At the Grand Wailea.

Down the Hatch

While wandering Lahaina, it started pouring rain, we visited Down the Hatch– a super kitschy Tiki / Sports bar. We finally got tiki man glasses!! They boast “the longest happy hour on Maui” running daily from 2-6. $5.50 Hawaiian cocktails (like mai tais and piña coladas) and 15% off appetizers). Can’t wait to go back!

Attached to Down the Hatch is Breakwall Shave Ice Co.- they participate in the Down the Hatch happy hour, and even offer adult shave ice “icy cocktails”. Be sure to check out their sister restaurant (also in Lahaina), Mala Tavern.

Gannon’s Restaurant at the Wailea Golf Club.

Kyle went to Gannon’s with his family as a kid and his dad even played golf there. Someday, maybe we will too. Instead, we went for a heavy happy hour on our third night.

Gannon’s has a happy hour running from 3-8pm daily (*note, happy hour is not offered from December 21 – January 1) $14 “small” plates, $8 side dishes, $10 desserts + $9 signature cocktails, $8 classic cocktails, $7 wine, $5 beer.

We had such a fantastic time sitting at the bar, the bartender got a kick out of how much I loved discovering lilikoi that he gave me a fresh passionfruit from below the counter that one of his coworkers grew in her back yard! Everyone on the entire island of Maui was just so incredibly nice, I couldn’t get over it.

Volcano Fries from Gannon’s were AMAZING!!! They were the perfect food to end our happy hour tour on. The furikake added a lot of flavor 🤗

Humuhumunukunukuapua’a (aka Humuhumu)

At The Grand Wailea

We got a seat with a view of the sunset and had one of the few truly fantastic service experiences that we’ve ever had. It was tapas style, (or at least that’s what we focussed on).

I think our waiter’s name was Justin. And we could not sing his praises enough. He even timed our small plates so that they came out in the order that optimized our experience. (e.g. even though everyone around us had already gotten bread, he brought out our crudo small plate first because you should have crudo before). He guided us with a kind but firm hand through the menu and it was a very pleasant experience actually!4 cocktails, 2 crudo, seeevvverrrallll other dishes, dessert. $171.67.

It was our first dinner on Maui, and we’re honestly scared to go back because we don’t want to not have the same impeccable service! Justin- if you ever read this, please know that you made our dinner experience truly magical.

Kyle’s Review:

• Overall- 4 Stars
• Food- 5 Stars; Service- 5 Stars; Ambiance- 4 Stars
• “A little empty since we were there at the beginning of the slow season, but the great food made up for that. What really put our experience over the top was the outstanding service we received from our waiter, Justin. He was perfectly attentive without being overbearing, which is a hard balance to strike. He gave great advice after taking the time to get to know our taste, and paced our meal perfectly even though we chose to order a bunch of small plates and one entree instead of a more traditional coursing. I’d come back just to experience his service again.”

Jawz Fish Tacos

There was this fish taco truck — Jawz Fish Tacos just parked in the lot at Makena Beach. At first, it was weird because they put cheese on a fish taco, which I’d never had before, but it tasted really good because the red snapper that they used was fresh caught! It was a fantastic snack during our first day on Maui.

Merriman’s Kapalua

The food at Merrian’s was out of this world! We looked up when the sun would set, and scheduled our reservation for about 30 minutes afterwards. We sat on the patio by a fire pit, got a few pupus and a round of Mai Tais and watched as the sun went down.

Apart from stellar views, the food was out of this world. I wish that I could remember exactly what we ate, but don’t worry, we’re going back in early October and I will write a proper review then! Until then, check out some more sunset photos from when we visited in 2017.

Paia Bay Coffee

This place was cute because it had a gorgeous mural across the street and all of the seating looked like it was in the middle of a jungle– it was a fabulous way to kick off our romantic getaway to Maui.

Cheap, fairly basic coffee. The most froo-froo coffee drink would probably be a latte or cappuccino. We also got a nutella/cream/strawberry stuffed fresh croissant, and it was delectable!

The croissant was so yummy! IG.

Paia Fish Market

We went back to Paia for lunch! This place had some super yummy fresh fish options (good grilled fishes too!). Excellent fish and chips and excellent Definitely cheaper at lunch than at dinner, also from what we’ve heard, people didn’t have as good of experiences at dinner as we did at lunch. We loved wandering Paia on our first day in Maui.