Kapena's Wood Fired Kitchen and Trilogy: Exploring Lahaina’s Hottest New Restaurant and The Best Pizza On Maui!
When Trilogy Excursions first set sail back in 1973, it was all about showing our guests a good time—and part of that is eating good food!
Trilogy’s founder, Captain Eldon Coon, would cook up chicken over a kiawe wood grill while barbecuing at the beach on Lanai, and many of our Maui snorkeling tours still feature original Coon family recipes we’ve been serving for half a century!
Welcoming guests into our ‘ohana (family) and sharing a meal has been a pillar of Trilogy hospitality from the very first day we set sail.
Now, nearly 50 years and millions of guests of later (which is crazy to even think about!), Trilogy has has taken that sense of hospitality and expanded to include a restaurant in Lahaina: Kapena’s Wood Fired Kitchen.
Located inside the 505 Shopping Center (just a 5-minute walk from Lahaina Harbor where we finish our Lahaina tours!) Kapena’s is also only a few blocks away from the house in Lahaina where the Coon family—after years of sailing the South Pacific and Latin America as a family—moved ashore and off the trimaran that was being used to take guests on sailing and snorkeling tours to Lanai.
The name “Kapena” is Hawaiian for “Captain,” and is an homage to Captain Eldon Coon, whose salty sea beard and weathered face make up the logo that hangs outside, keeping a watchful eye over Front Street.
To bring the story even more full circle, the chef at Kapena’s, Shane Alboro, was raised on Lanai and would grill at the very same beach where Trilogy (and Captain Eldon) had been welcoming guests for years. Having spent 24 years at the Four Seasons on Lanai, Chef Shane brings a wealth of culinary knowledge that’s evident to anyone who stops in for a bite at the boutique restaurant along Front Street.
Using kiawe wood (which is a type of mesquite), locally sourced produce and dough that’s made in house, Chef Shane crafts a rich, smoky flavor that contributes to what many online reviews are calling the best pizza on Maui.
"Pretty much all the locals in Hawaii,” says Alboro, “cook using kiawe, go grill at the beach—it’s just a part of the lifestyle.”
The food is made with passion and integrity, and dishes feature local produce from some of Maui and Lanai’s best farms. Popular toppings on the wood fire pizza include BBQ pulled pork, braised short rib, and Olinda mushrooms grown right here on Maui.
That same, classic kiawe wood flavor also stands out in Kapena’s other entrees, including wood fired Seafood Cioppino that’s made with fresh, locally-sourced fish, in addition to clams, mussels, shrimps, king crab legs, and lobster tail.
You can savor the rich, smoky flavors of the popular wood fired ribeye, which is served Waikapu sweet potatoes and a sweet Maui onion chimichurri. Or, dig into a plate of pan roasted pork chops that’s served with charred pineapple relish that’s made from Maui Gold pineapples, and topped with cilantro, scallions, chard, and a Agave Mezcal glaze (super ono!)
All of the entrees have a sense of connection with the family’s traditions and travels, and, since a lot of the dishes are served family style, it continues that sense of ‘ohana and sharing that’s become a part of the Trilogy legacy—something Chef Shane is hoping to continue.
And, of course, no meal at Kapena’s is complete without a Cin-Bun sundae dessert, which is Mama Coon’s famous cinnamon roll that’s served on our Maui snorkeling tours, topped with vanilla, Roselani ice cream, toasted coconut and whipped cream.
Kapena’s opened in 2021, and a renovation in 2022 brought in murals, upgrades—as well as a full bar!—which serves local beers, a selection of wines, as well as a menu of tasty craft cocktails you can enjoy along with a wood fired pizza, or on its own as a refreshing pau hana after a day of being on the water.
Add in some classic video game consoles, and Kapena’s is a spot the whole family enjoy the next time you’re searching for restaurants in Lahaina, and the best pizza on Maui.