Top 5 Sushi Spots on Maui

Updated January 2022

Hey there!

My name’s Iver Marjerison, and I’m the eater behind Maui’s only food-exclusive guidebook, The Maui Foodist Bucket List.

Now available in the Apple and Google app stores!

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I get asked the same question over and over again...

"Where is the BEST sushi on Maui?!"

The good news is... Maui's food scene is richly influenced by Asian cuisines which, combined with a ton of fresh fish, means there are a lot of great sushi spots. However, there are some that I've found to stand above the rest.

The five spots on the list below are the ones I find myself returning to again and again. And there’s a bonus at the end with a few of my favorites spots for poke.

Have a sushi spot you think should be on the list? I’m always on the hunt for Maui’s best eats and drinks. Email suggestions: marjerison@gmail.com

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#5

Sansei Seafood

Kihei & Kapalua

From what I've experienced, their rolls are about average for Maui--which still means they are pretty dang delicious!

If only average, why did they make the list then, you ask? Because of the 50% off early bird special*... which makes them the proprietors of some of Maui's most economically friendly raw fish.

*There are no reservations for this special and the lines are notoriously long... you've been warned.

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#4

Nuka

Haiku

A local favorite, this spot is known for putting uniquely delicious twists on traditional rolls (like the Lollipop roll!), and also has a full menu of Asian-inspired eats in case some of your party is raw-fish shy (like the wasabi fries!).

Service tends to be good--but it is Maui, so you never know, parking tends to be a nightmare--good luck, and the specialty rolls tend to be pricey--if you’re looking to fill up, keep it simple.

Overall— if you’re on this side of the island and looking for good sushi, this is the spot!

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#3

Miso Phat Sushi

Lahaina & Kihei

Friendly service, creative rolls, fresh fish, and reasonable prices... what more could you ask for? This spot is a favorite amongst tourists and locals alike, and a must for any sushi-lover visiting the island. Their “award winning” sushi is sure to please any crowd.

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#2

Lahaina Sushi Ko

Lahaina

Located in the heart of Lahaina’s bustling Front Street, Lahaina Sushi Ko combines age-old traditions with contemporary flair. While relatively new to the local sushi scene, they quickly captured the attention and demanded the respect of sushi-lovers island-wide. Added bonus, along with their traditional maki rolls, they also offer an assortment of delicious hand rolls and poke bowls.

With the small sushi cafe style, this spot has limited seating. Thankfully, its tucked between plenty of Lahaina’s art galleries, so you can stroll while you wait.

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#1

Koiso Sushi Bar

Kihei

While you and I sleep and binge Netflix, Chef Hiroaki works around the clock in his unassuming* raw-fish-workshop sourcing the best fish he can get his hands on, day dreaming about his next creation, and meticulously crafting some of the best sushi on Maui… and some of the best I have had the privilege of eating.

Note: this place is about the fish. You do get large portions, it is fresh, and it is deliciously complimented by the subtle flavors of accompanying ingredients. If your favorite rolls are usually deep fried and stuffed with cream cheese... this is not the spot for you!

*This spot only seats a dozen people, reservations are a must!

Getting a reservation last minute can be tricky. I recommend trying to call right when they open (usually 5pm) and asking if there have been any cancellations.

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Looking for the best poke on Maui?

Like Poke?
Casual food truck located in Kahului, serving up consistently awesome poke bowls.

South Maui Fish Company
Trendy food truck located in Kihei, known for a variety of fresh fish dishes and killer poke.

Tamura’s Fine Wine & Liquors
Local liquor store chain with several locations on the island. Yes, it is a liquor store, and yes, they also have awesome (and incredibly affordable) poke.

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Looking for more must-try Maui eats and drinks?

I got a book for that!

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… also available in the app store!

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@MauiFoodist

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My Stance On "Good" Food

I've noticed that when it comes to food, like most things in life that matter, the truth tends to lie somewhere in the middle. Which is why I try--though often fail-- to straddle the fence, and maintain an unbiased perspective on food issues.

For this reason, I try to avoid blanket statements and superlatives...

No, I don't think organic is perfect.

No, I don't obsess over "superfoods."

No, gluten is not evil.

In fact, I don't think any foods are inherently good or bad. I think that if sustainably cultivated, properly prepared, and responsibly consumed... nearly any food can be apart of a healthy diet.

The "best" food to eat, is a personal question, that needs to factor in your specific nutritional, geographic, social, and economic situation.

