Are you looking for how to save money on your next Hawaii vacation so you can afford to eat all the food while you’re there? Check out this post for the best money saving tips when planning your Hawaii trip!
There’s no way around it: the food in Maui is incredible! There’s something about Maui food spots that make me miss them every day. See, one of my favorite things to do when I travel is taste ALL the food. My dream job would be to eat my way through various parts of the world. So far, the best meal I’ve ever eaten was in Maui. Eating in Maui was definitely one of the highlights of my trip!
Mama’s Fish House
Whenever I travel, I try to have meals that are fitting for the place. I never leave Texas without eating breakfast tacos, and I don’t leave a tropical location without eating the local fish.
So when I was planning my Maui trip, I wanted to make sure we ate plenty of fish and tropical fruits.
In my search for the best fish in Maui, everyone told me to eat at Mama’s Fish House. Enticed by promises of some of the freshest fish around, I decided to give it a try.
There’s two things you should know about Mama’s. The food is amazingly FRESH, and a meal here is definitely a splurge.
I love food, especially a meal that promises to be incredible, so I don’t mind shelling out money for it.
If you indulge yourself on one thing while you’re in Maui, splurge at Mama’s. It’s worth it!
The fish at Mama’s is fresh – so fresh, in fact, that they’ll tell you the name of the fisherman that caught it THAT DAY, and where they caught it.
Most of the menu consists of various fish dishes, and this is definitely the part of the menu you should order from!
Go ahead and try a Tristan Island lobster tail while you’re there. This was one of the sweetest, tastiest lobster tails I’ve ever tasted. Definitely worth the money.
Make sure you save room for dessert! I couldn’t pass up trying the Polynesian Black Pearl dessert. It’s a rich chocolate mousse shaped to look like an oyster pearl – isn’t it just beautiful??
808 Grindz Cafe
On the other end of the budgetary spectrum from Mama’s is 808 Grindz Cafe. This tiny cafe is located in a strip mall in Lahaina, but has some of the best and affordable local food all around!
I was amazed by the giant portions we got for less than $10 a plate, especially considering how expensive most other restaurants in Maui are.
My boyfriend ordered the macadamia nut pancakes and loved them. They were rich, delicious and so hearty, we couldn’t finish it all. I got the moco loco with fried rice, so yummy!
Do be aware that the line here can get long. We went on a weekend around brunch time, so we had an hour-ish wait in the Maui heat, not the most ideal way of spending our morning.
All was forgiven though when we got our food! Check out their yelp page for more reviews and pictures of the food and give this place a try next time you’re in Maui!
Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice
I’m 100% convinced that this is the BEST shave ice in Maui. Possibly the world. Here’s the thing, growing up Latina, I ate plenty of raspados growing up, but none of them compare to Ululani’s.
Their shave ice is SO SOFT. When I first tasted it, it really felt like my tongue was tasting a big, delicious tropical fluffy cloud. I fell IN LOVE with this shave ice.
I can’t tell you how much of this shave ice we ate. Suffice to say, there was a Ululani’s stand at our hotel, and we had it pretty much every single day.
We looked forward to getting this every day after coming back from the beach, and since we could charge it to our room, it was that much easier to eat this over and over again.
Do yourself a favor and try their favorite combinations, even if it’s a flavor you wouldn’t usually get. Whatever you do, make sure you at least try their mango and lilikoi flavors!
Geste Shrimp Truck
Shrimp is my FAVORITE food. Maybe it comes from the fact that we ate so much shrimp growing up but I love shrimp. I love it with garlic, grilled, Cajun or any other style.
I have never met a shrimp I didn’t like! So let me tell you about the Geste Shrimp truck in Maui. Apart from Ululani’s, this is the only place we ate at multiple times.
We made the 30 minute drive from one side of Maui to the other to eat here, that’s how good this place it.
In fact, we made sure to leave extra early for the airport just so we could eat here! The food here is simple: $15 shrimp plates with your choice of shrimp sauces.
You can pick from Hot & Spicky, Hawaiann Scampi, Pineapple, Spicy Pineapple, and Lemon Pepper. All plates comes with macaroni salad and rice.
I kid you not when I tell you this is some of the best shrimp I’ve ever had!
We ordered several meals of the Hot & Spicy. It’s a cajun-like blend of spices and it was AMAZING. Do be warned though: the wait here can be ridiculous.
One day we waited a maybe 15 minutes for our food, another day we waited over an hour. One thing we didn’t realize is that they take phone orders.
Do that! Call your order in! While the food is worth the wait, there’s very little shade here and it gets hot. Whatever you do, don’t miss this shrimp!
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