Paia is notable first for being a plantation town on Maui, second for being the primary stop between Kahului and Hana, and third for being near a nice beach. As such, the town is often busy and full of tourists. Many places in Paia cater to the tourist crowd, but there are some authentic spots which excel.  Cafe Mambo is one such spot.      

While small, Cafe Mambo is one of the great authentic spots in Paia, if not all of Maui. Housed in what looks like an old plantation era store, it has great charm and character.  

It’s small, but well decorated and laid out. The inside is full of reasonable amateur artwork (for sale) and is light and airy. The windows are open and the breeze is comfortable. The staff seem very happy at their work. As do the customers.

The bar at the restaurant is along the whole wall, but still small because it is part of the dining room. It is very well stocked for the size of the place and they have a good variety of beers on tap.  

The food was phenomenal, we tried a seafood soup along with a duck burger.  Each element of each dish was perfect.  The fries had a delicate balance and seasoning.  The croutons for the soup were crispy and succulent.  While the OH Food Guy rarely gets dessert, the waitress was quite convincing. It didn’t hurt that one kids spilled a lot of water and we wanted to make up for it. We were not disappointed. While the 4 year old didn’t appreciate the tiramisu, we sure did. It was not overly sweet like Midwest attempts at tiramisu, but it was perfectly done (as was all their food).  This is a restaurant not to miss.