This sort of fence-straddling ideology represents my take on the entire food system from farm to table, attempting to call attention to how much we really don't know about food.

I mean... one minute were all avoiding butter, and the next minute healthy fat is all we need to survive! In order to not fall victim to the constant scare-tactics and agenda driven marketing, it's imperative that we each go on an individual food quest... experimenting, asking questions, and...

As we dig into this world of food, we will inevitably find many problems... but I assure you the solution isn't just avoiding gluten... or juicing more often.

Food issues have a head-dizzying amount of contributing factors, from soil-quality to our evolutionarily primed obsession with sugar... and pragmatic solutions are sure to be a multi-front effort.

With that being said, I think a big factor is the recent technological advances in agriculture and food processing. And while many have been beneficial, they have also caused cultural shifts, slowly alienating the average person from their food.

The good news is... recent years have seen huge strides toward toward the reclamation of our food!

It's an edible-revolution, sparked by a technologically-driven social exchange of information, being fought with spending power by average consumers like you and I, slowly demanding more quality, transparency, and responsibility from farmers, producers, and chefs.

The Best BBQ in the World (Phoenix, AZ)

I admit that I may not be fully qualified to give Little Miss BBQ of Phoenix, AZ  the “Best BBQ In The World” award... since I haven't technically tried every barbecue joint on earth.

But whatever! It’s delicious, and hyperbolic word usage is more likely to get clicked on—you ended up here after all, right?

I mean, would you have really given my article a chance if it was titled:

“BBQ That I Think Is Really Good… Even Though My BBQ Critiquing Knowledge Is Purely Anecdotal”

?

Didn't think so...

Anyway… let’s get to it!

Here is the breakdown of the day that changed my taste bud’s lives forever.

9:00 am –My girlfriend wakes me up saying that we have to get BBQ for lunch, I agree, roll back over, and fall quickly back into my dream about Michael Pollan replying to one of my tweets.

9:01 am –My girlfriend informs me that the place is a half hour away and they sell out everyday, so we have to go now. I assume this is BBQ-craving-induced insanity, but am too tired to argue.

9:21 am –Were on the road bound for Little Miss BBQ.

10:03 am –As we get close, we pass by some sort of music venue. We assume Flipsyde or Tech Nine must be playing a show that night… I mean, why else would people be lined up out the door at 10am on a Wednesday.

10:04 am –My Google machine informs us to make a U-turn, and we confusingly find ourselves outside the building where we saw the line of people. We then notice that the parking lot is surrounded by pallets of wood... and the air lingers with the powerful aroma of charred meat.

Bingo

10:07 am –We take our spot at the back of the not-FlipSyde-fans-line and wait patiently, taunted by the mouth-watering smells and the theatrics of the massive smokers.

10:28 am –Kelsey scolds me for drooling on my shirt.

11:00 am –The doors open, and the line starts filing through the small building.

11:17 am –BATTER UP.

I go for the brisket.

“Lean or fatty?” he asks...

”FATTY” I nearly shout.

Kelsey goes for the T-rex sized beef rib, and we both get a few piles of sides

11:19 am –We scurry to the outdoor picnic tables and start digging in like savages.

Silverware, manners, and the thought of photographic documentation , are completely neglected (I had to go back to get pictures).

There's sauce on the table, but we don't even touch it --the powerful aromas and flavor of the meat need no help.

And while the flavors were on fleek (Does that work there? My little cousin says I need to use cooler intensifiers)... it's the texture that steals the show: unbelievably tender.

And I mean that literally... I COULD NOT BELIEVE* meat could have that sort of melt-in-your-mouth consistency.

Honestly, A toothless infant would have had no problem taking it down.

*I have gone back multiple times, and I now believe. 

11:20 am –I find myself lost in a nearly meditative state of food-induced-euphoria.

Now for those of you who follow my writing, I know that I use hyperbolic language… often.

And to be fair, I do rant about how delicious food is on a regular basis…

But to be perfectly clear:

That fatty brisket is quite possibly the best thing that I have ever had the privilege of eating.

With that being said… If you are a train, bus, car, or plane ride away from Phoenix –I highly recommend you do whatever it takes to treat yourself to the culinary magic that goes on at this spot--as soon as physically possible.

Keep in mind though, I’m not joking about the line, get there at least a half hour before the doors open.

Little Miss BBQ

4301 E. University Dr.
Phoenix, AZ 85034

How-2 Buffet Like a Pro

There are few edible-adventures in life that compare to the glory of a good buffet.

