Restaurant in Lahaina, United States
OAD-ranked Hawaiian noodles worth the detour.
Ranked #54 on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats in North America, Star Noodle is the most credentialed accessible dinner option in Lahaina. Chef Sheldon Simeon's Hawaiian noodle-focused menu delivers consistent, seriously considered cooking at a price point well below resort-dining norms. Open Wednesday through Sunday, dinner only — book ahead for weekends.
Ranked #54 on Opinionated About Dining's Cheap Eats in North America in 2024 and holding steady at #65 in 2025, Star Noodle has earned a consistent place among the most credentialed casual dining spots in the Pacific. That three-year streak on one of the harder-to-crack lists in American dining tells you something useful: this is not a tourist trap coasting on Lahaina's beachfront foot traffic. It is a destination in its own right, and for visitors planning a meal in West Maui, it should be near the leading of the shortlist.
Star Noodle sits at 1287 Front St in Lahaina, a stretch of road that sees more than its share of forgettable resort dining. What separates this room is the combination of a recognizable name in Hawaii's chef community and a format that keeps prices accessible without diluting the cooking. Chef Sheldon Simeon, known to a national audience from his appearances on Leading Chef, has built a Hawaiian-focused noodle concept here that reads as genuinely local rather than tourist-calibrated. The cuisine skews toward the noodle traditions that have shaped Hawaii's multicultural food history — saimin, ramen-adjacent broths, and stir-fried preparations rooted in the plantation-era melting pot that defines Hawaiian food culture.
The visual experience at Star Noodle is casual and deliberate. This is not a white-tablecloth room, and it is not trying to be. The setting communicates from the moment you walk in that the focus is on the bowl in front of you rather than the staging around it. For a special occasion dinner, that trade-off is worth understanding before you book: the food carries the evening here, not the room. If your celebration calls for dramatic interiors or tableside theater, look elsewhere in Lahaina. If it calls for genuinely well-executed cooking at a price point that does not punish you for ordering an extra dish, Star Noodle is the stronger argument.
Service at this price tier in a high-traffic tourist town often ranges from perfunctory to chaotic. Star Noodle's OAD ranking, based on aggregated critic and food-community input rather than volume reviews alone, suggests the kitchen operates at a level of consistency that many similarly priced venues in Hawaii do not sustain. A Google rating of 4.4 across 3,600 reviews reinforces that this holds up at scale. For a special occasion dinner where you need the meal to land reliably rather than speculatively, that consistency record matters.
The current hours run Wednesday through Sunday, 4:30 to 9 pm, with Monday and Tuesday closed. That dinner-only schedule is worth building your Lahaina itinerary around. If you are planning a celebration or a date night in West Maui this season, Wednesday through Saturday represent your options, with Sunday as a backup. Do not arrive assuming a walk-in is guaranteed on a Friday or Saturday evening — at a venue with this level of recognition, the room fills.
For context on how Star Noodle sits within the broader Hawaiian dining conversation, it belongs alongside spots like Helena Hawaiian Foods in Honolulu and Ono Hawaiian Plates in Minneapolis as venues where the cuisine is treated seriously rather than as novelty. Within Lahaina specifically, it occupies a different tier than Banyan Tree or Mala Ocean Tavern, which skew toward more elaborate presentations and higher price points. Star Noodle's value is in delivering OAD-credentialed cooking without requiring a resort-dinner budget.
If you are looking for more options beyond Star Noodle, our full Lahaina restaurants guide covers the range across price points and cuisines. For broader West Maui planning, the Lahaina hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide are worth reading alongside this page.
Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 4:30–9 pm; closed Monday and Tuesday. Reservations: Check current availability directly , booking ahead is advisable given the OAD ranking and limited evening hours. Dress: Casual; resort casual is appropriate and the norm for this part of Lahaina. Budget: Cheap Eats tier per OAD's classification, meaning this is accessible without being a budget compromise. Booking difficulty: Easy to moderate , the venue is well-known enough to fill on weekends, but not in the months-out window of harder reservations elsewhere in Hawaii.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Noodle | Hawaiian | Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America Ranked #65 (2025); Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America Ranked #54 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Cheap Eats in North America in Ranked #56 (2023) | Easy | — |
| Yakitori Hachibei | Yakitori | Unknown | — | |
| Cane & Canoe | Polynesian Fusion | Unknown | — | |
| Monkeypod Kitchen | New American | Unknown | — | |
| Merriman's – Maui | Unknown | — | ||
| Old Lahaina Luau | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Star Noodle and alternatives.
For a more upscale sit-down dinner on Maui, Merriman's and Cane & Canoe are the logical step up — both carry stronger wine programs and broader menus. If you want casual value closer to Star Noodle's price point and energy, Monkeypod Kitchen is the most direct comparison. Old Lahaina Luau is a different format entirely and only makes sense if you want the full cultural performance alongside your meal.
Casual is the right call here. Star Noodle is a noodle bar ranked on OAD's Cheap Eats list, not a resort dining room — clean beach-casual attire is appropriate and fits the room. No need to dress up.
Book at least a week out, more during peak Maui travel periods. Star Noodle holds three consecutive OAD Cheap Eats rankings (2023–2025), which means word is out. The restaurant operates only five evenings a week — Wednesday through Sunday from 4:30pm — so available slots go quickly. Check current availability directly through the venue.
Nothing in the available venue data confirms specific dietary accommodation policies. Contact Star Noodle directly before booking if dietary restrictions are a deciding factor — the cuisine type is Hawaiian, which typically includes proteins across meat, seafood, and poultry.
Dinner is your only option. Star Noodle opens at 4:30pm Wednesday through Sunday and does not offer lunch service. Plan accordingly if you're arriving earlier in the day.
It works for a low-key celebration where food quality matters more than ceremony. Chef Sheldon Simeon's kitchen has earned three consecutive OAD Cheap Eats North America rankings, so the cooking carries real credibility. If you want full tableside service, a curated wine list, or a private dining room for a milestone dinner, Cane & Canoe or Merriman's will serve that format better.
Yes. A noodle-focused restaurant with counter or casual seating is well-suited to solo visitors, and the format does not require a group to make sense of the menu. Star Noodle's consistent OAD recognition means solo food-focused travelers specifically come here for the cooking — it's a legitimate destination meal on its own.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
