INNspired: Mamas Fish House & Inn oceanfront at Kuau Cove on Mauis north shore where aloha gre

Just outside of the beach cottages, a hammock and shady lawn await your nap. Mamas Fish House & Inn photo Mamas Fish House & Inn seems to be on everyones bucket list. Its like the silkiest and most incredible coconut cream thats already risen to the top for all to desire.

Just outside of the beach cottages, a hammock and shady lawn await your nap. Mama’s Fish House & Inn photo

Mama’s Fish House & Inn seems to be on everyone’s bucket list. It’s like the silkiest and most incredible coconut cream that’s already risen to the top for all to desire.

Ranked in the elite Top 10 fine-dining restaurants in the U.S. on Trip Advisor, and the second most popular restaurant in the country on Open Table, Mama’s Fish House in idyllic Kuau Cove is truly unparalleled on Maui and elsewhere.

Visitors jump off the plane and want to savor its seafood. Maui residents also covet dining there, saving up for occasions such as anniversaries, graduations, engagements and birthdays, too.

But if you imbibe, say, a potent Mai Tai Roa Ae invented by Trader Vic Bergeron in 1944, share a bottle of wine, devour papio caught in waters near Olowalu by Steven Kim Miyaki with caramelized Maui onion, Hawaiian chili pepper and fresh avocado and add a wildly famous dessert such as Tahitian Black Pearl, you may just want to waddle to a nearby hammock strung from the coconut palms under the starry night sky and take a nap.

That’s where the “inn” part of Mama’s Fish House & Inn comes into the picture. The beach and garden cottages and suites have been around for 20 years and have grown to 12 in all that can accommodate from two to six people each.

Inside an upgraded cottage are fine works by acclaimed Maui artists, cushy furnishings, Sub-Zero and Wolf appliances and custom cabinets. Mama’s Fish House & Inn photo

Sunset Magazine has described Mama’s inn as “Where happiness lives” and “The Hawaii we dream of.” And its catch phrase is “Where aloha greets you every moment of the day.”

Each of the accommodations dishes up a slice of old Polynesia and blends it with modern amenities — and it becomes your private playground when the restaurant isn’t operating.

This means you can know firsthand the beauty of the sunrises on the north shore and the exhilarating feel of jumping into the ocean ponds and tide pools protected by the reefs there.

When Mama’s is operating from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., its world-class feasts are within crawling distance. Dine fine and walk mere steps to one of the cottages, and luxuriate as you would at any extravagant hotel on high thread-count sheets with cool ocean breezes and the sound of the waves rolling in.

But the best part is, several of the cottages have been given upgrades in recent months, just like the 44-year-old restaurant gets on a regular basis. It seems every time I go to Mama’s, the restaurant has been upgraded and improved beyond compare. Ditto for the inn on my recent tour.

Bottom fish such as opakapaka are in abundance right now. Mama’s Fish House & Inn photo

“We want to showcase the new face of Mama’s Fish House by promoting the inn,”says inn manager Lisa Foth.

“We’ve given the rooms some upgrades, including Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances depending on the category and also added high-end finishes with beautiful granites and custom cabinetry, from antique painted woods to teak,” she continues. “Every one is unique. Each has different furnishings. They even have different trims. Some have plaster walls. And some are more beachy pickled wood.”

Upon check in, you will find gift baskets of fruit and coffee as amenities and tropical florals displayed among the fine artwork and stylish furnishings. One sliding window opens up the room completely to the outside or you may opt to keep it closed for cool, air conditioned comfort.

“Maako Cordray does the florals for the restaurant and the inn,” says Foth. “We are so lucky to have her. We just love her. She utilizes pink and red torch ginger, several different styles of bromiliads and colorful anthuriums.”

But who stays at Mama’s inn, anyway?

