The island of Maui in Hawaii is filled with places to get food, covering all different types of cuisine. Whichever food you’re looking for, there’s going to be a great spot that has you covered.
One of the most popular dishes in Hawaii is “poke”, which has proved popular for years – with islanders and tourists alike.
The dish and its ingredients have varied a lot, with lots of new combinations on the classic poke, bringing new tastes and flavors to it. For this reason, you’re going to be spoiled for choice when looking for poke in Maui.
So, what are the best places to get a bowl of poke in Maui?
Spotlight Hawaii has the answers for you! In our helpful guide below, you’ll find a detailed list of the best places to get a poke bowl when you’re in Maui, along with information on what variations of poke they all offer. Read on!
What Is Poke?
To begin, it’s a good idea to define just what exactly poke is. For those who don’t know, “poke” is a dish that uses diced raw fish. Popular types of fish used for a poke are ahi (a type of tune), hamachi, or salmon – but others exist, as well as even octopus!
Those fish are then served with a variety of dressings, like seaweed or soy sauce. Other additions include sea salt, limu, candlenut, and green onions.
However, poke has changed a lot of over the years, and lots of restaurants will experiment with making their own versions! These can have all kinds of different ingredients, such as inamona, furikake (a mixture of seaweeds and fish), and even fish eggs.
On top of that, some like to give their poke bowl an even greater kick by including chili pepper and wasabi.
The Best Poke In Maui
Our list below is going to look at some of the best places that you can get a poke bowl in Maui, with all their different combinations.
South Maui Fish Company
With a name like that, you had better believe that these people know fish! Which is one of the reasons that their poke bowls are so popular and delicious.
In fact, they’re so deeply involved in their fish, that every fish meal sold has been caught that very day! That’s right, this is as fresh as possible.
As for their poke bowls, they usually have about 3 different kinds. The fish that they often contain is ahi, perhaps the most popular poke fish, but sometimes they’ll use marlin which is a nice change of taste.
You can get a regular poke bowl, or there are some spicy pokes that you can choose from – if you like it spicy!
However, if you want to get some poke from the South Maui Fish Company, you’re going to have to get there early. They open their doors at 11:30 every day, but usually sell out soon after, even if it says they’ll be open longer.
This is because their fish is so freshly served. If they haven’t caught enough that day, they won’t have much to sell. On top of that, their big popularity also means that their supplies are gone quickly too.
Reservations aren’t available, but you can contact them here.
Address: 1794 S Kihei Road, Kihei, HI 96753, United States
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 11:30 am-2:30 pm then 5-8 pm
This restaurant has a whole load of food to choose from, but its dinner appetizer menu has a nice selection of pokes for you to try. The first of these is the Poke Halokai. For its fish, this poke uses mackerel and tuna, as well as crab.
On top of those, they use a blend of mayonnaise, seaweed, avocado, kalo chips, and wasabi dressing for a small kick. They even include the fish roe tobiko, which is unfertilized fish eggs.
Their other poke on the menu is the Molokai venison poke. As you can tell from its name, this offers a nice change from fish, with smoked venison instead.
On top of that, it’s accompanied by seaweed and onions, tomato, chili pepper and lemon soy dressing, and scallions. Tasty!
This restaurant serves up long-line caught fresh fish, which is used in many of their meals, including their poke bowl. Named the “Hawaiian Ahi Poke”, it features ahi fish, along with kukui nut and Maui onion.
On top of that, there’s some avocado and ogo, as well as taro chips. Unfortunately, though, they only offer one type of poke. With that being said, it’s still a delicious one!
Another restaurant that sadly only has one type of poke bowl on their large menu, it’s still a great one to try! However, make sure to make a reservation, because otherwise you can’t get in.
As for their poke, the “Ahi Avo”, it uses ahi fish. In addition to that, it has sambal (a chili sauce) and usukuchi soy sauce, as well as lemon pressed olive oil. It’s a compelling range of ingredients, creating a flavorful poke!
This great restaurant offers a terrific range of four different poke, meaning you’ll be sure to find one that you love! They come in all different kinds of meat, too, meaning you get good variety.
Their “Shoyu Ahi Poke” uses ahi fish, while their “Smoke Pork Poke” uses pork – a nice change from fish.
Meanwhile, their “Sesame Tako Poke” uses tako, a type of octopus sushi for a slightly different taste. Finally, their “KimChee Tako Poke” also uses the octopus, but also adds a bit of spice to bring the poke even more alive.
If you like a kick with your food, then the KimChee poke will not disappoint!
There are lots of different poke that you can get around Maui, as well as all various restaurants and food trucks to get them from. Use our list to find the one best for you!
Hi, my name is Richard Ennis and I have been to Hawaii eleven times so far. I have always been fascinated with the world of Hawaii, ever since I was a young boy learning about it in school.
So, please enjoy my website and marvel at the state of Hawaii - if I convince you to plan your own trip out there, hope to see you soon!
