News, Tips & Offers delivered to your inbox.

Book a table at any of these restaurants in Hawaii. Experience the amazing regional cuisine that you won't forget!

The joke used to be that the only good meal you’d have during your Hawaiian vacation would be the one on the airplane going over. It’s been a long time since that was true, thanks to Hawai’i Regional Cuisine, an organization of 12 chefs who joined forces in 1991 to encourage local farmers to grow fresh greens, vegetables and fruit in return for a guarantee that restaurants would buy their crops. More recently, the concept has gone beyond produce. Today, you can also taste artisanal Hawaiian cheeses and fresh local fish—all nurtured by the same lovely tropical climate that makes the islands such a wonderful honeymoon destination. After a relaxing day on the beach, here’s where to go for a real taste of the Big Island, Oahu and Maui.

The Big Island

Merriman’s There’s no question about who the big man on the Big Island is: It’s Peter Merriman. He’s the chef who spearheaded the creation of the Hawai’i Regional Cuisine group, and from the day it opened, his restaurant in Waimea has served the best local produce, making vine-ripened Lokelani tomatoes famous. Order a salad of organic local greens and Mauna Kea goat cheese topped with vinaigrette, or Kalua pork quesadillas with mango-chile sauce.

If possible, sign up for one of Merriman’s Tuesday night “Farm Visit” dinners. You’ll get to tour a local farm, such as Kahua Ranch, which provides beef for the restaurant, or Hamakua Mushrooms, where the oyster and shiitake mushrooms that show up on the menu are grown. Then, you can head back to the restaurant for a four-course dinner highlighting the special ingredients that you just learned about in the field (merrimanshawaii.com).

Oahu

Roy's Honolulu is a food-lover's heaven. Almost all of Hawai'i's star chefs have restaurants in the state's capital. The most famous name here? Roy Yamaguchi, who was the first to introduce "Euro-Asian" style cooking. The original Roy's is in Honolulu's Hawai'i Kai neighborhood, on the east side of Diamond Head; you'll find satellites on the other islands and around the world. The menu is full of light dishes, from a salad of teriyaki-glazed duck served with local greens in ginger-cilantro vinaigrette to mahimahi crusted with macadamia nuts, as well as heavier fare, such as Szechuan-style baby-back ribs. Don't miss the lengthy and impressive sake list (roysrestaurant.com).

Alan Wong's Restaurant Alan Wong is continually voted Hawai'i's best chef. While his small Honolulu restaurant, which is located north of Waikiki, is formal and elegant, the menu and presentation have a playful side. (Your appetizer, for example, might come in a martini glass.) Wong worked at the world-famous Lutèce, in New York City, for three years, developing the kind of skills that give his dishes a deceptive air of effortlessness. His can't-take-it-off-the-menu dish: ginger-crusted onaga (long-tailed red snapper). The restaurant is sleek and modern, with neutral tones, and has an open kitchen, which means you can see your coconut-crusted lamb chops and delicate coconut tapioca with passion fruit sorbet being prepared before they're delivered to your table (alanwongs.com).

Chef Mavro George Mavrothalassitis was born in France's port town of Marseilles, but he has become a local legend in Hawai'i as "Chef Mavro," promoting the use of local fish. Now he's the owner of his own restaurant, which is a tiny spot just north of Waikiki. This is a truly magical place to dine: Walk in, and you're greeted immediately with a décor that includes drums made out of coconut shells, and tropical flower arrangements filled with orchids and ginger blossoms. The dining room itself is soothingly neutral, and decorated with paintings of Hawaiian leis and watercolors of tropical flowers by local artists. Mavrothalassitis changes his menu every couple of months, but the one thing his fans will never let him retire is his onaga baked in a salt crust. Chef Mavro offers prix fixe menus, with dishes such as cumin-seared ahi tuna) and goat cheese wontons with Maui onions, and the restaurant's knowledgeable staff chooses the wines that are paired with each course of your meal (chefmavro.com).

