Mermaids Cafe — Restaurant in Kauai

We went here on a recommendation from some friends who had been to the island previously. They said they went twice on their weeklong stay and I totally see why. The proprietor was VERY friendly and genuine. He was very helpful and it is very obvious that he takes great care and pride in what he does. Between the 4 of us we got the Mermaid Sandwich, the fish tacos, the chicken tacos and the poke bowl. Nothing was bad. Not only that, it was probably the best meal we had on the island during the entire week we were there.

So that expectations are set, this place is very small. By small I mean he’s doing all of it and there is one table outside in front. Everything was cooked fresh to order so it took a bit, but it wasn’t overly long. It was definitely on the shorter side of reasonable, especially when you factor in the quality and flavor of the food.

I would HIGHLY recommend stopping and grabbing a meal here and I would even say it’s worth going out of your...

I meannn when the name of a place has got Mermaid in it, I kinda gotta go. And, oh snap, that Ahi Nori Wrap has got it going on! This is definitely aa shacky-esque spot. There’s no bathroom (but there’s one next door in the coffee shop. It’s a take-out or chill-outside kinda seating arrangement, if you choose to “dine-in”. The Nori gave a nice added crunch with the brown rice and pan-seared ahi sitch mm mm. Tons of fun art all around the tiny premises. And even cuter, are all the nearby shops, which you can scope out while chowing down!

The only downside was the service. Definitely the most unenthusiastic workers I’ve met while in Kauai. She didn’t seem like she wanted to be...

Mike at the Mermaid Cafe is phenomenal... he was working all by himself as four different groups of two walked up. Mike didn't short-cut a thing and was super pleasant to everyone even though I suspect he was stressed. The wait wasn't long at all considering he was single-handed. My husband ordered the Ahi wrap with brown rice... Mike left the wasabi ayoli off as my husband can't do spicy. I had an AMAZING poke bowl WITH the delicious wasabi ayoli. The "bowl" was really a large dinner plate that was big enough to share. The poke was fresh, delicious, with lots of fish expertly cut into precise cubes... a sign of a great chef! Next time we are in Kauai... we'll be back...