Maui wine & dine picks?

We’ll be spending a few days in the Kaanapali area. Anyone have recommendations for good places in the area? Doesn’t have to be right at Kaanapali, but on that general part of the island is preferable, at least for dinner. Thanks in advance for suggestions!

Monkey Pod

Great food and view just north at Sea House. Comfortable but relaxed setting.

Pineapple Plantation
Roy’s

Was there over the Christmas Holiday. Lahaina Grill was fantastic-food was very good and the wine list quite nice and well priced for the most part. Pacific O-the food was good but service left an enormous amount to be desired. Fleetwoods-owned by Mick Fleetwood-the bar scene was okay but the food and service left a lot to be desired.

I ate at Gerard’s, Roy’s and Dukes Beach House last February, all in the Kaanapali area. All were good, although not particularly memorable. I only drank mixed drinks that week as the wine lists were all exorbitant and/or uninteresting, but I’d happily give up wine for a month to be back in Kaanapali. I was seriously considering missing my flight back to Ohio, stowing away in the ice machine room at the Sheradin Maui, and dumpster diving behind the above restaurants, but my fiancé told me I couldn’t.

My best meal on Maui was on the exact opposite side of the island at an outdoor Thai joint in Hana, and it was delicious. The restaurant at Travaasa Hana was good too.

Where are you staying in Kaanapali? Hope your trip is wonderful.

Monkey Pod is great (probably my favorite restaurant on on Maui), but it’s not convenient to Kaanapali. I like Merriman’s and Cane and Canoe in Kapalua. I kinda agree with Nick in that I tend to mostly drink beer and cocktails when I’m there. Sometimes we’ll swing by Costco on the way in from the airport to buy a few bottles but they don’t ever have anything really exciting; just something adequate to sip while watching the sunset.

We’re heading back there in March and I can’t wait!

On the north shore Star Noodle in Kaanapali is terrific Asian rim food. Hard to get into.

On the south shore (Wailea) monkey pod is good…Not great. Spago at the 4 Seasons is always good. Also at the 4 Seasons…Ferraros is good. There is a new Andaz hotel in Wailea…each of their two restaurants are very good.

Avoid almost everything in Lahaina (touristy) especially longi’s (not sure of spelling).

Have fun.

On the north shore Star Noodle in Kaanapali is terrific Asian rim food. Hard to get into.

On the south shore (Wailea) monkey pod is good…Not great. Spago at the 4 Seasons is always good. Also at the 4 Seasons…Ferraros is good. There is a new Andaz hotel in Wailea…each of their two restaurants are very good.

Avoid almost everything in Lahaina (touristy) especially longi’s (not sure of spelling).

Have fun.

http://sanseihawaii.com/kapalua/
They have an early bird special (25% off on food orders before 6pm)
Try the ahi carpaccio

We usually just cook in but Mamas fish house in Paia on the North Shore is a must for us each trip. Will need to try Monkey Pod though since we are in Kihei.

Our two favorite Maui dining spots are side by side in Lahina, and are kind of holes in the wall. Honu and Mala. You can sit so close to the water you actually get splashed (it’s on a harbor where they anchor the tour sailboats) and the food is awesome and, for Maui, reasonably priced.

Merriman’s has a decent (but pricey) wine list, though we prefer doing pupus (appetizers) and cocktails on the deck. Plantation House, which like Merriman’s is in Kapalua a relatively short drive from Kaanapali, is also a favorite.

For wine, we usually take a wine check and enjoy some on our balcony, watching the sunset. I’d also suggest hitting the local Foodland Farms grocery store and trying some poke. There are lots of varieties, which they’ll let you sample before you buy, and it’s kind of a combo between sushi and ceviche. We had plenty of meals that were just poke on crackers and wine.

EDITED TO ADD: We also have a sort of tradition of doing Mama’s Fish House on our last day. It’s probably the best-known eatery on the island. They have their own beach and it’s constantly busy, so reservations are a must. It’s really near the airport and we usually get the redeye back to the mainland, so it’s always our one last Maui hurrah before returning to reality.

Hali’imaile General Store in Upcountry. Take Hwy 37 from the airport or Baldwin Rd from Pa’ia to Hali’imaile Rd. Well worth the drive.

Was just there in October.
Merriman’s is a good choice for the food and setting.
The Lahaina Grill also is terrific. As pointed out above it is in the touristy part of town. That said one night of great food and a tour of the shops we found to be fun.

+1

Forgot about this place. Great food, and solid wine list (I was driving to the airport, so I could not partake).

This. You can mix it in with a drive up Haleakala. (if you are going to drink do it after the drive)

George

Sean I will be in Kaabapali in late March too. We bring our own wine.

I like this place a lot too, but a long drive from Ka’anapali. Same for Mama’s Fish House.

Monkey Pod was great, and they have a good, small, reasonably priced wine selection there too, as well as (I think) being fair on corkage.

Merriman’s was very nice, but extremely expensive and almost prohibitive on corkage policy. Recommended for a big splurge.

Last time there, I found this really good little wine shop in Wailea. It’s not convenient for a quick outing from Kaanapali, but you (or someone else reading this) might be in the area. Prices are a little higher than you’d pay at the best places in the 48, but pretty decent, and they have a great selection of the types of wines that interest us WBers. You can also buy good stemware there, if you didn’t want to transport it but don’t want to drink out of two ounce condo wine glasses all week either.

Bought this at wine shop..

The best place to eat in Maui is Mama’s Fish House, which is probably a 45 minute drive or something from Kaanapali. But if you’re either going to be coming or going from that direction, or just are willing to make the drive for a really special dining experience, I highly recommend it. They had a reasonable corkage policy there, as I recall.

Closer to an hour, and that’s if you’re lucky with traffic…easily could be more than that.

Definitely worth considering Mama’s and Ha’ilemaile but best to stop there if you’re already in that area rather than making the long drive out and back from Ka’anapali.