Best restaurants in Hawaii: from The Pig and The Lady to Mama’s fish house
From killer fish sandwiches to kimchi and cracking Vietnamese pho, there’s something to satisfy the palates of all travellers to the Pacific US state.
From killer fish sandwiches to kimchi and cracking Vietnamese pho, there’s something to satisfy the palates of all travellers to the Pacific US state.
O’AHU ISLAND
1 The Pig and the Lady
Well located in Honolulu’s Chinatown precinct, The Pig and the Lady is as much a destination for dazzling desserts as its modern Vietnamese street food. The Pig expanded from a pop-up stall at a local farmers’ market to a bricks-and-mortar restaurant in 2013, and what remains intact is chef Andrew Le’s cool takes on the classics he grew up with. Le’s mother even makes cameos in the kitchen where she is responsible for the ever-popular noodle soup. There are lines out the door for dishes such as the pho French dip banh mi, a contemporary twist on the original Vietnamese roll. It’s served with a warm pho broth for dipping and it’s a race against the clock to inhale each mouthful of the pillow-soft La Tour baguette stuffed with rich, juicy beef brisket, spicy hoisin, sauteed bean sprouts and onion before it turns soggy. Pig out on the soft serve swirl and Hanoi egg coffee with a butter-cream cracker, two of the hailed options at the dedicated dessert bar.
2 Fete
Robynne Maii is the feted chef at Fete Hawaii. She’s the first native Hawaiian woman to score a James Beard Foundation Award, and first Hawaiian to win the award in 19 years. Maii received the honour in 2022, six years after returning to the islands with husband, Chuck Bussier, after living and working in New York. Settle around one of the artfully scuffed tables in the upstairs dining room amid Maii’s colourful collection of cookbooks to follow her obsessive journey from food journalist to educator and chef. The rustic farm-to-table restaurant in Chinatown is known for cioppino soup and crispy Kualoa shrimp. Ensure your meal includes a wodge of kulolo, a traditional Hawaiian dessert made from taro and coconut.
3 natuRe
The capital R in the natuRe Waikiki logo at this French-accented restaurant led by executive chef Nae Ogawa is to remind customers that everything revolves around regeneration. The best seat in the house is at the chef’s table where customers can watch Tokyo-born chef Ogawa toil over the tasting menu, mixing textures and flavours and ensuring they work in harmony. All the ingredients, from venison to mountain apples, are locally sourced and sustainable, and her painterly approach to plating draws on a love of the natural world. Expect eco-conscious dishes such as the ode to poi or beef with parsnip and black truffles to look as if they’ve been foraged from the nearest forest floor. The rustic interiors of the restaurant, housed in a garden apartment built in 1939, have also been softened with trailing lilikoi (passionfruit) vines and lighting that makes the space look like it’s been lacquered in honey.
MAUI ISLAND
4 Mama’s Fish House
Book ahead to ensure your table at Mama’s Fish House has views out over Ako Point and Kua‘u Cove where the colourful fishing boats that provide Mama’s with fresh seafood can be spotted bobbing offshore. Each day, Maui’s local fisherfolk bring in the catch, which might include mahi mahi, ono and ahi. A recent haul of ahi served with charred pineapple, rum-baked banana and coconut rice was “landed by Joel Lohr trolling through the Alenuihaha Channel”. The family-owned restaurant has been going strong since 1973. There’s no better place to feel the pulse of Paia on Maui’s north coast than at a table under the grove of coconut palms with a plate of seared ahi sashimi and shrimp wontons with macadamia nut sauce. Finish strong with a mai tai roa ae which translates to “the very best”.
5 Tin Roof
Forget the weather forecast. The vibe at Tin Roof in Kahului is always sunny, even when the sky is a sullen grey. Think of this mom-and-pop eatery run by chef Sheldon Simeon and his partner, Janice, as a celebration of the warm Hawaiian rain, which in Sheldon’s hometown of Hilo is part of everyday life. Two-time Top Chef TV show finalist Sheldon has furthered his ambitions in the kitchen by returning to the kind of cooking that he says resonates with his mixed Hawaiian-Filipino heritage. From a killer fish sando to kimchi, mochiko chicken and garlic shrimp, the humble restaurant is one of the must-eat places on the north coast of Maui.
6 Tiffany’s
Maui mainstay Tiffany’s has been taken over by Maui-based chef and author of Cook Real Hawaii, Sheldon Simeon and his partner, Janice (of the aforementioned Tin Roof, coming in hot at No. 5 on the list). As a descendant of the Filipino sugarcane plantation workers who grew up in the nearby township of Hilo, Sheldon’s menu features dishes such as huli huli chicken, inspired by the kind of home-style food you might find at a backyard lu‘au. Order the signature honey walnut shrimp with candy mayo and the panko mahi with tartar sauce. The kimchi fried rice is another funky childhood favourite for the James Beard Award nominee who has transformed the humble local dive bar in the industrial area of Wailuku into a family-friendly eatery. Kick on with a couple of mister guava lavas.
KAUA’I
7 Stevenson’s Library
Tucked away at Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa in Po‘ipu on the island of Kaua‘i, Stevenson’s Library bar and restaurant, named after Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, is a marvellous place to be marooned while enjoying a selection of sushi and world-class spirits. Located on the sunny south side of the island, the hotel bar nods to the glamour of the 1920s and ’30s. The 7.6m-long koa bar blends into an interior of warm woods and walls lined with books and provides context with the sea and surrounds. Order the shishito peppers, hamachi carpaccio and maguro nigiri. And dress like you’re auditioning for Season 4 of White Lotus.
8 Hualani’s
When viewed from above, Timbers Kaua‘i Ocean Club & Residences looks like it’s been tucked into a heavy green blanket with a frayed blue-and-white hem. And Hualani’s restaurant is one of the best on this so-called Garden Isle for oceanfront dining; its location, in Lihue near to Kalapak Beach, sets expectations for a fine seafood feast. Plump for pupu appetisers such as coconut shrimp or whole fried local fish followed by Kona kampachi (Hawaiian yellowtail) and misoyaki-basted sea bass. Sit outside under an umbrella to enjoy chef Alex Amorin’s farm-to-table menu with ingredients sourced from the onsite organic farm as well as local purveyors. Complete your meal with an acclaimed craft cocktail; try the Hawaiian painkiller or Hanalei bae.
THE BIG ISLAND
9 Merriman’s
In the 25-plus years since chef Peter Merriman’s eponymous restaurant opened on the ‘Big Island’ of Hawaii, the brand has sprouted on Maui, Kaua‘i and Oahu. The rest is Hawaiian hospitality history. Go back to where it all started at the fine diner in Waimea on the Big Island where the quality of ingredients on the menu has vastly improved thanks to the chef’s pioneering work with local farmers and fishermen. The dining room has moody lighting, a relaxed island vibe, and features dinky tables adorned with candles and vases of tropical blooms. Order the hillbilly cornbread, a celebration of the island’s cowboy culture, followed by a kalua pig and sweet onion quesadilla and wok-charred ahi tuna with cabbage plucked from the garden and transformed into a slaw.
10 BEST HOTEL
Framed photographs of fishermen and farmers lining the walls of Hawaii Calls at the Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa epitomise the food philosophy adhered to by executive chef Jayson Kanekoa. The locavore-led menu has put Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on the map for those who like to travel with food in mind. The 297-room hotel tumbles all the way down to the sea amid bright green landscapes. Be sure to stay over the weekend when locals fill the restaurant for the signature prime rib and seafood buffet.
Carla Grossetti was a guest of Hawai’i Tourism Oceania.
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