Sam Choy's Diamond Head Poke, a cold salad of raw fish tossed with seaweed, is a classic dish in Hawai'i. Made with local seafood, such as tuna or yellowtail, it tastes as fresh and clean as the island's sea air. Sam Choy is the king of poke, and he's also the king of big portions. Choy uses local ingredients and they're expertly cooked, so there's no question you're in for a night of fine dining. Dishes include crispy seared moi (threadfin shad), served with a light ginger sauce, and mahimahi steamed in ti leaves. His Diamond Head restaurant, which is located in Kapahulu, overlooking a golf course, has a "plantation-style kitchen," which has bamboo flooring and large wooden chopping blocks. The walls are covered with lauhala mats, woven from grasses, and the tables are paired with comfortable bamboo chairs.

Try Choy's Hawaiian-style bouillabaisse, if it's on the menu, and don't leave without a taste of the pineapple cheesecake—with a macadamia-nut crust—or the rich banana bread pudding. The restaurant also serves a Sunday brunch buffet, with classic dishes such as poi (mashed taro root), kalua pork and a poke-tasting station, complete with tako (octopus) poke and a mussel poke that's mixed with kimchee, a spicy Korean-style pickled cabbage (samchoy.com).

Sansei Waikiki D.K. Kodama recently moved his hot, award-winning Sansei seafood restaurant to the Waikiki Marriott and added D.K. Steak House, which has a separate kitchen and its own dry-aging room. Both restaurants have wine lists composed by Hawai'i's only Master Sommelier, Chuck Furuya. But, if you only have time to try one, book a table at Sansei. Kodama is a serious chef, but his Asian Pacific menu displays his sense of humor. (How about some seared foie gras sushi, or a "Bagel Maki Roll," filled with smoked salmon, cream cheese and Maui onion?) Take one bite of his mahimahi with plum sauce, and you'll see why he is one of Hawai'i's rising stars(Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, 2552 Kalakaua Avenue, Waikiki; sanseihawaii.com).

Maui

Hali'imaile General Store Maui's leading restaurateur is Beverly Gannon, whose 18-year-old Hali'imaile General Store restaurant has not lost any of its original luster. The interior of the old plantation building has been remodeled, but it remains as rustic and unassuming as ever. And the food could not be more delicious. The business started as a gourmet takeout shop, but it has evolved into one of the best restaurants on the island. Only the freshest ingredients go into the dishes, which include rock shrimp tempura served with truffle honey and soy aioli, crispy calamari with mango chutney, paniolo (Hawaiian cowboy-style) barbecued ribs, and seafood curry steamed in coconut milk. Desserts include buttery shortcake topped with delicious Ulupalakua strawberries, which were grown up on the rim of the island's volcano. They are truly unforgettable (bevgannonrestaurants.com).

I'O and Pacific'O James McDonald's two restaurants—located right across the street from each other, in the port town of Lahaina—are the only dining spots in Hawai'i with their own farms. On nearby properties, McDonald grows all the greens and herbs used at his establishments, and about a quarter of the total produce. Both restaurants serve "contemporary Pacific" cuisine: I'O's menu features tropical seafood served in a martini glass, topped with mango and papaya; Pacific'O's offers shrimp wontons with Hawaiian salsa and a sesame-crusted rack of lamb. Both have oceanfront lanais and, if you can get a table there, there's no better place to be at sunset (iomaui.com and pacificomaui.com).

Vino Italian Tapas and Wine Bar Another of D.K. Kodama's creations, this restaurant serves up classic Hawaiian "pupus," which are similar to Spanish-style tapas, and are an old custom in Hawai'i. Order shrimp and scallop Alfredo, or fresh ahi and grilled lump crab topped with aioli and pumpkin-seed oil, along with a bottle of Italian wine. It's a fabulous take on a local tradition (2000 Village Road, Kapalua; vinohawaii.com).