If you’re like us, you love to eat—and you don’t always put a price tag on that experience. So we put together some of the most splurge-worthy dining experiences you can have in the Islands, from a candlelight dinner in a treehouse to breakfast on the rim of an active volcano. Every spot is Instagram perfect—and the food is incredible, too.
Food Splurges
The Treehouse at Hotel Wailea, Maui
Imagine dining under a canopy of mango and avocado trees in a real-life treehouse with stunning views of the Pacific Ocean. This ultra-exclusive experience is offered at the adults-only Hotel Wailea on Maui—and it’s one of the most sought-after reservations on the island. While there’s no set menu, you can customize the private, seven-course dinner with the hotel chef who curates each dish to your preferences and prepares them tableside. You also have access to the hotel’s private wine cellar with expert pairings for each course. It’s pricey—$1,400 per couple (up to six guests) and another $250 per person for wine pairings—but the experience is priceless.
The Rim at Volcano House, Hawaiʻi Island
In 2022 Kīlauea resumed erupting after a four-month pause, and I quickly booked tickets to Hilo for me, the husband and our then-5-year-old son. It’s not every day you can see an erupting volcano, and I wanted to take full advantage of our proximity to it. We basked in the orange glow of lava from our vantage point at Keanakāko‘i; the view was great and we didn’t have to trek for miles to get it. The Rim at the historic Volcano House is perched above Halema‘uma‘u Crater, where we dined on lobster crabcake, seared Kona kampachi and a 14-ounce Hawai‘i-raised rib-eye with wild Hāmākua mushrooms—all while gawking at the glow from the lava in the crater right outside. The building, which dates back to 1941 and has only 33 guest rooms, is built directly on the volcano within Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Kīlauea started erupting again on Sept. 15, 2024, in an area where you can’t view it—right now, anyway. If it continues to erupt, you now know where to book the best seats on the island.
Naʻau, Hawaiʻi Island
ʻŌpae, Kūpeʻe, ʻŌhelo berries. These are not your typical ingredients—even in the Islands. But you’ll see them on the menu at Na‘au, a dining concept by local chef Brian Hirata. Only a handful of seats are available each week at Na‘au’s pop-up dinners on Fridays and Saturdays at the secluded Whitehaven Farm in Pepe‘ekeo. On white cloth-covered tables on the farm’s lānai, you’ll be treated to dishes composed of what Hirata has carefully and responsibly fished, foraged, hunted and prepared himself, like ‘ahi swim bladder (a fish organ delicacy) with chili crisp and lemon; slippery Jack mushroom risotto with gouda from Hawai‘i Island Goat Dairy; and Big Island beef lū‘au with stewed kalo (taro) leaves, locally sourced bread and nori butter. Take it from a former culinary instructor: This meal not only connects us to Hawai‘i’s cultural roots and food traditions, it’s also the only way to access Hirata’s profound knowledge about cooking and eating in…