Maui restaurants and activities (Kihei, Lahaina: house, buy, theatre)

[Swigchow]

It has been 14 years since I was last on Maui. Am planning on taking family, wife and two teen age boys soon. Will probably do some of the usual visits such as Haleakala, Lahaina, Hana, and Iao (used to live 2 miles from there). What are the current good restaurants and activities?
Thank you for the input.

[hothulamaui]

your boys will probably like the beach best of all. maybe take a snorkle or whale trip. I just took a guest on the blue water raft trip down to the sea caves and it was awesome. food is pretty good almost anywhere, in lahaina or wailea I love longhies. da kitchen in kihei is great for a lot of food on the cheap. have fun

[Calico Salsa]

The whales are here! At least the first scouts. Put a whale watch on the list, and pick one that offers onboard BBQ. A freshly grilled burger or chicken is so much better than a cold deli sandwich!

What's your price range?

Restaurants in Kihei:
Coconuts, in the Azeka Mauka mall at South Kihei Road and Piikea (the mall with the gas stations not the one with the post office). Fish tacos are good.

Big Wave - Across Piikea Street in the Longs Drugs mall, good basic food and a happy hour special of buy one entree get one free.

Maui Tacos - in the Safeway mall and also in the Dolphin Plaza mall, for more tropical/Mexican. Busy place, mostly get the food to go or eat outside on concrete tables.

Cafe O'Lei - on South Kihei Road in the same mall as Da Kitchen, upstairs. More pricey, but excellent short ribs and salads. Noisy place, don't go there for good conversation.

Local Boyz - On South Kihei Road across from Kalama Park, for shave ice.

Wok Star - On South Kihei Road, also across from Kalama Park. GREAT noodle dishes. So fresh, so tasty! Outside eating only. Happy hour special of buy one, get one half price. They are also open late.

Tutti Frutti - On South Kihei Road, in the Kukui Mall, where the movie theatre is located. Frozen yogurt. Self-serve stations, the flavors change every day. You extrude the yogurt into a cup, to with toppings, and pay by weight. Very nice on a sunny day.

[Ellwood]

Cafe O'Lei, Kihei and Cheeseburger Paradise in Wailea Mall.

[Swigchow]

Who offers the best luau?

[Calico Salsa]

For commercial luaus, we generally recommend our visiting friends go to either Feast at Lele or Old Lahaina Luau.

Both are located up in Lahaina, have great dancers, and open bar is included in the price of the show. At both you get a lei & mai tai greeting, and feature a range of dances that represent the mix of Polynesian cultures.

Feast at Lele (my personal preference) has a smaller venue, with smaller tables where your party is seated and served, offering you a more intimate experience with your companion(s). The servers are attentive and often funny. They bring you each course, which matches the source of the dances being performed at that time, and explain the food to you. The servings are very generous and I challenge anyone to finish it all. There is a professional photographer present who will offer to take your photo with the lovely beach background, and then you can decide if you want to purchase it at the end of the show.

Old Lahaina Luau is a larger venue, with larger shared tables. You will be seated at the tables along with other parties, which is nice if you want to meet others over dinner. The food is buffet style; you select your own food and can have as much as you like. There are some buffet attendants who can explain the food, but in general if you aren't familiar with the food you don't get a description. I don't remember if there is a professional photographer present, but I would guess there is, because it is a great opportunity.

As noted, I prefer the Feast at Lele. I think the food is better, and I like that it is brought out and explained to the guests. That way they can get to know the food along with the dances, and having servers allows you to ask any questions.

I suggest getting to either show about 30 minutes early, to find both the show location and parking in the area. Plus the first-in get better seats, closer to the dancing.

PLEASE don't drink too many free mai tais if you are the designated driver! The roads up to Lahaina from Kihei/Wailea/Makena are long and winding. Too many drunk drivers cause a problem for themselves and others. Plus Maui PD is on the lookout for the post-dinner drinkers, and you don't want that on your record.

[Swigchow]

Thank you for the Luau info.

Is Mama's Fish house still around? still good? I thought it was wonderful, but that was 14 years ago.


I heard Snuba and Zip lining are fun activites for teenagers on Maui. agree?

[Calico Salsa]

Mama's is still around, going strong over in Paia. I think Mama's has good food, but personally I think it is over priced. Great for visitors, too much for locals.

LOTS of great restaurants in Paia...
Milagros
The Fish House
There's a crepe place, can't remember the name...
Also a gelato place
And of course Mana Foods, the greatest natural foods store

Ziplines are springing up all over Maui. One of the most popular (and lesser expensive) has a 2 week advance reservation wait, maybe more.

Never did snuba

[Swigchow]

Thank you for all the suggestions.

How has Maui changed over the past 14 years? I hear the traffic is very bad. Anything else?

[hothulamaui]

Originally Posted by Swigchow

Thank you for all the suggestions.

How has Maui changed over the past 14 years? I hear the traffic is very bad. Anything else?

more traffic, more people, housing more expensive. box stores. main streets widened from airport to kihei side. upper kihei rd way wide too.