When planning a trip to Maui, a romantic sunset dining experience is a must-do experience for every luxury traveler.

Utopian visions of silhouetted palm trees swaying in the trade winds, the soft glow of tiki torches lighting fairy-tale pathways, a rendition of an Israel Kamakawiwo’ole Hawaiian love song softly playing in the background; with the muted sounds of waves crashing on the nearby beach as the golden sun is about to plop into the Pacific and offer up one of those seldom seen green flashes.

Ahhh…now that’s romance!

During our recent journey to Maui, one of the things on our to-do-list was to sample Maui’s best romantic sunset dining experiences and share them with you, our readers.

Enjoy scores of mouthwatering photographs in the articles below!

After many hours of research, numerous talks with Maui locals, and then finally personally experiencing quite a number of sunset dining venues, we are very pleased to offer you our list of Maui’s best sunset dining restaurants.

Top 5 Maui Sunset Dining Restaurants

Our very favorite Maui sunset dining experience was at Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante inside the Four Seasons Resort in Wailea.  The beach-front setting was spectacular, and we even caught lovebirds making heart-shaped silhouettes on the beach down below.  The restaurant features an Italian cucina rustica menu that is remarkably capable of elevating your taste buds to the heightened levels of your other senses in this most amorous setting.  Link: Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante 

Our sunset dining experience at the Humuhumu Restaurant and Bar, inside the Grand Wailea Resort, was a magical experience.  We watched the sun set in the Pacific from our table under a thatched roof setting overlooking a beautiful lagoon with silhouetted palm trees gently swaying in the ocean breeze.  Chef Mike Lofaro, a former protegé of Michael Mina, serves up fresh lobster from the lagoon, fresh Pacific fish, beef dishes, and quite possibly the best lamb we’ve had in our life.  Link: Humuhumu Restaurant

The Feast at Lele is an ocean-front Hawaiian luau, and is a very favorite of well-traveled foodies.  The brainchild of James Beard Foundation Award-winning Chef James McDonald, the feast is a gastronomical journey around the Polynesian islands while talented dancers entertain on a stage in front of the setting sun.  Unusual for a luau, guests enjoy private white-clothed, candlelit tables right on the beach.  Link: The Feast at Lele

Set within the prestigious Kapalua Resort, on Maui’s northern tip, Merriman’s Kapalua has been dazzling fine diners for over 25 years.  Chef Peter Merriman has been dubbed “The Pied Piper of Hawaii Regional Cuisine”, and has been named a “Best Chef Northwest & Hawaii” by the prestigious James Beard Foundation.  We’ve enjoyed Chef Merriman’s cuisine for nearly a decade and highly recommend a visit.  Link: Merriman’s Kapalua

Mama’s Fish House has been serving up fresh local fish, in a beautiful beach-front setting, for over forty years.  With it’s predominantly northern exposure, sunsets will be seasonal at Mama’s. However, we enjoyed our experience so much, we thought the restaurant should be included in our list.  We found Mama’s appetizers to be real show-stealers!  Link: Mama’s Fish House

We scoured the island of Maui to unearth the very best sunset dining restaurants.  We are extremely confident that a dining experience at any of these fine restaurants will result in a fabulous lifetime memory.  Enjoy!

Disclosure: we were hosted by these and many other fine restaurants in order to design this list.  Further, our Maui press trip was provided by the Maui Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Thanks to all!