MADI·MAUI

Since 2001 · One island

Yes,
Maui again.

A record of the places we love, on the island we keep going back to. Twenty five years of the same beaches, the same towns, and the same handful of restaurants we never get tired of. I love planning these trips, so this is everything I would tell you if you asked.

See the whole listOr start with a guide

Sunset over the water: palms in silhouette above a lawn, the beach curving away to the right, and the mountains across the bay under a pink sky
Sunset over the bay2023
26
Years coming back
203
Meals logged
14
Places we have eaten
10
Things we go back to

The whole list, not a top ten

Every place we have eaten is on it, and you can see which ones earned a second visit. The beaches and the stops are in there too. Twenty five years of going back is what makes any of it worth reading.

Dated, so you can weigh it

Every entry carries the year we were last there. A rave from 2014 and a rave from this March are different claims, and you should know which one you are reading.

Built for planning

The guides are the trips I would plan for a friend, with the reasons attached. Planning them is the part I enjoy, so you may as well have it.

The List

Everything worth noting down · Updated 2026

Town
Verdict
Kihei CaffeBreakfast, outdoors, order at the counter. The line looks bad and moves fast. Roughly forty breakfasts here and never a bad one.Kihei200238×Go every tripMama's Fish HouseYes it is expensive and yes it is worth it, once per trip. Book the moment your flights are ticketed. The fish is named after the person who caught it that morning and that is not a gimmick.Order Whatever came in that morning, cooked the simplest way on the menuPaia200119×Go every tripSam Sato'sCloses early, closed Sundays, same family for generations. Half the room is people who have been coming since they were kids.Order Dry meinWailuku200316×Go every tripTin RoofSheldon Simeon's counter near the airport. We land, we drop bags, we come here. Tiny room, quick line, worth building your arrival day around.Order Mochiko chickenKahului201614×Go every tripKomoda Store & BakeryThey sell out. Get there before nine or do not bother. A hundred years old and still a screen door.Order Cream puffs, and a stick donut if they have themMakawao200412×Go every trip808 DeliSandwiches to take down to Kamaole III. This is a logistics recommendation more than a dining one, and it has never once let us down.Kihei201221×Worth going backStar NoodleLost the original Lahaina location in the fire, reopened in Kaanapali with a shorter menu. The garlic noodles survived the move intact. The room does not have the old view and that is fine.Order Garlic noodles, pork bunsKaanapali201114×Worth going backPaia Fish MarketPicnic tables, communal seating, fish tacos. Reliable rather than exciting, which on a travel day is exactly what you want.Paia200611×Worth going back
Go every tripWorth going backWent onceClosedNoted, no verdict yet

Showing 8 of 14

See the whole list

Where all of it is

Tap a town to filter the List

Kihei5Wailea3Lahaina2Kaanapali2Napili1Kapalua4Paia2Makawao1Kula1Wailuku1Kahului1

11 towns · 23 places · Dot size is how many. Tap one to filter the List.

  • South Shore
  • West Side
  • North Shore
  • Upcountry
  • Central

Start here

If this is your first time on the site

  1. 01

    Read the List

    All 23 entries, filterable by town and by kind, with visit counts on everything we have eaten. It is useful today.

  2. 02

    Eight days on the west side

    The trip I planned for friends, day by day, with the reasons attached. Written for Napili, and the shape holds anywhere on the island.

  3. 03

    Who keeps this

    Who we are, how long we have been coming, and how a place earns its verdict. Nothing here was comped.

How this site works

Three layers, one record

LAYER ONE

The List

The record. Every restaurant, every verdict, every visit count, and alongside them the beaches, the bays, and the stops worth ten minutes. The food half is complete, which is the part nobody else has, because it took twenty five years to fill in and it cannot be shortcut.

LAYER TWO

The Guides

The planning layer. Where to stay by town, beaches, snorkeling, Haleakala, and what a fifth trip should look like instead of a first. Each one carries a last updated date and pulls straight from the List.

LAYER THREE

Field Notes

Dated posts from each trip. What opened, what closed, what got worse, what surprised us. Notes feed the Guides, the Guides get deeper every year, and the whole thing compounds instead of scrolling away.