Now I know to many people, that comment may not resonate...

It seems like many people have had bad experiences, and unjustly conflate their local Golden Corral to represent what a "buffet" is.

However, this couldn't be further from the truth, because there are actually a lot of really high end buffets out there. The sort of buffets where crab legs are served by the boat-load, and the hollandaise sauce flows freely...

However, the problem is, these sorts of buffets can be quite expensive...

And to be fair, they do cost a small fortune.

But to be honest, I pay damn near ritualistic attention to my quad-annual buffet visits... and I rarely describe the experience as anything short of an invaluable edible-induced euphoria.

However...

...I don't just stumble into the event ass-first, and hope that everything works out in my stomach's (and wallet's) favor.

In order to properly exhaust a buffet of all it is worth--if you want to truly buffet like a pro--their must be a certain degree of prior planning and forethought.

I have no time for those people who just show up to the buffet haphazardly, fill their plate with mac and cheese, eat a bunch of bread, wash it all down with a diet soda, and then complain that it wasn't worth 50$.

A buffet is a particularly special sort of dining experience... and must be treated as such.

LISTEN....

1. Go for breakfast
It's usually cheaper then lunch or dinner, and has all the best foods anyway!

2. Stay for lunch
Time it so you get some breakfast time, AND some lunch time. The last time I went I put down a plate of half a dozens eggs-benny and then was able to enjoy a follow up plate of ahi tuna and sushi rolls -it was as awesome as it sounds.

3. Do a recon round first
Your first plate should be tiny portions of each and everything that catches your eye. Be sure to start at one end and go to the other. This is critical. This way you can taste a bit of everything and plan your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th assault accordingly.

3. Do not get anything to drink
Only a clown wastes stomach space on liquids.

4. Be selective
Don't get overwhelmed and fill up on the first white flour-based-nonsense that catches your eye. The same masterminds that lay out the casinos--so that you get lost 19 times on the way back from the ATM--are employed to carefully lay out the buffet with your stomach's best interest not in mind. Work the edges, go slowly, and keep your head on a swivel!

5. Go for the good stuff
I feel like this goes with out saying, but the fact of the matter is, so many people go to these buffets and treat them like a continental at Super 8. PUT THE CEREAL AWAY, go for the goodies, it's a buffet in Vegas for goodness sake...let loose! Load up on bacon, go hard on the eggs, get your cheese fix, find the best creamy stuff, and ensure that the adjective "alarming" is the best way to describe your portion of lox salmon.

6. CREATE!
So many people think that because the chef put the bacon and eggs in different apparatuses that you are meant to eat them separately. Not the case! Buffets are the perfect place to flex your culinary creativity... So go wild! Top your Eggs Benedict with pork belly--then smother it in gravy. Better yet, take advantage of that smoked salmon for more then just a boring cracker stacker--mix it in with eggs, or mix up various sauces/seasonings/flavors from around the buffet to create a unique dipping sauce for it.

7. Time
Timing is critical, but also very tricky. If you gorge yourself right away you get an upset stomach and have to tap out early... like a loser. However, if you eat to slow your stomach will start sending full signals based on actual nourishment--as opposed to physical capacity. The best advice is to eat slow and steady, keep a strong pace, but take frequent breathers.

8. CHEW
This is arguably the most overlooked method to proper gut stuffing. I could bore you with the science of it, but let me put it like this, sending food down into your stomach is like a game of Tetris... and chewing your food really good is like sending down straight line blocks one after another.

9. Lastly... Know your limits
This is terribly tricky. Financially speaking, if you put away an entire stomach's worth of smoked fish and hollandaise sauce, you win. I mean... you ate a higher value of food then what you paid for, the restaurant loses... and your the champion. However, after doing so, I often find myself in a food coma, sprawled out on a park bench--wasting away an entire day wallowing in a stomach stuffed blur--asking myself... who really won?

My Favorite Buffet?

This is a tricky question, but currently the brunch buffet at the Wynn in Las Vegas is one of my top choices. However, the Agua Restaurant & Lounge in Grand Cayman is the best I have ever had the privilege of taking part in.

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What other buffet tips and tricks do you got up your sleeve?

Dinner at Dan Barber's Blue Hill Restaurant

My palms are sweaty…

Knees weak…

Arms are heavy…

There’s vom--

All right so there’s nothing on my sweater already, but you get the point… I’m nervous.

