SOUTH MAUI FISH COMPANY
ADDRESS: 1794 S Kihei Road, Kihei, HI 96753
WEBSITE: https://www.southmauifishco.com/
A trip to Hawaii isn’t complete without some poke, and at the halfway point in our trip to Maui, my wife Cami and I decided that it was time to check that off the list. Yelp led us to the South Maui Fish Company, a small food truck that was set up not too far from our Airbnb in Kihei. With both a high number of reviews and maintaining a high rating, that told me that this place was both popular and consistent in the quality. We hoped that our visit would prove this true as well.
From what we could tell, South Maui Fish Company only served up their fresh catch of the day, so you wouldn’t know what type of fish there would be until you talked to them at the truck. They offer two different styles of poke, along with fish tacos and grilled fish plates. Cami prefers salmon for her poke, but the fresh catch that day was ahi for all of their dishes. We were able to pivot and get her a grilled fish plate with ahi and some of the extra mahi mahi they had, while I got a half-and-half poke bowl with both their traditional and spicy preparations.
This little red food truck is parked in the courtyard of a building with several other businesses, with a number of tables and benches that were situated around the area. There was a small parking lot in the back, along with street parking being your option if that was full. We originally planned to eat there, but there seemed to be an unusually high number of flies in the area, so we decided to take our food back to the Airbnb instead.
There were maybe five groups total of people who ordered their food ahead of us, so it was a pretty reasonable 20 minute wait before we got our food. By the time the food was ready to pick up, the line to order was probably 20 people at least. The guy in the truck mentioned that we got there at a good time, since if we were any later, they might have started to sell out of stuff at the rate they were going.
Once we got back to our Airbnb, we were excited to crack open those containers of food and start to dig in. My poke plate had hefty portions of the two different styles, complete with rice and coleslaw. The traditional preparation is a shoyu marinade base combined with sweet onions, scallions, tobiko, topped with sesame seeds, furikake, and an eel sauce drizzle. For the spicy preparation, it was a spicy aioli mixed with jalapeños, chili flakes, tobiko, and wasabi seeds. I tell you what, this was honestly some of the best poke that I’ve had in a while.
I liked how distinct the flavors were between the two different styles of poke preparation, all while not overpowering the natural flavor of the ahi itself. The spicy had some nice heat with it, brought on by the jalapeño slices, while the traditional was very rich with savory and umami flavors. If we were staying on the island longer, I would have wanted to go back for another round, for how delicious that was.
The grilled ahi and mahi mahi from Cami’s plate was also really tasty, seasoned really well and having a slight bit of smoky flavor from the grill itself. The fish paired well with the tartar sauce that they served on the side, and also came with two mounds of rice as well. If you’re someone who prefers cooked fish, this is definitely a great option.
I actually didn’t realize until later that South Maui Fish Company had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives (you’ll see Guy Fieri’s head spray painted in red and blue underneath the ordering window). Be sure to get here early for their lunch or dinner service to avoid them selling out of something you might want. Don’t let the small food truck exterior fool you, this place definitely packs the flavors with the fresh seafood they use. It ended up being one of my favorite plates that I ate during the whole trip.
Let’s now take a look at the South Maui Fish Company Dish Spotlight. Asterisks (*) below mark my recommended dishes.
** Poke Bowl **
1/2 pound of poke made with the catch of the day, served with rice and coleslaw. Half-and-half with traditional (pictured top left: shoyu marinade base combined with sweet onions, scallions, tobiko, topped with sesame seeds, furikake, and an eel sauce drizzle) and spicy (pictured top right: spicy aioli mixed with jalapeños, chili flakes, tobiko, and wasabi seeds)
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** Grilled Fish Plate **
Grilled catch of the day, served with rice, coleslaw, and tartar sauce. Pictured above: mahi mahi (left) and ahi (right).
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And finally, here are my rankings for South Maui Fish Company:
Food: 5 / 5
The fish doesn’t get any fresher than the catch of the day, and you can definitely taste it when you take a bite of the food. The poke was phenomenal, with distinct flavors that stood out, and the grilled fish also tasted great as well.
Atmosphere: N/A
There’s a sizeable amount of seating available in the courtyard of where the food truck is located, although if it gets pretty popular, you might have to end up taking it home or eating in your car instead.
Service: 4.25 / 5
The food came out in a pretty reasonable amount of time, given the crowd of orders that the guys in the truck were working with. The person taking our order was pretty friendly and helped to answer some questions that we had with the menu as well.
Price: 5 / 5
For both the flavor, quality, and quantity of the food, I’d have no hesitation to pay the $22 again for those plates. Everything tasted fantastic and was well worth it.
Overall:
14.25 / 15
(95%)
Categories: Hawaii, Restaurants
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