9 Must Eat Places in Maui
Updated: Jun 9, 2022
Maui has a ton of amazing places to eat. From street food to fine dining, there is something amazing for every palate, budget, and preference. When Fat Papa, Itsy Bitsy, and I visit Maui, there are a handful of places that we make sure to visit every time. This is a list of our favorite places, why we love to visit and why you will want to eat here too!
Aunty Sandy’s
Along the Road to Hana there are many twists and turns. So many, in fact, that as you drive by Mile Marker 16 you will most likely miss the left turn onto Keanae Road, which leads you down to the Keanae Peninsula (we missed this turn the first 2 times we drove by it). The Keanae Peninsula is an absolute hidden gem of the Hana Highway. In addition to beautiful coastal views, accessible tide pools, public bathrooms, and a quaint colonial era church (all of which make this a MUST stop on the Road to Hana), Keanae Road is also where you will find Aunty Sandy’s Banana Bread Stand.
From the outside, this cinder block and wood building with its large garishly painted roadside signs, might not look like much … but as any seasoned traveler knows, it is often such humble exteriors that are bursting with the best stories and food! A woman-owned-and-operated family business, Aunty Sandy’s offers a small selection of local favorites from convenience items like bags of chips to locally made confections like fruit butters and coconut candies. Our favorite is making Aunty Sandy’s our lunch stop so we can order her delightfully indulgent fully loaded chili-dog while Itsy Bitsy usually opts for a plain hotdog.
These hot dogs are so good that when friends have seen the pictures (these pictures, the ones right here in this blog) they have stopped scrolling through my phone and demanded to learn more about where they, too, can eat an awesome dog in a tropical hat alongside a dirt road. But let me tell you, the only reason we ever got hotdogs in the first place was because we didn’t order our banana bread ahead of time, and it was going to be a 30-minute wait and a local told us it was going to be worth it. So we doubled our banana bread order, enjoyed what turned out to be freaking fantastic franks, and were in no way disappointed by our choice to wait for the next batch.
I don’t know if it is the coconut oil Aunty Sandy is rumored to use, or something in the Keanae Peninsula air, but OH MY QUACKING RUBBER DUCK is that the best banana bread I have ever eaten! Even if you don’t make it to Hana, you have to at least make it to Aunty Sandy’s. And don’t even think about sharing one of the mini-loafs with anyone. Just buy a load for everyone who wants to try some, then buy an extra loaf for everyone, plus another loaf for breakfast the next morning. It really is that good! I can’t sing this bread's praises highly enough. I mean, it is so delicious I don’t even have a picture to share because I didn’t think to take a photo, I just ate it. I promise, next time we go to Maui, I will take a photo and update this post.
As a bonus, just beyond Aunty Sandy’s are fantastic, very accessible tide pools. So eat your lunch at Aunty Sandys, stock up on banana bread, then go enjoy a fun afternoon at the tide pools. Hana will be waiting when you get back to your drive.
Fat Mama Tip: You can check Aunty Sandy’s website to order ahead or to purchase items and have them shipped to your home. Sadly, the banana bread doesn’t always seem to be available for shipping.
Prison Street Pizza
Whether you are in Maui for 5 days or 2 weeks, there is going to be a night when everyone in your group is just too tired to go out. When that night comes, Prison Street Pizza is your place … especially if you are staying around Lahaina. As you may have guessed, Fat Papa, Itsy Bitsy, and I are big fans of pizza … but really who isn’t? Prison Street Pizza is nothing fancy, and that is exactly what we want in a good pizza. So how did Fat Papa and I stumble upon this Jersey-style pizzeria gem in Maui? The best way possible, by asking locals.
Now, there is nothing, I mean NOTHING Hawaiian about Prison Street Pizza. Pineapple is the only remotely Hawaiian ingredient on their menu. But, when we come back to our hotel from a day of adventuring tired and hungry, Fat Papa and I ALWAYS ask the bell hops and valets for their favorite pizza places that delivers. When we asked them in Maui, they all, in unison answered Prison Street Pizza. So, with that kind of ringing endorsement from locals, there was NO WAY we were not going to try this place. And yes, the pizza was that good! In fact, we were so thankful for the find, the next night we ordered a couple of pizzas for the guys who had recommended it to us the night before. And what Prison Street specialty pizzas did they recommend? Their favorites were the Buffalo and the Windmills, and I cannot agree more. Truly, this is the best pizza in Maui, a must have for those nights when you just want something simple and delicious.
Slappy Cakes
Fat Papa and I are not big on breakfast. Mostly, it's the fact that I am not much of a morning person and that if we are eating out for breakfast, we are big fans of greasy fast food breakfasts (its a big guilty pleasure of ours). But when we do decide to go out for breakfast, we want to make sure it is super family friendly because let's be honest ... if we are going out for breakfast it's early, I haven't had coffee yet, Itsy Bitsy is hungry and everyone is over-excited. So it better be really good to be worth the effort. But one year in Maui, we figured since Itsy Bitsy gets up at the duck crack of dawn anyways, we should find a breakfast place to go to at least one morning. It just so happened there was an awesome place across the street from our resort.
Slappy Cakes is and is not what the name suggests. If you figured the cooks are slapping down some awesome pancakes, then you, dear reader, are correct. Along with other great breakfast classics, pancakes top the menu at Slappy Cakes. But what really takes the cake here is the "do it yourself" feature at every table. That's right, you too can feel the glory of every line-cook by pouring, cooking, and flipping your own pancakes for your family's delight just like you do on the occasional weekend at home. Okay, I know my description isn't doing it justice, but it was awesome! We had so much fun making silly face cakes, heart shaped cakes, squiggly cakes. Even 3-year old Itsy Bitsy was able to get in on the action. You should definitely check out their Instagram to see