Which may seem like an odd feeling to have as you stroll to dinner, but then again, this isn’t a normal dinner.

This is a celebration of food.

A sort of agricultural commemoration... that's disguising itself as a fine dining experience.

This is a magical evening where plates act as a catalysts to transport the diner from farm to the table, and back again. A place where ingredients are allowed to tell their own story—without being forced to adhere to the rhetoric of their adorned spices and oils--and where you find yourself constantly confused if the person responsible for your current mouth-full of euphoria is a farmer or a chef.

I’m talking, of course, of the award winning Chef Dan Barber's Blue Hill Farm in New York, City.

(Who also happens to be the author of one of my favorite books on modern food systems, The Third Plate.)

Ducking down a you’d-never-find-it-if-you-weren’t-looking flight of stairs, just off Washington Park, I’m quickly led to my table.

The energy is contagious.

And I don’t mean a, “Everyone is being loud… so it must be fun!” sort of energy.

I’m talking about the sort of energy that subtly buzzes around a space in the form of quietly intense murmurs. The sort of hushed-excitement that I've only heard amongst people who have found themselves in the presence of creative genius.

Simultaneously attempting to maintain a professional air, while also craning obtrusively to see other peoples food, gets me dizzy... I slightly black out.

Next thing I know... the first course is coming.

DUM DUH duhhh DAAA!

The waitress sets the "plate" down.

I’m dumbfounded…

A single habanero pepper, lay modestly on top of a smooth rock.

Even for the guy who fed his chickens red peppers to get red eggs, this seems a bit strange.

But the real problem is… I can hardly nibble on a de-seeded jalapeno without sweat-logging my shirt.

The waitress lends an amused smile, and then explains that this pepper is a “Habanada”…and that I should simply try it.

Skeptical, but yielding to the trust of the chef (farmer?)… I take a bite.

My mouth is immediately overwhelmed, my tongue is overloaded, my brain lights up… but not from the fight-or-flight response of unbearable skoville heat, rather, a dopamine-induced elation.

What the pepper lacked in heat, it made up for ten fold with its nostril-widening aroma, refreshingly crisp texture, and complex sweet in-the-best-kind-of-way flavor.

This is my kind of pepper.

The next dish follows a similar style, four different raw vegetables—with preparation consisting of little more then being cut—giving a full appreciation for the fact that these were recently picked.

Maybe even just picked?

Maybe there is a garden in the kitchen?

MAYBE THE KITCHEN IS A GARDEN?!

…I digress.

Bite after bite of these unaltered veggies; the same word comes to my mind… alive.

They are crisp, juicy, bright, and have the sort of chlorophyll-like sweetness that rarely makes it to the fork.

Chef Barber’s message is made deliciously clear… real flavor starts with real food.

Credit: FourMagazine.com

This message was already understood, but my perspective was about to be radically shifted by one small red orb.

The fruit masquerading vegetable him(her?)self...

The humble tomato.

As you may have guessed, it's not in my preferred position (sauced on top of a crust and smothered with cheese), instead it's simply cut and lightly drizzled with a basil seed vinaigrette.

I take my first bite, and am immediately assaulted with an incomprehensible variety of flavors. Slightly dazed, I decide a second bite is needed before forming an opinion.

And on my way for the second bite… I literally drool on my lap.

Not being hyperbolic, not meaning to gross you out—just stating the fact:

The flavor in Dan Barber’s raw tomato, made my salivary glands react in an uncontrollable manner.

With the second bite, I give into the rush, and I’m overcome by a simultaneous sense of light-seeing happiness and resentful sadness.

Happy, for whatever reason, the world had lead me to this moment, and scornful, of course, at those little flavorless red imposters who have invaded my local grocery store.

Next comes the bread.

Its dark color and density unappetizingly reminiscent of the inedible bricks eaten only for their associated longevity claims. But even as I bring it to my mouth, I realize that this is a whole grain experience of which I have never been apart.

The roasted malty notes fill my nostrils, and my teeth are met with a pleasing resistance that surprisingly gives way to be soft and chewable.

A wave of metaphorical descriptives and fancy adjectives that I learned during a recent beer tasting rush through my mind... I strain to harness one, fail, and instead let out an incomprehensible garble of glee. The waitress, confused/amused, smiles and walks away.

I polish off the loaf before coming up for air.

This. Is. “Barber Wheat.”

I know what you're thinking…

“Wow! His own bread? What’s his secret baking method?”

