Aloha 'Aina BBQ and Catering — Restaurant in Maui

I’ve been to over 20 BBQ joints on the mainland and this place blows them all away, no joke! Don’t let the “food truck” turn you away because this place will MOST definitely have you coming back for more. The meats here are the best I’ve ever had and I’m not exaggerating! I love the vibe and friendliness of the staff, the location is oceanfront and it’s right off the highway on the road to Hana. Such an easy place to get to with great parking and they have live music on the weekends (call to verify what night) and all the keiki come to play around the garden area while the band / singer plays. It’s adorable! I’ve tried their plates with the BBQ ribs, Kailua pork and brisket and all of it is so tasty, juicy, TENDER and falls right apart! You can tell they’ve all been slowly cooked to perfection, even the side salads and tater tots are super fresh and different, not your “plain Jane” sides.The salads have super delicious flavors and swag to them and the tots are always hot with a perfect seasoned salt on them. We just moved to Maui 5 months ago from California and have been here 4 times already, but I could seriously eat here every week. Surprisingly the grass fed burger is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE! It’s so juicy and has the best flavor I’ve ever had. It’s hands down the best burger I’ve ever had. There’s sautéed mushrooms, grilled onions, sharp cheddar and SUPER TENDER pork belly- not needing to chew and grind to get through the meat. The patty is hand-made, delicious, big and juicy! What I love is that they take their time to place the ingredients perfectly on the burger with every bite in mind. It’s not a super messy or sloppy burger where everything falls out with one bite, but instead every bite is perfect. I even love the side dill pickle and hot tater tots SOOO much! I’ve been stuck on this burger the last 2 times we’ve gone there. I can’t wait...

We were so excited to see them reopen so close to Haiku Road. We ordered 2 three meat plates so we could try all 5 bbq meats and doubled up on the chicken.

The huli huli chicken was the best smoked chicken I've ever had. Usually I prefer dark meat only, but luckily each plate contained a quarter chicken to taste both the white and dark meat. That takes so much skill for the white meat to taste that juicy!

Also fortunate for me, the pork belly was an especially fatty cut (some say 30% fat / 70% meat is the right ratio, but I prefer the inverse). Although high fat content, it wasn't greasy because of the smoking.

The brisket included the point without us having to request it. Tender and flavorful.

The ribs fell off the bone while still having texture. There was too much sauce for my liking, but that's because I prefer no sauce.

The pulled pork was a disappointment. The meat was shredded thinly and heavily sauced. It probably would have been better in a sandwich. The sauce was tangy, just not my preference.

The pohole fern salad was excellent and provided some acidity to cut the fat. The kale slaw (generously offered as a substitute so we could try more of the menu) was very tasty but overdressed for me.

The banana bread tasted like cornbread to us -- I guess the flavor was more subtle. I couldn't taste the guava in the butter but still enjoyed it.

BBQing takes a lot of time and skill -- we were impressed and look forward...

Stopped by here for a bite to eat before taking the Road to Hana. I initially wanted to try their brisket and pork belly. but they were unfortunately sold out by the time I got there (130 pm).

Instead, I ordered the "Broke da Mouth" burger (20.75). It is a hefty burger and I actually cut in half to actually eat the thing. The Maui beef patty was exceptionally, quite juicy and grilled with a smoky aftertaste. Bacon was meaty, crisp and had some heft to it. Pulled pork was in a thick sweet sauce. Kind of unusual, for that type of meat but still good. Like all good burgers, it made a complete mess of my hands.

I loved the burger: it was one of the best I ever had. Problem was that I had to wait thirty minutes for my burger.

The soy smoked wings ($14 for 6) were very good with plenty of sauce in top of some wings that had a crisp skin. The flesh inside was very moist and pleasant. The smoking was very prominent.

The location is a trailer located to a clearing next to a goat farm with some nice looking animals. No smells here, the common dining area being set back by the parking lot, it was quite pleasant actually with a nice washroom shack nearby.

I would visit again, but making that burger took away precious daylight driving. I would stick to the smoked items. If you are pressed for time, just have an open coconut from the stand across it and drive on. Just be aware of your time...