Maui Tacos

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As we were leaving The Big Island, we asked the host at the b&b we were staying if there were any must see lunch places on Maui. As he rattled off the names (many of which we already noted) his eyes lit up when he got to Maui Tacos.

"When I lived on Maui [his old haunt was Napili] I used to go there nearly every day. I absolutely love the salsa bar they have there.", he told beamed.


If it's one thing I like it passion and enthusiasm. If he felt this strongly about the place I figured we might as well go. With six locations, five on Maui and one on O'ahu, Maui tacos offers up the usual suspects like tacos (obviously), burritos, enchililadas, etc.

Since we had just been rained out on our morning walk along the Wailea hotel strand, we decided to grab an early lunch so when the rain stopped we would have already eaten. We drove up to one of the two MT locations in Kihei. With only a couple of people in front of us, we were glad to see we beat the rush.

While standing in line you definitely feel overwhelmed with all of the choices when you're ready to order. Since we were at a place with "tacos" in the name we figured we might as well order them. Regina opted for some Mahi fish tacos while I chose the Hard Tacos with beef.

Yes, there are tacos under there

The salsa bar is absolutely loaded with a ton of different options. I don't think this place would be the success it is without all of the salsas. There are probably five different salsas along with a variety of other toppings to go on top of whatever you order. We found that our food had quite a bit of cheese and lettuce and was a little short on the fish or meat. Had the salsa not come to the rescue I think this place would be an average lunch stop at best.

By the time we left the rain had stopped and the line was out the door. Maui Tacos is wildly popular with the locals and tourists that are in the know. If you go, get there on the shy side of noon or you will find yourself waiting in quite the line and possibly eating in your car. Seating (at least at the one we went to in the shopping center) was limited.

I almost forgot, Mark Ellman who founded Maui Tacos actually has a really good cookbook that has a lot of salsa recipes in it. I've actually been meaning to get it. The name of the book is (what else) "The Maui Taco Cookbook".

Maui Tacos
2411 S Kihei Rd
Kihei, HI 96753
(808) 879-5005
www.mauitacos.com