And that was exactly where my head went… “What was the preparation of this bread?”

When the answer actually lies in the cultivation of the wheat.

That's right, this bread is uniquely delicious--not because of a special oven or secret ingredient--because Barber worked with a wheat breeder to create his own hybrid variety of wheat to meet his desired environmental and culinary needs.

How cool is that?

The rest of the night I’m fading in and out of a food-induced state of euphoria.

Tasting, laughing, crying, and fist pumping.

Dishes are presented, enjoyed, and explained (at one point a bizarre looking squash the size of an infant was actually carried to my table to help make sense of the dish).

The early courses celebrating flora cultivation—like the little flavor bombs of an experimental corn variety—eventually gave way to fauna, and equal mesmerization ensued.

Of particular revelation was the dish featuring three different parts of a goat—including tongue—reflecting Dan Barber's passion for nose-to-tail cooking and reducing food waste. (Needless... all three parts were lip-smacking good).

Dinner is concluded with a sweet corn blueberry pie, with a generous dollop of fromage blanc (I'll save you the Google--it's a French style "fresh cheese") and white chocolate. The delicate presentation coaxed me into small bites, appreciating the artful dance of the subtle richness, and the refreshingly not-overpowering sweetness.

As I stroll back to my Air BnB, the concrete feels a little more friendly beneath my feet, the air a bit more soothing in my lungs, and my stomach's nods of approval are beautifully vindicated by the lingering flavors of berries and sweet corn.

Photo Credit: Blue Hill

Dan Barber is the chef and co-owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where he continually works to blur the line between the dining experience and the educational, bringing the principles of good farming directly to the table.

Barber has received multiple James Beard awards including Best Chef: New York City (2006) and the country's Outstanding Chef (2009). In 2009 he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

If your interested in Chef Dan Barber’s work--or eat food--I highly recommend his book The Third Plate

The Case for Eating More Insects

There are rising concerns with our current food system's sustainability, and more specifically, its ability to feed the 9 billion people that the earth is expected to house by 2050. These concerns revolve around the depletion of natural resources, climate change factors, limited arable land, and a handful of other daunting challenges -with one of the biggest concerns being the cultivation of protein.

Currently protein cultivation is mostly seen in the form of fish farms and livestock operations, both of which are extremely resource intensive, and to put it simply…tend to be quite inefficient. For that reason many food system strategists are turning their attention toward the cultivation of edible insects, a seemingly taboo food solution that has many people -for lack of better word- grossed out.

The question is -why are we grossed out? Is it because insects are inherently disgusting, or is it simply a negative perspective socially constructed by Western cultures?

Fact of the matter is, humans inhabiting every corner of the globe have been consuming insects since before recorded history, and they still do today. Which may have you asking…

“Wait…Who is eating insects in this day and age?”

Well actually… we all are are!

According to the FDA…

“The current FDA Food Defect Action Levels states that on average there is 150 or more insect fragments per 100 grams of wheat flour.”

…and that’s just wheat flour. Not to mention nearly all canned and processed foods, Check it out.

But wait, no need to worry!

The FDA states that these contaminants pose no inherent hazard to health. In fact, insects are packed full of minerals, vitamins, and protein, making them highly nutritious.

But the bugs sneaking in your sandwich bread isn't really that important -even though they very well could be the reason that more vegans don't suffer from B12 deficiencies (post for another time). What is important, is the fact that the future sustainability of our food system may depend on the consumption of these little critters.

The reason for this is simple: insects are extremely efficient energy converters.

Meaning they require much less natural resources -such as water, land, feed, and fossil fuels- to cultivate compared to conventional livestock.

They are so much more efficient in fact; that the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations published a report pointing out the critical role that insect cultivation could play in feeding the world’s rising population. The report discusses insects many benefits and highlights their efficiency compared to conventional livestock by explaining:

1 kg of live animal weight beef in a typical United States production system requires 10 kg of feed. Insects require far less feed- such as the production of crickets with 1 kg of live animal weight requiring as little as 1.7 kg of feed. When these figures are adjusted for edible weight, crickets are 12 times more efficient than cattle.

Think about it like this: insects are tiny machines, these machines run on waste, vegetation, and other organic compounds and output protein. Point being… put 2 pounds of corn (or food scraps) in a box with crickets, and it will be transformed into more than a pound of high-quality-human-edible protein.

…Food for thought!

Or… thought for food?