nights at Maui Prince hotel just south of Wailea on Maluaka Beach, and 2 nights at the Hotel Hana Maui...you can read my separate trip reports on those 2 hotels. We liked both hotels. And yes, planning trips is half the fun. I'm planning our family June 2005 and our June 2006 trips at once...Costa Rica and Ireland! And I'm also hoping hubby will agree to visit another Hawaiian island together in January 2006.

BADDECK, enjoy your Maui trip, and I can imagine it's great to escape from winter for a week! I was glad to escape from a rainy overcast San diego in January though we don't get snow. If you are worried about the Canadian dollar and value for your money in Maui, I definitely recommend you get the Ono sandwich (I'm sure the other fish sandwiches are equally excellent) at the Paia Fishmarket Restaurant in Paia, as the Ono sandwich is excellent and very fresh, we had one twice, for $7, a very good price for Maui. Just a casual place though. Fries are good too. Mama's Fish House has a wonderfully romantic and picturesque setting. To get more value for your money at Mama's, I'd suggest ordering an entree for each person, and skipping the drinks, as drinks are clearly overpriced at $10 each. I haven't seen their lunch prices so I don't know if they are cheaper than dinner...Also, an excellent value, though also expensive, is the Feast at Lele in Lahaina, in my opinion, which we also enjoyed, and the mixed drinks are included in the price, plus all kinds of gourmet dishes, and the entertainment too...full price is $95 each but we got $30 off each by buying the tickets at the free Pleasant Hawaiian breakfast orientation that we attended. I wouldn't sit in the bar at mama's unless you can get a good view table because that was really part of the charm...to get a good view table you need a reservation...we had the concierge at our hotel make the reservation for us and she told them we were celebrating our anniversary so we got a good table with view of the beach.

I agree, Mama's is one of the best restaurants on Maui and we had an amazing meal last time we were there (Aug 2003). But it just seems soooooo overpriced. Maybe it's cause all the fish are line-caught by local fisherman? Although I would guess other restaurants have that kind of fish as well? Who knows. We'll probably go back on our next trip to Maui in June, but this time we're paying with British sterling, so Mama's prices will compare pretty well to London (the most expensive place ever!).

We LOVED the food at Mama's even though it was expenses. But not in porportion to the rest of the restaurants on Maui.

We've done a lot of dining in fine restaurants and this food was fantastic. We went for lunch because we wanted to sit and watch the windsurfers while we were enjoying our meal. A terrific experience overall.

Had lunch at Mama's last Friday. Nice restaurant, good food and great location. Glad I went but am having trouble justifying going back. IMO, Mama's is over-priced. Two Ahi sandwiches with fries, water & 15% tip ran me $70.00......a little steep for lunch!

Mama's prices, while not inexpensive, are comparable to other top tier Maui restaurants. Believe you could have an appetizer, entree and dessert for $55+/- per adult, plus drinks, taxes and tip. I recall that the kids' menu was very moderately priced [for Maui]. Seems like the 5 of us-2 adults, 3 children-escaped under $200. And, we did not go home hungry or dry.

Our 11 o'clock lunch for two last Saturday at Mama's ran us $140 (inc. tip) and worth every bite. (3 drinks, no dessert)

Just got back from Maui and we thought Mama's was our best meal but it was VERY expensive. We had a bottle of wine, shared a salad and 2 entrees (no appetizer or dessert) with tip our total was $190. Our meal was cheaper at Nick's Fishmarket where we also shared an appetizer and dessert. But I did like my meal better at Mama's - I also had the Mahimahi stuffed with crab and lobster.

Baddeck---as in Nova Scotia? I think we spent a good night in a small motel there--nice town. Get warm!!