A Night at Merriman's

After a day of lounging and fighting the jet lag, we decided to scrub up and hit a Maui favorite, Merriman’s.  

I’ve heard it was loved by my grandma when they lived in and subsequently traveled yearly to Hawaii. Also my frequent flier aunt declared it was a must on our extensive dining list.

It’s located in the Kapalua area of Maui and has such stunning views. We arrived a little bit early to get a good look around, and we weren’t the only ones.

Merriman’s has perfected the open air dining experience.

Shades are drawn in front of the half glass panels, giving you some protection from the hot sun… after all, at 6PM it’s still boiling outside.

The staff is excellent and the menus are explained in great detail.

Merriman’s knows their food and drinks well, and they’re proud to share it.

Plus you can’t go wrong with views like these from your table.

But before we could order our drinks, we got a bit of a surprise!

Champagne delivered to our table!

As a treat to us, my aunt and uncle, who are avid Maui lovers – and especially huge fans of Merriman’s – had called and ordered us champagne and appetizers to kick start our first official meal out in Hawaii.

It was so thoughtful and such a great surprise.

So we proceeded to dine like kings.

Enjoying the Keahole Lobster, avocado and tomato salad…

Followed by the Hawaiian Ahi Poke.

Melt in your mouth Eden Farms Kurobuta Kalua Pig and Sweet Onion Quesadillas.

And lastly, Tamimi Tomatoes and Kula Strawberries Salad

PS. A really incredible thing about Merriman’s is that 90% of their food is locally sourced. You can tell according to the menu, like the Tamimi Tomatoes or the Eden Farms Kurobuta Kalua Pig. It’s a very unique experience. And I personally love seeing restaurants that utilize their local companies to the fullest.

After we’d finished our appetizers the staff brought over this card from Katy and Tim.

So we obviously sent them this photo! (Again, thanks so much you two, you made our evening truly special!)

At this point we probably could have been done eating for the day.

But hey, when in Maui! So we ordered our main courses.

Joe had the truly amazing Mahi Mahi with homemade butternut squash raviolis.

And I ordered the fish special of the evening, which I believe was grouper and giant prawns with quinoa. It had a cajun sort of vibe to it and I loved the hot flavorful spices.

Mine was delicious, but when I took a bite of Joe’s dish… I had instant food envy.

The Mahi Mahi was so refreshing. It sounds strange to say, but the food was airy and light. Which made it very easy to polish the entire plate clean.

So if you ever go to Merriman’s, don’t get distracted by anything else. Go straight to the Mahi Mahi. It does not disappoint!

After our meal, the staff drew up the shades, gracing us with the stunning view of the pacific.

And do you know what goes best with a sunset?

Dessert.

I ordered the flourless chocolate cake, with coffee ice cream (This is a gluten free option by the way, if anyone has dietary restrictions. I don’t, I just really couldn’t resist chocolate cake, I mean, who can?)

Joe went for the toasted coconut crème brûlée, an equally delicious winner.

So we happily overfilled our stomachs and watched the sunset behind the enormous clouds engulfing the island.

We took some time to enjoy our surroundings as well. It really is a beautiful restaurant that highlights the views of the Pacific. As we came to learn, most restaurants located along the water were very good at this.

Our first “official” honeymoon dinner photo.

After finishing up dessert, we had a little wander onto the sprawling patio. You get a great (albeit blurry photo) view of Merriman’s from there.

You can go onto the patio for drinks and appetizers in the evenings to watch the sunset. However, as a tip for any soon to be travelers, they don’t serve dinner down there, you have to book into the restaurant itself.

If we had the time to go back to Merriman’s on our trip, we would have loved to have had a spur of the moment sunset cocktail sitting on that patio, it’s beautiful.

Their staff are extra friendly too. A server who had brought drinks to guests on the patio stopped and insisted he take our photo (I admit it, we were taking selfless).

Merriman’s gets a definitive rave review. From the minute you walk in, to the minute you leave, you are treated to friendly personalities and truly fantastic cuisine.

I am so happy that we decided to head there for our first real meal out in Maui!

What do you think of Merriman’s? 

If you’ve ever been to Maui, what were your favorite dinner spots?

xx Kelly