Executive Chef Perry Bateman (left) and the restaurant’s Fish Guru Sean Asuncion pose with a snapper near the loading dock where fishers pull up with catch. Mama’s Fish House & Inn photo

“We have a lot of honeymooners, folks celebrating birthdays and anniversaries,” explains Foth. “A lot of special occasions. People from every walk of life, too. Whether an arty person to a well-traveled person to a celebrity.”

“If you want to go to Hana and the surrounding delights or up the top of the crater this is undoubtedly the single best choice,” posted one recent guest. “I am writing this review from West Maui and I am already home sick.”

“The staff is super nice. The sheets and towels are great! I hate to review this place since there are just a few rooms here, and I’d like to keep it secret,” posted another guest. “It’s only staffed during the day, but they do such a great job you don’t notice. It feels like a 5-star.”

It seems everyone enjoys the homey and comfy ambience complete with covered lanais, gi-normous walk-in showers, and beach and patio barbecue areas inspired by Mama’s owners and founders Floyd and Doris Christenson.

“It’s a very romantic story of how this whole inn came about,” says Foth. “Floyd and Doris were inspired by their travels and came up with this.”

This beach cottage comes with luxurious high-thread count sheets and beautiful island comforter. A large walk-in shower and fine art add to the appeal. The Maui News / CARLA TRACY photo

In their younger days, the Christensons even sailed from Los Angeles to Tahiti to Maui and have many tales about life in the South Pacific and raising their kids on their sailboat. They have impeccable taste and did the Kuau neighborhood justice with the enterprise.

Prices run from $250 to $850, depending on the cottage style. An honor bar system is in place for beverages and snacks in the units that range from 450 to 850 square feet in size. Parking is complimentary with stalls in front of each cottage. It’s better than at a hotel, where you must pay for valet and self parking. The inn allows you to jump in your car on a whim and travel about.

“We make it really convenient to park right next to where you stay,” says Foth. “We want everything to be easy for while you are here.”

Convenient to Paia, Hookipa Beach Park, Haiku, Makawao and a jumping-off point to Hana, Mama’s Fish House & Inn is also a short walk to Kuau Store, where you may pick up a smoothie, chips and a deli sandwich. But Mama’s and its wafting aromas beckon and it doesn’t get any better than having such an icon of a restaurant right next door. So why stray? For many, the close proximity to the fish house is the main reason for staying there.

Inn guests enter their units from a different road than the restaurant.

All of the cottages include covered lanais. The Maui News / CARLA TRACY photo

For those who are dining only, just look for the white boat in the scenic oceanfront lot that is between Paia and Hookipa Beach Park.

Pull up to the Gaudi-like valet parking structure, and begin to embark on a food journey of the extraordinary kind.

Walk along gecko-shaped stones that interlock like an M.C. Escher painting and under a coconut grove that shades an outrigger canoe on the sandy beach.

Even Leonardo DiCaprio couldn’t resist jumping on the bow of the canoe for a photo op.

Move over, Titanic! But he’s just one of countless celebs who frequent the top restaurant.

North shore surf rolls over the reef. It’s an idyllic slice of Maui, a fantasy oasis, and you haven’t even gotten in the door. Oops. There is no door. Mama’s is open air. Walk under a banyan arch and see hostesses wearing classic muumuu standing by giant clam shells. They then escort you past the photo gallery called the Wall of Fame, and seat you in one of the varied dining rooms. Spectacular tropical florals and art catch the eye.

Besides winning national awards, Mama’s Fish House is consistently rated the Best Overall Restaurant on Maui in The Maui News.

Gracious and welcoming employees have catapulted Mama’s to No. 1 in Service, and its fresh-as-it-gets local fish compelled readers to name it Best Seafood in our annual Best of Maui contest. Because of its prime spot and attention to detail by its owners, it’s also a given that it wins or is an honorable mention annually for Best Ambience.

Mama’s menu is printed daily, as it rotates.

