Prior to my trip to Maui, I had asked my friend JP for trip recommendations - and the advice, to paraphrase it, was "there's no need to really plan... BUT GO TO MAMA'S FISH HOUSE." Well, why not? On their site, Mama's bills themselves as the first fresh fish restaurant on the island, and we're always down for good seafood.
Mama's Fish House is located on Maui's north shore around Paia and is literally on the beach. The two pictures above were taken while standing literally from the same position! Parking is valet only, because the place gets busy, but it is free. Definitely get a reservation, since it got packed, but don't worry about dressing up - it's very casual and beachy.
We all got started tropical fruit mashed iced teas - ice tea with pieces of either mango, passionfruit, or guava. I'll make a note here that, if the weather is nice, either come early or request for a table next to the open window - we were looking out onto the palms and the beach our entire meal, and it really accentuated the experience.
Soft fluffy bread and asparagus bisque were complimentary.
We had the three fish sashimi for an appetizer - three types of fish, four slices each, just enough for us to all get a taste and for me to immediately wish there was more. Each type was dressed with a different kind of flavoring with a tropical, Hawaiian touch.
Ono (which wikipedia tells me is the wahoo fish?) with calamansi citrus and Molokai pink sea salt: very salty and citrusy, fresh and clean flavors.
Ahi with ponzu, shiso, and citrus pearls: this had a more traditional Japanese flavor with the ponzu and the shiso. I LOVED the citrus pearls (the little stub on the top right): it's basically filled with tiny little beads that tasted limey. I poked out and slurped up every last one of them, dignity be damned.
Onaga (snapper) with lilikoi, chili pepper, and black salt: unusual combination. The passionfruit flavor is really strong and, despite only being a small pile in the picture, the chilis manage to pack a decent kick.
We splurged on a fish cooked the traditional Hawaiian style. It's listed as a "Ti-leaf Roasted Opakapaka caught over 80 fathoms deep", which uses a lot of words I'm going to assume is a local codeword for "fresh and tender." The snapper itself isn't strongly flavored, and you use the tomato-y sauce above to add some saltiness to the dish, but the fish is fresh enough to not need much flavoring!
Our more traditional other pick of mahimahi came with some veggies and Kalua boar on rice.
The mahimahi itself we got was in a much more traditional manner: stuffed with crab and lobster, with a macadamia crust and a decadent sauce. Tasty, but the portion was small when splitting amongst four people.
We didn't know what octopus luau was but decided to give it a try, which to our surprise, was actually pieces of octopus in a sweet, green, coconutty sauce. I'm not a fan, but I'm not sure how octopus luau should taste anyways.
Poi is complimentary and freshly made on premises - just make sure to ask for it. The day before this I had tried poi at a luau, which was very sour and watery and just utterly unlikable, but this was nothing like that! Our server said that Mama's doesn't ferment their poi, so it tastes more like smooth taro grits. I wouldn't say I'm a poi fan, but these were actually not bad and I finished my little bowl.
We had a post-meal coffee, locally farmed. Came with some cookies for everyone.
Our first dessert was what our server said was a customer favorite: the passionfruit creme brulee! Very nicely done creme brulee with good crust and a definitely strong kick of passionfruit flavor. Flavor wise, this was my favorite of the desserts.
Our server also mentioned they had a "most instagrammed dessert", so as major vacationing camwhores we had to give it a try. The Polynesian Black Pearl is a mousse placed in pastry shells, with some chocolate syrup, passionfruit syrup, and cream all around. This was beautiful, and delicious as well.
Finally, full and satiated, we're sent off with some squares of coconut treats and towels. (Funny anecdote: we were used by now to foods with unfamiliar Hawaiian names, so as we were brought the plate by a server, AK eagerly asked him "ooh, so these are towas? How do we eat them?" "...towels. For your hands. To wipe.")
As you leave, you can see all the celebrities who have also come and enjoyed them.
Terrific, memorable meal, and definitely some of the best fish dishes I've had since it has the benefit of fresh fish and great cooking methods. Honestly, even with all the beaches and sunsets and activities I had on my vacation, the meal at Mama's remains one of my fondest memories of Maui.
Yelp rates it as $$$$ but I think the prices make this more of a $$$ establishment? (Considering I pay bay area prices for restaurants, I don't know if that's much of a consolation, but still...) This is one of those rare restaurants that I went to knowing the massive hype, but still had my expectations exceeded. Visitors to Maui, definitely schedule this into your itinerary. And residents of Maui... if you could only feel my jealousy right now.
Maui, HI
