Coconuts Fish Cafe (Hawaii, US)

We had a late breakfast on our second full day in Maui so we spent some time at the beach and the pool to work it off. Since we weren't all that hungry by lunchtime, we piled in the car and headed for Coconuts Fish Cafe in Kihei (a 40 minute drive from Lahaina).

Fish and Chips

The restaurant is located in an outdoor plaza that's lined with stores and other restaurants. Parking was plentiful since there's a bank there and it was closed on Sunday. Although it was already past the normal lunchtime rush hour, Coconuts was still quite busy. They have a small dining area inside with maybe 12 tables and a patio outside with another 8 or so. Since it was a hot day, we waited for a table to clear inside the restaurant so we could enjoy the little bit of air conditioning that the store could maintain.

Shyanne's Fish and Chips

We ordered at the cash register and within a few minutes our meals were brought to our table. It's the sort of place where you get your own utensils, napkins, sauces, and fill your own fountain drinks.

Fish and Chips - served with french fries and famous coleslaw. We got a very large pile of french fries with 2 pieces of lightly battered and fried fish (one piece ono and one piece mahimahi). The ono was soft, tender, flaky, and quite similar to cod in texture and taste. The mahimahi was the opposite as it was much meatier and reminded me of chicken.

Fish Tacos (1st taco)

Shyanne's Fish and Chips (kids menu) - same as Fish and Chips (but only for under 10 yrs old!).

Fish Tacos (2nd taco)

Fish Tacos - 2 tacos grilled with white corn tortillas and a variety of 17 different ingredients including tomato, cheese, France's coleslaw and mango salsa. The tacos are the signature dish of Coconuts. They were quite large with heaps of toppings and delicious tender grilled fish. Even though J fed H first, her taco was still dry on the outside when she started eating. No soggy tacos here! The server mentioned that they are messy and she was right. We both ended up having to use forks to eat all the toppings that fell out by the time we were done. Thankfully they have wet wipes.

Overall, the 40 minute drive to Kihei was well worth it. I don't know if I agree with their website claiming that they are the highest rated restaurant in Maui, but I do agree that they are quite good and well worth the price.

Summary
Food: Very good. Try the fish tacos. You won't regret it.

Service: Good. The servers were quick, polite, and introduced the foods as they served them. Everything else is self-serve though.

Setting: Average. Easy parking but you have fight for a table on your own and their AC couldn't keep up with the traffic volume.

Value: Good. It's a little pricey but the food taste and quality is quite high.