25 Best Restaurants in Maui, Hawaii

Classically trained French chef Gerard Reversade, who started as an apprentice in acclaimed Paris restaurants when he was just 14, has for more than three decades remained true to his Gascony roots. He cooks his way, utilizing island ingredients in such dishes as escargots forestière (with garlic and mushrooms), chilled cucumber soup, and the ahi tartare with taro chips; the wine list is first-class, and the dessert list is extensive.

After more than 30 years, chef Beverly Gannon's first restaurant remains a culinary destination, serving exquisite dishes like Bev's Famous Crab Pizza, sashimi Napoleon, barbecue pork sandwiches, and the macadamia nut–crusted fresh catch, as well as daily and nightly specials, hand-crafted cocktails, and local beers. The rambling former plantation store has two dining rooms, both of which are usually full, so reservations are encouraged.

Located inside the Hyatt Regency, this dinner restaurant sits atop a man-made pool grotto and offers stunning ocean views and a gorgeous glassed-in sushi bar. The fresh local fish is well prepared—as are the sushi and hand rolls—and the desserts are amazing. Don't be afraid to get a little adventurous with trying items that may seem unfamiliar.

This signature restaurant at the stylish Andaz Maui at Wailea resort has it all—ingredients sourced from the islands, a marvelous wine list, stellar service, and spectacular views from every table. The whole space has been masterfully designed with a gorgeous exhibition kitchen wrapped by indoor and outdoor seating. The breakfast buffet includes endless, tasty options, and at dinner you can linger while enjoying unique seafood and steak dishes.

The menu at this oceanfront standout features interesting local-style Hawaiian food fusions. There's a focus on ingredients that promote local sustainability, and the cocktail and wine lists are great, too. Daily brunch and happy hours keep guests happy all day, and a late-night menu on Friday and Saturday features raw fish and Wagyu plus discounted cocktails.

Few restaurants in Maui have the reputation of this North Shore eatery, tucked into a small cove just off tthe Road to Hana. You’ll pay for the quality of your meal, but it’s worth the splurge—the fish comes from as close as Maui’s shores to as far away as the deep waters of Antarctica, and the daily menu often tells the story of that catch. This is the place that you must make reservations far in advance (as far out as 12 months), as it's the bucket-list restaurant for most visitors; lunch reservations are a bit more attainable.

At this restaurant perched above the postcard-perfect Kapalua Bay, chef Peter Merriman highlights Hawaii's bounty by using fresh seafood and ingredients from local farms. The dinner menu features stunning dishes, including some vegetarian options, that represent both the land and the sea, and there's also a raw bar. Don't miss out on dessert—the chocolate purse is the thing that memories are made of.

"Iron Chef" Masaharu Morimoto's eponymous restaurant, located at the Andaz Maui resort, has some of Maui's most creative presentations and, arguably, some of its best food. Poolside tables that sit under the stars, a bustling dining room, and a sushi bar all make it a lively choice, but the food is ultimately the reason to go. Feast on slices of tuna pizza, indulge in premium Wagyu beef (carpaccio or filet), and splurge on some of Maui's best sushi. The service is impeccable, and the standards are high, making this a great place for a memorable meal. 

This elegant eatery at the Fairmont Kea Lani sources the freshest fish possible, and often has beautifully prepared offerings, like opakapaka (pink snapper), that other seafood restaurants don’t. The evening tiki-torch-lit view of palm trees and the hotel pool is enchanting, as is the atmospheric bar area. The wine list is large and diverse, and you can visit the walk-in wine room to really check out the selection. 

Roy Yamaguchi is a James Beard Award–winning chef and the granddaddy of East-meets-West cuisine. His eponymous Maui restaurant, located next to the golf course clubhouse near Kaanapali's main entrance, features signature dishes like fire-grilled, Szechuan-spiced baby back ribs, Roy's original blackened ahi, and hibachi-style grilled salmon, as well as an exceptionally user-friendly wine list.

Sansei takes sushi, sashimi, and contemporary Japanese food to a new level. If you're a fish or shellfish lover, this is the place for you. There are great deals on sushi and small plates for early birds on Sunday and Monday. Reservations can be hard to come by, making takeout for a beach picnic a nice option.

Built in the 1960s at the Napili Kai Beach Resort, before there were laws forbidding construction so close to the beach, this restaurant is literally footsteps from gorgeous Napili Bay. Wear your beach wrap to breakfast and enjoy the signature oven-baked pancakes or the beautifully delicious Molokai sweet potato egg frittata; the menu also offers fish from Hawaiian waters and fresh local produce.

