Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
We've compiled the best of the best in South Shore - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
This signature restaurant at the stylish Andaz Maui at Wailea resort has it all—ingredients sourced from the islands, a marvelous wine list, stellar service, and spectacular views from every table. The whole space has been masterfully designed with a gorgeous exhibition kitchen wrapped by indoor and outdoor seating. The breakfast buffet includes endless, tasty options, and at dinner you can linger while enjoying unique seafood and steak dishes.
"Iron Chef" Masaharu Morimoto's eponymous restaurant, located at the Andaz Maui resort, has some of Maui's most creative presentations and, arguably, some of its best food. Poolside tables that sit under the stars, a bustling dining room, and a sushi bar all make it a lively choice, but the food is ultimately the reason to go. Feast on slices of tuna pizza, indulge in premium Wagyu beef (carpaccio or filet), and splurge on some of Maui's best sushi. The service is impeccable, and the standards are high, making this a great place for a memorable meal.
This elegant eatery at the Fairmont Kea Lani sources the freshest fish possible, and often has beautifully prepared offerings, like opakapaka (pink snapper), that other seafood restaurants don’t. The evening tiki-torch-lit view of palm trees and the hotel pool is enchanting, as is the atmospheric bar area. The wine list is large and diverse, and you can visit the walk-in wine room to really check out the selection.
It's more "island-style" than Hawaii-style—and yes, it's a chain—but the food is consistently great, the service is filled with aloha, and the ambience is island refined. The cocktails are among the best and most creative on Maui and include well-priced non-alcoholic options. You can enjoy happy hour from 2 to 5 pm and live music from 5 to 9 pm daily.
Perched on a bluff above Wailea Beach, this outdoor Italian eatery at the Four Seasons Resort Maui is Wailea's only oceanfront restaurant. A recent remodel adds contemporary design elements inspired by the local environment and a new menu that combines coastal Italian flavors with Maui's ocean ingredients. For lunch, enjoy the catch of the day, artisanal sandwiches, or one of the stone-baked pizzas (including a vegan option). Dinner is a time for indulgence with Petrossian Caviar service, squid ink pasta with Kona lobster, and roasted whole fish.
The menu at Ko—which means "sugarcane" in Hawaiian—features dishes from the many cultures of the plantation era, some of which are made using local family recipes. Executive chef emeritus Tylun Pang created a menu featuring modern, innovative twists to Hawaiian, Chinese, Filipino, Portuguese, Korean, and Japanese dishes; executive chef Aris Aurelio is now at the helm. Their new Sunday brunch is somehow both inventive and authentic, featuring Asian-inspired and local-style dishes and live music. Private dining experiences are available in Ko Garden.
It's a marriage made in Hawaii heaven—the California cuisine of celebrity-chef Wolfgang Puck combined with Maui flavors and served lobby-level and oceanfront at the luxurious Four Seasons Resort Maui. Try the spicy ahi (yellowfin tuna) poke in sesame miso cones to start, and then see what the chef can do with some of the island's fantastic fish. It will cost you, but the service is spot-on, and the contemporary interior allows the food to claim the spotlight.
