It’s always a challenge finding restaurants that offer truly good food for adults while also offering kid friendly menus and environments, especially when travelling.

We were lucky in our recent trip to Maui to find (with the help of the web) three restaurants that did all of these things; I wanted to share links to the home pages and third party reviews that helped us find them. 

1. Sansei Seafood Restuarant and Sushi Bar: (home page, Yelp review)

“There is no more creative or delicious New Wave Sushi and Contemporary Japanese Specialties to be found anywhere.”

    

Sansei could be viewed as Hawaiian-Japanese fusion.  Go there for the food, not the ambience, it’s located in a strip mall. But the food compares very favorably with Nishino, our favorite Japanese restraurant in Seattle. My wife and I had the Omakase menu, which features a number of the signature dishes on the menu.  The Calamari salad, Miso butterfish and crab/mango roll where two special standouts. That multi-course menu was $34 each, on top of that an additional 25% is taken off during the happy hour from 5:30, a great value. The kids had tempura vegetables which they enjoyed. There were a number of kids at the restaurant and the waitress was friendly with them.

The owner “DK” has a cookbook with appreciative notes written by Nobu Matsuhisa (of Nobu’s fame), Ming Sai, and Roy Yamaguchi. He is ethnically Japanese and grew up in Hawaii.

2. Humuhumu Restaurant, Grand Wailea Resort (menu)

Humuhumu is on the pricy side, and I usually askance at hotel restaurants, but the food was really interesting and excellent and the kids were welcome and entertained by the setting; they also made a favorite dish for my older daughter even though it wasn’t on the menu.  (We had an interesting soup with a local tuber, honey, and black truffle; baby pack ribs with green papaya, and lusciously sweet divers scallops, among other things.)

Romantic and exotic, this oceanside restaurant offers the most spectacular sunset views. Named after Hawaii’s state fish, our Polynesian thatch roof restaurant floats on a saltwater lagoon filled with tropical fish. Select your own lobster from the lagoon or savor delicious Island fish and meat entrees with Polynesian or Hawaiian influences. Open nightly for dinner.

3. Seascape Restaurant (menu)

Seascape is located directly inside the Maui Ocean center so it’s easy to combine with a trip to the aquarium.  Food was tasty though not spectacular, the real attraction is the nice view of the water and boats.

“For spectacular views and island-inspired cuisine, Maui Ocean Center’s Seascape Ma‘alaea Restaurant, open daily from 11am to 3:30pm, is a favorite among locals and visitors alike. Fronting the picturesque harbor village of Ma‘alaea, visitors enjoy dramatic views while dining on exquisite cuisine, exceptionally prepared and served.”