Unquestionably, our favorite sunset dining experience on the island of Maui was at the fabulous Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante in Maui’s only Forbes Five-Star Resort, the Four Seasons Resort Maui.

Located towards the southern tip of Maui, Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante is the only open-air beachside restaurant in the prestigious resort town of Wailea.

As you can see from my photograph (right) the restaurant has jaw-dropping sunset views and completely exudes romance as we watched palm trees sway in the breeze and listened to waves gently lapping on the white sand beach below.

Adding to our fairy-tale setting, we captured these young lovers playing in the sand and posing for a photographer as the beautiful Hawaiian sunset began to show its glory.

Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante features an Italian cucina rustica menu and we were delighted to find, in  addition to the beautiful setting, world-class attention coming our way from the waitstaff.

Chef de Cuisine Nicholas Porrecca w/ Carol

In fact, when Chef de Cuisine Nicholas Porreca learned that The Roaming Boomers were in ‘da house, he took time to come introduce himself and personally curated our dining experience with fabulous wine pairings along with a personal introduction to each dish as our waiters placed the dishes before us in a synchronized approach.

You know, the world’s very best restaurants not only offer exceptional cuisine, but clearly understand how to marry a magical experience with their cuisine.  We had yet to experience any of Ferraro’s Bar e Restorante’s cuisine, but the orchestrated pre-show sure had us looking forward to our forthcoming gastronomical journey.

Our dining experience began from their Piccoli Piatti (small plates) menu with this mouth-watering presentation of Crudos (Italian for raw).  We enjoyed Ahi (organic olive oil, black hawaiian salt), Ono (lemon, thyme oil), Salmon (blood orange juice, fried capers), and Oyster (spicy limoncello vinaigrette).

Absolutely fantastic!  Carol liked the salmon best, while I was all gaga over the fresh ahi.

We were all smiles, and brimming with anticipation, as Chef Nicholas presented us with Saffron Crusted Half Lobster (zucchini, pistou).

Traditionally, pistou is a cold sauce made from cloves of garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil.  I don’t know if there were any special secret ingredients added, all I can say is that it was superb!

Next up was a classic Caesar Salad w/ Anchovies.

Carol is not a big fan of anchovies, so I got ’em all to myself.  YUM!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve found a good number of appetizers in fine dining restaurants absolutely stealing the show.

Now, I don’t want to take anything away from our upcoming entrée, but this Ravioli Zucca (butternut squash, goat cheese, radicchio, amaretto dolce), and Potato Gnocchi (lemon, grappa, cream) was an absolute show stealer!

I gave serious thought to standing atop my table and belting out an Italian operatic aria.  It was so good in fact, that had I not been in a fine dining setting, I would have totally licked the bowl and plate clean.

Absolutely gobsmacking!

OK.  Deep breath….

Now, in my humble opinion, when visiting Maui, it is mandatory that you sample the island’s fresh fish.

Out next was Olive Oil Poached Ahi (curry-fennel rubbed, apple, fingerlings, spinach).   It was tender, flakey, and was the perfect fusion of Hawaiian and Italian fare.  Pure joy!

Completing our journey, along with a piping-hot double expresso, was this trio of desserts that perfectly capped off our glorious dining experience.

Listen, we enjoyed a number of fabulous sunset dining experiences on the island of Maui, but this was hands-down our very favorite overall experience.

When you visit Maui, you would do well to put Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante at the very top of your list.  By the way, make certain that you get your reservations early, we’re not the only ones who know of this great restaurant!

Link: Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante 

Disclosure: our wonderful dining experience was provided by the kind folks at Ferraro’s Bar e Ristorante, and our Maui press trip was provided by the Maui Convention and Visitors Bureau.  Thanks!

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