The firs thing we did after picking up our rental car (and running to Target so I could hook my phone up to the car) was have lunch at a spot called Wabisabi Hawaii. I had made reservations after learning about the spot from an article in Hawaii Magazine. And, boy was that a great call!
Not to be confused with Wabi Sabi Hawaii, which is a furniture store on Oahu, Wabisabi Hawaii is a unique dining experience on Maui. Information about the spot is relatively limited, but best I can tell, they opened in mid-2023. Every review I’ve seen of this spot is excellent, and I’m happy to say that all of the reviews have been right! But before I get into that, let’s go over some details.
Wabisabi Hawaii Location
Though I’ve been to Maui numerous times, there are still areas – even very popular ones – that I’ve never been. Such was the case with Wabisabi Hawaii, which is located in Pā’ia, Maui. Ok, so I drove through the area the one time I went to Hana, but don’t really remember doing so. That’s probably a result of driving through really early in the morning and being focused on getting into Hana as quickly as possible. However, the town is reminiscent of Hale’iwa on Oahu, which means lot’s of tourists and little parking.
Wabisabi Hawaii itself doesn’t have parking, so you’re going to have to find street stalls, or park in one of the many lots scattered throughout the area. We got to Pā’ia well ahead of our reservation time, and that was probably for the better. After driving through and finding no street parking nearby, we pulled into a paid lot right across the street. While the location was great, the price wasn’t. I paid an obnoxiously high $12 for 1.5 hours of parking via the Parklinq system. The system does offer kama’aina rates, but this location wasn’t eligible.
Anyway, if you’re driving around, Wabisabi Hawaii can be pretty easy to miss. There isn’t really a storefront to look for. Instead, you’ll want to be on the lookout for this signage leading into bamboo gate.
Wabisabi Hawaii Setting + Service
Despite the hustle and bustle of Pā’ia not far from the restaurant’s entrance, Wabisabi Hawaii is like an oasis of calm. The dining area is entirely outdoors, with individual tables shaded, while the communal table and bar are shaded by open-air enclosures.
As far as service goes, it was quick and friendly. Our table was tucked on the side of the sushi bar behind a wall. Despite this, our waters never went empty. Food came out really quick, too! We ended up not needing the full 1.5 hours of parking, but your mileage may vary. It was not busy during our visit.
All that said, there’s a large mango tree over all of Wabisabi Hawaii. So while the space was really serene, the wind would sometimes blow a mango down, making a large “thwack’ sound as it lands on one of the enclosures. The first time it happened, it scared the crap out of me! The benefit is the staff may offer you some mango as you head out!
Wabisabi Hawaii Menu
The menu at Wabisabi Hawaii is, admittedly, a bit small. But that’s ok! There are certainly options here for everyone. The focus here is homemade soba, which is what drew me to the restaurant in the first place. With a phenomenal experience at Kamonegi in Seattle, I was keen on seeing how this one would compare. That said, let’s get into the menu.
Naturally, soba is the focus here. There are five cold options and six hot options, with both vegetarian and omnivore options. Vegan and gluten free diets can be accommodated – you just have to ask.
Outside of the soba options, at the time of our visit, there were three starters, four side dishes, two sashimi selection, eight types of hand roll sushi, six soft drink options (BYOB with no corkage fee!), and two deserts. It’s worth noting that the printed menu was a bit different from what was shown online.
What We Ordered
I wasn’t planning on getting too crazy here, but having skipped breakfast that morning, I was starving. Plus, many of the items on the menu sounded interesting, so curiosity got the best of us, and we ended up ordering a couple of sobas, a starter, two sushi, and a dessert.
The sobas came out first. Being a HOT day, we both opted for cold options. Mrs. Island Miler went with the Ontama, which is a standard Zaru Soba with onsen tamago. Here, they also top it with sliced green onions, tempura flakes, and nori.
Mrs. Island Miler was very happy with her selection. The cold noodles and cold sauce were refreshing in the Central Maui heat.
I went with the lux option – the Kamo Duck. Here, I got a bowl of wam dipping sauce with green onions and slices of sous vide duck. I was hoping to see nice, pink slices of duck breast, as shown online, but the duck was submerged in the sauce and had turned grey.
Despite the look of the duck, I’m happy to report that it was as tender and unctuous as I had hoped it would be. I’m guessing that throwing them in here like this not only gently warms them, but releases some of the fat from the fat cap on top of the breast into the sauce, imparting more depth and luxuriousness to it.
As for the noodles, they were great. I was surprised by how light in color they were for being 100% buckwheat. Moreover, they were far more tender (but still al dente) compared to Kamonegi’s. It’s what I’m more used to, though I loved both.
You may notice that the portion sizes are on the smaller side, and they kind of are. By comparison, they are a little smaller than what we had at Kamonegi, but that doesn’t detract from the value – at least in my opinion. Plus, we did try several other things, which helped fill us up, too.
Not long after our soba arrive, so too did our starter. In this case, we decided to try the Miso Eggplant, which features cooked eggplant, topped with black garlic infused miso. The miso and eggplant are then torched and topped with toasted sesame seeds, sliced green onions, and spicy sprouts. Eggplant can be really hit or miss, in my opinion, and this was a definite it. It was so nicely balance and flavorful – I almost forgot about by soba!
Next came our two hand rolls. Mrs. Island Miler went with the ikura, while I went with the maguro. Both came rolled with shiso, though some rolls feature green onion, instead. These were excellent quality pieces of sushi. My tuna was melt-in-your-mouth, even if it was lean maguro. My only complaint was that shoyu wasn’t offered. But since it’s shoyu-based, I just used my soba dipping sauce instead lol.
Naturally, we couldn’t leave without trying dessert. As such, we ordered the most unique thing on the menu, which is their Soba Creme Brûlée. That was a good call. The burnt sugar on top gave a subtly sweet-bitter quality to the luxurious, lightly sweet underneath. The caramelization of the sugar also helped to bring out the subtle nuttiness the soba imparts to the custard. It was divine! Literally, one of the best non-chocolate desserts I’ve ever had.
Wabisabi Hawaii, Final Thoughts
I’m a sucker for great soba, and this definitely was. However, it does not come cheap. Our entire tab for our lunch came out to about $122, along with the nearly $12 that we had to pay for parking. Despite this, though, I’d 10/10 return to Wabisabi Hawai’i. The food, the ambiance, it’s all great! So, when on Maui, I encourage you to give the place a shot. Just be sure to book a reservation if you can, as dining room space is limited.