To enter the only steak house in West Maui, you descend a grand staircase into an amber-lighted dining room with soaring ceilings and a massive artificial lagoon complete with swans, ducks, waterfalls, and tropical gardens. Chef Amy Mayers' classic menu features favorites like the bone-in rib eye and tomahawk steaks—with accompaniments that include five house-made sauces and a variety of sides and seafood add-ons—as well as lighter plates like shrimp cocktail and the must-try black and blue ahi starter. The wine selection is one of Kaanapali's best.

It's more "island-style" than Hawaii-style—and yes, it's a chain—but the food is consistently great, the service is filled with aloha, and the ambience is island refined. The cocktails are among the best and most creative on Maui and include well-priced non-alcoholic options. You can enjoy happy hour from 2 to 5 pm and live music from 5 to 9 pm daily.

At this open-air, ocean-view dinner restaurant and lounge, classic Hawaiian recipes combined with Mediterranean cooking techniques result in unique, fresh, coastal cuisine. The Ritz-Carlton resort has an organic garden that provides fresh fruits, herbs, and vegetables utilized in the dishes. For a special treat, try a protein cooked in the Spanish Josper oven that grills and smokes at the same time. 

Though it may seem like a tourist trap, this ocean-side restaurant does not disappoint, thanks to the quality of its food and an ambience steeped in Hawaiian history, with memorabilia that nods to famed surfer Duke Kahanamoku throughout. The seafood menu is downright astounding, and the famous Hula Pie—macadamia nut ice cream on a cookie crust served with hot fudge—might have you rushing to get to dessert. Resist the temptation to eat and run, though, so that you can linger over dinner and drinks while enjoying nightly live music.

Perched on a bluff above Wailea Beach, this outdoor Italian eatery at the Four Seasons Resort Maui is Wailea's only oceanfront restaurant. A recent remodel adds contemporary design elements inspired by the local environment and a new menu that combines coastal Italian flavors with Maui's ocean ingredients. For lunch, enjoy the catch of the day, artisanal sandwiches, or one of the stone-baked pizzas (including a vegan option). Dinner is a time for indulgence with Petrossian Caviar service, squid ink pasta with Kona lobster, and roasted whole fish. 

Although this oceanfront restaurant began as a way to showcase the work of celebrity chef Mark Ellman, it subsequently changed ownership, and its menus are evolving. You can, however, count on there being interesting cocktails, classic seafood dishes, and pizzas that have been cooked in a wood-fired brick oven.

The menu at Ko—which means "sugarcane" in Hawaiian—features dishes from the many cultures of the plantation era, some of which are made using local family recipes. Executive chef emeritus Tylun Pang created a menu featuring modern, innovative twists to Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, Korean, and Japanese dishes; executive chef Aris Aurelio is now at the helm. Their new Sunday brunch is somehow both inventive and authentic, featuring Asian-inspired and local-style dishes and live music. Private dining experiences are available in Ko Garden.

Set in an intimate location on the beach, Mama's has been the Maui destination for special occasions for almost four decades. A path of gecko-shape stones leads to an ever-changing fantasyland of Hawaiian kitsch, where savvy servers can explain the various fish types and preparations, and you'd be wise to heed their recommendation; the fish is so fresh that the daily menu lists who caught it that morning.

The seasonal, handcrafted plates and the chef's table concept at this intimate, 14-table restaurant have helped fine dining get a foothold in Paia. There are just two prix-fixe seatings a night, and dishes are always memorable thanks to the use of high-end ingredients like caviar, A5 Wagyu beef, and foie gras.

It's a bit of a drive, but when you get to this beautiful, comfortable restaurant, you'll find expansive views of the ocean below and the majestic mountains above. Chef Jared Krausen sources as many ingredients as possible locally, offering up an eclectic and elevated menu. Desserts are not to be missed here.

This restaurant proves that good food doesn't need to be complicated, using many local Maui products to do what the Italians do best: craft simple, delicious food that lets the ingredients shine. Must-haves include the panfried gnocchi Genovese, risotto-crusted fresh catch, and the deconstructed tiramisu.

This upscale Italian restaurant's setting right on spectacular Keawakapu Beach, with views of Molokini and Kahoolawe, is irresistible. The brunch menu lasts until 2 pm, and dinner has a decidedly Italian bent, with dishes like seared ahi over lemon-butter pasta and veal osso buco. In whale season, they even set binoculars on the table so you can watch for whales from your table.

It's a marriage made in Hawaii heaven—the California cuisine of celebrity-chef Wolfgang Puck combined with Maui flavors and served lobby-level and oceanfront at the luxurious Four Seasons Resort Maui. Try the spicy ahi (yellowfin tuna) poke in sesame miso cones to start, and then see what the chef can do with some of the island's fantastic fish. It will cost you, but the service is spot-on, and the contemporary interior allows the food to claim the spotlight.