“We use the highest-quality ingredients with the help and support of fishermen, growers and ranchers,” says Mama’s longtime Executive Chef Perry Bateman. “Buy local, get fresh, makes the best. Floyd and Doris did farm-to-table before it was a concept.”

At least six varieties of fresh Hawaiian catch are featured. Fishers bring catch up to the loading dock after hooking up at one of two Mama’s sponsored deep-sea buoys, or fishing aggregate devices, and the restaurant has its own fish processing facility.

“We’re known for our fish,” explains Bateman. “We’re so fortunate to have our bottom fishermen provide us with all of these fish, so plentiful right now. Opakapaka, onaga, ehu, papio, uku and really good, big eye sashimi. It’s an abundance for guests.”

There’s no waste, either.

“We are able to utilize the whole fish,” says Bateman. “We boil them down to make stocks to add nice flavor to our sauces and soups.”

Because Mama’s is a fish house it serves all manner of fresh seafood from Hawaii and beyond.

“We have superb flown-in scallops and Tristan lobster from the most remote island in the world,” says Bateman. “We also really love to support sustainable food sources like Kona kampachi and abalone from the Big Island. And we are trying hard to get oysters from Oahu.”

Kauai clams are on the menu Friday, Saturday and Sunday and today’s version has them simmered in garlic broth with Kula kale and red-lentil pasta. Kauai prawns are exceptional in won tons and sauteed with garlic.

“We have New Caledonia prawns, too, so delicate and sweet,” says Bateman, who is also excited about trout that is being raised here.

“Hopefully by September, we’ll have it. It’s being raised in Kula, hatched from eggs. Yes another sustainable food source. And John Dobovan of Kula Haven also grows fresh watercress. He’s invested. It’s amazing what he is doing”

Of course, Mama’s is well known for its wild fish and it will always serve it, but the chef likes to support various aquafarms.

“It’s important that Mama’s supports sustainability in the islands. Floyd and Doris have always done this. To support these small companies makes them more successful and we all have more of a chance to survive if there’s a disaster. By featuring it on our menu, our guests are supporting it and enjoying it, too. It really becomes full circle. We share, we give, we’re excited.”

Bateman always runs whole fish. Today it’s served with a rainforest banana curry with a side of kalua pig, or wild boar. It’s one of the few dishes on a verbal menu.

“Also on the verbal menu is opakapaka ceviche served in a coconut; and half a roasted Kona kampachi.”

The kampachi is a “designer” yellowtail, which is raised in a pioneering way on the high seas in federal waters.

But enough about fish. Let’s get to the meat of the matter: wild Maui venison. It was off the charts in taste and texture on a recent visit.

“That venison is from up on Haleakala. They eat good stuff up there. I went on the hunt with Maui Nui who are private contractors basically regulating the deer as they are invasive. Maui Nui controls the wildlife management and offers us a sustainable food source. We’re very fortunate to be supporting them,” says the chef.

The venison I enjoyed was seared perfectly with fresh thyme, garlic and red wine vinegar, drizzled with Maui onion ranch dressing and Maui honey and Tahitian lime sauce and surrounded by kale salad with pohole fern shoots and poha berries.

“The deer go into people’s gardens and eat Maui onions and eat wild poha berries, so I used these items in the dish. The meat is very healthy. Not gamey at all. We follow all of the regulations through the health department.”

If you stay at the inn, do walk to the restaurant and try some of these dishes. In fact, if you want to enjoy Mama’s food, you have to dine in the restaurant as the inn does not have room service.

“It isn’t to deny our guests anything,” says Foth. “We just want to pamper them in the restaurant. It allows us to showcase what Floyd and Doris want to share.”

For more details: Call 579-8488 or visit www.mamasfishhouse.com.

* Carla Tracy can be reached at carlatracy@mauinews.com.

Kauai clams are simmered in garlic broth (left) Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Mama’s Fish House & Inn photo

Sustainable Kula trout will be on the menu starting in September after an exploratory run with it in recent weeks. Mama’s Fish House & Inn photo

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