Category Archives: You Can’t Go Wrong

Spoon and Key

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Spoon and Key is a newcomer to Wailea – it opened in 2024. And it’s a newcomer to my YCGW list!

Spoon and Key is a great breakfast and lunch option in Wailea – easily the best non-buffet option, and also probably better than most buffets. And two nights a week they serve a truly outstanding price-fixe dinner. They also serve a more casual dinner on Wednesdays that I haven’t yet tried. But I’ve had breakfast/lunch there twice and the set meal dinner there twice and I can affirmatively say that this place is truly fantastic! I highly recommend it.

Hamachi crudo
Tomato salad
Gnocchi with duck
Panna Cotta with dried Kula berries

Here’s the full menu from our most recent dinner there – the pictures above are some of the dishes that really stood out.

These dinners, available Friday and Saturday only, are made with primarily local Maui ingredients, and it shows in the freshness. I think the only major part of what we ate that wasn’t local was the scallops. We didn’t opt for the caviar or the steak, and we had more than enough food. Fresh, local, healthy, and scrumptious. Top that off with a nice atmosphere and very, very welcoming service that was educated but not over-the-top preachy. Pretty ideal evening.

I believe the breakfast and lunch menus are both served all day. There’s also an espresso machine, so any coffee drink you want pretty much is available. I’d still give a slight edge to the coffee at Akami in the same complex, but the coffee here was solid.

On the breakfast menu, I’m really taken by the Treehugger yogurt parfait for some reason.

But the best dish you can get here for lunch that I’ve had is easily the fish tacos. I know that’s a bold claim since they don’t seem like they’re in the wheelhouse given the rest of the menu, but the chef has really worked these carefully and with great results. The times I’ve had them, they’ve been made with seasoned and seared ahi – cooked pretty much all the way through. The fish is on a homemade flour and corn purple tortilla that alone is flaky and delicious. Then there is some pico de gallo and a little avocado and a flavorful crema, none of which are very spicy and all of which enhance each others flavors just a bit. Nothing is overwhelming – you can really taste each ingredient here. They thought this one through and tested, and these are just great.

Fish Tacos at Spoon and Key in Wailea

Finally, I’ll give a shout-out to the banh mi. I’ve eat a lot of banh mis in a lot of cities and I’ve definitely never seen one like this before. It was on two slices of sourdough bread instead of a baguette, and full mostly of ham. I’m not really the biggest fan of sliced ham, to be honest, so I was a little disconcerted when I pulled mine in half at the cut and saw all of that pink meat staring back at me. I was hoping for some more crispy pork belly, with maybe just one slice of ham standing in for pate. But then I took a bite and the bright mint and pickled veggies really took over and brought me back to banh mi land. I won’t say it was the best I’ve ever had, and I still think eliminating the ham and going all pork belly would be better, but this was really pretty good and I’d order it again.

I’m excited to have such a great restaurant in Wailea!

Spoon and Key

Address:
108 Wailea Ike Dr
Wailea, HI 96753

+1 808 879-2433

Website: Spoon and Key Market

YCGW – You Can’t Go Wrong – Top Restaurant List

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The idea of YCGW is that you can basically order anything on the menu at these restaurants, and you’ll be eating great food. So even if you don’t gravitate toward my favorite dishes, I stand by these restaurants as being of such good quality that they won’t put a bad food option on their menus. I can’t say I’ve eaten every menu item at each of these restaurants, but I’ve literally never had a food item at these places that was a problem. To me, that’s a pretty high bar, and it says that the chefs take their food preparation and their own reputations seriously.

So here’s the list:

Upcountry/North Shore

Marlow

Nuka

Mahalo Aleworks

Kahului and Wailuku

Tin Roof

Tiffany’s

Kihei and Wailea

Lineage

Nutcharee Thai

Spoon and Key

West Maui (Lahaina, Kapalua, etc.)

Star Noodle

Nuka – Excellent Japanese Izakaya in Haiku

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Nuka is very, very easy to love because it’s simply put, great. It really only has one problem: the wait. So I’ll tell you up-front: no reservations and waits can be long. They open for dinner at 4:30 PM and I’ve never had a problem getting a table right away if I show up at 4:15. But starting at maybe 5:30, especially on weekends, you could be facing a 90 minute wait. Of course, in the evening on the North Shore, the weather is likely to be heavenly, so 90 minutes of enjoying that isn’t the worst thing.

OK: about Nuka. Nuka is an izakaya, which, for those who don’t know, is a lot like a Japanese gastropub. They serve alcohol, but also a lot of great casual dishes that really work well with sake and beer. For an izakaya, Nuka actually has a pretty wide range of food styles including sushi and sashimi, some udon soups, a couple of rice bowls, some salads, and a whole array of small plates that are usually vegetable-heavy, and while all of these options are very tasty here, I think the small plates and the salads are where Nuka really shines.

The nasu miso (eggplant) and karaage (fried chicken) are probably my two top small plates here – essentially perfect every time. I also like the agedashi tofu (very umami broth), the crispy calamari (which you can also get on a salad), the miso butterfish (I know, it’s everywhere these days, but for a reason!), and, how can you not get ahi tataki here since you know they’ll prepare it well and the ahi couldn’t be fresher!

I put this place on my You Can’t Go Wrong list – I’d be really really surprised if you ever found a bad item on this menu!

Just a few more notes: the sushi and sashimi are great. The udon? Fine, but I’m just not often in the mood for udon unless it’s an unusually cold day. Always get something pickled – I think they do their pickling in-house. And make sure to get the black sesame ice cream for dessert! They do make this in-house and it’s really, really stunningly good.